Neil: UK hopefuls must put potting before partying
FORMER world champion Neil Robertson believes snooker’s young guns need to knuckle down if they want to fulfil their potential.
A host of promising potters have failed to fire despite being tipped for big success in recent years.
And, according to Robertson, for some of them partying is the preferred choice of activity, rather than putting in the hard work on the practice table.
The Aussie said: “I don’t think the players down the rankings are working hard enough. Especially the young ones from the UK.
“A lot of the tournaments they’re sort of messing around partying and not putting in the hard work.
“They’re more interested on being on Instagram and checking their followers.
“You can’t be a top sportsman and do all of that sort of stuff, you have to put in the work.”
Multiple rankingevent winner Robertson, nicknamed the Thunder from Down Under, made a huge sacrifice when he moved halfway around the world to give himself the best chance of achieving his dream. And he believes Northern Irishman Jordan Brown’s shock Welsh Open title triumph last week, having been the world
No.81 going into the event, proves anything is possible with hard work.
Brown was a 750-1 outsider to win the title, but he admitted he has rededicated himself to the sport after wasting time “down the pub with my mates”.
UK champion Robertson added: “Jordan was sort of a journeyman, but he’s gone away and got a coach and he’s changed that.”
Chinese star Yan Bingtao is widely regarded as one of the hardest workers on the tour.
And China’s influx of budding stars practise at a special snooker academy in Sheffield, while some of their English counterparts have gone missing.
Robertson added: “Hopefully we see more young players coming through in the UK because we’re seeing the Chinese becoming dominant.
‘‘In 10 or 15 years the top players will all be Chinese unless UK players start to practise more.”