2022 Interview: New Snooker Tour Graduate Ryan Thomerson…

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SnookerZone catches up with the new World Snooker Tour graduate Ryan Thomerson, the second Australian on the circuit, who will be lucky enough to have practice sessions with the current Welsh Open Champion “Joe the Gentleman” Perry.

Ryan Thomerson scooped the Asia Pacific championship to claim a two-year tour card and has become the second Australian on the tour along with 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson, whom he said he loves watching.

The 27-year-old is both excited and nervous about joining as a fully-fledged pro next season, but can’t wait to get started.

He says holding down a job, which he has been doing in a car-valet business has been tough, but when it took off, it really helped fund his snooker as an amateur. Previously, he had been working in hospitality and helping his dad as a carpenter in Australia.

The Melbourne man, once called “First Round Ryan,” in his early amateur days, told SnookerZone: “As there are only 2 Australians on tour, it’s great to show other junior players from Australia that it’s possible.

“I’m currently still coming down from the high and organizing everything to get ready for the new
season with having my girlfriend’s dad’s table re-rubbered, and the cloth redone, as well as getting
heaters to help replicate conditions. That is the main struggle coming from overseas and needing to
adapt so much with the tables. I’m really looking forward to playing in some venues which I have
been as a spectator but always dreamed of playing at.”

As SnookerZone said in the introduction, Thomerson is lucky because the Welsh Open Champion Joe Perry lives just 10 mins down the road from where he lives so will be handy for long practice sessions, he said.

Thomerson, like other newbies on the tour from next season, will be playing the big boys, and their game is going to have to be shipshape from the first ball. Of course, if they lose in the first round, there is no guarantee they will earn.

“I do think it’s a tough one, he said.

5 cushions pink to black @Eurosport_UK #HomeNations pic.twitter.com/ms8mWuaDIG

— ryan thomerson (@RyanThomerson) December 15, 2018

I’m on the fence about it, really. As with the amateur game, I never do it for the money, as all I cared about was getting my tour card. It would definitely help to have even just a couple hundred pound for first-round losses, but then you have players travelling from all over the world, so should they receive more for the added expense? It could create a bigger problem. The money is great on tour. You just have to try and just play well and not concentrate on the prize.”

A tough few months ahead for both amateurs and professional snooker players in this insecure world?…

Being a professional snooker player in 2022 in the current climate will be tough. With rising fuel and food costs, and the general cost of living rocketing, the next few months are going to be tough for both amateurs and professionals to make ends meet, especially with the war still raging in Ukraine and there is no end in sight at this stage.

Thomerson adds: “Well Covid has definitely had a huge impact as if you add back the China events, then the calendar will be full, so until then world snooker are trying to help players and give players opportunity to play which is the most important thing!

He adds further: “I think the amateur game has struggled the most in recent years. Obviously with covid there were no tournaments which for myself was very hard and I couldn’t even go back to Australia. Before the pandemic, the amateur game was doing well and I think now it’s picked right back up again and so many more opportunities now.”

But it will still be tough if the situation doesn’t improve with the rising cost-of-living crisis in the UK and the wider world.

However, Thomerson is confident that he can win matches and play well and earn from the tour opportunity that he has forged out for himself

“I have set some new goals for myself, which mostly are achievable and a couple more ambitious to
push me, but I mainly just want to go out and try my best, as I am confident I can play well and win
matches! Obviously, my main goal is to get into the top 64 after my second season.”

Thomerson will need to get off to a pacey start in his snooker tour career, but for those who didn’t know, he already has a background in motorsports.

“Before moving to Australia, I used to race motocross bikes all around England. Also, I got my licence and bought a CBR600cc road bike a couple of years ago too, but don’t have one at the moment.”

Like most, Thomerson became hooked on the sport as a youngster through his dad, who was also a decent player. At the age of 11, he set foot in a club in OZ called Fast Eddie’s – (name sound familiar?) and Thomerson also won proudly the Under-12 Victorian state amateur title.

SnookerZone wishes Ryan Thomerson all the best in his snooker pro career. In a short ditty, we remember watching Ryan at one of the World Championship qualifiers before the pandemic!