4 minute read
THE INTERVIEW
Anthony With McGill
In our Cue & A interview this issue we speak with top 16 player - Anthony McGill
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Q: On the occasions when a snooker player has a problem with their tip, or when they have to get the tip changed mid match/tournament, why don´t players carry a trusty, spare cue to each tournament. One that already has the tip bedded in, and the player is comfortable with?
A: It’s nigh on impossible to find two cues that play the same. Even if they are the same spec - same type of wood, same length, weight, tip diameter, butt diameter etc, they can still play differently, so whilst a new tip mid tournament isn’t ideal, the change is nowhere near as drastic as using a different cue would be.
Q: How much does audience noise put you off as a player, especially in an intimate venue like the Crucible? Is noise worse than someone moving in your eyeline when you are on a shot? Does it put you off when people in the audience are constantly coughing!!
A: At a venue like the Crucible, where you can hear a pin drop, even the quietest noises sound like a bang! Someone moving in your eye line is probably more annoying. People know to stay still when a player is playing into them, so if they are moving around or fidgeting, you can bet they are doing it on purpose. The coughing can be annoying too, but as long as it’s only here and there, and not persistent from the same person, it’s fine.
Q: Did playing without an audience during the pandemic, when restrictions forced matches to be played behind closed doors, make any difference to your motivation to win matches?
A: I wouldn’t say it made any difference to my motivation to win, but it maybe lessened my desire to actually play the match in the first place. Once you are playing, you want to win, but the build up to the tournaments wasn’t too exciting. Despite this, I still feel extremely fortunate and thankful that there were still snooker tournaments being staged at all.
Q: What are your views on the snooker ´dress code´? What did you think of the relaxed dress code for the Champion of Champions and the code that has been in place for the Home Nations Series events?
A: I’m not a fan of the waistcoats and bow ties, and never have been. It amazes me that the people in charge of this professional sport with millions of pounds of prize money on offer force us to dress in such a way that makes it difficult for us to play. The positions your body must form just to be able to play the game (bending over, stretching etc) are not made any easier by being buttoned up to the chin in shirts, waistcoats and bow ties! I think the home nations dress code - dress trousers, shoes and simply a shirt with collar undone is pretty good. I don’t think it looks any less smart than the traditional dress code, and it’s a lot easier to play in. As for polo tops at the CoC, I though they looked a bit cheap, with the names and emblems on them. I don’t see what’s wrong with standard polo tops, something along the lines of what golfers wear.
Q: What was your path to becoming a professional snooker player, and what initially sparked your interest in the game?
A: I became professional through a series of tournaments called PIOS (Pontins International Open Series). There were 8 tournaments held over the course of a year in the snooker hall of the Pontins holiday camp in Prestatyn. There was a ranking list compiled based on your results over the 8 events. The top 8 players on the rankings at the end of the season were promoted to the professional tour. I finished 5th in the rankings and so was awarded a spot on the tour. Looking back, Jack Lisowski and Kyren Wilson also finished in the top 8 that same season, and they’ve both also went on to reach the top 16 in the world, so it was a tough school back then!
My first memory of snooker was watching John Higgins win the World Championship in the spring of 1998. That summer, on our family holiday in Spain, when my parents were busy in the evenings having a drink at karaoke, I was glued to the pool tables. Finally, Santa came that Christmas with a small snooker table and I’ve been playing ever since.
Q: When you get to the final of the World Championship, who would you most like to be your opponent?
A: I can’t imagine there being a bigger atmosphere for a world final than playing Ronnie O’Sullivan. I’d love to experience that.
Q: Would you like to see more women playing at top level?
A: Snooker players only see snooker players - it doesn’t matter if they are male or female. If they are good enough, they’ll get there, regardless of what’s between their legs. I do think it would be great for the sport from a marketing point of view - can you imagine one of the very elite players in the world being a woman?! It would be amazing for the profile of the sport.
