At just 30 years old Ross Muir has been through a lot in his career, but he is using a painful time away from the table as a driving force to succeed at it.
The Scot turned professional for the first time in 2013, earning his place on the tour when he entered Q School as a 17-year-old.
In his own words, he has ‘definitely not shown anything’ since then, with the last 16 his best in the rankings.
Muir firmly believes there is more to come after some tough times of late have distracted him from snooker.
His mother passed away in February, more than a year after being diagnosed with heart failure, months which saw the snooker in disarray.
‘It’s still a bit surreal. She was my best friend and very supportive of snooker,” said Muir subway. “She’s been with me the whole journey. She always loved watching my games and we always chatted after the games. So from that point of view it’s a massive gap in my life now.
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“I can’t put it into words to be honest and I don’t think there are words to describe it. It’s just one of these horrible things in life, it’s cruel, you know, it’s cruel to everyone involved.
“It was hard last year. I took a step back from practice. I was just going from tournament to tournament and every other moment of my time was dedicated to my mom to find ways to help her, ways to make her better.’
After spending his time looking after Margaret, she leaves him with words of encouragement to get back to focusing on billiards.
“She had a good chat with us,” he said. “She wanted us to look forward. She wanted me to be a snooker player again. She appreciated all the time we spent together. But she asked me to be a snooker player again, so I’m trying to be.
“After the World Championships (qualifying), I shook Robbie Williams’ hand, got in the car, went home and I was back in working condition. The next day I was on the training table and I worked harder than ever before. I have addressed all the technical problems that were in my game. I am very happy with the way things have turned out.
“I understand that there are two ways a tragic event like this can affect a person: very negatively or you can use it as a driving force. That’s what I’ve tried to do my best.
“There are great signs going forward, as an opponent I’m a different prospect than I’ve been for a few years. I’m starting to play proper snooker again. I don’t need to try and work things out like I did last year.’
The world number 109 needs to show those improvements on the table this season if he is to keep his tour card, but he is confident the deep runs are there.
He practices with the likes of John Higgins, Anthony McGill and Scott Donaldson at his base in Musselburgh – an old church where his desk has been for years.
On his ceiling in the last 16 of his career, he said, “That’s definitely not my limitation by any means. Over the years I’ve been a little messed up with different things. I’m trying to be a little more consistent and a little more consistent.
“I certainly don’t want to be in a position to just go through, get close to the top 64, crash, reset. That’s not what I want to do, I want to push a lot further than that. And I definitely know that I’ve got the game, I’ve got the determination to do that, and those are definitely the two things that are required to get there.’
Of his career turmoil, none was more destabilizing than the ocular migraines he suffered so badly that he thought he had retired from billiards in his twenties.
He suffered the nightmare condition in 2019, leading to his departure from the professional tour as he is plagued by significant vision loss on a daily basis.
“I was hardly seeing anything,” he explained. “It was 90 percent vision loss when he was at his worst. I think it was pressure-driven, so generally the more pressure the game, the worse it would get.
‘There is no pain in it at all. The way I would describe it is that you are in a room that is filled with smoke. And it was every day, sometimes several times a day.’
Muir thought his career was over when the case was at its worst, saying: ‘When I left the tour, at the end of the second year of suffering, I was done with it. I thought, what’s the point of fighting when you can’t see, when I can’t see rest? There seemed no point in following him.’
He didn’t get his mark for six months and the issue eased, with the pressure of matches one of the triggers to bring on the migraine.
Muir also discovered that there are triggers based on diet, fitness, stress, and he has created a lifestyle that keeps them under control.
The Scotsman thought snooker was over for him and took security jobs in Edinburgh at an office building and railway station, but the lure of snooker brought him back.
“I was comfortable for a while, but losing pool started to creep in and that feeling got a little too strong,” he said.
“It took me maybe a year to get my game back. That year I was absolutely terrible, losing the first few rounds at Q School, Scottish snooker, I couldn’t win a match. I was doing it for fun as a hobby. But I think because you’ve been playing snooker for so long, it’s not really acceptable.’
He did the hard work of getting his game back in shape while controlling his diet and fitness to keep the ocular migraines at bay.
Muir returned to the tour in 2023 by winning the European Amateur Championship and has a very positive outlook on his sport after feeling it was taken from him.
‘I am absolutely delighted. Snooker“A wonderful job,” he said. “I am very fortunate to be able to play the game professionally. I am very grateful for this opportunity.
“At that point in my life, when it was at its worst, I wasn’t going anywhere. It was definitely a worrying time.
‘Overall I am very lucky. It’s a perspective thing. That’s something I’m always very aware of and now I use it as a form of motivation in the sense that, right, I have access to these pro events. Enjoy them.
“That’s first and foremost, enjoy what you have there because there are far worse positions to be in.”
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