One snooker star who pocketed a handsome £50,000 at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters was said to be on the lookout for a part-time job ahead of the tournament.
Players from across the world descended on Saudi Arabia earlier this month to fight it out for a total prize fund of £2.3million – one of the biggest on the snooker circuit.
Eventual winner Judd Trump took home an eye-watering £500,000, but there was still plenty of prize money on offer to the players knocked out in the earlier rounds.
One of those being Jimmy Robertson, who beat the likes of John Higgins and reigning world champion Kyren Wilson en route to the Saudi Masters quarter-finals.
That’s where his journey would end though, with the 38-year-old losing 6-0 to Mark Williams, but not before Robertson took home £50k for his efforts in the Middle East.
However, in a tell-all interview with The Metro, Robertson revealed a medical condition almost forced him to look for work away from the snooker table.
Speaking after his Suadi Masters run, Robertson commented: “The best way I can explain it [the condition], when it’s at its worst, is like you’ve had a heavy night out and no sleep, you wake up and you’re all shaky, a bit achy. Or you’ve done a heavy weights session at the gym and your arms are gone. Playing snooker with shaky arms, wobbling all over, it’s horrible…
“So I went to see a neurologist. It’s an essential tremor, I’ve been told it’s not going to get any better and you can’t get rid of it. It’s just something you’ve got, but it’s also not going to escalate into something more serious. It’s just a case of trying to manage it as best I can.”
“It was the last thing I wanted to be doing but I wasn’t earning any money at snooker. I went for the interview, the money seemed alright, but they were long days. I had to be at the warehouse at 5am, which would have meant getting up at 3am and I thought, that ain’t for me! The intention was there, but straight away I thought again because I still had to practice. I didn’t even tell him I was a snooker player.”
Needless to say Robertson seems to have got his mojo back and will be targeting even more big paydays this season.
