Brown eyes Tour spot after harsh Barbican lesson

OLIVER Brown was hardly given a sniff in his UK Snooker Championship opener but the amateur potter admits there is no shame in losing to someone like Mark Selby in York.
By Luke Baker
Published 26th Nov 2014, 22:40 BST
Oliver Brown.Oliver Brown.
Oliver Brown.

Selby, who won the UK Championship in 2012, reached the final last year and clinched the World Championship title back in May, eased to a 6-0 victory at the Barbican on Wednesday evening.

For Dronfield potter Brown there was to be no repeat of his fairytale start to the season, which saw the 20-year-old beat world No.3 Ding Junhui 5-0 in a Wuxi Classic qualifier back in May.

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“Mark played very well out there and he didn’t give me much of a chance but it’s all good experience for me,” said Brown.

“I did miss some pots I should have made but going out there on the big stage is good fun, great experience and hopefully when I get on the main Tour I will be used to these sort of conditions.

“This season is a bit of a learning curve for me but hopefully I can earn a bit of money from the tournaments and I’ll just enter everything I can.

“It felt a little bit different to my win over Ding – the conditions were a bit different to the qualifiers but it’s all good experience and hopefully I can carry on playing and get even more used to events like this.

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“Even apart from the win over Ding I’m really happy with how this season has gone – it’s the best season of my career. I’ve recorded some good victories, so I’m pleased.

“I’m not worried about playing anyone on the Tour – against the big players you have to keep it a bit tighter but I’m happy with being in these tournaments.

“My experience here has definitely made me want to come back to the UK Championship next year – hopefully I’ll get a good win next time and carry it on.”

And Brown already has a clear idea of what is next in the pipeline, with a place on the professional Tour in mind.

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“My next aim is to get on the tour full-time and hopefully that is through Q-School,” he added. “Hopefully I’ll carry on doing what I’m doing, do well and I look forward to Q-School.

“I’ll be straight back to practice before the Lisbon Open in December and hopefully the Welsh Qualifiers if I get into them – I want to keep getting better.”

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Related topics:Mark SelbyYork