Emotions over the Masters

16:56:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

Mixed emotions ahead!
For most of the time we tend to think that the snooker players are some king of gods, with an infinite power of self-control, with an enormous power to put themselves together and concentrate over the game they have to play...and it is true. But here’s something else that is also true: they are simple people at the end of the day and they get overwhelmed in certain contexts, have emotions just like you and me, can feel the pressure standing on their shoulders etc.


It seems like a player is all mighty and powerful and no one can ever put him down, but deep down they can be afraid and they can be "shitting their pants" like a good friend of mine says :-)) Most of them have the power to reserve those feeling just for themselves, but that doesn’t make it any better, for they are still intimidated, or very emotional about a certain match. Maybe that’s the reason they don’t smile so often...the truth is that when you focus so much on something and you give it 100% even when you win it some of the tension still remains there and it can eat you alive if you can’t help it otherwise.


Recently, John Higgins said he is pretty intimidated by the Wembley`s atmosphere and who can blame the guy? The big Arena, tones of eyes watching and following each move you make, the tones of eyes from all over the world that are watching you on their TV screens etc. Not an easy task to do, but some how the players succeed in doing it.


Higgins` pretty nervous for the coming Masters
"I've always been overawed by the atmosphere at Wembley. It's such a big arena and if you are playing badly it can be exaggerated. Even the two times I have won it, I have not played to a great standard - except the 2006 final when I beat Ronnie O'Sullivan.
I'm really looking forward to it this time because I'm high on confidence at the moment. I only played for a couple of days over Christmas, but I'm playing matches at the Championship League this week to get myself sharp.", said the Scot who won last year UK Championship trophy.


The Masters is such a huge event although no ranking points are involved in it, but you can’t overlook the greatness of an event that has the most wanted players of the planet standing there and doing their best to lift the trophy over their heads at the end of this tournament.
We already know that Mark Selby wants to keep his title, title won fair and square last year, and he is one hell of a player, so he will definitely be a hard obstacle to pass through. Along him, the other players fancy that shiny trophy too so the battle shall be one to be remembered and talked about for days and months and even years. That’s what is so great about snooker, you can talk about it because a shot will never be out of fashion, but always a reference point, a push to learn more so one day you will be able to do it too. :-)


Nonetheless snooker is full of surprises and you never know who will be the last man standing because the standard these days is so high that if we were to think about The Masters alone, with the top 16 players in it…well, then you get my point.
What we know for sure is that each player has to overcome their personal fears or doubts and try not to think about it so much. Playing is what they do best so let’s play snooker my boys and let the crowd be stunned at the end! Not a very easy thing to achieve, much easier in theory than in practice, but if someone can do it, then they are the men for the job! ;-)

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