Home comforts could help Lines break through to latter stages

The UK Championship cues off at the York Barbican this month and there will be no one more relieved than Peter Lines, from Leeds.

The 43-year-old, ranked world No 54, has been racking up air miles as well as tournament winnings this season.

Three trips to China in as many months have seen the father-of-two spending time away from wife Sarah, and children Oliver and Penny, as he competes on snooker’s ever-expanding calendar.

Not that Lines is complaining, even if his latest trip to the Far East ended with him returning to Yorkshire minus his prized cue.

That was lost somewhere between Chengdu, where he was competing in the International Championship, and Manchester Airport.

It is an occupational hazard now for snooker players, unable to carry their cues in the cabin due to safety regulations.

“I flew from Chengdu to Heathrow, then on to Manchester,” he said. “It was stuck at Heathrow, it didn’t make it on the Manchester flight.

“You are not allowed to carry your cue on the planes. We have all had to buy plastic tubes – ski cases – to protect the cues.

“I hadn’t been to China since 1998. I last qualified in 1998 – and have been back three times in four months.

“I have been to Wuxi, Shanghai and Chengdu. The travelling absolutely kills you.

“Then I have been to the PTCs, Germany three times, I have been to Rotterdam (and Antwerp this week). Once the season gets going it’s non-stop.

“The Northern Snooker Centre (where Lines works) are really good about it, but more importantly I have an understanding wife.

“Sarah has a lot of running around with Oliver, and my daughter Poppy still has to get to school, things like that. She takes it all; I wouldn’t be able to do it all without her.”

Lines – whose career highlight came in reaching the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in 2009 – is one of dozens of players from down the rankings who have profited from World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn’s revamp of the sport.

More tournaments, increased prize money and opening up events so the game’s elite, like Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby, are forced to play in the early rounds against opponents from the top 128 players in the world means there are no barriers now for competitors like Lines to progress. He has enjoyed a good start to the season and needed it, after a poor campaign last time out when “off-the-table” personal problems threatened his place on the main Tour.

“It’s been a good season, I have earned quite a few quid,” he reflected. “Mind you, I had such a bad season last year, I had to have a good season otherwise I would have been struggling to stay on the tour.

“I have won more prize money this year because I have had a good season, but there’s obviously a lot more tournaments now.

“Back when I reached the quarter-finals (the 1999 China Open and 2009 UK Championship), there were no PTCs, I wasn’t earning money all the time.

“Now, though, your expenses have gone up too. They have gone through the roof. You have to be winning otherwise you will be struggling.”

Lines was beaten by Matthew Stevens 5-3 in the Wuxi Classic at the last-16 stage, the same point at which he exited the Shanghai Masters against Xiao Guodong, and by the same scoreline.

He then pushed world No 2 Mark Selby close before letting a 4-3 lead slip away as the Leicester cueman battled back to win 6-4 in Chengdu, clinching victory with a 116 break.

“To turn over Mark, the world No 2, would have been an achievement,” said Lines. “I am knocking on the door, just hoping to finally make the breakthrough to the last stages of an event. But, as I said, I have had a good season and am really pleased with it.

“I am playing well. I have been working with a new coach and think he has done wonders for my game. Also, last year I had a few family problems and I have managed to sort them out. My head wasn’t right last season.

“I can just go and play snooker now. If I lose at least it’s just down to my snooker now, not off-the-table matters.”

Tickets for the williamhill.com UK Championship, which runs from November 26 to December 8, are on sale now. For details call 0844 854 2757 or visitwww.worldsnooker.com/tickets.