Billy Joe Castle has brushed aside his job as a landscape gardener to live his dream as a snooker professional.
The 25-year old from Hampshire will be the surprise name among the field as we move into the last 32 of the European Masters after an excellent win against world number 22 Martin Gould.
Castle is competing in his first season on the tour after successfully – and quite comfortably – navigating his way through this summer’s Q School.
Despite a predictably slow start to life as a professional where has lost his first match in five ranking events, he’s now preparing to fight it out for a place in the latter stages of this event in Belgium.
He showed great steel to recover from 2-0 and 3-2 down to take the scalp of Gould 4-3.
This win comes after beating Jimmy White by the same scoreline in qualifying and after he came close to springing a surprise in the International Championship preliminary when he narrowly missed out 6-5 to Ricky Walden.
All the signs are there that Castle is gradually finding his feet as he looks prepared to couple his naturally attacking game with a willingness to scrap it out against players of superior experience.
Castle accumulated just 273 points compared Gould’s 423 despite coming out on top in the all-important frames column.
In a week where the game’s star name Ronnie O’Sullivan has turned to Twitter to mock and belittle the efforts of players operating lower down the snooker pyramid, Castle’s progress demonstrates what is possible in Barry Hearn’s brave new world of opportunity.
For Castle and like many lower-ranked rookie professionals, the chance to compete on the sport’s 128-man circuit can be as much daunting as it is inspiring – but sometimes you just need that break.
Maybe this week will prove to be Castle’s big break.