It’s been a long time coming but it’s great for snooker to see Jack Lisowski back competing at the business end of a tournament.
He faces Ronnie O’Sullivan today in the quarter-finals of the English Open and has had to get here the hard way.
In Wednesday’s double dose of action in Barnsley, he beat two-time world champion Mark Williams and in-form Judd Trump book his place in the last eight against the runaway tournament favourite.
When they commence this evening, all eyes will be on Jack as he faces the sport’s biggest box office attraction for the first time in his career – and he will no doubt relish the opportunity to be involved in a match of this magnitude given his lean spell over the past few seasons.
This is Jack’s third appearance at a ranking event quarter-final and it presents the chance for him to reach the last four for the first time.
Aged 26, it was expected that Lisowski would have by now established himself as more of a regular at this stage of tournaments – and even made greater strides to burst into the top 16.
Back in 2013, he was being heralded alongside Trump as one of the players of the future with an appealing public image, a bubbly personality and above all an abundance of talent on the table.
It’s fair to say he hasn’t quite kicked on as he would have liked, but this only goes to show just how tough it is out there on the professional circuit.
Luckily for his fans – of which he has many – Jack is by no means one to get down on himself. He is a determined young lad who has a refreshing practically to playing the sport, no doubt born from his successful battle against cancer aged 16.
This kind of life experience no doubt leaves a lasting impression and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t put things like snooker into its rightful perspective, but his hunger to do well has never gone away.
Jack has not yet achieved what many predicted he would but his run here acts as a timely reminder to what he’s capable of, how well he can play the game and could potentially prove the catalyst to a good season ahead.
