Woking’s Mr Snooker Sadly Passes Away…

0 Shares

Bob Mason will be sorely missed by all.

The Woking Snooker Centre snooker family has lost a legend of the amateur snooker scene as it was announced on the WSC Facebook page that co-owner Bob Mason had sadly passed away this week.

Mason, who set up the club in 1988, was a coach, referee, and dedicated snooker fan who helped to put snooker on the Surrey map from the 80s and 90s onwards.

Spanning four decades, he and his wife Kay have been serving the local community through the beautiful game and the camaraderie that has existed there over the decades.

SnookerZone writer/admin Chris Gaynor pays his own personal tribute to Bob by offering his own memory snippet of first meeting Bob back in 2015 on a warm summer’s afternoon in Woking.

Gaynor, now 41, recalls: ‘I came across Woking one day online, as I was seeking to play at another club because the one I had played at in Hersham, Surrey, closed down.’

’When I first met Bob, donning his pale green cardigan, he was delighted to meet someone new who was eager to learn about the game and when I told him I wanted to write seriously about it, he murmured, ‘great. That is when I observed that spark in him. He ambled into his office and came out with a newspaper article – showing me that he believed he had found the next Steve Davis, when coaching in his youth. Over the years since writing for this site, I have observed many sparks of passion in people, that you will never forget since observing snooker.’

From watching players knock in tons, to seeing delightful long shots down the rails, to small personal achievements, the main thing has been the enjoyment factor.

Gaynor added: Bob had his flaws, like we all do, but he had a fiery passion for the game.That first meeting with Bob is a memory I will never forget as I then went onto have coaching lessons with Brian Cox, who now is successfully running with his co business/friend Gareth White, the Surrey Snooker Academy just down the road in West Byfleet.

We offer our condolences to the Mason family.

SnookerZone would like to thank Chris Gaynor for taking the time to offer a small snippet of one of his encounters with Bob Mason.