By Elliott West
“My problem is I’m a thinker, stuff will pop in there, like the Stay Puff Marshmallow man in Ghostbusters, it just pops in there. My mind is like a Royal Rumble, each wrestler is a thought trying to get my attention, when I’m under pressure they’ll stick another 20 in”.
Michael Holt
Introduction
Michael Holt is a player who has natural ability and has an excitable nature on the the table that has often led to a match defeat. A thinker and natural snooker player, he freely admits that unrelated thoughts come into his head when he is taking a shot. Overthinking is perhaps his Achilles’ heel. His victory in last year’s Snooker Shootout was a massive boost to Holt’s career, propelling him to play in the Champion of Champions and has not only elevated his stature in the sport but given him the confidence to strive for further titles. A player who once hated playing snooker, now relishes the thought of competing in this intriguing cue sport.
Practice makes Perfect
Born in 1978, Michael Holt originally had a very different path in life to snooker. Studying for a business degree, he later admitted he wished he had not left school so early to pursue a snooker career. Turning professional in 1996, Michael has largely been out of the snooker spotlight but has had a lengthy career in the sport, rising to a high of 20 in the rankings in 2013. A best friend of the late Paul Hunter, Holt seems to have done better on the main tour in latter years, ignited by his surge to the semi-final of the 2013 Shanghai Masters, beating Judd Trump, Martin Gould and Kyren Wilson before losing to Xiao Guodong 3-6.
Someone who is often shows his animated emotions on the baize, Michael also reached the final of the Yixing Open in the 2014-15 season and the last 16 of the Wuxi Classic and the Shanghai Masters. He lost reached the final of the Riga Masters in the 2016-17 season, losing to Neil Robertson 2-5. Poor form was to ensue with Holt losing in the second round of the UK Championship, German Masters and the China Open. He also narrowly missed out of qualifying for last year’s World Championship when Peter Ebdon pipped him to the post, winning the match after Michael missed the final blue in a deciding frame to lose 9-10.
With this surge in form, the icing on the cake, has to be Holt’s magnificent victory to lift the 2020 Snooker Shootout trophy. This is a tournament that clearly suits his game, encouraged by the audience participation and a format that suits him with a short format, ten minute frames. Now with a much cooler head and a trained brain that is less likely to wander, Michael’s win definitely came at the right time in his career but has yet not led to greater things. Unlike Michael White who won the Indian Open following his Shootout win in 2015, Holt has yet to have a second bite at a trophy. Maybe this weekend’s Snooker Shootout will lead to back to back titles to this man from Nottingham. He has started off well and at the time of writing this piece.
Summary
Michael Holt is a gifted player but is often frustrating to watching knowing his natural ability. Someone who plays with his heart on his sleeve, Holt often lets his emotions outplay him. However his 2020 Snooker Shootout win, seems to have put the brake on that erratic behaviour and he now has gained control with a promising future possible.
