Interview with Chris Small

I’m very happy to announce that this week I got to interview former LG Cup Champion Chris Small for BeyondtheBaize. 

When did you start playing snooker?

 

When I was eight I got a half size table for my Christmas and from that moment I was hooked.

Who were your snooker heroes growing up?

 

My Snooker heroes were Alex Higgins and Jimmy White.

You are the youngest person to win on your Crucible debut, but you struggled at the Crucible throughout your career, what do you put this down to?

I think I put too much pressure on myself at the Crucible. I also didn’t have the best preparation for three of my visits. I had an injection in my head which gave me double vision and the other times were to do with my back. One year it was painful during my match and the other I had no practice leading up to the event. 

Can you explain what the main problem was with your back and why you were forced to retire from professional snooker in 2005?

I have a disease of the spine which causes inflammation. It’s very painful and allows no flexibility, which meant I could not reach shots properly and after a session of snooker I felt like I had run a marathon.

In 2002 you hit the big time with your outstanding victory in the LG Cup, demolishing John Higgins & Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to the final. Is this the highlight of your career and what clicked that week?

This was definitely the highlight of my career. I just totally believed in myself and knew I was winning the event before the John Higgins match. I had total self belief and thought I was the best in the world at this moment and it showed in my performance. More importantly I had a steroid injection just before the event started and had no pain at all so this must have been a big factor.

It must have been immensely frustrating following your breakthrough ranking title for your condition to worsen and for you to slip down the rankings. What do you believe you could have achieved in the following seasons?

Well I made the semi of next event and probably should have won that. So it would have been probably more of the same. I always looked at myself as a top eight player who could win ranking titles but my back held me back without doubt. I got to 12 in the world and held a ranking title with a bad back, so I will let people decide themselves what I could have achieved if I was healthy like every other player. All I wanted was to have the same chance as everyone else but that was never going to happen.

Who was your toughest opponent?

I would have to say Mark Williams. He was the only top player I never defeated, but he was a class player.

Do you still keep in touch with any of the players & have a quick best of nine?

No I’m not in touch with any of the players now which is a shame and my back isn’t up to a best of nine anymore.

What do you think of the new revolution in snooker and the full schedule the players have now?

I think it’s brilliant. You can pick and choose your schedule and decide how busy you want to be. I would have loved it. Travelling the world most weeks and earning good money.

Can I get a few predictions from yourself for the readers, who do you think will win the big three titles this season 

UK= Ronnie O’Sullivan

Masters= Neil Robertson

World’s= Ronnie O’Sullivan

You recently returned to coaching in and around Edinburgh. This must be the next best thing to playing, being able to help the next generation?

Absolutely, it is the next best thing!

I love helping people with their game and seeing them delighted when they achieve things they thought weren’t possible.

I’ve been playing snooker once a week for a long time, with a high break of about 25. Have you any little tips that I and the readers could employ to be more consistent?

 If you are a beginner I would say work on the technique first; i.e. cue action & stance while staying still when delivering the cue in a straight line. Then try and get better at potting balls. I always tell people to take their time when aiming in the standing up position as this is where you virtually pot the ball. Then you can move onto the positional side and cue ball control. Learn the basics first. 

If anyone reading this blog is interested in a finding out more about your coaching sessions where should they look?

www.chrissmallsnookercoaching.co.uk

Finally, what is the state of Scottish Snooker at the moment; do we have many top players coming through and any potential World Champions?

Well most of the top amateurs have just turned pro but there is a good young lad called Dylan Craig who has just won the European U18s. I have just started working with him and think he can go far if he puts in the hard work

Fingers cross for him and the other lads!