ROBIN HULL INTERVIEW

Many of you that read the blog will know while I try to remain as impartial as possible one of my favourite players is Finland's Robin Hull, and as such I have quite a few followers that are fans of his. So I am delighted to have been able to pick the brains of the man himself and find out his thoughts on Snooker's World Cup, Finnish snooker, the end of last season and what his hopes are for the next couple of years. 

Starting with the World Cup, it was Robin Hull and Finland's first time in the event out in China, where they were knocked out in the group stages.

"The world cup was very good and well organized. Like you said, the result wasn't good for us but it was a very good competition. Hopefully we get to play there again in a few years time". 

Hull's partner for the tournament was Heikki Niva, having been picked out as one of Finland's best amateur players, and along with that Hull has his say on the next best Finnish prospect. 

"As it was Heikki's first time at a big event, I think he found it tough which is no surprise. Hopefully it gives him a slightly better picture of what's required standard wise nowadays. He's moved to England so it'll be interesting to see how he starts to develop over the next few years. Patrik Tiihonen, the current Finnish champion is another good prospect" 

Niva and Tiihonen are two to keep an eye on then, but the current World No.99 tells us what else can we expect from the amateur game in Finland and across Europe. 

"It all comes down to the grass roots. In Finland I would like to see the national association working more closely with the snooker clubs on how to bring new players in and develop existing ones. On a wider scale, mainland Europe cannot compete with China on players coming through. There just isn't strong enough systems in place for players to develop in mainland Europe mainly because the game is so small in competitive terms in some places. It's pretty much, 'go to the uk or forget it'."

Robin Hull featured in the China Championship qualifiers, played in Preston in June. 

So with players from Europe often having to make big decisions on what they need to do to make it in the game, discussion turns to what Hull believes amateur players need to have to turn pro. 

"Players need will, belief and a strong work ethic, if any of those are faltering, it's time to have a think. Players have to be honest about whether they are willing to put the effort in and enjoy it. That pretty much answers the question on whether to continue or not if we're talking about pursuing a professional career. The obvious put aside though i think nowadays is that it's a smart move to look at things from a financial perspective, obviously calculated risks have to be taken when someone is starting off, but playing professional snooker requires sponsorship in some form, so getting that in place is vital." 

Hull himself has secured some new sponsors for the season having secured a fresh two year tour card. 

"Profrec and WIP are my sponsors for the new season. Like i said, it's vital for a snooker player. I'm very grateful for their support". 

Going back to snooker in Europe though, and with Belgium's Luca Brecel being joined by Germany's Lukas Kleckers as young professionals from mainland Europe, there is a lot of hope that they could increase support for snooker. 

"Luca and Lukas help for sure.The biggest key is Eurosport though, snooker gets massive exposure in all of Europe, which has brought snooker to another level. Belgium has held successful tournaments before, and it's great to see a ranking tournament there."

With the European Masters heading to Brecel's home country, is there any hopes of a tour event coming to Finland so Hull can play on home soil though? 

"I would love to see a tournament back home. The crowds and interest would be a cert. So yes, I would like to think it's a possibility."

One problem that does come with living in a country where participation is not as great as others though is the practice partners a player can gain without coming to the UK. 

"95% of the time I practice on my own, but I do go to the Sheffield Academy sometimes before tournaments." 

With a busy stretch of the season coming in, Hull's game will need to be in top condition if he is to continue moving back up the rankings having started the season on £0 on the ranking list. 

My game is in great shape, practice wise I have been producing a standard I last played about 15 years ago. I've also been working with a sports psychologist so I'm seeing benefits from that, and it has given me more insight into what I need to do and how to do it."

Last season though ended with a defeat in the World Championship qualifiers to Reanne Evans that meant that Hull dropped out of the top 64 and hard to start the season with a new tour year tour card as previously mentioned. 

"I was aware against Reanne what was at stake but can't really say it was the reason I lost, don't get me wrong it wasn't easy to relax but I played pretty close to what I had in the tank at the time. I could say I felt pretty exhausted towards the end of the season which showed strongly in the standard I played. A mistake on my part that I won't be repeating this season. Sometimes it's easy to get carried away with things trying to improve and eating out all your energy and then come tournament time having nothing left. It was sort of a pattern I developed during the season, starting good but not picking up speed and then crashing and burning. A big part of what I've been working on with the sports psychologist is getting a nice balance when playing the game."

Having started by making the Last 32 in Riga, Hull has now made the Last 32 of a ranking event six times in the last 12 months but only gone past that stage once, so he will be looking to get past that stage more. 

"I'm looking to go further for sure, like the stuff I said before, a certain pattern emerged. I keep my goals to myself, but have 3 set for the next 2 years (with the new tour card)" 

One success Robin has had in recent years was winning the Snooker Shoot-Out in 2016 and picking up the £32,000 top prize. 

"The money was helpful and it's nice to win. It's not a proper tournament for me but there was something to be taken from it confidence wise."

With Ryan Day's victory at the Riga Masters this adds to a number of players who have won their first ranking title in the last year, but who does Hull think could be next? 

"It really is hard to say, but I think we'll see a new Chinese winner this season"

While Hull has never entered the ranking event winners club, and despite his 43rd birthday approaching, he is far from done yet. 

"I have enjoyed my time within the game immensely but still have strong ambitions. I'm keeping my focus on the next 2 years, after that we will have to see."

I would like to thank Robin for his taking the time to have offer his thoughts on his game and a number of other good topics and talking points. Next up for the Finn is the Paul Hunter Classic where he plays Ben Woollaston in round one and the final stages of the Indian Open in September.