Snooker and Sheffield go together hand in glove
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00:00What's it feel like to be back here in Sheffield?
00:05It feels good. I've not been to the Crucible for a couple of seasons, a couple of years
00:10actually. I lost in qualifying last year, so I didn't get the opportunity to play here.
00:16So yeah, it's great to be back. When I arrived in Sheffield, looking at the Crucible and
00:20bringing back all the great memories and the town seems to be buzzing with the snoopers
00:24on. So yeah, I'm looking forward to getting out and about.
00:28Will you get much chance to go out and see what's changed in the city?
00:31Yeah, I don't play until Tuesday night. So I'm going to practice at one of the academies
00:37up here for a couple of days. In the meantime, I'll be doing a lot of walking here and there
00:41and everywhere. Hopefully the sun comes out. It normally does when the snoopers are on.
00:44But yeah, I'm going to have a little walk around and see. There's a lot of building
00:47going on, I noticed. So I'll go and have a nose and see what's changed.
00:51If you can bring the sunshine with you, we'd be delighted.
00:54I know it's non-stop raining, isn't it? So yeah, hopefully I'll get out and do a bit of walking.
00:59You mentioned that you've not been here for a couple of years. Does this building still
01:05have that buzz, that appeal to you as it has in the past?
01:08Yeah, always. The nerves always kick in. When you see the Crucible sign and the little dressing
01:17room windows, it brings back memories of sitting there in between big matches and stuff. So
01:22yeah, the butterflies kick in and it means a lot to be back as one of the seeds. It doesn't
01:28come easy, really. To be one of the seeds here, you must be doing something well. So
01:32yeah, it's great to be back and a great place to play snooper in.
01:38You guys play at venues all around the world. Alexander Palace for the Masters and a lot
01:43of others. What is it about this place that makes it so special for you?
01:49I think you just build it up here. It's just the history, isn't it? I've grown up watching
01:53the World Snooker Championships. The reason why I started playing snooker is watching
01:56Jimmy in them finals here and having his 1-4-7. It's what inspired me to play snooker. So
02:03all their memories and all of a sudden you're playing here yourself. It's amazing really
02:07to think. I never would have thought that years ago. All the history, the intimateness
02:14of the venue itself. All those things add to the occasion and to the atmosphere.
02:20Finally, take us to that first moment on Tuesday when you were about to do your first round
02:25game. In the tunnel just before you step out into the auditorium, what's the thoughts?
02:31Is it nerves? Is it excitement?
02:33Yeah, a bit of both. At that point, I suppose, probably more nerves I should imagine. That's
02:39just normal. If you haven't got the nerves, there's something wrong really. You need to
02:44be a little bit nervous to bring out your best in you. Excitement, like you say. Just
02:51concentrating on going through your little pre-match routine, I suppose, and just concentrating
02:56on getting yourself settled out there and concentrating on the job at hand. A bit boring,
03:01I know, but that's what it is.
03:03Brilliant. Thank you so much. Welcome back to the Crucible. What's it like to be back
03:08here again?
03:10I'm sure whoever else you've spoke to, I'm sure they say this, it's magical. For a snooker
03:14player, it's magical. I've been lucky enough actually, though, to speak to a number of
03:19actors and actresses over the years who come here and play great shows themselves and Shakespearean
03:24shows and all that. They all say the same thing. The Crucible Theatre is one of the
03:29best theatres in the country. For us, it's obviously home. It's the home of snooker.
03:35We're fast approaching the 50th year of the World Championships here in a few years' time.
03:41It's very special. When I walk here, I'm reminded very clearly of the first time I came here
03:45in 1992 as a nine-year-old boy. We came here to watch Peter Evdun make his debut against
03:51Steve Davis. It's been special ever since.
03:55Can you put your finger on why? Why is it so special? Why does it give snooker players
04:01that thrill, that buzz, and fans as well?
04:04It's just iconic in the world of snooker. If you stop someone in the middle of Beijing
04:08and ask them to say something about Sheffield, they'll say snooker. It's just synonymous.
04:13The two things go together. It used to be steel. It's now snooker. The Crucible Theatre
04:18is right behind that. We always say as players it's great to play in arenas that were designed
04:23for performance. Sometimes we play in big, charismatic arenas that weren't designed for
04:28it. This has been designed for it, specifically for it. It is better. The atmosphere out there
04:33is better because of that. After that, it's just iconic. It's all those glorious moments,
04:39the history. You're very aware of those moments that happened in my early life watching this
04:44game where it took hold of me, where it took my heart. Most of them happened in this room.
04:49When you walk out there as a player, you're very aware of that. It's hallowed turf for
04:53us. It's holy ground.
04:55Are you able to take that in when you're down on the arena floor and you're in the middle
04:59of your match? Are you able to take that in or are you just too focused on what's going
05:03on on the table?
05:04Yes. In a way, it's probably why I've never been able to repeat the win of 2005. It's
05:10because I'm probably too involved in it all. I get caught up. Every year I take myself
05:14off and find the chair I sat in as a nine-year-old boy. I have my little coffee in there, just
05:18chill out whilst they're in there cleaning. Between sessions, when you shouldn't be allowed
05:22in there. I nowadays have my BBC pass so I can go where I want. I can go places that
05:27other players can't. It's fantastic. I probably get too involved in the nostalgia and the
05:32history and that maybe distracts me from what I'm trying to do. It's that special. It's
05:37that good. I wouldn't change it for the world.
05:40As a city, as a whole, Sheffield is a sporting city as well with all the other activities
05:47that go on around here. Are you able to get out during the tournament and see the city,
05:52see how it's changed over the years and still changing today?
05:56I used to live close by nearly 20 years ago. I lived just up the road at the bottom of
06:00the parkway across the M1. I'm very aware, visibly, just to the naked eye how much the
06:06city continues to change almost on a yearly basis. There's a new building gone up or something's
06:11been cleaned up or that building's gone or whatever. It's great to see the city continue
06:16to grow and expand. The City of Tomorrow, it was called many, many years ago. It's catching
06:21up with itself. I don't remember the first time I came. I don't remember what the city
06:24looked like in 1992. It's got that vibrancy. It's got that culture. It's great on the music
06:30scene. It's very arty. It's very creative. We're very proud as a sport to have this as
06:34our synonymous home around the world. Snooker and Sheffield go together, hand in glove.
06:39It is the World Championships, but it's also the Crucible Theatre. Just explain to me what
06:45this means, what this place means to a professional snooker player like yourself.
06:50This is like, how can I explain? If there's a venue that anybody wants to get to and a
06:56venue that anybody wants to play, it is the Crucible Theatre. There's just so much history
07:01here. That's why everyone puts so much pressure on themselves in the qualifiers. Everybody
07:08wants to get here and play at the Crucible and it's such a good feeling when you're out
07:11there. When you are out there, you just need to relax because you get out there and it's
07:19just the atmosphere. You need to soak it in quick. If you don't soak it in quick, then
07:24before you know it, you could be five, six nil down. The atmosphere is just so good here
07:28and everybody wants to be here. Is it the tight-knit nature of the venue that makes
07:34it for you, the fact that the fans are right there? Yeah, they are. You're sitting in your
07:40chair. The first time I played here, I was sitting in the chair before we went out, before
07:44we broke off. I feel like I'm sitting in the crowd. You've got the cameras that are so close
07:51to the table that you don't realise they're that close. You look at home, you think they're
07:55zooming in on their tables and they're not. They're right there next to the pocket. Everything
08:00is just so close. Like I said, that's what makes the atmosphere so special when you get to it.
08:06Final question for you. When you start to play on Saturday evening and you're stood in that
08:11tunnel waiting to go down the steps into the arena, what sort of a feeling will you have? Will
08:16it be nerves? You've been here quite a few times already. Is it nerves or is it just excitement?
08:23I won't be able to tell you until I'm standing there, to be honest. Hopefully, it's not nerves.
08:28Hopefully, it's just being relaxed and I'm looking forward to it. If it's nerves, then
08:32obviously I've got to get over that quick. I can't tell you how I'm going to feel until
08:39I'm standing there. You might want to come back and ask me then.
08:42Thank you so much.
08:43Cheers. Thank you.
08:43I really appreciate that.