Matthew Glasby Q&A

Matthew Glasby won the biggest title of his career so far earlier this season by defeating former professional Billy Castle 4-0 to win the event one of the English Amateur Tour.

We recently caught up with the 29-year-old ahead of the second event of the series to reflect on his victory and look ahead to the future.

You won the first English Amateur Tour event of the season – how did that feel and how did you find the event?

I was really pleased with my performance in the event, I played superbly all weekend – I’d say it was my best performance to date! It was an event filled with top class amateur players and so it was nice to win, especially with my Mum and Stepdad watching. They have been my biggest and best supporters since the beginning and I cannot thank them enough. Having a photo taken with them after winning the title was a special moment after some tough times for the family in recent months off the table.

It is the first time you have won an English Amateur Tour title – did it feel like a milestone moment?

On paper it is definitely my best tournament win since I began playing. It is a great start to the season and definitely feels like a stepping stone.

My ultimate goal is to qualify for the World Snooker Tour to compete with the best and make snooker my full-time job. In recent months, I’ve dived into a window cleaning business which has taken a lot of my focus and has helped me to enjoy my snooker much more and rekindle my love of the game.

Snooker has caused me to feel a lot of pressure and anxiety over the years which has been pretty intense and stopped me from performing to my full potential. I’m hoping that, as my business grows, it will ease the pressure on the table and result in more performances like this!

You beat two former professionals in the event and also had to come from 3-1 and 3-2 down in different matches. Was there a win you were most proud of in the event?

I battled really hard in a couple of those matches! I was very slow out of the blocks on Sunday morning in the last 16 but I never gave up and managed to come from 3-1 down to pinch it. My best performance of the day was in the final against Billy Castle – I didn’t miss much at all and scored heavily.

How do you find the English Amateur Tour events overall?

The English Amateur Tour events are great for testing yourself against the country’s very best amateur players. I’m hoping to finish highly enough in the ranking list to give myself a shot at the EBSA European Championships and keep chasing that golden ticket onto the World Snooker Tour.

When did you first start playing snooker and where do you play now?

I first started playing when I was 14-years-old at my family’s club, Pockets Snooker and Social Club in Southend, and that is where I still practice now.

What are your aims for the rest of the season and what is your overall goal in the sport?

My aim for the rest of the season is to keep enjoying every match that I play. I hope to build up as many ranking points as I can on both the English Amateur Tour and WPBSA Q Tour Europe series to give myself the best chance of achieving my overall goal, which is to achieve professional status on the World Snooker Tour.