By Elliott West
“I’M ONLY USED TO LOSER’S SPEECHES, SO I DON’T KNOW QUITE WHAT TO SAY. IT’S FANTASTIC, A GREAT START – LAST YEAR WAS QUITE TOUGH SO TO OPEN WITH A WIN IS BRILLIANT. HOPEFULLY I CAN START PLAYING WELL AGAIN AND COMPETE IN OTHER TOURNAMENTS TOO”.
Dave Gilbert
Introduction
Dave Gilbert or ‘The Angry Farmer’ as he is known in snooker, has proved his doubters wrong by at last winning a ranking event title. His 3-1 victory over Mark Allen in the final of the Championship League puts to bed a 22-year quest to attain a major piece of silverware since first turning professional in 1999. Dave has had to go through the snooker ringer to achieve this snooker accolade, having lost four previous finals, the 2015 International Championship, the 2018 World Open, the 2019 German Masters and the 2019 English Open. He also narrowly missed out on reaching the 2019 World Championship final, losing 16-17 to John Higgins.
Highs and Lows
The man from Tamworth has had to learn the hard way in snooker, dropping off the professional tour at one stage in his early twenties, leaving him almost broke. A friend however was sympathetic to his situation and asked him to move in with him for a while and this was probably Gilbert’s saving grace. Although it was like a scene from the once comedy series, Men Behaving Badly, Dave was able to recharge his batteries and get his headspace back to a positive place, dispelling the dark days and the once mood of feeling sorry for himself.
Gilbert first became interested in snooker thanks to his Grandfather, who used to play his Uncle Mick on a Sunday and Dave used to go with them ad literally whack a few balls around the table. His love for the game increased by his father have a pool table in the garage. A young Dave used to spend many an hour before school playing a few frames.
Growing up, marriage solidified his quest for success and gave him the required belief need to become a successful, professional snooker player. The song by the group Faithless, Insomnia, is now part of Dave’s routine, using it as his walk-on music for the World Championship. Music that helped him make the 147th 147 and completely calm him down and focus.
Dave’s nickname ‘The Angry Farmer’, is based on his farming background and his sometimes fiery temperament. A nickname thought up by fellow professional, Matt Selt. However, over the years, the sport has taught him that being wound up is a fruitless task. The partying days have now evaporated and Dave is happily married to his wife Abi with a young daughter. A missus who has got his back.
Gilbert’s route to silverware victory has been a long and arduous battle and is so well deserved. Perhaps it was helped by turning to the SightRight technique for assistance, his superstitious nature that includes not changing your socks during a tournament or the fact that preparation, practice and sheer hard work, always pays off in the end. A player who has now broken the ice and definitely a player to watch out for during the rest of the snooker season.
