By Elliott West
“I’m learning as I’m going, but I’m hoping I’ll can improve in my next match.”
Gary Wilson
Introduction
Hot on the heals of Judd Trump who made the bold decision to take part in the US Open Pool Championship last year in Atlantic City when there was a break in the season due to the cancellation of the Turkish Masters because of the pandemic, several other snooker players have used the end of the snooker season to try their luck at pool. Judd survived three rounds in America but had easy opponents and when he met his match, his novice status was quickly exposed and he lost his next match. So it now falls to Martin Gould, Frazer Patrick and Gary Wilson to see if they can go one step further at the UK Open Pool Championship, a 9-ball event that has a total prize fund of £160,000.
On the Glory Trail
The early signs for these players look promising with all three winning their first matches, Martin Gould beat Spaniard Tashunka Schultz 9-4, Frazer Patrick defeated David Black 9-6 and Gary Wilson knocked out Blaine Barcus 9-6. With Wilson coming into the competition as a seeded player despite no previous pool experience, this trio conquered early nerves and began to settle after the first couple of racks. All praised the playing conditions and the great tables provided.
They are joined by another snooker name, Chris Melling who now prefers to play pool and won his first match against Petr Urban, whitewashing his opponent 9-0. Wilson now meets Chris Alexander in round two and Frazer Patrick will play Oliver Szolnoki while Martin Gould’s opponent is yet to be decided.
In Fashion
Everyone seems to be talking about Gary Wilson’s clothing for this tournament and rightly so, it catches the eye and is very fashionable. Emblazoned with his nickname of ‘Tyneside Terror’ and using the colours of the Union Jack, this number is fetching and memorable. So even if he doesn’t go to the final, he could always set up his own clothing range. Armed with his Gareth Potts cue case which is ‘all about the Velcro’, Wilson has quickly settled into his new role and at the time of writing is about to play his second-round match.
