Quotes About Snooker

It was fantastic when I came into snooker, when tobacco was throwing lots of money at it, and even when they fell away we thought others would come in because of all the TV exposure. But it didn't happen.

Snooker's never going to be that. It's never going to be a worldwide game like tennis and golf. It's never going to happen.

The tip I would give is that once you play the shot, make sure your chin is touching the cue after you hit the cue ball.

A long break can cause long-term damage to a player's technique. It can be dangerous for a snooker player to go 2-3 months without even touching a cue.

It's the worst feeling in the world - to lose in the first round at Sheffield and then have to go home - because it's such a long tournament, and it's hard to avoid it. It's on the TV all day every day, and if I lost, I didn't want to be anywhere near snooker.

Joe Perry is always a big hurdle, he's always there in the later stages of a tournament. You have to be playing well to beat him, and if you do that you know you have a chance of winning the title.

In 1983, I played in a new tournament called the Professional Snooker League. I won eight of my 11 matches, beating Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and Dennis Taylor, among others.

Snooker players go into steady decline and lose their intensity after a while. But I will have real purpose the next five years. I want to prove people wrong and win a lot more tournaments.

I got into poker in the early 2000s. In snooker tournaments, you are always looking for things to pass the time between matches, so we'd play together, or I would play online.

Snooker's only popular in China now. Well China's OK to go to once or twice a year but to go and play six or seven tournaments there is too much.

I remember that if you went down to the Crucible or other snooker tournaments it was all the snooker writers, and then all of a sudden when the game became popular on television it wasn't only snooker writers: it was what we called special correspondents.

Ronnie is the greatest player to have ever picked up a snooker cue. People have said that about me. But although I won 50 or so tournaments I never picked up the world championship. That was a little bit of a disappointment.

When I started playing all the players were trying to sell the game of snooker. Nowadays the prize money is so great, competing in tournaments is no laughing matter.

I've watched the Masters on TV since I was young, I remember watching Jimmy White and a few others, so I can't wait to play there myself.

Jimmy White was my massive idol.

I didn't make a 147 until few years ago - I just wasn't the sort of player who went for them. But it's like buses I suppose, one comes along and then a few more follow.

I've tried to play within myself but I need adrenaline and need to be pumped up to play well otherwise you will see snoring snooker like that.

It meant so much to me lifting the Alex Higgins Trophy at Goffs.

When I was 13, my parents bought me a mini snooker set for my birthday. From the moment I first held a cue in my hands, I was transfixed.

I don't think I suffered with depression, I don't think I'm a depressed type of person - I just think I suffered a depression to do with snooker, and I just couldn't handle it. I could go out and play, but take me out of there and I couldn't do life. It was a nightmare, my life just felt like a bit of a nightmare.

I could be in Spain, spending my time playing bad golf; financially I don't need to play snooker. I play because I love it.

40 seems to be the new 25 in snooker so there is no rush, but I would like to start hitting the time where I'm more stable and regularly hitting the quarters and semis, push on and make some money.

I have always tried to play the right way, and I honestly believe for the most part the etiquette in snooker is very good. So when there are breaches, and there are, it stands out.

I've just got the mindset of really wanting to open the game up to new people. I kind of want to create a massive attention around snooker.