Where are all the young British players? Snooker's leading names unanimous concerned about the grassroots as debate over the sport's future continues

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Shaun Murphy don’t agree on much and they couldn’t be further apart when it comes to discussing whether the sport they love is in crisis, with the Rocket recently claiming snooker is “the worst place it’s ever been” and the Magician subsequently insisting it’s “in the best state it has ever been in”.

Opinions are divided amongst professionals when it comes to issues surrounding financial rewards and security on the tour as well as the structure of the tournament calendar and if there's enough opportunities for those lower down the rankings.

Events returning to China will help the situation while World Snooker’s initiative at the start of the season to guarantee all 130 players on the professional circuit a minimum of £20,000 in earnings was widely praised, but stories of hardship and players playing to 'pay the bills' are never far away.

No player outside the world's top 50 earned more than £32,000 in prize money this season while everyone has to pay a 2.5% levy to the WPBSA - an unpopular ruling that Neil Robertson hit out about last month.

Ali Carter wouldn't even encourage his children to become snooker players in its current state given that only "32 players in the world can make a living" whereas Kyren Wilson feels it's unrealistic to expect those languishing towards the bottom to live a cushy lifestyle.

Wilson said: "Sport isn’t meant to be easy – if it was I don’t think we’d appreciate the rewards as much. Sure, it’s easy for me to say that because of the position I’m in now but I had to work extremely hard for it. There were times when I couldn’t afford nappies for my son and my mum and dad had to remortgage the house a few times to help keep me going. That support made me extremely hungry and motivated.

"But after winning the Shanghai Masters in 2015 at a time when I was ranked in the 50s or 60s and going nowhere, my life has catapulted. Maybe other players should look at my story as a bit of inspiration to see what’s possible."

Carter, on the other hand, said: "You've got to get in the top 32 in the world to make a living. The odds of doing that out of everyone who wants to play snooker is not very good. It's too difficult just to get on tour, so I'd certainly discourage my children from trying.

"These players getting on tour aren't making any money. Are they doing it just so they can call themselves a pro or are they a pro to make a living. For me, the moment I don't make a living from snooker, you won't see me here any more. I'll be up in the skies flying."

However, veteran professional and commentator Peter Lines, who is ranked 16 places below his son Oliver in 77th position in the world rankings, feels there are enough opportunities for players outside the top 32.

He told Sporting Life’s pre-tournament 'Talking Points' show: "As a low-ranked player myself, the opportunities are there. The World Snooker Tour have obviously given players the guaranteed £20,000 to give them an income and after that all they can do is put the opportunities there.

"It's up to all players to go out there and grab those opportunities and win prize money. Sport is tough, all sport is tough. There shouldn't really be any guarantees – it's up to you to go and earn it."

Snooker's age old problem

However, one area that all players seemingly unanimously agree on is the worrying state of the amateur game in Britain and the lack of promising youngsters coming through it into the professional ranks.

For generations, the amateur scene was the lifeblood of producing the legends of the game and while the famed ‘Class of 92’ are still vying for glory in the world’s top 16 all these years later, there were just two British players under the age of 30 in the entire field at the Crucible; Jak Jones of Wales, aged 29, and England’s Elliot Slessor, aged 28.

By contrast, the four Chinese qualifiers – Pang Junxu, Si Jiahui, Fan Zhengyi and Wu Yize – are all younger than 24, serving as yet another reminder of how their nation is reaping the rewards for giving youngsters greater exposure to the sport in schools and colleges. Snooker is booming there, so why isn't it capturing the imaginations of the young in the sport's 'homelands'?

The sport may well continue to see encouraging viewing figures globally and in Britain – particularly for the showpiece events – but ask any professional aged 30 or older to compare the number of youngsters – and the subsequent talent levels – involved in grassroots snooker today with when they were starting out and the answers will be starkly similar.

While age is no barrier to success in snooker – as Robert Milkins can testify having finally realised his title-winning potential in his late 40s over the past two seasons – even the Milkman will admit that the youth system is paramount to creating future champions.

Milkins said: "I started playing snooker quite late compared to others when I was around 11, although I didn't start going down to the clubs until I was around 13 or 14. There were loads of youngsters around me back then and the standard was a lot better. Obviously the pro game now is higher quality than the pro game was back then but the amateur scene certainly isn't. The difference is unbelievable.

"There were so many leagues in Gloucester when I was a lad and there were 10 youngsters capable of 100 breaks in my club. Now there aren't two in the county! Snooker clubs all over Britain are shutting down because they can't make the income anymore. It's a shame. Now snooker is booming in China like it was for us in the late 1980s-early 90s.

Asked if the situation could be reversed in the UK, Milkins said: "I'm not sure if you can. The fact so many snooker clubs in Britain are shutting down is the key reason. It's alright giving free tickets to snooker events out to schools but if there's a lack of clubs to play in, then it won't really work.

"There are academies but they aren't as good as the clubs when I was younger. There was banter there and you learned to grow up in life, not just play snooker. The academies are very strict in comparison and not like the snooker club atmosphere that I loved.

"There are some great snooker clubs still – like Northern Snooker Centre – but there was an unbelievable one near me but the council bought the land and shut it down. It's so sad. There were six or seven clubs when I moved to Gloucester, now there's one."

"I see older people are getting into the sport and playing in the Pro-Ams, which are massive. But we need youngsters playing. They're the future, not the old ones."

Carter and Stuart Bingham also echoed those sentiments.

Carter said: "I fell on snooker by pure chance because my dad bought a 6x3 table in the front room and he saw I had a talent for it. When I started to progress, there was a far bigger junior section. We used to go to Pontins Festivals in Hemsby and Prestatyn, there was a hotbed of events in Essex and Hertfordshire, so there's no doubt the grassroots was healthier back then.

"It's all about making money for the powers that be now. This is why we're not seeing any English juniors coming through – there's no under-16 tournaments anymore like in the past. Stan Moody is the only player coming through but I know I wasn't ready to play on the main tour at the age of 16. Hopefully he can prove me wrong but it will be tough."

Bingham, the 2015 world champion, added: "I can't personally comment too much on what the snooker club scene is like now because I practice at home mainly, but looking back, the Essex league I played in when I was younger had about three or four 100+ break juniors. Now you don't really see that kind of standard regularly.

"Stan Moody is a standout player right now but I couldn't tell you another English junior. The new talent seems to be coming from China, Thailand and Europe."

So what’s the answer?

Getting players into schools to showcase the sport is one initiative the WST has tried with Gary Wilson and Louis Heathcote earlier this campaign, while there are enough empty seats during the early stages of some ranking events to get local kids in.

Recalling his trip to Sparkenhoe Community Primary School in Leicester, Wilson said: "Some seemed really keen when I did that trip and hopefully they went home and asked their parents to join a club. We need to be doing more of that – because how else will kids get interested in this day and age, especially with far fewer clubs than before? The viewing figures are great but you need the practical interaction.

"When I went to my club as a kid there was coaching sessions every Saturday and there would be 30-40 kids there. Most clubs aren't like that these days – you might just have a handful. It's all about getting them interested in the first place and more school visits will help that.

"There are still clubs around – good ones as well – and they've got to let youngsters in the area know about their coaching sessions or other schemes. If not then how will we get new players coming through."

Bingham also visited 'Cueball Derby' to play against youngsters from the city’s long established Junior Snooker Club and was encouraged by what he saw.

The Essex cueman said: "There were a couple of really promising juniors there and was good to see. I played about 12 lads and they'd really improved from my last visit there a few years ago. However for anyone to make it, you do need financial backing and support from the governing body. All grassroots sport needs that to thrive."

Meanwhile Lines, who practices at the Northern Snooker Centre which Milkins spoke so highly of, told Sporting Life’s pre-tournament show: "The talent is struggling to come through and there’s not as many kids playing the game anymore.

“It’s sad that in snooker clubs, there’s not the same number of youngsters anymore. That’s where snooker can do better, by getting involved in the grassroots more and going into schools.

“That’s what they did in China – they put money into it and got it on the curriculum to improve the game and standard. Maybe we should do the same.

“They had 23 players on tour at the start of the season before the match-fixing trouble but more will come through from Asia to replace the banned ones. We need to attack the grassroots and get kids playing again like we did in the 1980s and 1990s.”

“But also experienced players are able stick around for longer and maintain their ability. Many years ago when you hit your 30s, your career was starting to come to an end. But now that’s when you establish yourself.

“Look at Jack Lisowski, he’s still regarded young and he’s in his 30s!"

As far as marketing the younger exciting talent to generate more interest in the game and not be so reliant on Ronnie O’Sullivan, Lines added: “People thought the same when Alex Higgins was coming towards the end of his career but then Jimmy White came along. Then Ronnie O’Sullivan came along and there will be another Ronnie O’Sullivan out there.

“People love Ronnie O’Sullivan but people love the sport beyond him and the unique tension it brings. It’s not like other sports. Snooker will survive.”

Stand up if you love the snooker

Just as Lines joked, Jack Lisowski is still seen as one of snooker's 'younger talents' despite reaching his fourth decade in life and he feels the key for widening the appeal of snooker to the masses is to change the vibe and feel of the sport on TV and for the paying spectators.

While a darts-style atmosphere might be too extreme, he feels they can certainly learn from the other sport Barry Hearn reinvented.

The 31-year-old said: "I don't actually mind being seen as a young British player as it stops me feeling old! But we aren't seeing enough from the UK coming through.

"I was seven when I first started going to a snooker club and had to stand on a box for every shot. There were loads of youngsters there at the time – about 20 to 30 lads every Saturday under the age of 16. That club isn't even there anymore.

"It's important that when kids see snooker on TV, it looks like a cooler sport they can associate themselves with. At the moment it looks as though the crowd are too tense watching snooker.

"I want there to be events where the crowd are more relaxed and chat to the people next to them without getting into trouble. At the moment you feel you can't even get up to go to the toilet!

"Look what's happened to the darts – they can sell out 10,000 seater venues and we've only done that in Hong Kong. This sport must be more accessible and fun to watch.

"Maybe they can feel a ticket to the snooker is like a social event where they can also eat and drink in their seats. Sometimes I've been sat in there and it's, well, let's say I'd rather be playing!

"It's too serious and we need to appeal to kids.

"That said we can't change everything too much. The World Championship could always be like this with the waist coats and the tradition but we should definitely play around with a few other tournaments because they're all quiet apart from the Shoot Out when everyone is shouting.

"We need to find a relaxed balance."

Asked whether such an atmosphere would put some players off, he said: "No, if you go to a club there's always constant chat and other noises. When it's deathly silent and someone opens a packet of crisps, then it's really noticeable.

"As long as nobody screams out on the back swing, more noise wouldn't put anyone off."

Lines also agrees that fans who attend snooker events should get a new, fresher experience that goes beyond just watching the action in silence.

He said: "There's been initiatives where players come out to meet fans, show them some coaching tips on tables away from the arena and have some Q&A sessions. That works really well and gives people the chance the personalities of these players.

"That's what being a snooker fan is about. We also need young cool stars to be doing this, not old fogies like myself!"

Regardless of how many headlines the likes of O'Sullivan, 147 hero Wilson and trash-talking Hossein Vafaei can create during a fascinating World Championship fortnight - with a the help of orange paint throwing protesters - for snooker to capitalise on all the publicity, the focus for the future has to be on the next generation and their access to actually play this wonderful sport.

If you build it up again, they will come.

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