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Last Weekend’s New and Not So New Snooker Winners

Huge congratulations must go to last weekend’s winners in the European Masters for Women and the main tour European Masters in Lommel, Belgium.

Reanne Evans made it back into the winners’ enclosure in the European Masters for women in her first title of the 2018/19 season and on the main tour Jimmy Robertson, 32, scooped his first ranking title to join an elite group of players who have won just one ranking title.

Robertson defeated the Gentleman Joe Perry in a top quality final which saw a minor comeback from Joe Perry after being 7 – 3 down. But it was Robertson who held his nerve to win the match with a century 108 to seal his place in the winners’ enclosure 9 – 6.

Robertson said after the 75K win it had “come out of the blue.”

Winning Much Older

26 players have won just one ranking title as in the last couple of years, Jimmy Robertson has joined the likes of Mark King, a semi-finalist also in Lommel, and Joe Perry and Anthony Hamilton all who have won titles within the last couple of seasons.

Robertson’s win also means he has a place in next month’s Champion of Champions elite 16 man event in Coventry.

Recently, it has been the Class of 92 players in their 40s such as Mark Williams, Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins who have been clearing up at events in the last year but it was great to see a new face enter the winner’s enclosure on Sunday evening.

However, at 32, Robertson’s win still makes it hard for players under the age of 30 to win events.

It seems in snooker those waiting their turn to win a ranking event have to wait until at least their 30s now – or later to win their first!

Robertson will head to the south next for Crawley’s K2 where the English Open will be contested for the first time and Ronnie O’Sullivan will be back in action after his non-ranking win in Shanghai some two weeks ago or so.

 

 

 

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Wow! Cue Power! Watch How Effortless It Can Be

Hi there aspriring snooker player!

Do you ever get the feeling sometimes there is something missing from your game? Maybe it’s the one thing that is preventing you from scoring more points in a frame. It could well be that what you are missing from your game right now is being able to generate enough cue power to get onto a selection of reds so you have more choice. Options.

SnookerZone tries out a lot of tips and advice from coaches from videos on Youtube – and this tip on generating cue power from WPBSA coach Steve Barton, who SnookerZone has interviewed in the Coaching Zone is spot on and will help you generate lots of cue power with ease without having to hit the ball very hard!

Watch the video below as SnookerZone illustrates the tip from Steve! But first, there are five technical tips for generating ideal cue power – and they are these:

  • Relaxing your grip on the cue as you deliver
  • As Steve Barton says in his video, to generate the cue power you want, you need to have a much longer backswing on the final backswing!
  • You need to have a nice pause on the final backswing before you deliver. This will help you to focus on the object ball before delivery!
  • You need to make sure you follow through the cue ball on delivery on every shot, and…
  • Keep absolutely still and watch what happens after you execute the shot!

Here’s SnookerZone’s video:

And here’s the video from Steve Barton! Watch…

 

 

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How to Improve Snooker Potting: #1 Mistake Beginners Make

Unlock your potential by having coaching with a great coach like Brian Cox!

 

If there’s one question that is asked frequently in snooker’s frequently asked questions online, it’s how to improve snooker potting!

When SnookerZone first started playing seriously well over three years ago, the obsession with potting was one of the things that prevented him from improving much faster. Don’t let the mindset of the obsession of desperately wanting to pot the ball, hold you back from improving.

Now, this obsession is the first thing you should erase totally from your mindset when starting out.

Instead, you should be focusing on these…

Potting is the end result of two things.

  • Good aiming
  • And straight cueing. 

When you learn and improve on these two things, you can actually improve at this part of the game very quickly!

Yes, it’s true, once you know how you’re set up on the shot and can deliver the cue in a relatively straight line 99% straight, you’ll soon become a potting machine.

Snooker is all about memory and consistent repetition. Doing the same thing consistently on every shot!

Watch the professionals as much as you can!

You’ll realize they are doing the same thing on every shot in a pre-shot routine that they’ve practiced on the practice table!

So as said before, forget about potting and making breaks, and focus on lining up on the shot right, and when down on the shot, delivering the cue in a straight line on the line of aim selected!

The breaks will then come naturally!

There are lots of great training aids out there for improving your aiming and cueing. Investing in one of these aids will help you improve much faster than just hoping to pot the ball.

Why Buy a Snooker Training Aid?

If you haven’t invested in at least one of the training aids reviewed in the SnookerZone Training Zone so far then why not?

The benefits are thus:

When buying an aiming training aid for snooker, you’ll learn:

  • How to set yourself up right on the shot!

Why is this important? Because 70% of the shot is done on the approach. If you line yourself up right on the shot, then you only have to worry about the other 30% which involves delivering the cue straight on the line of aim and keeping your mind focused on the pot. REMEMBER, MIND ON POT!

When buying a cueing training aid for snooker, such as the Blade Cue Pocket Trainer, you’ll learn:

  • How to deliver the cue straight on the line of aim!

Why is THIS is important? Because if you don’t deliver the cue straight you won’t pot the ball! However, if you do, it’s likely to be more luck than judgment down to steering the cue onto the line!

So, in summary, remember: Forget about potting, and start to focus practicing AIMING AND CUEING!

When you instill this into your mindset, you’ll see an instant improvement to your game!

Invest In Coaching!

Finally, as important as a training aid is, so is investing in the service of a good coach! A good coach will help you on the path to finding out what your ideal set up is on the shot, as well as going through the basics of grip, stance, cueing and follow through!

Check out some of the top coaches SnookerZone has interviewed in the Coaching Zone and invest in a great coach today! It will be the best investment you make on your road to improving better as a player!

Here’s to the coaches!

PS: SnookerZone will be interviewing more coaches in the future, so stay tuned!

 

 

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Why Not Put Sports Like Snooker as a Choice on the PE Map?

 

 

Snooker: A mental and physical sport! Yes…

 

You might be wondering why this is being written on a snooker website? 

For the simple reason, that snooker is a sport, a very mental one – and, yes, at times, a physical one!

Sport England is investing millions of pounds to fund a training programme to teach PE teachers how to teach PE better in school.

It comes as a survey they produced in 2015 revealed 14-year-olds were turned off PE – and the up to £13.5 million run in partnership with the Teaching School Council seeks to retrain PE teachers better and give them better mentoring.

The 2015 survey showed that a proportion of school kids had a bad experience in PE, and, whilst this isn’t a change to the PE curriculum, it’s a start to understanding why kids dislike PE in schools.

Jennie Price, SE chief executive, said it is vital that all children enjoy a great experience of PE and sport at school.

“Our research shows that a bad experience of sport at school can put them off being active for life,” she explained. “Lots of people have bad memories of being picked last for a team, or just feeling really uncomfortable in PE lessons.

“This programme is designed to stop that happening. It will help schools and individual teachers design a wider range of opportunities to increase young people’s enjoyment of sport and PE, which gives them a much better chance of being active in later life.”

LACK OF CHOICE

However, one of the many reasons in SnookerZone’s view is the lack of choice of sports in schools. Variety is, as they say, the spice of life!

Generally, kids have three choices, (more if they’re lucky) between football, rugby, and tennis. Sometimes there’s athletics and running.

However, not everyone wants or is good at those sports. It’s human nature that if there is something we don’t like or are not considered good at it, we will try to avoid it as much as we can.

Therefore, one of the simple solutions is to offer more choice for kids at PE so they do find something they do like. Having a snooker table in schools is not as difficult as it would appear. Heck, it doesn’t have to be a full-size one! It can be a mini table or something much smaller!

Snooker is no different to giving kids a table tennis bat, or a cricket bat to try out. Give them a snooker cue and see if they like it.

There is no one size fits all in sport. As humans, we all have something we are good at. You never know, you give a snooker cue, a table-tennis bat, a cricket bat, a rounders bat, or any other bat to a school kid and you might just have found the next future World Champion!

For more on this, go to the Sport England website: here

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Dubai to Host World Women’s Snooker Championship in 2019

Snooker News in Brief: 

Last year’s winner: Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee. (Photo courtesy of WLBS)

Following on from the World Women’s Snooker Championship 2018 this year in Malta, the 2019 core event will take place in the luxurious Dubai at the World Trade Center in March.

Ng On Yee was the winner this year in Malta, winning for the third time, and both Reanne Evans, an 11-times World Women’s Snooker Champion and On Yee have gone on to compete in the main tour World Snooker Championship qualifiers at Ponds Forge and the English Institute of Sport.

The winner of next year’s event will pick up $6000 and some of the ladies will also enter into the new World Snooker Federation tournament, this year won by China’s Luo Honghao.

The winner of the WSF picks up a two-year card for the main tour.

This season’s tournament will run with the support of the U.A.E. Billiards and Snooker Association with whom the WSF has worked closely to organize the event.

Mandy Fisher, WLBS President said: “We are delighted to be able to confirm that this season’s World Women’s Snooker Championship will be held in Dubai for the first time. Following our successful events in Singapore and Malta during the last couple of years, it is exciting to be heading to another new territory as part of this year’s WSF Championships.”

It’s the 36th edition of this event and has been running since 1976 when it was first won by Vera Selby.

For more info on the WLBS – click the image banner below and head to the WLBS website…

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Snooker: WLBS’s Rebecca Kenna on the Winning Mindset

Cue Sports Yorkshire

From a 6×3 table to a World Ladies Snooker UK Championship final. Rebecca Kenna has come along way from those days like Stephen Hendry of playing on a small table and dreaming of lifting titles on a 12ft x 6ft one.  And like any young girl or boy, the dream is that little bit nearer to wholly coming true for Rebecca.

SnookerZone caught up with The 29-year-old from Keighley in Yorkshire on her current performance in the WLBS UK Championship, Kenna, who has also been a Personal Trainer since 2010, told of her delight at beating 11 times World Ladies Champion Reanne Evans in the last 16 stages.

To Win, You Firstly Need to Believe You Can Win

She said:

“I’ve reached a few semi-finals now where you would usually meet the number 1 or 2 seed so I’ve had a lot of experience against them. It’s important to believe you can win a match before you play it. Otherwise, you’ve lost before you’ve started. I’ve been guilty of that before in my 1st season of playing and only near the end of the 2nd season did I start to feel I was capable of competing with the top players. So this season I now have the belief I can win tournaments.”

She Added:

“It was a very hard match against Reanne, I managed to keep her cold early on to take the first 2 frames but then she showed her class, even though I was ahead in the 3rd and 4th frame she came back twice from needing snookers to make it 2-2 with some fantastic clearances which I would have thought would have been filled with pressure but she showed tremendous bottle to come back and win them. I held my nerve and I managed to get a lead in the decider although it was very close and took the match on the blue. My safety game and long potting got me through the match. In our last encounter, Reanne made 2 centuries against me so I was determined to keep the game tighter and not make silly mistakes. I knew there would be more difficult matches ahead with Mink and On Yee so I didn’t get too far ahead of myself, just 1 match at a time.”

Since opening her Cue Sports shop Cue Sports Yorkshire, and also passing her WPBSA coaching course, Rebecca has been keen to pass on what she has learned playing on the WLBS tour and is keen to get juniors and more females enjoying the game and who knows, one day, the next World Champion might be a lady?

Kenna has one top piece of advice for anyone wanting to improve their game – when asked by SnookerZone what training product she would create – and she’s no doubt seen lots of them through her association with setting up Cue Sports Yorkshire, she confidently said:

” I think there are already loads of coaching products out there. I believe it’s feedback people need the most – what’s going wrong, why did that miss, what needs correcting? So I believe having a coach is the most important product/service you could have to improve your game. Even if it’s just for one session. A good coach will analyze your weaknesses and steer you in the right direction.” (See the 10 top coaches that SnookerZone has interviewed so far in the Coaching Zone).

Give Your Daughter a Snooker Cue: She Might Fall in Love with the Game!

On how she thinks the WPBSA/WLBS are doing in promoting the ladies game and indeed getting more women into playing and enjoying snooker, Kenna said she thought they were doing the best they could with the resources they have.

However, she added:

“I believe others could do more to help promote the ladies game. From local clubs letting women in to play the game, local leagues supporting and encouraging females to participate, governing organisations putting on more female events. Funding from the likes of Sport England so our game can grow. Players and coaches, encouraging more females to pick up a cue. Even parents. Show your daughter how to play, she might fall in love with the game and be a champion one day!”

In 2015 Rebecca was hit with a tragic setback. Her father died tragically of terminal cancer, and she also couldn’t play football because she had dislocated her shoulder. Her father was her best friend and snooker partner as they played a lot together. However, she dived into snooker as an escape and found from google that there was a ladies tournament! The rest is history.

Kenna knows what she’s got to do to win tournaments – and that’s take what she does in practice into the match arena and believe which she now feels she is doing. She’s almost there!

She gets on well with most of the ladies on the WLBS tour and particularly 16-year-old Shannon Metcalf, who is her doubles partner and who won the WLBS UK Championship Challenge Cup.

Finally, Kenna revealed…

“I hope to one day open up a snooker academy when I get too old to do PT.”

SnookerZone wishes Rebecca well on the WLBS tour, in her coaching and her enterprise at Cue Sports Yorkshire. 

Do you want to put your passion and love of playing into action on the WLBS tour? Then check out the WLBS by clicking the image link below…

PS: Are you a player on the WLBS, WDBS, EASB or any other amateur tour and would like to be featured on the site? If so, email info@snookerzone.co.uk and let’s see how you might fit in to the set up….

 

 

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Buzzing Again: NG On Yee Claims UK Ladies Snooker Championship

On Yee is current World Ladies Snooker Champion winning it three times in 2015/17/18.

Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee is the United Kingdom Ladies Champion 2018 for the fourth time in her career at the top of the ladies game.

World number one, On Yee, 27, defeated a surprising finalist in Rebecca Kenna 4 – 1, who has been knocking on the door to winning a major ladies event in the past few seasons.

Kenna shocked in the last 16 stage as she saw off the 11-time World Ladies Champion Reanne Evans 3 – 2 and then worked her way into the final seeing off some talented Thai players on route also.

The event was held at snooker’s hub central of Yorkshire the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds over the weekend.

On Yee is a three-time World Championship winner.

See what Rebecca had to say after on her Facebook…

The ladies now take a trip to Belgium in the European Women’s Masters in two week’s time early October on the 5th – 7th.

Also, over the weekend, Suzie Opacic, whom SnookerZone had interviewed prior to the UK event in Leeds managed runner-up in the Challenge Cup losing to 16-year-old Shannon Metcalf in the final.

In the main event, the top break of 61 was made by Nutcharut Wongharuthai, who made it to the semi-finals losing out to Kenna.

It was also a return to competitive snooker for Grimsby’s Heidi De Gruchy, after a spell away from the WLBS competitions and is back on the main stage. Heidi couldn’t quite make it out of the group stages but was pleased to be back competing on the baize again both in the main event and the Challenge Cup.

Congratulations to all who competed – from SnookerZone.

Are you eager to play on the WLBS tour yourself? Check out the WLBS by clicking the image logo below…

 

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This Remarkable Snooker Woman Does Something You Wouldn’t Believe

Proud moment: Steff Coyle with top snooker pros Mark Allen & Joe Swail at an exhibition in Belfast in 2017. (Photo courtesy of Steff Coyle)

After a four year break from competitive amateur snooker in northern Ireland, female snooker player Stephanie Coyle hopes to get back to the cut and thrust and hopefully someday play on the World Disability Snooker tour. 

The 30-year-old has a visual impairment but originally played on the Northern Irish amateur circuit, and has even played against Mark Allen in an exhibition frame which she said she really enjoyed the experience.

Coyle said of her hopes to join the WDBS: “I used to play the NIBSA (Northern Ireland Billiards & Snooker Association) I kept on losing in the first round and it was very off-putting so I took a short break away from tournament play (that turned into 4 years) I hope to return to the green baize this season. I would love to play for the WDBS (World Disability Billiards and Snooker) I have a visual impairment, I feel that my overall game would improve if I joined them as there will be people within the WDBS who have a similar disability like myself. Although, in reality I know it wouldn’t be possible as the majority of their tournaments are played in England. Hopefully, I will be back playing for the NIBSA within a few months.”

She plays at the Cozy Club in Dundonald and is based in Belfast, which has a rich history with snooker.

She admires Mark Allen for what he does for snooker away from his duties and job on the professional circuit.

“He does so much for the sport in Northern Ireland and plays in exhibition/charity events when he isn’t playing in tournaments. Mark also runs his own charity tournament in the 147 Club in Antrim called The Mark Allen Classic, the tournament has been running since 2016. I have been lucky enough to watch him over the years, I recently partnered with Mark in a frame against new crowned professional Jordan Brown at his home-coming Master’s event in March 2018. Although sadly, we lost, it was an amazing experience. My favourite player is Ronnie O’Sullivan he is absolutely amazing to watch live, the buzz you get in the arena when Ronnie’s playing is fantastic.”

Coyle practices for five hours over weekends and is using the Blade Cue Pocket Trainer (see SnookerZone’s review, by clicking here) which she says has really helped improve her cueing since using. She has only recently started to get coached by a person called Gary who is a member of the club.

“The Blade Cue Trainer is an amazing tool. It helps me cue accurately and prevents any reoccurring bad habits of putting unintentional side spin on the cue ball. It’s very well designed and I would recommend to any level of player.”

On snooker being accessible to the disabled community, Coyle told SnookerZone this:

” I feel that snooker as a sport that is accessible for different communities. However, I feel that people with a disability should become more involved in the sport, I understand that is difficult as a good majority of snooker clubs over in Northern Ireland are not accessible for people with a disability, therefore, preventing them playing the sport which they might love and enjoy if they got the chance to play it. I would say that good majority of clubs in other countries have the same issues. If the club owners would make their clubs more accessible and disability friendly, I have no doubt that it would boost their business.”

She adds: “A great example of an accessible club is the 147 Club in Antrim. The setup they have absolutely amazing!! I held a held a Disability Trail Snooker Day in the 147 Club in 2016 with DSNI (Disability Sport Northern Ireland) Nigel is an in house coach and he did a bit of coaching with our small group.”

Not only does Coyle love her snooker, but she also plays the disability tennis.

Coyle said: “I play Blind Tennis with DSNI (Disability Sport Northern Ireland. It’s brilliant it’s amazing to see people with different abilities than myself participating in the Blind Tennis. People with a disability are really amazing, they never let there Disability get them down they also play to the best of their ability.”
Finally, Coyle has a special talent you wouldn’t believe…
She can play snooker one-handed!
“Many people don’t believe it, but it’s true,” she added.

Do you have a passion for snooker and a disability but want to show off your skills? Check out all about the WDBS by clicking the image link below…

PS: Are you a player playing on the WDBS, WLBS or EASB or any other amateur tour and would like to be featured on the Zone blog? Then email info@snookerzone.co.uk and let’s see how you might fit in…

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How to Grow Ladies Snooker: By An Active Campaigner and WLBS Player

Yvette Greenway: An active campaigner and snooker battler. (Photo courtesy of Yvette Greenway)

Snooker. A game of memory. A game of strategy. A fun game. Frustrating at times, but, wholly addictive!

That’s just some of the views from a hooked beginner starting her snooker journey in the ladies game Yvette Greenway, who’s been on the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker tour for one year now and is enjoying the experience.

Greenway started playing snooker in 2016, now 53, and is an active campaigner off the baize –  a joint CEO of a mental health charity Silence of Suicide – but told SnookerZone that once she’s streamlined her work commitments, she will have more snooker in her life for sure.

She plays on her own table and on one near Birmingham and has coaching from Andrew Highfield, who has penned some great books on snooker routines and strategy drills.

For Greenway, the WLBS is heading in the right direction and has been campaigning quite robustly to get more women and girls into snooker.

She, however, added: “What’s really needed is sponsorship and more media coverage.  We have some brilliant female players who have the ability to go far and we need to invest in and grow that talent. However, people have to work to generate an income which means less time on the snooker table.  Some foreign players are very well funded, meaning they can practice consistently, attend events all around the world and not worry about overheads.

“For the women in the UK, unless they are extremely well sponsored, they rely on the goodwill of parents and other family members.  It’s a real step forward to see more events overseas, for example in Australia, but that is a huge expense for most people and simply not affordable, meaning so many miss out. If more amateur snooker were televised, especially mixed gender matches, I think the public would be pleasantly surprised and quite excited by the talent and standard of match play. And, hopefully, potential sponsors might realize there is a reason for them to get involved.”

Last season, Greenway attended all of the WLBS UK events, save for the ones overseas.

She also added: “I’ve been asked to play in a local league and it would be a fabulous experience and additional practice.  Once I’ve managed to streamline my work commitments, there will be more snooker in my life and certainly more matches.”

If you’re thinking of attending a WLBS event or playing in one of the now several events for women laid on by the WLBS, then you could not be in a more friendlier supportive network, says Greenway.

Even top players she said such as Maria Catalano (Ronnie O’Sullivan’s cousin) and Rebecca Kenna, who is also a coach and snooker entrepreneur in Yorkshire with her own snooker store, are always offering new players tips and advice.

Greenway added: “I was incredibly nervous this time last year approaching my first event, but the friendly faces, helpful attitude, and generous tolerance if I didn’t understand something helped me to relax.  Because it’s a relatively small group of players, everyone knows each other and although each event is highly competitive, away from the baize the girls love a chat and a few laughs. What I particularly love is that although the ladies take their games seriously and want to win, they are all very generous in praising those who do well.  The green-eyed monster hasn’t infiltrated ladies’ snooker, how refreshing. I chat with everyone if there’s time, but  Jodie Allen, Maria Catalano and Sharon Kaur are probably the ones I spend most time with and who’ve helped me with a lot of advice and encouragement – it’s invaluable especially when you’re struggling and doubting yourself and I’m very grateful.”

Greenway is a battler on and off the tour as she fights in her role as an active campaigner.

She said; “My current briefs including fighting on behalf of women born in the 1950s who have had their state pensions deferred, women who took anticonvulsant drugs resulting in severe side effects to their children and patients damaged by the insertion of surgical mesh into their bodies.  I also run a spray tanning business. When time allows, I play snooker, spend time with my family and watch my favorite football team Birmingham City.”

On who Greenway admires in the game, she said she can’t help admire Reanne Evans, Rebecca Kenna, who is so truly focused and dedicated she said.

And one person she admires on the main tour should watch out!

“Ding Junhui gets my vote every time. I’ve definitely got a ‘Ding Thing’ going on. He is elegant, super stylish and seems like a true gentleman – elegant in defeat as well as victory.”

Finally…

She further exclaims: “Oh, one other small point – we’d love a lady world champion and it could be YOU.”

Yvette is right, the next World Ladies Champion could be you!

Remember, the UK Women’s Championship begins this weekend in Leeds.

Start your snooker journey on the WLBS tour by signing up! Click on the image to go to the WLBS website and find out more!

 

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Snooker: Don’t Step on Billy Ginn’s Blue Suede Shoes

A Future Star Can Dream: William Ginn aspiring to be the best…(Photo courtesy of William Ginn)

Proud Elvis Presley fan and snooker amateur William Ginn is out to achieve his dream of turning professional one day – but is doing it his way. 

The 33-year-old EASB player from Devon has been playing snooker on and off for 20 years but because of his “normal” job hasn’t been taking it seriously – until now.

Ginn plays on the English Association of Snooker and Billiards tour but missed out on the first event of the season on the English Amateur tour, and actually came by the EASB quite by accident when he stumbled on a couple of videos on Youtube and decided to enter.

He’s really enjoying the experience on the EASB tours, but thinks that the entry fees can be a bit extreme – especially when there are travel and accommodation costs and most of the events are up north.

Ginn explained: “I’ve played in a lot of the tournaments at SWSA, Gloucester. My best run in that was winning one of the Handicap events, I also came 3rd overall in the series which I’m particularly proud of because it was the first time I’d entered it. I also entered the WEBSF Gold Series tour for the first time last season and was very pleased to finish in the top 16 of that. Plus other various pro-ams and handicap comps.”

He added: “One, in particular, I very much enjoyed was the Leytonstone Pro-Am where I drew Shootout winner Michael Georgiou in the first round and although I lost 4-0, I felt I played really well and really enjoyed the experience of playing a professional.”

Ginn obviously loves researching the game because he joked he didn’t think Mrs Ginn liked him spending all his time doing “homework”.

One professional player Ginn respects a lot is Kyren Wilson. Winner of the Paul Hunter Classic this season and Six Reds already, Ginn said: “I’ve got huge respect for pretty much all of the top professionals but if you were to say one I’d have to say, Kyren Wilson. I really do believe he’s one to watch, a fantastic lad who I’ve had the pleasure of watching live, a great role model for the professional game and I believe he’s got the all-around game. ” Ditto.

For Ginn, practice is about quality over quantity and does as much as he feels he can do.

But, he admitted that: “It’s a great era to start playing snooker but if you’re serious, you need to be dedicated to putting long hours in on the table. It’s also a great social game and it’s been proved to be helpful for children’s maths skills, coordination etc. “

He doesn’t think that it’ll change much though with most of the tournaments being up north!

Behind every aspiring star there’s a support network and although Mrs Ginn may not like him spendng so much time doing his snooker homework, she and the 3 kids are his support network and his coach, Nick Dart.

Ginn said: “Nick is more of a sports physiologist but also plays as well and I can honestly say, I don’t think I would’ve come as far as I feel I have, without him.”

His highest break is currently 122 in practice but in competitive play it’s around 75 – he wasn’t sure exactly.

Away from the game, he’s into cooking – rock-climbing and like top player Ronnie O’Sullivan enjoys his running.

It’s a mountain to climb to reach the top in any sport, but if you believe in yourself, train hard, then the sky is the limit.

SnookerZone wishes Billy well in his career and thanks him for his time talking to us. 

Are you an amateur on either the WLBS, WDBS, EASB, or any other amateur tour and would like to tell SnookerZone what you’re up to? Then email info@snookerzone.co.uk. 

Read here also if you missed it, SnookerZone’s interview with WLBS ladies player Suzie Opacic