By Elliott West
Introduction
As the dust settles in Llandudno after the conclusion of the Tour Championship, a number of snooker hopefuls have travelled to Sheffield to the Institute of Sport to see whether they will be lucky enough to qualify for the World Championship next month. With only the top 16 players guaranteed an automatic place, these qualifiers that take place over two sets of dates, have already begun in earnest with the first set of results beginning to trickle out. This challenge is just as hard as the World Championship itself and requires grit and determination in the numerous snooker booths that have been constructed to carry out this mammoth task.
Young and Undeterred
Liam Davies
One such hopeful is the young and aspiring Welshman, Liam Davies, who at only 15 years old, is a player who dares to live the dream. Coached by Lee Walker and Steve Feeney from SightRight, Liam is a regular at the Mark Williams Snooker Club in South Wales, Liam started playing snooker when he was only six years old. Alongside his brother Ryan, Liam has quickly become someone that is the talk of the snooker community. A grafter who often spends six hours a day at the club on the practice table describes himself as ‘born ready’ and someone who strives to be a perfectionist.
Having already won numerous titles on the Junior Circuit, this Welsh champion faced another bright prospect, Cork’s Aaron Hill in his first-round World Championship qualifying match. A close affair, Liam managed to hold his nerve against the Irishman and won this snooker affair 6-4, making him the youngest player to have won a World Championship match.
Robbie McGuigan
Another snooker hopeful is the 17-year-old Robbie McGuigan. The Irishman who has already five or six professional tournaments but has to date, never really cut it, winning only the odd match to date. However, the tide seems to be turning at the World Championship qualifiers with Robbie having just won the best match of his career with a 6-4 win over Alfie Burden. The pressure and the prospect of some funds for his bank account, hasn’t deterred this aspiring player who combatted his nerves to carve out this win in this snooker pressure cooker. A win that he sealed with a 50 break.
Robbie’s stepfather is Mark Allen and McGuigan is motivated by his achievements and aims to walk out into a big snooker arena. With his father by his side and a regular in the audience, his father is either cheering from the sidelines or sharing his anguish with his head in his hands as his son plays snooker in front of him. Part of a family that is very proud of him, Robbie aims to just take one match at a time but is definitely a name to watch out for in the near future. A play that most recently won the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship when he beat Rab McCullough 10-6 in the final in March this year.
