Martin Gould believes that no matter how many finals he has experienced in his career, he will not have the experience of having tea with his final opponents at the half-time of the final, as he did in last year's European Masters final.
At the time of last season's European Masters, the UK was still in a tight lockdown. According to the requirements of the event, even the player's own friend or coach cannot stay in the background to accompany the player. In this way, Gould and Selby together ushered in a "different" European Masters final.
Gould recalled: "It was just me and Mark in the players' room. At one of the intermissions, we actually sat together and drank tea, which usually doesn't happen in the final. There were no fans on the scene and the arena was so quiet. It was a very strange day. ”
"It was a really good final, I went behind 0:4 at one point and then pulled the score to 4:4, and since then the difference between us has never exceeded a set, we all hit a few breaks. I ended up losing the tiebreaker 8:9, but it was a pleasant match. ”
Gould will return to Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes next week for the opening round of the European Masters. But this year's Milton Keynes will no longer be as quiet and silent as last year, with a crowd of spectators coming and going, and players bringing their friends and family backstage.
Since reaching the final of the European Masters 17 months ago, Gould has only reached the quarterfinals of a ranking tournament once so far. But Gould's performance has been consistent, losing the first round in just two games so far this season. And he hopes his results will improve as he adjusts to the new clubs he used for the first time last December.
"I'm slowly getting used to it (the clubs). The old club was too short for me, it was only 54 inches (about 137.16 cm) long, while most players used 56 or 57 inches (142.24 to 144.78 cm) long clubs. Despite the decision to change, I still have the option to use my old clubs back, as long as I make up the old clubs appropriately. I'll decide at the end of the season which option to use. ”
Gould also had a number of highlights in his career, winning tournaments including the German Masters, limited time and champions league. As a player known for his quick wit, he has also had dark moments when he has fallen into the bottom. At the end of the 2019/20 season, if it were not for his excellent performance at the World Championships to reach the round of 16, he would have been forced to relegate at the end of the season.
"There was no disrespect for Amini Emiri, but I was lucky enough to draw him in the first qualifying round and due to his lack of experience I easily beat him 6-0. I feel like I still have to win my next game against Chris Wakelin to stay on the tour. I was 0:3 behind and I remember sitting in my chair and asking myself if I was going to leave desperately or to fight. After making up my mind, I won 6:4 and eventually reached the main stage of the World Championships. ”
In that game, Gould also revealed his experience of suffering from depression. When he lost his form and struggled with psychological problems, he considered quitting the professional game, and even planned that if he fell out of the professional game, he would directly give a retirement speech.
Looking back on dark moments in the past, Gould said: "At that time, I've had enough of snooker. But I've now regained interest in snooker. I just turned 40, and Neil Robertson, who also just finished his 40th birthday, is just as good as ever. While young players like Zhao Xintong can shine, most of today's tournament winners are in their thirties or forties, and hopefully I'll have another five years to continue to charge like a warrior. ”