Dennis Hughes (snooker player)

Hughes was accepted as a member by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 1981.^[2] His first professional tournament was the 1981 International Open, where he defeated Jackie Rea 5–4 in the first qualifying round before being eliminated 1–5 by Bert Demarco.^[1] He lost to Mike Hallett 6–9 in qualifying for at the 1981 UK Championship^[1] and 2–3 at the 1982 Bass and Golden Leisure Classic.^[3] In the last tournament of his debut season, the 1982 World Snooker Championship, he recorded a 9–4 win over Clive Everton before losing in the second qualifying round (last 48) 4–9 to Tony Meo.^[1] He never reached further than the last 48 of a major tournament,^[4] and in 1990 was due to lose his professional status after being defeated 1–10 by Alan McManus in a play-off match, one of a series of matches where the lowest-ranked professionals faced leading amateurs with a place on the professional tour at stake.^[5] However, the WPBSA soon opened membership for events to anyone over the age of 16 that paid the relevant fee, and Hughes continued to play in professional tournaments until 1994,^[1][6] finishing the 1993–94 snooker season ranked 489,^[7] and dropping to 525 in the following year's list, having not competed for a year.^[8]

His highest ranking achieved as a professional was 88, in the snooker world rankings 1985/1986.^[9]