ALE OF A TIME
‘I worked in a pub behind the bar between snooker tournaments, now I’m a top TV commentator’
Storm Babet destroyed his practice room last year
STEVEN HALLWORTH once juggled snooker tournaments with pulling pints in his local boozer.
The 28-year-old has endured a topsy-turvy snooker career before becoming a familiar voice in the Eurosport commentary box.
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Hallworth, the current English amateur champion, has been in and out of the pro tour after bursting onto the scene at the age of 18.
By his own admission, the Lincolnshire cueman wasn’t ready to face the greats - but he couldn't turn the opportunity down.
He told : "Initially it was brilliant. It was a life ambition of mine to turn pro.
"But I soon had a strong realisation that it wasn’t going to be as good as I thought it was going to be.
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"I thought I was going to turn pro, be a top professional and everything was going to be cushty, but it wasn’t like that.
"I was getting battered and bruised by the best players in the world week in, week out."
During that first spell on the tour, having won no more than 10 matches, Hallworth took up another job to take his mind off snooker.
He worked in pubs in his home village of Skellingthorpe, just outside Lincoln.
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The commentator added: "It was purely because I was getting consumed by snooker. I was getting battered week in, week out.
"Because I was playing full-time and doing nothing else, I was very much consumed by the game. I was depressed, to be honest, I was really struggling mentally and in a bad place.
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"Getting a job saved me and was honestly the best thing I ever did. Also, I was getting to the age where my friends were working and earning good money.
"I was playing snooker and wasn’t getting paid for losing. Eventually, I had to start bringing some money in. But more than anything, it was an escape.
"I would leave snooker at the practice table, then it was straight to the pub, where I’d be chatting to people and not thinking about it, which was the best thing that could’ve happened.
"Prior to that, I’d be thinking about snooker all day. It's a tough sport which can be mentally damaging, but I found a way to deal with it."
Hallworth has been combining tournaments on the amateur circuit with his increasing media commitments.
His second stint on the tour ended in 2022 before his practice room at Waddington's RAF base shut down last year.
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He said: "I previously had an empty snooker room up at the base, but when Storm Babet hit, the ceiling caved in on the snooker room and it all got shut down, so I needed a new place to train."
He is looking to get back on the tour and intends to step up practice in the New Year when the race for cards hots up.
The rules of snooker
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
- Yellow - two points
- Green - three points
- Brown - four points
- Blue - five points
- Pink - six points
- Black - seven points
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot - going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it's their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player's turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball - reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player's turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.
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