u/Compressed_AF

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How on earth do amateur snooker players actually make it work financially?

Genuine question aimed at amateur players here because the more I think about it, the more brutal the amateur side of the game seems.

People see the tour and focus on the top professionals, but even getting to the level where you’re seriously competing on the amateur circuit looks incredibly demanding financially and logistically.

If you’re a young prospect, I assume family support is often what makes it possible early on. We hear stories like Stan Moody’s dad helping facilitate his career. But what happens when you get older and still haven’t quite broken through? Does the support network continue, or does there come a point where you’re basically on your own funding the dream?

And what about players who came to the game later in life or are grinding away while working normal jobs? How do you realistically balance:

work

practice

travel

entry fees

accommodation

trying to compete seriously

…especially in the current cost of living climate?

I genuinely don’t understand how some players survive financially unless they have:

family money

sponsorship

unusually flexible work

or are sacrificing massively elsewhere in life.

So I’d love to hear from any amateur players in here.

What’s your actual life like?

What level are you at?

Does your job accommodate tournaments?

How expensive is a typical season for you?

Do you have sponsors?

Do you think you’re realistically close to turning pro?

Or do you mainly do it for the love of competing?

And for those who were strong juniors: did the support continue into adulthood, or did there come a point where people expected you to “move on” unless you made it?

Honestly, I think even being a high-level amateur in snooker is an achievement people massively underestimate. This game is unbelievably difficult. Anyone capable of making centuries and total clearances consistently has serious ability in my eyes.

I just saw that there's a last 156 round and most players are already seeded into the last 128. How does that work? Is it that amateurs on the circuit start there and the last 156 players are just paid entrants that aren't active on the circuit already?

I thought q school started as last 128 and went down to 8 player final? Or am I way off here?

Do you think Jimmy would have had a better career if he didn't have it?

I assume meds in the 80s and 90s weren't as effective as they are now (he says he feels basically normal now on what I assume are stimulants) so even if he knew about it maybe it wouldn't have made a difference.

I'm not summing up that missed black simply down to that, I think there's times where it was just pressure. But to have your mind race the way it can with ADHD, it must have a big negative effect in this game, especially under pressure.

I believe he'd have won at least one if he didn't have it, but not sure if he would if he was treated in his youth.

He says he thinks a few players have it on tour, I wonder who it is. I mean everyone misses sitters, and it'd be wrong to speculate on who has mental disorders, but I do wonder whether certain players do when they are in their prime and so inconsistent (one particular person comes to mind)

I mean in a game where concentration is so important, having a disorder that specifically affects it is going to be a big nerf to a players game.

I hated losing my hair so much that once it started going, I basically made sure there were no recent photos of me online anymore.

Got a system now, and honestly part of me would rather date someone new than someone who remembers my old hair 😂

Not because I’m ashamed of the system — I’d tell her when the time felt right — I just prefer the idea of someone only knowing the version of me that actually feels confident and comfortable in his appearance.

As long as they never see what I escaped from, we’re good.

What about you? Are you fussed, or would you not mind dating someone who knows what your real hairs like?

Sure, he's not a pro anymore, but he put up a good fight vs Ronnie, he'd probably have challenged most other players other than Ronnie in that form, as that seemed to be Ronnie's best match in the tournament.

I think there's a chance he can get one more tour card. I do rate him despite his flip out a few years ago which admittedly wasn't great. Emotions can get intense in this game, not that it makes it ok.

Do we think Ollie will eventually kick on or has he probably become a hardstuck mid rank player?

Just wanted to share my experience so far with my forst system and ask people what kind of reactions they got.

Ive had mine for two weeks now, and im pleased with how it looks and feels so far. After a week though its started to itch and its annoying, but the pros well outweigh that con for me. Its easier to look at and talk to people now. I have social anxiety and its helped a bit with it.

As for reactions, friends and family like it and say i look younger now. Which is good. Although one person thought i was doing my A levels (in uk that means aged between 17-19) and im nearly 30.

Most people in general were nice about it and say its hard to tell its fake. Although tue reactions become less positive the older the person is. An older lady at work said my hair was good and asked me what i did and i said its a hair system/replacement. She ignored this and went "ahhh you've combed it over haven't you? 😏" as if to say that its okay she wont judge me and pretend not to know even though i just told her what it (and highly likely by that point she'd have heard someone describe it as a wig/toupe behind my back.)

An older guy was pretty blunt and smirked "so its a wig then?" But that i found funny. I like how elderly people still just say it straight 😂.

I imagine whats said behind my back in general wont be so kind, but i didn't get this to impress anyone at work. Its more for my own confidence and for when i move on to somewhere new. Ill never lie if someone asks/compliments it, but id rather surround myself in the future with people who didnt see my old hair, even if they know what this is, if that makes sense.

All in all, in terms of working on my appearance, this was the best decision i made.

How were the reactions from people with yours? Is there a stigma for you or is it more accepted? Id argue its not a toupe, as its much better quality and realistic than that, but people will always refer to it as that or a wig.

I was looking into this recently and it surprised me how little most professional snooker players actually earn.

Once you get onto the tour through Q School or Q Tour, you’re technically one of the best players in the world — but most players outside the top ~90 are earning around the equivalent of a basic full-time salary (or less). And that’s before factoring in expenses.

Compare that to other sports:

Even lower-league footballers earn significantly more

In darts, top prize money is much higher

In golf, even journeyman pros can make a solid living

I understand why this is the case — snooker is a smaller sport, sponsorship is limited, and it’s not growing much in the UK. Prize money reflects popularity.

But it still feels strange that someone ranked in the top 100 in the world at their sport isn’t financially secure.

Matt Selt, i know we dokt like him, but he made a good point about this — being a top 32 player but not having a stable enough income to comfortably deal with things like mortgages. That says a lot.

There’s also the argument (Barry Hearn has hinted at this before) that early-round losers shouldn’t be rewarded — but these players aren’t “mediocre.” They’ve come through a tough amateur system that pays very little, and many have to balance that with flexible work just to stay in the game.

Another factor is the decline of snooker clubs and rising costs — it’s not an easy pathway even before turning pro.

One thing I’m unsure about:

Do players have to cover travel and accommodation themselves? Because if so, earning ~£20k in prize money doesn’t go far at all.

Just curious what others think — is this just the reality of a niche sport, or does something feel off about it?