Joe Swail - World snooker news

Two times world snooker semi-finalist, 2009 Welsh Open finalist!

<p>I’ve been in a state of shock since hearing the news of Alex’s death. I was actually with Ken Doherty and Mark Selby when I received a text telling me about Alex’s passing and we were all just so shocked. Obviously he had been ill for quite a while, but he always seemed to pull through. The players are all devastated, particularly the ones who knew him personally and the ones who grew up watching him play. It’s only because of Alex that I started playing snooker. I turned pro 20 years ago and I’m still playing so it’s been a lifelong love affair with the sport and that’s all down to Alex. He was always great to watch, always controversial. He just appealed to people and drew so many of today’s players into the sport. The sport owes so much of it’s success to Alex.I had a great night with him around our own town of Belfast recently and that will live long in my memory, I loved the guy and he will be sadly missed,but never to be forgotten, May he rest in peace.x<br /><br /> </p>

<p>Hello Everyone,<br /><br />I hope that all of you enjoyed watching the World Championships at Sheffield, I am certainly gutted at not being there this year as I have only failed to qualify for the World Championship twice over the last twelve years of my career. However, after having a poor season thus far I was really up against it when I played a rejuvenated<br />Ken Doherty and lost by a large margin. My snooker season has now finished and it has been one of the lowest points of my career. Confidence plays the main part in snooker as in any sport and I have certainly suffered from a lack of it, but now I must move on from this season and keep battling away and have hope that things will change for me next year. I have always been an inconsistent player and I believe things can only get better.<br /><br />At the moment I am doing a few exhibitions, some coaching, a little bit of golf and catching up with my friends and family, all of these things are keeping me out of trouble for the time being and I will be back at the practice table a lot early this year as my snooker season will be starting in June.<br /><br />Many thanks for all your support this year and I hope to see you at a few venues next season. Have a nice summer and I will chat to you all soon!<br /><br />Best wishes,<br /><br />Joe</p>

<p>Hi everyone,<br /><br />I hope that all of you had a good Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year, I know that I am certainly hoping for a better 2010 after my disappointing start to the snooker season!<br /><br />As there are only six ranking tournaments it was important to get off to a good start and even though I have put the work in and tried using different cues, things just haven’t gone as well as I had hoped. I suffered early losses in the Grand Prix and the UK championships. These defeats were a big blow to my confidence as previously I was in a good position to get into the top 16. I have had bad luck before however and have bounced back, so hopefully my luck will soon change. <br /><br />In order to regain my confidence and give myself some extra practice, I went to see Tony Wilshaw (TW Cues) and he did a beautiful restoration on the cue that got me into the Welsh Open final last year. He’s a top man and its great to see a master at work! A few days before Christmas I decided to go out to see Del Hill at his excellent Snooker Farm near Boston. We went over a few things and half an hour later a little problem was spotted and sorted. I have worked with Big Del before and not only did he help me out with my play but I was also able to take his coaching exam and pass that too. It was a great few days away and my son and I really enjoyed Del and his family’s hospitality. So a big thanks to you big fella!<br /><br />You all may have heard that Barry Hearn will now be taking over the World Snooker chairman’s job and I think we should all get behind him and give him the support he needs to take the game forward. Snooker is an excellent product and is well received all over the world, especially in countries like China and I predict a big explosion around Europe if we can bring the ranking tournaments there.<br /><br />My next tournaments are the Welsh and China Open Qualifiers at Pontins so I am hoping for a return to form, especially in the Welsh Open which I have very fond memories of from last year.<br /><br />Best Wishes and a Happy New Year,<br />Joe Swail</p>

<p>Hi everyone, I hope you have all had a good summer and are looking forward to the new snooker season, I know I certainly am! I had a great summer, been to Spain a couple of times and took in a holiday in Phuket after the 6-red competition in Bangkok. I also spent a lot of time with my son Joe during his summer off school and got back on the practice table around the middle of July.</p><p>The season has started quite well for me as I qualified for the first ranking tournament in Shanghai, beating Adrian Gunnell 5-1 at Pontins and also winning the Lucan Pro competition which featured the Irish professionals, then I went to Germany to play in the Paul Hunter classic and reached the semifinals, they absolutely loved their snooker in Germany and thousands turned out to watch a top class tournament! I must admit there where quite a few sore heads arriving back to the UK!</p><p>Due to there only being six major tournaments this year I’ve made a decision to play in a lot of pro-ams and competitions this year, it keeps you sharp and focused and also I feel like I’m enjoying the game again after a dismal last season even though I reached my first major final at the Welsh open.</p><p>Well I really hope you continue your support for me during the coming season, and it would be great to reward that support with a few good results, enjoy the snooker year and I will catch you all soon!</p>

<p><b>Joe is setting off today to take his best shot at snookers Holy Grail - the world snooker professional title. He will launch his Crucible Theatre bid in Sheffield on Monday 20 April for the world title against top-five player Marco Fu. </b></p><p>"I had a qualifier for the World Championship and I beat Matthew Couch 10-1, I was very surprised and flattered by the score line as Matthew is a tough player and he has had a good year on the circuit. However, I won a number of close frames in the first session which did the damage and I then finished the match off well! I was delighted to get through to crucible as the World Championships is the Holy Grail of the sport and I didn't want to miss out on it.</p><p>I now play Marco Fu in the first round on 20th April, we have only played each other twice and its one each. It obviously, is going to be a very tough game as he has moved into the top five in the world.   I feel quietly confident in myself as I've always done well at the crucible for some reason. I've been very busy practicing and doing exhibitions etc, I was in Holland last weekend for a Pro-am and had a 147 in losing in semi finals. It would certainly be lovely to hit a 147 at Sheffield and run away with £147.000!</p><p>Many thanks again for all your support and I hope to reward all my fans with a good World Champs!"</p>

<h2><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 209, 139);">In the aftermath of a glorious ranking final showcase, Joe Swail reflects on the highs and lows of his blistering play in the Welsh Open.</span></h2><p><b>First off, congrats on making it to the final. How did you feel when you knew you had made it through?</b><br />To be honest, I didn’t really expect too much before I went over because I haven’t had a good year this year. I’ve been a bit low on confidence; I’ve only just won a match here and there. I’ve had a very tough run. I was taking it one match at a time and all of a sudden, the confidence came back and things started to go really well for me. I took my chances whenever they came and it was great to get into the final.</p><p><br /><b>What level of preparation did you undertake for the Open?</b><br />I’ve been putting the work in all year but then I lost in the opening round in the first four tournaments of the year – so, it doesn’t guarantee you success. I always knew that sooner or later the door would open and I would get my chance and I’m lucky enough it happened for me at the Welsh Open. I’m glad that the hard work I had been putting in came out on that particular week.</p><p><br /><b>How did you mentally prepare yourself?</b><br />I’ve been around long enough to know how to prepare for a tournament. Whenever you win a match in a tournament – it’s great, you feel ecstatic. But, then you’ve got to come down again and focus on the next match, which can be very mentally draining. So, that’s where your experience comes into it and that’s where you learn how to deal with that. That explains why a lot of the young players who come into the matches, don’t always do well right away. Lucky enough, I have the experience behind me to deal with it.</p><p><br /><b>Joe, you started off the tournament in great fashion – can you talk me through the high points of the whole experience?</b><br />The high point was actually being there! I have been a pro for eighteen years and never got to a ranking final; I had lost the previous ten – you can imagine how delighted I was when I actually did get through! When I got through, I thought, this is what it is all about - It was a lovely feeling. I had a lot of support from the audience, especially the final session, there was a bit of a razzmatazz entrance – that was very special. Its something that I will always remember, it was definitely the best week of my life – even though, the outcome wasn’t what I wanted in the end.</p><p><br /><b>How did you stay focused under such pressure?</b><br />You are under a lot of pressure but, again, experience comes into that. Whenever you are having a tough time out there, you try to focus on positive things rather than negative things and that can be very hard to do. You look forward to your next chance and focus yourself that way.</p><p><br /><b>What positive things would you focus on Joe?</b><br />For instance, when I was 5-1 up on Neil Robinson and he came up on the next three games to make it 5-4 – I just needed one more frame. So, you can imagine how much pressure I was under, trying to get into my first final and yet, one of the best (probably, top three in the world) is throwing everything at you to come back. I had to remind myself that I didn’t make any silly mistakes – even though the score line is 5-1 and then, all of a sudden, it’s 5-4. I had to remain positive and remind myself that I played well enough when I got the chance.</p><p><br /><b>Can you talk me through your low points?</b><br />I don’t think there was very many, to be honest! I was dominating the final and my match play was very good. You could say I let it slip, but, to be fair to Ali Carter – he played absolutely tremendous to come back and beat me.</p><p><br /><b>Joe, it did look like you were going to win at one stage. Where you thinking the same?</b><br />No, I wouldn’t get that far ahead of myself! I played it very cool and you know, I still had four more frames to go so, no, I wasn’t thinking that. But, there was a part of me thinking; am I really that close to winning this? But, I wouldn’t get too far ahead of myself.</p><p><br /><b>How do you think Carter managed to pull ahead?</b><br />I think the fact that he had been there before gave him an advantage. Also, he is a top quality player who got to the final of the World Championship last year. He is very familiar in those situations; whereas, I am not, you know? He did look very comfortable in the final session.</p><p><br /><b>You had great support from your fans here in Northern Ireland and further afield Joe – is there anything you would like to say to your supporters?</b><br />It’s great to know you have all that support! Not only in the UK and in Ireland but all over Europe as well and countries where snooker isn’t even that popular. It’s nice to be able to reward them with a good performance like last week and I hope they keep up the good support!</p><p><br /><b>What does the rest of 2009 and the future in general hold for Joe Swail?</b><br />There are only two more tournaments left in the calendar year. This has given me confidence now going into the China Open and also the World Championships which is the most important one. It’s given me a lot of confidence because, in my eyes, if you can beat Mark Allen, Neil Robinson and Steve Maguire (who are in amongst the top five in the world) - if you can beat those three in one particular tournament then, there’s no reason why you can’t beat anybody! Having said that, I’ve still got to put the work in and hopefully get through at Sheffield for the World Championship. That would be the pinnacle of the year so, hopefully, I will finish off with a good one there.</p><p><br /><b>When can we expect to see you up there with Denis Taylor, another champ for Northern Ireland?</b><br />Well, anything can happen. The standard is very high and it is a very, very fine line. People say, it is all Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins but, you look at all the tournaments this year, there is not one person who has won more than one tournament. It’s all spread out and that’s good for the game. Anything can happen. I’ve had a good run in the World Championship before …you never know what’s round the corner.</p><p><br /><b>What’s coming up next then?</b><br />I have a lot of exhibitions at the minute but the main upcoming challenge is to qualify for the World Championships on 10 March. It takes place in Sheffield and that’s the most important focus for the year. So, hopefully I’ll get through and that will set me up for the rest of the year.</p>

<h2 style="color: rgb(182, 209, 139);"><br />Joe beat world number 10 Neil Robertson into the Welsh Open Finals</h2><p>After a superb start Joe stormed ahead of Neil to a 5-1 lead, with breaks of 55 and 98 to leave him well ahead at the interval.</p><p>Neil Robertson battled back to a make it 5-4, but not loosing his cool, Joe sealed the victory in the 10th frame to win the match 6-4.</p><p>Joe was delighted after reaching the first ranking final of his 18-year professional career.</p><p> "You have no idea what this means to me."</p><p>"I've been through a lot this year but I've kept working hard on my game. I've got a monkey off my back now, people have been going on about how many semi-finals I've lost in for 15 years which has been annoying. I'm just so delighted."</p><p> </p>

<p>Joe beat Stephen Maguire(ranked World number 2) in a thrilling match to reach the semi-finals of the Welsh Open.</p><p><b>Joe Swail (NI) 5-4 Stephen Maguire (Sco)</b></p><p>1st Frame: 65-54<br />2nd Frame: 73-30<br />3rd Frame: 0-89<br />4th Frame: 81-0<br />5th Frame: 54-76 (Maguire 50)<br />6th Frame: 79-10 (51)<br />7th Frame: 23-72<br />8th Frame: 61-68<br />9th Frame: 66-47</p>

<p>Joe sealed his place in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Martin Gould on Wednesday night. Londoner Gould, ranked 63 in the world, caused a surprise by beating seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry in the first round at the Newport Centre.</p><p>Swail won three frames on the black and one on the pink and completed his win with a 68 clearance. He will play Stephen Maguire or Ding Junhui in the last eight. In the first round, Swail beat fellow Northern Ireland player Mark Allen 5-3. Read more at the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7898898.stm">bbc.co.uk</a></p>

<p>Ronnie O'Sullivan stated this week that snooker "needs someone in with entrepreneurial skills like Simon Cowell who is in the modern world and more dynamic"  and that he felt "the sport is dying" This has sparked some controversy both in the news and amongst fans. We felt that we therefore had to ask Joe on his thoughts...</p><p>Joe was quick to point out that the sport isn't dying. Its the most watched sport on the BBC amongst women and the second most watched sport amongst men. However, he did feel that it maybe is time for the sport to be 'jazzed up'.</p><p>"There is too much silence amongst the crowd, which does affect the atmosphere at snooker tournaments. You want the crowd to react if your playing well. Look at the change in darts, its growing in popularity and is a great night out...You want fans to go to snooker tournaments and enjoy themselves."</p><p>Joe indicated that he felt snooker would benefit from someone who was an expert in the PR world to push the popularity of the game forward. He also felt that a bit of modernisation in the clothing players wear would help.</p><p>Publicist Max Clifford has put himself forward stating that he is willing to listen to offers from snookers governing body, so watch this space!!</p>

<p>Joe reached the final of the Dutch Open Crown played in Einhovan before Christmas.</p><p>Despite this event taking place during the same week as the UK Championship it was attended by many professionals including Mark King, Tom Ford, Daniel Wells, Matthew Couch, Barry Pinches, Andy Lee, Stuart Bingham and Stefan Mazrocis.</p><p>Joe beat Mark King 5-3 to qualify for the final were he faced Stuart Bingham who beat Daniel Wells 5-1 to reach the final.</p><p>Joe had breaks of 105, 85 and 104 in the final, but was beaten by Stuart 6-3.</p><p>Joe did however get the highest break of the tournament.</p><p>This is the third time Joe has attended the Dutch open, and his best performance in this tournament to date.</p><p>Joe would like to thank the organisers for hosting an enjoyable event.<br /> </p>

<p>Joe pictured above at the Northern Ireland Trophy with sponsors Dee Barrett-Davies & Lauren Harris from EARS plc. EARS plc have proudly sponsored and actively followed Joes career for a number of years.</p><p>EARS plc provide sales, repair and installation of high quality, cost effective two-way radio, tracking and communications equipment.</p><p>Please visit EARS plc website for more information and online purchasing:</p><p><a href="http://www.ears.plc.uk">www.ears.plc.uk</a></p>

<p>Welcome to the only official Joe Swail website. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for all the support I have received from those who have followed my career. The new site has been designed by Green17 Creative.</p><p><a href="http://www.green17creative.com">www.green17creative.com</a></p>

<p>Id like to thank everyone for their interest in my new website, the response has been fantastic! Keep returning to the site for updates on all my results and my views on what's going on in the snooker world!<br /><br />My first tournament of the year was the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast. The chance of playing in front of my home fans, my family and my friends is one I always relish. I was therefore bitterly disappointed to lose 5-4 to Mark Davies in the opening round. I created a few chances to nick it, but for the most part I struggled. Mark was the worthy winner in the end.<br /><br />Next it was onto the qualifiers for the Shanghai Masters and Grand Prix, held in Pontins Wales. I faced two of the most up and coming players in Judd Trump and Ricky Walden. To be honest I could have had easier draws, but I had chances and failed to take them. I paid the price by failing to make it through, losing both games 5-3! Ricky Walden proved his ability by actually winning the Shanghai Masters. He’s a good lad so it’s great to see him doing well.<br /><br />Snooker is a very frustrating game and sometimes you don’t get rewarded for good preparation; but it’s a long season with lots of tournaments still to look forward too and I’m sure with all your support ill be back to winning again!<br /><br />Keep up the support and ill keep you updated with all my news.</p>

<p><author>By Billy Weir</author><br /><em>Thursday, 31 July 2008<br /></em><a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk">www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk</a><em><br type="_moz" /></em></p><p>It wasn’t so much Top Man as Pot Men as Belfast’s Castle Court provided an unusual backdrop to the snooker season’s first ranking tournament.</p><p>And two men who have been huge supporters of the Northern Ireland Trophy since its inception in 2005 were back in town yesterday to help launch this year’s event.</p><p>But it’s not bargains that Joe Swail and Ken Doherty will be looking to pick up in the next 12 months - it will be vital ranking points to get them back into the top 16 of the game.</p><p>The two men from either side of the border, judging on the crowds that thronged around them yesterday as bemused lunch-time shoppers looked on, will not lack for support when the action gets underway on August 24.</p><p>Changing the date of the competition to facilitate world snooker’s ever more demanding fixture list has meant the return of the Northern Ireland Trophy, won by Stephen Maguire last year, to the summer.</p><p>But Belfast man Swail and Dublin native Doherty are confident that the foundations are now strong enough for the tournament to flourish.</p><p>“I think it has established itself now,” said Swail.</p><p>“In the first couple of years people didn’t really know what to make of it but last year it was a great success.</p><p>“I got a run of a few matches and Mark Allen got to the semi-final so that helped promote the event.</p><p>“Then you have events like this to make people aware of what was going on and there has been an unbelievable turn-out.”</p><p>Certainly a Belfast man winning the event would put a few more bums on seats at the Waterfront Hall and that is Swail’s immediate aim.</p><p>“What better dream would it be than winning a ranking tournament in your hometown?,” he mused.</p><p>“I’m just looking forward to getting started again, going back to basics and who knows what might happen.”</p><p>One man who will want to put a spanner in Swail’s works i former World Champion Doherty.</p><p>The man known as the darlin’ of Dublin certainly has the Belfast buzz as the curtains go up on a new campaign.</p><p>“It’s great that we’re starting the season up here in Belfast. It’s a great tournament, it’s a great venue and with it so early in the year everyone will be a little bit rusty but I’m looking forward to it.</p><p>“The quarter-final has been the best I’ve done up here. Fergal O’Brien did very well getting to the final here last year and it’s something I’d love to win.</p><p>“It’s great tournament and a great venue and I played some exhibitions there with Alex Higgins, Stephen Hendry and Dennis Taylor.</p><p>“They were fantastic nights and the testimonial I did with Alex in 1997 was one of the best nights I’ve ever had and one of the best crowds I’ve ever played in front of, and I’ll never forget that.”</p><p>Another night centre stage at the Waterfront on finals night might just rival that though.</p><p>The Northern Ireland Trophy runs from August 24-31. Tickets are now on sale, starting at just £8.50 (concessions £5.50). To book your seats call 02890 334455 or log on to <a href="http://www.waterfront.co.uk/">www.waterfront.co.uk</a></p>

<p>It was the gift of a £8 snooker cue from his parents Billy and Josephine at the age of 11 which ignited Joe's enthusiasm for snooker, a passion which continued throughout his teenage years and which saw him experience huge success on the Irish amateur scene. Joe credits his early snooker inspiration as Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, a fellow Ulsterman from Sandy Row, Belfast, who twice achieved World Champion. He attributes his decision to take up snooker partly to Higgins, acknowledging him as his hero during his formative years.</p><p><a href="about.php">View Joe Swail's biography</a></p>

Alex Higgins RIP

I’ve been in a state of shock since hearing the news of Alex’s death. I was actually with Ken Doherty and Mark Selby when I received a text telling me about Alex’s...

Season Update From Joe

Hello Everyone,

I hope that all of you enjoyed watching the World Championships at Sheffield, I am certainly gutted at not being there this year as I have only failed...

Happy New Year from Joe

Hi everyone,

I hope that all of you had a good Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year, I know that I am certainly hoping for a better 2010 after my disappointing...

Update from Joe

Hi everyone, I hope you have all had a good summer and are looking forward to the new snooker season, I know I certainly am! I had a great summer, been to Spain a couple of times...

Joe Launches Crucible Bid on Monday

Joe is setting off today to take his best shot at snookers Holy Grail - the world snooker professional title. He will launch his Crucible Theatre bid in Sheffield on Monday 20...

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World Snooker News

Watch Alex Higgins: The People's Champion on iPlayer
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White reaches revamped World Open
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Academy date for White and Drago
Jimmy White and Tony Drago will play an exhibition match at the South West Snooker Academy in October. Read more...

Focused Ford wins first pro title
Leicester's Tom Ford wins the third event of the Players Tour Championship series in Sheffield. Read more...

Stars and fans remember Higgins
Stars from the world of snooker join hundreds of people at the funeral of the two-time world champion Alex Higgins in Belfast. Read more...

Ebdon wins despite form warning
Peter Ebdon defies his own low expectations to beat Michael White 5-1 and qualify for the Shanghai Masters. Read more...

Events for Joe

25th-27th June 2010
Players Tour Championships...
Academy Sheffield

9th-11th July 2010
Players Tour Championship...
Academy Sheffield

4th-5th Aug 2010
Shanghai Qualifying
Academy Sheffield

6th-8th Aug 2010
Players Tour Championships...
Academy Sheffield

14th-16th Aug 2010
Players Tour Championships...
Academy Sheffield

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25th-27th June 2010	Players Tour Championships... Academy Sheffield
9th-11th July 2010	Players Tour Championship... Academy Sheffield
4th-5th Aug 2010	Shanghai Qualifying Academy Sheffield
6th-8th Aug 2010	Players Tour Championships... Academy Sheffield
14th-16th Aug 2010	Players Tour Championships... Academy Sheffield