In the latest episode of the World Snooker Tour (WST) podcast, last season's Welsh Open champion Jordan Brown spoke on radio as a guest with host Michael McMullen, reflecting on his amateur career, his gas station work and his inspirational life of returning to professional racing and finally making a breakthrough.
Born in 1987, amateur career
"Actually, I'm lucky that northern Ireland's snooker circle has a good 'depth', professional players like me and Mark (Allen) are training at the club, and there are talented people at the youth and amateur level. I started playing competitive snooker when I was around 13 or 14 years old, and it didn't go well at first, but I learned quickly. By the time I was 15 years old, I started to win games, and then I slowly won some junior championships, and I was also good at my skills and was able to play a hundred times regularly. ”
"In northern Ireland's sports world, both names (Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor) have a high status. In the past, northern Ireland was turbulent and life was difficult, and I would like to thank my father for taking me into the snooker club, away from the hustle and bustle, so that I could avoid everything in the outside world. Thankfully it's good now, we live in a 'bubble' and the outside distractions don't have much of an impact on snooker, and life stabilizes after I start playing snooker. ”
He entered the Professional Tour for the first time in 2009
"I didn't shy away from saying that after a game or two I realized that playing professional games was a lot harder than I thought. Barry Hearn was about to take over, with only 6 games to play in one season, and I probably only won three games that year. The system wasn't very friendly and I needed to win at least 10 games to get a chance to get a foothold, so in hindsight I shouldn't have really been ready. In 2018, I returned to the profession again, and I have grown a lot from the amateur level of fighting, laying the foundation for playing professional games. ”
"Even in the 'stepped' qualifiers at the time, the level of the competition was getting higher and higher as the competition was conducted, so the two-year 'adaptation period' was a lot less stressful for me. Now that you lose in the game, you may be able to play again next week, next week, at most until a month later, so the environment is really better now. ”
"Whether or not I can achieve some kind of 'success', I always believe that I can become a professional player. I've had a lot of friends say to me, 'You can play at the amateur level,' but I always believed I could do it. Winning a ranking title wasn't something I was looking forward to, but I also realized that in my spare time I could have wasted too much time outside of competition training – it was my own fault. ”
Work at a gas station
"Very tired. Like all employees, I'm just an ordinary worker, working nine to five, five or six days a week, and it's not great at all. Everyone knows that I love snooker, so I'll give me enough vacation time to play, so every time I pass by the gas station where I work, I'm very grateful, and my colleagues treat me so well – even in my spare time I have a lot of games to play, so I take a lot of time off. So I still have to say that I am lucky that I have an understanding boss behind me, if it were not for him I would not have gotten today's results. ”
"I think it's also the backstory that people find the Welsh Open to win, and every hour I dedicate to training. At that time, my usual day was to get home at 5 pm, almost no time to fill my stomach, take a shower, go to the club at 7 o'clock, train until midnight, and get up early the next day... I don't regret doing this, it's all a process of learning and progressing, and it also makes my psychology stronger. ”
Inspirational
"The turning point came about 5 years ago. I'm not having a good life, maybe it's motivating me – I'm really doing a 'dead end' job and I really don't want to do it anymore. This moment allowed me to really spend every hour of my free time on the table, and five years later it finally paid off. Being on your own when training can feel very lonely and there's a lot of travel... Moods fluctuate. I knew I was capable, but I couldn't do anything in the game, but after much deliberation, I decided to fight the last time, and after a desperate bet, my form changed. I won the championship in the two adult divisions in my hometown, and gradually regained my confidence, which also gave me the belief to continue to persevere, often winning the local competition, winning the Northern Ireland championship in 2017 and 2018, and then winning the professional seat through Q School. It's all thanks to forgetting your previous life and devoting yourself to training. ”
"Even talented people, in the end, the ultimate success is due to hard work, and they will learn something new in training. Mark Allen is a great companion for me, and every day I train with him, watching him play, I can learn something. Sometimes I ask for advice, don't be afraid to ask questions, I also have a coach who fully supports me and improves my mental quality – a lot of things in the game are determined by mentality. ”
"[2018] was a great time to get back to professional racing because my last tour was simply not 'touring' and not running well. I know this time I'm capable enough to make some breakthroughs, especially this time I can land on the tour in two seasons. It's good to be a professional snooker at the moment, and considering the commercial and bonus level, you can live well if you can get good results. ”
Finally, a breakthrough was ushered in
"(The first round of the 2020 World Championships) I didn't play well from my own point of view, I felt like I had a chance to beat Mark Selby, especially after finishing the first stage 4-5, I really felt I should have led 6-3, there were so many opportunities! Maybe it's because the game is in Crucible, and I've dreamed of playing there since I was a kid, so this occasion means too much to me, even if there's no spectators. Although I lost this game, I felt that I was getting better and better, and then I got a good result that season, and I wanted to play at the World Championship again. ”
"I played in the qualifying rounds before the New Year and to be honest I don't know how I'm going to be after the holidays because I always behave well in training. But gradually I became stable, and this state of affair was reflected in the Week of the German Masters, and it was no accident that I reached the quarter-finals. But what happened next I really didn't expect. (Welsh Open) I played well and steadily, and this time against Mark Selby was a really crazy one, he not only made snooker difficult, he made life harder! He puts you in a very awkward position in the game and makes you want to escape, and I really respect his skills. I'm proud to have won this game, even though it's full of twists and turns. He [Selby] got a penalty point by doing snooker and lost the black ball – like this 'everything happens for me'; I think there's a reason for beating Maguire 6-1 in the semi-finals, because I don't have the kind of goal to win this semi-final, and I'm quite happy with whatever it goes this week, so this game is definitely the best I played. ”
"I know exactly how Ronnie [O'Sullivan] was in that game, he was still unusual and like practicing at the club. I get up in the morning of the final and I think it's a dream come true day, no matter what happens I will be happy, counting my coach my family and friends, maybe I'm the only one who thinks I can win! Having come so far, there is no reason why it cannot go further. It turned out to be a great final, and I played some of the best performances of my whole career, and although it was a surprise, I had some kind of expectations myself, because I was really good before I played the final. ”
"I asked myself 'Can you do it?' The answer is 'Yes.' You don't have any reason to doubt yourself, when the opportunity arises, you have to be convinced that you can't miss it, I work 100% every shot in the decider, without thinking about the occasion, the opponent is Ronnie, what is the point of winning the championship, in the final you can't let these thoughts interfere with yourself, just focus on the ball. I scored a single 74 and crossed the finish line. ”
After becoming a champion
"(Winning the moment) is too bad because the first thing you want to do is share it with your family, but they can't even come to the field because of the pandemic. But in the end I was happy, after all, I won a ranking championship, I actually don't know how to celebrate, there is no audience, I can't face them and raise the trophy, only the staff of the world snooker backstage, a little strange. ”
"I was planning to go home and rest for a few weeks, but I didn't expect to play the next game in three days. (0-6 loss to Higgins) Later Higgins beat Selby and only let him score 7 points, which was just ridiculous. It was the strongest performance I'd ever seen, and he was like a nobody. So this defeat didn't embarrass me too much. ”
"I think the next year will be a crucial season for me to continue the momentum of achieving results in Wales. Last season's defeats at the Gibraltar Open and World Championships were disappointing, and I felt like I was still in 'clouds' after winning the title. I had a long vacation in the summer, which was all put down and had a great time with family and friends. It's very busy, moving, buying a car, etc., now I'm going back to work, I'm determined to continue last season's performance, I hope I can be more stable, to reach the quarter-finals, semi-finals, etc., these are the realistic goals. Winning the championship is really too difficult, although it seems simple for Trump, Selby, etc., but it is really not. I cherish the year ahead. ”
Quick questions and quick answers
Mark Allen: Machines. That's it.
The greatest player of all time: Ronnie.
Robbie McGuigan: Talent.
Defending his title at the Welsh Open later this season: can't win.