By Elliott West
Introduction
Dubbed the ‘Pinner Potter’, Martin Gould is one of the few professional players who can play well with glasses on. A former winner of the now defunct Power Snooker tournament in 2011, a Shootout champion in 2013 and a winner of the German Masters in 2016, Martin has appeared in four ranking finals and has accrued 224 century breaks and a 147 in the 2018 Championship League. An individual who has not been afraid to speak out recently about his own mental health anguish and how the how solitude of being a sportsman in snooker can cause detriment not only to your game but also to your very wellbeing.
Career
Martin had a fine amateur career, winning the English Amateur Championship in 2002, beating Craig Taylor 8-6 and again in 2007 when he defeated David Lilley 8-7. Turning professional in 2003. A great run at the World Championship ensued with Gould winning eight matches including victories over Alain Robidoux and Stephen Maguire before losing to Patrick Wallace. Unfortunately due to a family commitment, having to look after his terminally ill mother, Martin dropped off the main tour and didn’t appear again for another four years.
Returning in 2007, Martin quickly returned to form, winning the English Amateur Championship for the second time on a black ball decider against David Lilley and then followed that win up with a victory in the English play-offs in Leeds to seal his place on the main tour for the 2007-2008 season. By 2011, Gould had reached the top 16 with a string of final appearances under his belt, the highlight being the 2015 Australian Goldfields Open where he was narrowly beaten by John Higgins 8-9.
The cherry on the cake would have to be his victory at the 2016 German Masters. A final where he faced Belgium’s Luca Brecel. Luca who had been tipped for a title since his breakthrough as a professional, struggled to shake off an in-form Gould. Martin who had spent time adopting the Sight Right method through Steve Feeney’s coaching, saw an immediate transformation of performance. Like Mark Williams who used the method to help him win his 2018 World Championship title in the latter part of his career, Martin sailed past Brecel to win an emotional victory 9-5. A victory path that had seen him defeat Mark Williams, Ben Wollaston, Judd Trump and Graeme Dott on the way.
A Fragile Mind
In different times, snooker can be a very lonely sport for a player. Often having to travel great distances across the globe, they have to live in hotels and out of suitcases for short or lengthy periods. Martin Gould is the latest of several players such as Graeme Dott, who have been frank and honest, telling the media about their mental anguish. Gould described his own situation as being “driven to a dark place” about his game and felt “too ashamed” to tell anyone that he had a problem. Feeling compelled to seek help, Martin approached snooker’s governing body, the WPBSA and was put in touch with a councillor. A brave move that men find harder to do and had he not made it, would certainly have led to his retirement from the sport. A period of time that Gould described as his mind “had gone for a long walk”. I can empathise with Martin, having had my Mother suffer from Bipolar disorder and sadly losing her to bowel and liver cancer, aged just 54 in 2002.
Martin Gould has thankfully recovered and after a brief absence from the tour, has started to find his form again. The lockdown came at a good time for him as it stopped him falling out of love with snooker, casting off the black dog that had blighted him for so long, caused by a recent breakup and the loss of his mother, sixteen years previously. Hopefully this surge will propel him from his current world ranking of 60 back into the top 32. A path that has already seen a good run to the last day of the Snooker Shootout before being beaten by Zhou Yuelong.
Summary
Martin Gould is a very likeable person, funny but dangerous to play. When at his best, he can keep his opponent glued to their chair. A tremendous long potter, the ‘Gouldfather’ takes no prisoners and often wins a frame at one attempt. This fluent player, has plenty of his own metal, producing poetry in motion on the table as he peers at various shots through his glasses. A class act and a player who deserves more titles to his name.
