Marc Davis: Q School was a blast, now it’s back to the day job!

Well, I have finally returned to my day job at Ladbrokes after 16 days spent in Burton and Sheffield playing snooker. It’s now time to get back to reality!

Q school went very well with lots of mixed emotions to go with it. In the first event I played very well in defeating former pro Stephen Ormerod 4-0.

Next up was Harvey Chandler. Approaching the game I knew he was a very good player and one for the future so it was great to eventually win 4-2 after some nervy moments.

Then I beat Joe O’Connor 4-3 before facing my very good friend Brian Cini. I occasionally room share with him and mentally it was difficult to have the ‘kill’ instinct.

I was very unfortunate at 3-2 down against this very talented Maltese potting machine, someone Jimmy White has tipped to go far in the game, and it’s hard not to agree with that assessment.

At one point I played a shot and for no apparent reason my tip split in half, a Marco Fu moment much like the one witnessed at the Crucible this year. Thankfully I was given 10 minutes to fit on a new tip.

After that I went back out and strangely didn’t miss a pot and wrapped it up 4-3.

Next up was Craig Steadman, a player Ronnie O’Sullivan famously took his shoes off against at the Crucible last year.

I knew how hard this match was going to be and knew I HAD to be on my game or I was out of event 1.

Craig started off with a fantastic break in frame one and I thought ‘yup, as expected, you can’t afford to miss anything Marc‘ and that’s exactly what happened.

For the next four frames my safety was very good and I potted extremely well and won 4-1 (with my shoes on, might I add).

Huge thanks to my work @Ladbrokes for there #Qschool support, friends and family (you know who you are) Done well.?? pic.twitter.com/lAxyYpCpG3

— Marc J Davis (@MarcDavis147) May 22, 2016

So, having won through I was in the final qualifying round to get my two-year pro card. I played Chris Keogan at 10am and I’d hardly slept because of the high I was on but also I was thinking how I’d have to secure £40k worth of sponsorship to play on the Tour.

I knew this would be very hard to find, and with a young family at home I need security and needless to say it all got a bit much and I played pretty awful and lost 4-0.

Had my match been after the match with Craig and without an evening to dwell on it, I have no doubt I’d have won the match.

In Event 2 I played Joe O’Connor again, and again I won 4-3 so I don’t think I’m his favourite person right now!

Next up I played Darryn Walker, an experienced pro of many years. Sometimes the snooker gods just don’t look down favourably on you and anything that could go wrong did.

I lost three close frames and went down 4-0 but it was one of those games where I easily could have been 3-1 up but that’s snooker. Sometimes it really bites you and you just have to roll with it.

Over the event I finished 11th on the order of merit with the top four receiving their cards, eight going through automatically therefore I move up to seventh on the pecking order for the the World Snooker top up procedure therefore I should be playing in some fantastic events this year.

Overall this probably fits in better with my job at Ladbrokes but I still have big aspirations to do much better.

I made my debut in a professional event vs Oliver Lines at The Guild Hall in Preston on Sunday May 29. Although I eventually lost the match it was fantastic to play at such an incredible arena.

The Guild Hall is some size!!! All being set up for the evening session now. Practice tables are beautiful!? pic.twitter.com/HFdB5RGNqj

— Marc J Davis (@MarcDavis147) May 28, 2016

I have learnt so much about myself and my game lately,  including that I’m good at deciders!

Until next time, thanks for following my journey,

Marc J Davis

Draws and information can be found at www.worldsnooker.com

*Marc Davis is a Ladbrokes employee starting out on a path to the top of world snooker. A nephew of six-time World Champion Steve Davis and roommate of Tony Drago, we’re sponsoring our man’s quest to emulate his heroes. Follow Marc on Twitter @MarcDavis147*

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing