So, without any further delay this is what Mark had to say before last weekends Ruhr Open:
Hi Mark, it seems like it’s been a tougher start to the
season for you so far, but what sort of a place do you think your game is in
heading into the UK Championships?
Yes I agree it's been
a tough start to the season and to be honest I haven't put in the work.
In last year’s UK’s you lost in the Last 64 to Fergal
O’Brien, but the year before you made it into the Last 16 under the old
structure before losing to Luca Brecel 6-4 from 3-0 ahead. Did it feel like
you’d missed a massive opportunity to go deeper in that event after that loss?
Yes when I lost to
Luca it was a tough match to lose and I was in total control and my temperament
let me down.
You’ve got a really tough opener this year against James
Cahill who seems like a really good young talent. How much have you seen of
James in the past and how do you expect this match to go?
James Cahill is a
great prospect and one of the toughest draws in round 1, we played in a
tournament earlier in the year in Vienna and I won 3-2 but I know it will be
tough in York. I will let you decide who will be the victor!!!
You had a strong opinion last year on the fact that matches
were being held unequally between the main arena and the sports hall that was
backstage and certain other aspects of the format. What do you make of World
Snookers decision to keep things the same this year, and do you think having
all 128 players at the venue of a big ranking event really works?
I think obviously that
there will be mistakes made when changing structure and format so it's no
surprise that matches are being held over for the big guns. Only thing I'm
disappointed in is that Barry Hearn said that he wanted to let the new blood be
seen on TV and give others a chance, but that has not happened at all. I played
in the back of the Barbican against Fergal last year and I tripped over the TV
cables during the match and obviously was very angry and annoyed as I pay the
same entry fee as Ronnie and Ding etc. I think 128 at UK venues is fine but I'd
like to see 32 or 16 in All China events and oversees.
You’ve had a disappointing start to the season so far,
qualifying for only one of the four ranking events which (the Wuxi Classic). Is
there anything that you could put this down to or is it purely and simply being
on the end of good performances from your opponent?
The disappointing
start is all my own fault and as I said earlier. I haven't put the work in and
it’s my just deserve. I played Zak Surety and he played very well and
thoroughly deserved to beat me in the last China event.
You’ve performed better on the European Tour this season
with a run to the Last 16 in Bulgaria and a the Last 32 in Latvia putting you
19th on the Order of Merit with the top 24 qualifying for the tour
finals. Having never qualified for the Players Championship Finals, how much
would you love to end that run this season?
The APTC’s and EPTC I
have played better in and nicked a few more matches in these events and felt
that I have hit the ball better and relaxed a little more. I think it would be
awesome to make the grand finals as I've never reached this before and feel I
need to start improving in all tournaments to progress back up the rankings.
You’re ranked at 30 in the world at the time of writing,
having been ranked as high as No.11 at one stage competing a number of times in
the Masters over the years. Do you still believe you can reach these heights
again in your career or are your best days over?
If I'm totally honest
with myself I'm on the back 9 of my career but when you see people like Mark
Davis and Joe Perry still doing good stuff as Mark’s a little older than me and
Joe is a year younger I think and it gives me a lot of drive and determination
to get back to The Masters and achieve good things again.
There’s been a lot of talk (especially on Twitter) about all
of the changes that have been going on recently, particularly to hold certain
players matches over to the venue stages of an event and with format changes at
events like the UK Championships in recent years. Are players right to have
their say and question Barry Hearn or is it a case of getting on with things on
the table?
To be honest as I've
stated before with all the holdover matches, it's not right I think but TV have
a big say and Barry Hearn has a bigger say (51% of the game).
In your career to this point you’ve reached the finals of
two ranking events, the 1997 Welsh Open and the 2004 Irish Masters. Do you look
back with happiness that you reached these two finals or disappointment that
you couldn’t kick on and win one of those titles?
I feel that I have
under achieved in the sport and have great memories in the Regal Welsh and The
Irish Masters, but to be honest I played Hendry in the first one and had the
sorest backside ever after the thrashing he gave me 9-2 but I learned a lot and
he was awesome. The 2004 Irish I had a better chance playing Ebdon but just was
not good enough on the day.
It’s 10 years now since you entered the ring to take on
Quinten Hann. How do you look back on those events in your life now? Do you
think that was good for the game at the time to settle those differences in
that way and would you do it again if another tour pro got rubbed you up the
wrong way?
The Quinten Hann
boxing was great I thoroughly enjoyed getting beaten up for 6 long minutes and
gotta say it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and lots of respect
goes out to all the boxers in the world. It’s the toughest sport I know.
It’s no secret these days that you have suffered from a
crippling gambling addiction and have attended Gamblers anonymous. Do you think
this comes as a part of the snooker culture and would you be able to recognise
the signs of a gambling addiction in other players to be able to intervene?
Gambling is massive in
snooker halls and just they co inside with each other. There are a few players
with gambling problems on the circuit but until they admit they have a problem
they will keep doing there hard earned money. I attend a GA meeting at least
once a week and will do this every week until I die.GA has saved me my marriage
and my family in general. My wife knows that Wednesday night is GA night and
that comes before anything as without GA I don't have a family.
It was at the UK Championships in 2005 that Ronnie
O’Sullivan famously put a towel over his head when sat in his chair against
you. At what stage did you notice this and did it annoy you at all?
The Ronnie towel thing
was I think just embarrassing for him and a little disrespectful to me but at
the time I just thought obviously I was playing well and he didn't like it so
was trying to put me off I suppose. At the time I think as well he had a lot of
demons in his head and a bit Jekyll and Hyde syndrome.
Ronnie commented in his book published last year that
“there’s nothing good” about watching you play and calling you a “hacker” with
“no touch”. Did anyone make you aware of those comments and were you aware that
other players thought about you in this way?
The whole thing in his
book is a lot deeper than a page in his book, we've had a lot of history
together and not quite seen eye to eye, I think as a snooker player he is a
genius and has more talent in his little finger then I have collectively, but
the thing with me is what you see is what you get. Plus slagging people off in
his book sells more books. I think I could write a whole book on our history
and our families colliding.
With a wife and three kids, how hard is it for you to go
away travelling the world playing snooker and does this make it hard at all for
you to motivate yourself for matches and tournaments, preferring to be at home
with your family instead?
My family are the most
precious thing in my life and I love spending quality time with them, but tournaments
means cash and without cash we don't eat or have holidays so it's important to
me to keep earning cash. I am away a hell of a lot and that's what keeps our
marriage fresh as I think if I had a 9-5 job Sally would do my nut in and I'd
probably do hers in too.
At the age of 40 do you still have hopes of winning a big
tournament and climbing back up the rankings or would you settle for what
you’ve already achieved in your career?
If I never thought I
could still achieve good thing in snooker I would seriously think of giving up
and doing something else, I like to think I am still capable and I just need to
practice a bit harder and keep smiling.
Some very interesting views there from Mark and I'd like to thank him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to give them, and I'd also like to wish him all the best for the rest of the season.
I'll be back very soon with the last of my three UK Championship interviews so keep your eyes open for that one, as it should certainly be a good one.
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