u/Compressed_AF

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?