This is what Scott had to say:
Thanks very much for agreeing to do the interview Scott.
First up, your season started off very well, and you’ve played pretty good
snooker all season long. So, how do you rate your chances of finishing the
season off in style by qualifying for The Crucible?
Well - I'll just be
playing it like every other tournament I have. Try to put a performance in and
see how it goes, who knows what might happen! I rate my chances of course but
there are too many good players to say what you will and won't do.
In the space of about a week back in June you reached the
quarter-finals of the first European Tour event, and the semi-finals of the
first Asian Tour event. How pleasing was that for you, and how much of a boost
did that give you for the rest of the season?
Yes it was a boost of
course, I played well & done it at the right times. It took a bit of
pressure of me as that was going to help my standings in the European Merit for
staying on the tour.
Your performances in the Asian Tour events earned you a
place in the Players Championship Grand Finals, was that a big target of yours
at the seasons start?
It never really
crossed my mind to be honest, once I had both of the runs in the European &
Asian tours someone mentioned a good chance to get to the grand finals. So my
answer would be yeah it was great to be involved although I played poorly. A
proud achievement to get there though.
You then went on to make your best ranking performance of
the Last 16 at the Wuxi Classic, and recently matched that again at the Welsh
Open with wins over Robert Milkins, David Gilbert and Andrew Higginson. How
much belief in particular did that performance at Newport give you, knowing you
can beat good experienced players on the big stage?
To be honest with you
Michael, I have played quite well all season - even the games I lost. Although
yes I suppose it was nice to play in arena and get some wins.
Do you have any big outstanding memories of watching the
World Championships on TV as a kid, or visiting the Crucible at all?
I remember Shaun
Murphy beating Matthew Stevens in the 2005 final and I think I watched it every
other year after that. John Higgins was the one I was always cheering on, what
a guy.
At what ages did you: start playing snooker, realise you
could turn professional and start dreaming of playing in the World
Championships at The Crucible?
I don't really know
which age exactly, but I was at my child-minders one day and when my father came
to pick me up from their house he seen me playing on a tiny little snooker
table on the floor. He was amazed how I grasped how to play it and hold the
cue. Then soon after we got a small snooker table in the living room in our
house, and my dad said he could see a serious talent in me. Soon after that he
took me to the local club to see a full size table and from then on it kept
progressing and progressing. I seemed to have a lot of knowledge about the
game.
Despite reaching the latter stages of Tour events this
season, would qualifying for the Crucible be the biggest achievement of your
career so far, and would it be a dream come true?
Of course, it's what
snooker is all about.
At the time of writing you’re sitting nicely in 61st
on the end of season money list to survive for another year, but you would also
get another 2 year tour card via the European order of merit if you dropped
outside of the Top 64. Which of those 2 methods of tour survival would be your
preference?
Top 64 because you
keep your money rather than lose everything & get two years.
Would you put the switch to the Flat 128 structure down to
your improved performances this year, or do you think that it is that just a
secondary factor?
No, definitely not the
reason. Just a secondary factor.
Following on from Scots like Stephen Hendry, John Higgins,
Stephen Maguire, Graeme Dott and Alan McManus, is it easy for you to find
sources of inspiration in your career?
Yes, Scotland has been
the place for professional snooker in recent years, so it's good to hear the
thoughts and get some advice of the other guys.
As I hinted at there, there are hardly a shortage of
Scottish players on the tour so do you find it easy to find good practice
partners, people to go for some advice, and (the big one really) people to get
a lift with when it comes to travelling to tournaments?
Yes, a great practice
match is certainly not far away. I mentioned the advice aspect in the previous
question and is the same for this one. Yeah, I'm always hatching lifts off
everyone!
There was a European Tour event in Scotland in your first
season on tour, but that wasn’t staged again this season. How good was it for
you to play in front of your home fans, and do you hope that snooker can return
to Scotland in the near future?
It was great, mainly
because I could sleep in my own bed! I'd love an event back in Scotland, there
should definitely be at least one per year.
Do you have many friends on the Pro Tour, and do you find it
more difficult when you have to play a friend in a competitive tournament?
Yes I do have a lot of
friends, but when it comes to going on the table - you treat everyone the same.
Is there much that you enjoy doing away from the game of
snooker? (When you get the chance that is!)
I'm a very chilled out
person so I will just relax when I'm off the snooker but I'm really sporty. I
love watching all the big sporting events throughout the year, and also I go
and support St. Johnstone when I can.
Having just passed your 20th birthday Scott you
have your entire career in front of you. Therefore, what are your aims (in the
short term) for the next couple of seasons and (looking further ahead) what do
you want to want to and believe you can achieve before the end of your career?
My aim is just to enjoy
playing snooker, and see how far it takes me. There are a lot more important
things in life than snooker.
Thanks very much to Scott there for doing the interview and some very interesting comments. Look out later on for what I make of his chances of qualifying in my World Championship Qualifiers preview.
Also, keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks as i'll hopefully have some more interviews to bring you as part of the World Championship season on the blog.
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