Dominic Dale Retires From Professional Snooker

The 33-year professional snooker career of two-time ranking event winner Dominic Dale has come to an end following his defeat in the 2025 Halo World Championship qualifiers last week.

‘The Spaceman’ confirmed his retirement from the professional game after a 10-5 loss at the hands of Daniel Wells in the penultimate qualifying round at Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport

The 53-year-old Welshman has been an ever-present on tour since turning professional in 1992, the same year as the iconic trio of Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams, and won the 1997 Grand Prix and 2007 Shanghai Masters during a memorable career.

Twice a World Championship quarter-finalist, Dale also won the 2014 Shoot Out prior to it becoming a ranking event and was part of the Wales team that lifted the 1999 Nations Cup alongside Williams, Darren Morgan and Matthew Stevens.

In recent years, Dale has become a regular and popular commentator on snooker coverage in the UK.

Following his defeat to Wells, he reflected: “I think I’ve got the best out of myself. I’m very fortunate to have been in two major ranking finals and won them both, as well as the Shoot Out. I shall look back on my career and think I did the best I could. I’ve left my mark on the sport. As a commentator, I will still be watching it assiduously.

“I want to thank everybody for all the support I’ve had over the years. We’ve played in some wonderful venues and travelled to some wonderful places, especially in China. Seeing the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an will live long in the memory. I’ve been fortunate to have met some great people and fans. I hope they can continue to enjoy snooker the way I shall.”

Although he has retired from the professional ranks, Dale will make a return to the iconic Crucible Theatre next month to take on Craig Steadman as he joins a star-studded line-up featuring the likes of Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and Tony Drago in the World Seniors Snooker Championship.