David Grace has been a regular on snooker’s professional tour since 2008, the same year he won the European Snooker Championships, and has successfully earned a living from the sport he loves – in more ways than one.
Grace, born in Leeds in 1985, grew up playing snooker with his dad from the age of 10 and soon became infatuated with the game. Though he could only watch the three Triple Crown events (World Snooker Championship, Masters, and the UK Championships), when those tournaments were being held then snooker was a constant on the television.
“You naturally gravitate towards watching snooker when it’s on the television,” he told Fen Regis Trophies. “I just remember it being a constant and when the World Championships were on it felt like forever.
“Every day, coming home from school I was wanting to watch it and see what was going on.
“I don’t particularly remember following any players, I just like watching it. I just always wanted it on.”
The Artist
As well as playing the game, the current world number 68 also works at the Northern Snooker Centre to supplement his income, alongside a hobby of painting portraits of other players on tour.
“I’ve not painted for a year or so as I’m so busy with the snooker,” he said. “It is something that I enjoy doing when I get the chance.
“I did art at A Level before I took up snooker full-time and it was always something I thought I might get back into at some time.
“A few years ago, I did a painting of my first niece and it just went from there. I ended up doing a couple of pictures of snooker players, just to try it, and when I put them up on Facebook a few people told me they were really good and saying they would like one.”
As David started taking requests for his artwork, it may not come as any surprise who the most sought-after player was for the 37-year-old.
“Definitely Ronnie [O’Sullivan]! He’s the one I’ve done the most of. I think I’ve done three or four of him now.”
Rubbing Shoulders with Snooker’s Elite
Having played on the professional tour for almost a solid 15 years, barring a couple of seasons without a tour card, Grace has had the privilege of sharing a table with some of the best player to have held a cue. While he labels O’Sullivan as the best he has played, it is John Higgins that David holds in especially high regard.
“The first player that really blew me away was John Higgins when he won the World Championship in ’98. I just remember thinking that he had taken it up a level that year.
“The best player I’ve played is Ronnie. When we played previously, he beat me 4-0 and it was over in no time. I wasn’t even in the match.
“It’s the speed at which he can win the frame. We had a safety battle and I thought I played a good shot, he tapped the table, and then he dug a red out through a gap and after six minutes he’s already at frame ball! It’s mad how efficient he is.”
Achievements on Tour
The biggest achievement of his career so far is reaching the semi-finals of the UK Championship in 2015. Grace was the surprise package of the tournament, defeating the likes of Graeme Dott, Jack Lisowski, Peter Ebdon and Martin Gould before succumbing to Liang Wenbo.
His exploits earned him the moniker of ‘Amazing’ by master of ceremonies Rob Walker, a nickname that his remained ever since, and the potter admits that it was a “surreal” experience.
“I hadn’t played many TV matches, I had only played the odd game.
“I had never played on the BBC until I played Peter Ebdon in the last-16 and just being there and knowing that John Virgo was commentating on my match was surreal.”
Grace admits that reaching the latter stages of the UK Championship, along with qualifying for the World Snooker Championship in 2017, outrank anything that he has achieved outside of the professional game, including winning the coveted European Snooker Championship.
“I first got on the tour in 2008 after winning the European Amateur Championship. It’s probably one of the biggest ones you can win before you get on the tour, but once you get on the pro tour you soon realise that anything else you achieve far outweighs anything as an amateur.
“The standard is so much higher. It’s just a completely different game. You think you can relate to the pro game playing as an amateur.
“It’s only when you get on the tour that you realise it is worlds apart.”
