Snooker megastar Joe Swail ultimate night discovered he’s struggling with crippling melancholy – and has ceased the professional ranks after a glittering 30-year career. The Belfast potter – who twice reached the World Championship semi-finals at the Crucible and is one of the most famous players on the circuit – confessed he has barely lifted a cue because he exited the World Championship qualifiers in April. Swail, who will turn 50 next month, stated: “I was fighting despair. Snooker may be very inconsistent, a game of highs and lows. I had stopped playing it and fallen out of love with it.
“Snooker triggers certain health troubles. You bring snooker domestic with you. “I had stopped practicing, so I became under-organized for tournaments. Then you’re dropping matches, and it’s far a vicious circle mentally.” Swail also discovered that he had discussed despair with fellow Ulster snooker megastar Mark Allen, who has also suffered from the infection. Five-time international champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has also battled mental demons.
Swail introduced: “I had depression for some years earlier than I even realized I had it, and although I would not cross as a long way as to mention I become suicidal, it’s miles a slippery slope. “I sought assistance for it, and thankfully, it changed into the right assist. “It is good to speak about your troubles. It is essential to get the awareness available and get it out inside the open. The first step is going to look at your medical doctor. “I even have used alcohol to try to defeat it; however, I never touched pills.”
Swail – who has earned almost £1,300,000 in prize cash – feels losing the expert excursion seven years ago may have also sparked his despair. “There were many things happening in my lifestyle, but I felt I became too young to retire. It changed into a round that point that I turned into identified with melancholy,” he said. “I might describe it as being in a black hollow.” Swail, from Joy Street in the Markets, is partly deaf and has had growing issues with tinnitus.
“My partial deafness has never adversely affected my snooker, but tinnitus can be a trouble because it has brought me difficulty with drowsing,” he stated. Swail says he has no doubts that retiring from professional recreation is the right element. “I have had sufficient of the seasoned circuit, the consistent round of flights and resorts. I need to experience my existence. I am in an awesome area mentally in the meantime,” he stated. “Snooker is a pressurized state of affairs. It is quality to have kicked off the shackles.
“I love having the time to get out onto the golf course. “It is hard being primarily based in Ireland and looking to travel to play in tournaments. I may not leave out trying to try this. “I can do what I want now, like to spend time with my family. “I have a deep interest in education, which I would love to commit more time to. In the past, I even had to turn down training classes because I changed into flying off to tournaments – my time wasn’t my own.”
But Swail will be lost to the aggressive game, as he might be gambling against Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry on the senior’s tour. “I will play at the senior’s excursion next season, but there is not the same time and dedication required, so that is something I am searching ahead to,” he said. Joe suffered a heartbreaking setback when his dad, Billy, passed away 18 months ago. His dad becomes his number one fan, journeying to tournaments all over the UK. His mother, Josephine, was handed out in 1998.
“I grew up via the Troubles, and there had been continual barricades on the give up of our road,” recalled Joe, who became stimulated to take in the sport by looking at Belfast legend Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins on TV as a boy. “I used to constantly be sporting a cue case, which wasn’t an excellent component to wear in one’s dark days. I genuinely had a guy who had served as a soldier in the Troubles Technique some years ago tell me he remembered the cue case; however, he and his colleagues knew the Swail boys had been snooker gamers, and we had been k.
“I become very fortunate to have had an extremely good family upbringing, and my dad used to come to the Crucible and different venues. “I know he possibly felt I underachieved barely – he knew what I become able to. But I look back on my career with notable satisfaction. I recognize I sometimes burnt the candle at both ends – but I had a super time and loved myself. “I became the international’s top 16 and performed professionally for almost 30 years. Not many can say that.”
