Introduction
Every so often, you come across a true gentleman. I reserve that honour for my friend Don Watson. A man with a gentle soul and a warm heart, Don lights up a room with his snappy dress sense and is someone people gravitate towards. In the times I have spent with Don, I have always walked away at the end of the evening with a smile. When you are in the company of Don, your glass is never empty. Anyone who Don doesn’t know is not worth knowing. His mobile phone is an encyclopedia of everyone in the snooker world, thanks primarily to his time as an amateur and professional player in the 1991-92 seasons. A man who played against Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark King, John Higgins & Peter Ebdon He also regularly used to practice with Kirk Stevens.
True Craft
Don Watson has an eye for snooker—a brilliant coach who can pick out a future star from a mile away. A coach who works with rising stars like Emilio Bassili and is a resident coach at the Whetstone Snooker Club. I recently spent an enjoyable evening with him and my friend Andrew Barrett at the opening of the joint venture of Alfie Burden and Hammad Miah at the Hertford Snooker Club, formerly known as The Castle. Jimmy White did an exhibition at this club that night. Don is a pretty nifty player around a snooker table. In his time on the circuit, he achieved three 147 breaks, quite a few hundred breaks, back-to-back centuries, and treble centuries. Someone who understands the snooker mindset and works tirelessly to bring true talent to the forefront of the game. A true gentleman and someone I am proud to call a friend.
