By Elliott West
“It’s a shame because I still like going to the club every day, I haven’t fallen out of love with work, so if I didn’t have any problems I think I’d still be doing well”.
Anthony Hamilton
Introduction
Anthony Hamilton is probably the best practice partner you could ever have and if you could give this player a trophy for every practice session he has ever won, he would have to purchase a new house to store the mountain of silverware. Speak to anyone who is on the main tour or has been and the feedback is always one of high praise, even Ronnie O’Sullivan has continuously rated him over the years. So it is a mystery why a player with so much potential, hasn’t won more? A professional since 1991, his only professional title to date, came in 2017 with a very emotional win in Berlin with a 9-6 victory over Ali Carter in the German Masters. A victory that was even more poignant because his father, who had been his greatest supporter throughout his career, was there to witness this long-awaited title.
A Problematic Time
However in recent years, Anthony has been dogged with a series of health issues, first a serious back issue, a problem that so many players suffer with due to a large amount of stretching and bending, lens replacement surgery in 2019 and just before last Christmas, Hamilton was struck down with Coronavirus. Not great for someone who already suffers from asthma and was highly critical for the reintroduction of an audience to venues during the pandemic, pulling out of the World Championship as a result in 2020.
Faced with this catalogue of health hurdles, Anthony also had to deal with his cue snapping for the second time, previously having to get John Parris to glue it back together A disaster that left him with no choice but to play with a spare one. Playing with a new cue is probably the biggest headache for any player because you just don’t know how you or the cue will perform as a result and how long or if the wins will come?
However Hamilton says that his cue issues are the least of his problems at the moment, the main one bring now, his failed eye surgery that has left Anthony with double vision. A quandary that has left him between a rock and a hard place because he needed the surgery to see but now he can’t see the lights and can instead see two of everything. In fact, it is so bad, that he can’t now drive at night because it is like going through a Blackpool illuminations’ experience.
This is a heartbreaking end to a story that was so promising. Hamilton is happy to plug away and fall off the tour naturally rather than retire but is already open to offers of coaching and commentary opportunities. A player who still hasn’t fallen out of love with the game and can still endure the hours of practice needed to perform in a ranking tournament.
The Green Shoots of Hope
Despite this massive period of trauma in his life, things seem to be on initial evaluation on the up. During this season, Hamilton had made a good start, winning seven matches, losing three and drawing one with two of these three losses, coming against Judd Trump. His latest win came in the European Masters qualifiers in Cannock with an impressive 5-3 win over Mark King. A victory that puts him a step closer to being able to able to play in the event due to be played at the Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany next February with 64 players competing for £400,000 in prize money.
Summary
All in all the future is far from bleak for Anthony Hamilton and being a player of such high pedigree, I very much doubt that we will be seeing Anthony’s final swan song anytime soon. Hamilton has always been dangerous when at the top of his game, a high break-builder and someone who any player meets with trepidation in any match. Hamilton constantly reminds me of why I love this sport so much and is an example of the cream of snooker, ambitious, hard-working and a precision player. Hamilton remains a threat and will do for some years, he may be 49 years old but his calibre always shines through.
