Quinn’s ‘buzzing’ to earn two-year World Tour card

AFTER so many attempts, several missed chances and close calls, Fergal Quinn finally achieved his dream of earning a two-year World Tour card to become a professional snooker player.

The 25-year-old from Brockagh defeated Dean Young in the final stages of Q-School in Leicester by four frames to one after producing an impressive performance to change his life ‘completely’.

“I’m absolutely buzzing, I actually can’t believe it!,” he beamed.

“I’m lost for words because I’ve come so close so many times, in so many close games, so to finally get over the line is an unbelievable feeling. It was the best day of my life!

“It’s changed my life completely because for the next two years I just have to focus on snooker. It’s given me the opportunity just to focus on that and to put all my energy into that, which I probably needed to be honest.

“I needed that breakthrough to say ‘you’re a professional snooker player now, this is what you’re going to be doing for the next two years’.

“There are so many different paths and routes you can go down but this has made things a lot easier now.”

Having come so close to achieving his place on the World Snooker Tour several times before, including earlier this year when he lost in the semi-finals of the World Amateur Championships to eventual winner, China’s Yang Gao, in Morocco in February, Quinn was more determined than ever to take his opportunity on Sunday, doing everything in his power to be the best prepared he has ever been for a match.

“I was so laser focused. I just had a different look in my eye,” he acknowledged. “When I got to the World semi-final or I got to a couple of second last rounds before, when I’ve been close before, I haven’t been able to get the job done.

“But this time I told myself ‘the job’s not done yet’ and I was so determined.

“I woke up at 7am, listened to multiple podcasts to get myself in the right state of mind. I had a cold shower, healthy porridge breakfast, boiled eggs, so much water to hydrate myself.

“I was doing everything possible to make it feel like it wasn’t a 10am game, to make it feel like it was in the middle of the day, and I told myself ‘this is my day, this is my time’ and I fought so hard for every point and every frame.”

Having achieved his ultimate goal and earned his place on Tour, Quinn won’t have long to celebrate with his first qualifiers for the Wuhan Open in China and the British Open coming up before the end of this month.

“I’m straight into the action, I’m back in three weeks for qualifying for the Wuhan Open and then the British Open straight after that. There will be no holidays this summer!,” he added.

“And to give myself the best chance [of success], I need to do things right. I don’t have much time to change my snooker approach because it starts so soon, but I have to do everything in my life correct, do the right things, practice hard to give myself the best chance for a successful year.”

Fergal is hoping to attract some local sponsors to get behind his professional career and anyone interested in supporting him can contact him via Facebook.