Tony Meo (born 4 October 1959) is a retired English snooker player.
Career
Meo was a schoolfriend of Jimmy White in Tooting, South London, and the pair regularly skipped school to play snooker together. At 17 Meo became the then youngest person known to have made a maximum break of 147. He turned professional in 1979. In 1980 he made his World Championship debut and was only defeated 10-9 by Alex Higgins.
In 1984, Meo reached the final of the Classic, facing his World Doubles partner and world number one Steve Davis. The match went to the deciding frame, and Meo only needed to clear the colours to win the title, but missed after being distracted by a shout of encouragement from a spectator. Davis went on to win the frame and match, and used his winning speech to call for an audience ban on alcohol.
With Davis, Meo won four World Doubles titles, and was also part of the victorious England team at the 1983 World Team Classic. His only ranking title came at the 1989 British Open, beating Dean Reynolds 13–6 after beginning the tournament as a 200–1 outsider. In the same year, he reached the semi-final of the World Championship, losing 16–7 to John Parrott.
In 1986, Meo was one of five players under Barry Hearn's management (along with Davis, Terry Griffiths, Willie Thorne and Dennis Taylor) who appeared on "Snooker Loopy", a hit single about the game recorded by Chas & Dave.
Slipping rapidly down the rankings, Meo retired from professional snooker in 1997 and now runs a watch and jewellery shop in Hatton Garden.
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tournament | 1978/79 | 1979/80 | 1980/81 | 1981/82 | 1982/83 | 1983/84 | 1984/85 | 1985/86 | 1986/87 | 1987/88 | 1988/89 | 1989/90 | 1990/91 | 1991/92 | 1992/93 | 1993/94 | 1994/95 | 1995/96 | 1996/97 |
|---|
| Ranking | | | | 18 | 24 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 14 | 15 | 34 | 38 | 51 | 69 | 75 | 75 |
| Ranking tournaments |
| Asian Classic | Tournament Not Held | NR | A | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ |
| Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | 3R | SF | 1R | 3R | QF | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ |
| UK Championship | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | LQ |
| German Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | WD |
| Welsh Open | Tournament Not Held | 2R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ |
| International Open | Not Held | NR | LQ | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | Not Held | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ |
| European Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 1R | 2R | LQ | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD |
| Thailand Open | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | Not Held | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | WD |
| British Open | NH | Non-Ranking Event | QF | QF | 1R | 1R | W | 2R | 3R | LQ | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | WD |
| World Championship | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | SF | 2R | 2R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ |
| Non-ranking tournaments |
| Scottish Masters | Not Held | A | A | QF | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| The Masters | A | A | A | SF | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | SF | A | A | 1R | QF | WD | LQ | LQ | A | A | A |
| Irish Masters | A | A | A | QF | QF | QF | 1R | QF | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Pontins Professional | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | SF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| European League | Tournament Not Held | A | Not Held | RR | RR | RR | RR | RR | RR | A | A | A | A | A |
| Former ranking tournaments |
| Canadian Masters | Non-Ranking | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking | LQ | Tournament Not Held |
| Hong Kong Open | NH | Ranking Event | NH | 2R | Tournament Not Held | Ranking | NH |
| Classic | NH | Non-Ranking Event | F | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | LQ | Tournament Not Held |
| Strachan Open | Tournament Not Held | 3R | MR | NR | Not Held |
| Former non-ranking tournaments |
| Canadian Masters | F | 2R | QF | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | R | Tournament Not Held |
| International Open | Not Held | 1R | Ranking Event | Not Held | Ranking Event |
| Pontins Brean Sands | Tournament Not Held | W | Tournament Not Held |
| UK Championship | A | 2R | QF | SF | SF | QF | Ranking Event |
| British Open | NH | SF | LQ | RR | RR | LQ | Ranking Event |
| Tolly Cobbold Classic | A | A | A | QF | A | QF | Tournament Not Held |
| New Zealand Masters | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Not Held | A | A | Tournament Not Held |
| Thailand Open | Tournament Not Held | W | RR | RR | A | Not Held | Ranking Event |
| Singapore Masters | Tournament Not Held | RR | RR | Tournament Not Held |
| Pot Black | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A | Not Held |
| Australian Masters | NH | A | A | W | SF | QF | SF | W | QF | A | NH | R | Tournament Not Held | A | A | NH |
| Tokyo Masters | Tournament Not Held | QF | Tournament Not Held |
| Hong Kong Masters | Tournament Not Held | SF | SF | SF | QF | A | QF | NH | A | A | Tournament Not Held |
| Asian Classic | Tournament Not Held | SF | Ranking Event |
| Matchroom Professional Championship | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 1R | QF | Tournament Not Held |
| Norwich Union Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | RR | A | A | Tournament Not Held |
| English Professional Championship | Not Held | F | Not Held | SF | W | W | QF | 1R | Tournament Not Held |
| World Matchplay | Tournament Not Held | A | 1R | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held |
| International League | Tournament Not Held | W | Tournament Not Held |
| London Masters | Tournament Not Held | A | SF | A | Tournament Not Held |
| Shoot-Out | Tournament Not Held | 1R | Tournament Not Held |
| World Masters | Tournament Not Held | 3R | Tournament Not Held |
| Performance Table Legend |
|---|
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
| SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
| NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. |
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. |
| R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. |
Career finals
Ranking finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1984 | The Classic | Steve Davis | 8–9 |
| Winner | 1. | 1989 | British Open | Dean Reynolds | 13–6 |
Non-ranking finals: 10 (7 titles, 3 runners-up)
Team finals: 6 (5 titles, 1 runner-up)
Pro-am finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1978 | Pontins Spring Open | Steve Davis | 6–7 |
Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1978 | British Under-19 Championship | | |
Libra
England
Wales