Gareth Allen played on the professional snooker tour between 2015-2017, and he had a lengthy career among the amateur ranks before earning his pro tour card. His snooker journey began at the age of three, when he would watch the game on TV with his grandmother and imitate the players while sitting on the floor with a pencil and some marbles.
In conversation with Marcus Stead, Gareth discusses his life in snooker, before the conversation turns to the realities of life for a modern professional snooker player.
The game has been utterly transformed since Barry Hearn took charge of the governing body in late 2009. In that time, prize money has increased from £3.5 million to an astonishing £14 million. There are more tournaments than ever before, but this means more travel, and inevitably far more expenses, which hits the lower ranked players hard. Is the game’s governing body doing enough to help the lower ranked players?
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