By Elliott West
Introduction
Aberdeen is best known for its fishing and offshore petroleum industries. Dubbed the Granite City for its many enduring grey-stone buildings, this wonderful, vibrant and cultural city remains one of the jewels of the Scottish crown. Tucked under its layers of heritage, lies a snooker scene based on social clubs and the brilliantly run Aberdeen Licensed Clubs Billiards and Snooker Association.
A Star is Born
However, in a city that has produced the mighty Aberdeen Football Club, the quandary for Aberdeen was whether it would produce a talented snooker player. Back in the days when players had to pay to become a professional, there was an Aberdonian player by the name of Wilson Dornan who turned out to be a fly by night, quickly fading into the mists of time.
Perhaps one of the reasons for the lack of snooker productivity in this Scottish heartland is the stigma that being a snooker player is not a proper job. The voice of reason would tell you to go out and carve out a trade but one such player that defied the odds and became the first Aberdonian to play in a ranking event, Marc J Davis or Marc Murray as he was known then.
Background
A Life in Sport
Marc was born in 1987 at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, growing up in the leafy Scottish village of Pitmedden, Aberdeenshire. A bright pupil who attended Pitmedden Primary School and later Ellon Academy. Sadly tragedy struck in 1993 when his father Duncan Murray was killed suddenly when he was involved in a car crash. Despite this loss of a parent at an early age, Marc showed promise at sport as a teenager, a keen football player, Marc was talent-spotted by Formatine United and was quickly signed by the club, aged 11, playing for the Highland League Team.
Going on to play at Aberdeen Football Academy with the legendary Scottish Aberdeen Football Club coach, Jim Crawford, Marc played football until he was 13 but the sport that was at that stage, ‘his life’, quickly became a secondary love when he found a pool table in a local pub and started to play. In those days, rules were less stringent and children could get into public houses more easily. This was a lightbulb moment for this young Scottish kid who literally became mesmerised by this fast and furious game.
When offered a game, he revelled at the chance to play and quickly went on to enter a number of Scottish pool events, playing as a junior, becoming a Scottish pool champion defeating the England team along the way. A team that would go on to produce a number of professional pool players.
However, pool would become the touch paper for his future in snooker. His Grandfather started taking him once a week to the Ellon Mercury Hotel on a Thursday evening for an hour at a time to see if his Grandson liked the game. It would become Marc’s most exciting day of the week and it would prove to be a time when all the natural ability and talent he has, started to bear fruit. He was so good that he made a 56 break when he first played and quickly became hooked on this game that is filled with angles and a multitude of colours.
A brief family move to London led to Marc playing in a number of events in the Essex area and winning a treasure trove of junior trophies. It was a wonderful time for this aspiring snooker player who quickly set his aim of becoming a professional snooker player.
Moving back to Aberdeen, Davis spent his time split between working and playing snooker at Riley’s in the city centre. Now aged 16, he played in a number of events in the Aberdeen Snooker League and became the youngest competitive player to attain a century break. In fact in a match in the North of Scotland Championship, he made two centuries in a night and went on to win the match 3-2. He would go to win the event the following year, becoming the youngest ever player to win it, aged 17!
Marc would then start to enter PIOS events but confessed to me that it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Having to play a multitude of highly talented professional players wasn’t an easy task and Marc definitely struggled. This wasn’t helped by there being almost zero practising facilities in his native Aberdeen and no professional players to practice with. A time that definitely an eye-opener for this budding snooker player.
Despite this setback, a bolt came out of the blue when the Aberdonian was offered a contract by the German businessman, Ludger Veuhoff. It was a snooker break that would lead to him playing for Bochum in the Bundesliga in Germany. These were fond memories, a time when he was given the opportunity to coach junior players and practice alongside the former professional German player, Patrick Einsle and a player still on the main tour, Lukas Kleckers. Playing at the Bochum Snooker Academy, Marc would often get to have a game or practice session with a few familiar snooker faces such as Igor Figueiredo, Itaro Santos and Tony Drago even paid a few visits to this German snooker factory. It was an excellent facility with superb snooker tables. A time when he shared a flat opposite the academy with the German junior player, Jens Wiederkehr and one that was an experience of a lifetime.
Familiar Shores and Beyond
Leaving Germany and returning to Aberdeen, Marc spent the next couple of years playing in local events and the odd tournament across the border in England. However, opportunities started to appear when Barry Hearn returned to snooker, elected as chairman of the WPBSA in 2009, replacing Sir Rodney Walker. The game opened up and Davis began to enter the now-defunct PTC events that were played across Europe in countries such as Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Germany and Portugal.
Finding a Sponsor
By the time of the 2014-15 season, Marc would secure a sponsorship deal with the Paul Lawrie Golf Foundation. Paul was one of Scotland’s leading golfers, having won the Ryder Cup and The Open. It was a tough time but by 2016 Mark started making inroads, winning a number of matches, and coming through PTC qualifiers to play the top 128 players. A time when he shared hotel rooms with the likes of Tony Drago and Brian Cini. Happy memories, especially with Tony Drago where it was a laugh a minute. This PTC success involved narrow 4-2 defeats to both Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy but spurred Davis on to have a shot at Q School in 2017.
During this time, Davis had managed to get to number 88 in the PTC rankings, a great achievement for a player who spent his normal day working at Ladbrokes and juggling his day job with snooker. A normal day involved a 9 to 5 job and grabbing the odd hour to practice on a club table without any professionals to spar with.
Disaster Strikes!
Disaster would strike Marc when he lost his sponsorship deal and would cause a double whammy for this Scottish snooker player. As the sponsorship didn’t quite cover his costs, Davis was plunged into debt with its withdrawal and ended up owing his bank manager a tidy sum. Despite this setback, Davis ploughed ahead with the aim to enter Q School and thanks to money donated by work and his Grandmother, Marc was able to stump up the £1,000 entrance fees.
Something clicked when Marc went to Q School and the balls started to hit the back of the leather. Taking his Nan along as his support, Davis reached the final round of the event, beating Stephen Omerod, Harvey Chandler, the Maltese player and good friend, Brian Cini, a match where Marc’s tip split and an impressive win against Craig Steadman 4-1.
Exciting Times
As Marc lay on his bed, pondering his future, a future that would have to be paid for even if he was to win his final match against Christopher Keogan before setting foot on the professional stage. A dilemma that involved him having to juggle a day job, life as a snooker player and bringing up two children. His dream became an instant nightmare, a dream that involved his Grandmother putting a large chunk of her pension into the scheme and needless to say, he, unfortunately, lost his match the next day to his opponent 4-0.
Despite this doom and gloom, his Nan had entered him for the China Open and the Shootout. He qualified to play as a top-up player from Q School and due to his strong showing, got to play on all the possible events on the tour calendar, 25 plus in total. However, he couldn’t afford it and had to take the heartbreaking decision to walk away. Ironically the next season, Barry Hearn scrapped the entrance fees for events.
Dark Days
Subsequently, Davis sunk into a period of depression and ended up at his local doctor’s surgery. Ironic as he had put his heart and soul into putting Aberdeen on the snooker map and earned him the title of being nicknamed ‘The Granite City Potter’. His Nan had passed away earlier, just before his first match against David Lilley at Q School. A lady who truly believed in his talent and was a key role model in his life.
Despite these setbacks, Davis tried at Q School again, thanks to there being no entry fees. However the 2018 Q School would prove to be a disaster with grief for his Grandmother firmly on his mind, he couldn’t focus as he was planning her funeral at the time and his snooker clearly suffered as a result.
Brighter Times
Since those dark times, Marc picked himself up, dusted himself off and started playing in local Scottish amateur tournaments. He can now boast seven North of Scotland titles and success in the Scottish Counties and player of the tournament against England. However, when Covid struck, his local club closed down and he now has to practice on a one table set up in a local social club. A player who recently made five centuries in an event and still craves victory and who is on the hunt for a sponsor. He still aspired to play above local and counties level but doesn’t have a choice at present.
Thanks to Marc Davis for providing the detailed information and pictures to help create this piece. Based on an interview done with Marc in Sheffield.