Sutton eyes break into the pro ranks
John Sutton with the former world champion Steve Davis.
LOCAL snooker star John Sutton is gearing up for a shot at the big time after qualifying to play on the PTC semi-professional tour in the UK. The 30-year-old from Clogherhead will be rubbing shoulders with Ronnie O'Sullivan and other world-famous players in the 12-event series, and for the semi-pros who do well there is the opportunity to earn a place at the 'top table' in the full professional ranks.
'I actually went pro before in 2004 and played in the first two or three tournaments in the UK,' Sutton recalled, 'but at the time my fiancée fell pregnant and we bought a house in Clogherhead, so I had to give up my card and go in search of a mortgage instead!
'But now everything is settled down, I'm married with two children and working as a sales executive with Cadbury, so I'll be going over to the UK in the second week of October and playing in tournaments where I could be up against Ronnie, Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White.
'It's £100 to enter them and you have to get clearance that you're a top amateur which I already have because I'm an Ireland international for a few years.
'If I win one match I earn £250, two matches £600 and three matches £1,500. After 12 tournaments, the top 24 players play off in a TV event for £100,000.'
It's every snooker player's dream to play at the famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and in January Sutton will be taking part in the qualifiers for the World Championships, where he will probably have to win five matches to reach the first round proper.
At the same time, he will continue to compete on the Irish amateur circuit, which offers another route to the full professional ranks if he finishes top at the end of the season.
Locally, Sutton became the first player to score a century, both at the recently-developed Star and Crescent and the new Potters snooker hall in Drogheda. He has already made a number of 147 breaks in his career and played against the likes of Steve Davis, Mark Williams, Jimmy White and Mark Selby.
But he needs to take another big step if he is to play regularly in the televised tournaments where the big money is.
'I was disappointed to have to give it up in 2004 and it's taken a while to get back in,' he said.
'But this is the first season I've been playing and practising throughout the summer and I'm number one at the moment in the rankings for the 6 Ball Series, which is snooker but with only six reds on the table.
'My aims are to finish number one in Ireland, earn a nice few quid in the UK, win one or two Pro-Am events and qualify as a professional and I think I can do it.'
