CUE JUMPER
Sky’s the limit for Jack after recapturing snooker passion
JACK LISOWSKI has revealed his snooker “gap year” has helped him rediscover his passion for the sport.
The 32-year-old, nicknamed Jackpot, fell out of love with the game as he struggled with burnout earlier this season.
But potting playboy Lisowski has been living it large with regular holidays to Dubai – partying and jumping out of planes.
“I have been in Dubai for months,” said the world No.17 (right).
“My results fell off but so what? I have probably got another 20odd years of this. I figured I could not keep playing nonstop snooker. I haven’t really cared about the game for the last few months. I didn’t want to speak to anyone about snooker. I didn’t really care. That’s just how it has been. It’s life. It’s ups and downs. But I’m back now.”
And when asked what he got up to on his jaunts abroad, Lisowski added: “What do you think I do?
“I figure I am 32. I am single. I might have three or four summers in me throughout the whole of my life where I don’t have a wife or kids. So, I was like, damn, I have got to start enjoying myself a bit.
“I jumped out of a plane last month. That was crazy. My life is crazy. I have had a good six months
but I haven’t done the dune buggy yet. I don’t really fancy that. I have been sacrificing the snooker but so what? I have had good craic.
“I just thought snooker was the thing that was getting me down. I just didn’t want to play for a bit so
I didn’t play. I have had a gap year. I am like a student. But I am back now. Got to study again. Get a job.”
Lisowski dumped out Chinese superstar Ding Junhui (circle) in a first-round thriller.
He faces former world champion Stuart Bingham in the last 16 today and is on a quarter-final collision course with Ronnie O’sullivan.
And the Cheltenham cueman, who practised with world No.2 Judd Trump in the Crucible build-up, is desperate to cause more damage on the game’s grandest stage.
Lisowski added: “I feel confident. I feel good.
“The last few games is the best I have felt in a long time.
“It has been nice to have some time off and be back and feel fresh and happier. It did make me miss it.
“I have practised really hard for this tournament. I am not just blowing my own trumpet. I feel really sharp.”
Lisowski is 4-7 with bookies to beat Bingham, who is on the 11-8 mark. Bingham, once No.2 in the world rankings, won the world title in 2015 at the age of 38, beating Shaun Murphy 18-15 in the final.