The Triple Crown winner discusses playing with freedom, his new break-off action and the importance of giving something back
How exciting is it to be playing in the first Triple Crown event of the season?
SM: We’ve got lots of big tournaments in snooker – we travel the world, we play in some fantastic places, but the majors are completely different.
There’s a lot more excitement, the crowds are always brilliant and the players get themselves up for these BBC majors in a way they don’t for the others.
We all try our best every week, but majors are that little bit extra and I’ve been looking forward to the UK Championship for a long, long time.
You won the UK Championship in 2008, but presumably you feel like you’re a much better player now?
SM: I think winning the Masters this year and completing my own Triple Crown really solidifies my confidence.
Now, as a multiple major winner, I can go into all future tournaments really with the pressure off – I’ve got the rest of my career now to win as many of these tournaments as I possibly can.
I’m always well-prepared, I try and do things as professionally as possible on and off the table – but in York I can, in golfing terms, open my shoulders and go for my shots.
How important is it for you to play with the same freedom that won you the World Championship 10 years ago?
SM: Last year was a real example of what’s achievable if you play to your strengths.
Instead of trying to play the perfect snooker, the right style of game or taking advice from other people, you as the player always knows what’s the right shot for you when you’re stood behind it.
For too long, I ignored those urges to go for the killer shot, to go for the big long pot.
Just a couple of years ago, I decided I was going to go back to my old ways.
I wish I hadn’t messed around for so long, trying to discover how to be a good safety player because, unfortunately, I’m still useless at it.
Is that difficult to stick to in a match scenario when the easier shot is to play safe?
SM: I find it harder to turn the shot down these days. I always believe the odds are in your favour as the attacker.
It’s actually six or seven to one in your favour that you’ll get another turn.
It’s only one in six or seven that the player coming to the table clears the table and you don’t get another shot.
In snooker, I think it’s very easy to assume that your opponent is going to clear up. Very rarely does that happen.
And if does happen, then you have to shake the guy’s hand and say he played very well on the day.
It’s about playing the odds and it’s not as reckless as it looks.
Can you explain a bit more about the break-off action you’re working on?
SM: Unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a Pandora’s box and I opened it about a month ago while practising with my coach Chris.
I’ve probably got about half a dozen break-off shots in my bag now – none of which work perfectly.
If you ask why they break off the traditional way, they won’t be able to tell you. Nobody knows.
It’s a shot that’s been the same for 50 years and I’m just trying to look at some slightly different options.
In my opinion, the break off is trying to make sure you get another go.
How many frames do you see through the season where someone breaks off and it’s their last shot? Quite a lot.
So I’m trying to protect against that.
Obviously, the way to ensure another go is to roll off two cushions into the back of the reds and get booed from the crowd.
But that’s ensuring you get another chance and it’s actually quite a good shot if you get it right.
I may well come out of this period with the opinion of: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But I’m trying my best to improve and that involves leaving no stone unturned.
How good does it feel to play on home soil at one of the most prestigous events?
SM: Snooker crowds around the world are fantastic and it’s very easy to believe that the crowds are better in China or Germany.
But let me tell you: the crowds in the UK are the best in the world.
When you play in these major championships up and down Great Britain, the crowds make the event special.
It’s always a great thrill to walk out in front of an appreciative crowd and, at York, you always get that.
The North has always been a hotbed of snooker talent and snooker has thrived in that area of the world.
You’re prolific on social media. Is it a nice distraction when playing in long events like the UK Championship?
SM: I enjoy interacting with social media fans around the world and try to answer as many questions as I possibly can.
I have my own YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter account and Instagram as well – I’m into all outlets and trying my best to leave snooker in a better state than it was when I came into the game.
I’m doing everything I can to promote what a great sport it is and try to get people involved by chatting about it and thinking about it.
It’s a sport that’s given me so much and I’m trying, in my own little way, to give as much back as I can.
How do you look back on your World Championship final against Stuart Bingham six months ago?
SM: It was a tale of two young men who sacrificed everything in their young lives to pursue the dream of being a snooker player.
Both of us dropped out of education quite young and were educated amongst the snooker fraternity.
We learnt our trade, travelled the world and chased a dream that I might’ve achieved a bit earlier than Stuart, but it never stopped him chasing it.
But all those nice stories aside, I actually felt – and I’ve watched every one since 1992 – it was the highest standard I’ve ever seen in a World final.
I thought we both beat the proverbial out of each other for 33 frames and, unfortunately for me, he got to 18 first. But I felt we put on a great show for everybody.
Sometimes you can look back at the seventies and eighties and nineties with rose-tinted glasses, but I thought that was the highest standard in a final I’ve ever seen and that shows where’s snooker’s going.
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