Rugby snooker star Wakelin reflects on a stunning start to the year
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The 30-year-old, who was born and bred in the town, won his first ranking title 10 years after turning professional when he won the BetVictor Shoot Out at the end of January.
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Hide AdWakelin defeated Julien LeVClercq in the final of the fast-paced, one-frame tournament with the highest break of the event of 119 which meant he picked up an extra £5,000 on top of the £50,000 winner’s prize for his biggest pay day to date.
Wakelin had never previously been beyond the quarter-finals of a ranking event but went all the way and then followed it up by reaching the last eight of the BetVictor German Masters in Berlin where a 16-match winning streak was ended in a 5-2 defeat to Robert Milkins who made a maximum 147 break in the process.
He then suffered a second-round exit in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of David Gilbert in the Welsh Open.
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Hide AdBut his fine form catapulted him up to 15th in the one-year ranking list and earned him a spot in this week’s Duelbits Players Championship in which he lost 6-2 to Ryan Day in the first round on Monday night.
And, following his magical moment in the Shoot Out, Wakelin explained exactly what his first-ever ranking title meant for him.
“It’s a very surreal moment, something I have always dreamed of,” Wakelin, who is now up to number 31 in the world rankings, told the World Snooker Tour website.
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Hide Ad“The last trophy I won was the English Under-19s, it has taken me 10 years to win another one! I couldn’t be prouder of what has happened.
“It takes so much to be able to perform out there.
“In the quarter and semi-finals I wasn’t sure I would be able to push the cue through, I was that nervous.
“But the final was the most comfortable I felt all week and that proves the hard work is all worth it.
“Everyone goes through tough times.
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Hide Ad"We are lucky enough to play snooker for a living but that doesn’t mean we haven’t got problems off the table.
“I have had a lot of hardship and some dark times but managed to fight through them and I’m sitting here now with my own silverware. I never thought I would have to buy a trophy cabinet.
“A year or so ago I took up ballroom dancing and that really changed my life.
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Hide Ad“It gave me a new outlook, something else to focus on and a new skill to learn.
"I met a whole host of new people and it gave me a chance to raise money for Zoe’s Place and do my bit for a local charity.
"That made me realise I’m a good person deep down.
“The money is life changing, it’s inconceivable. I am from a humble background.
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Hide Ad“I didn’t realise when I potted the pink in the final I had nicked the high break as well.
“This result will trampoline me up the rankings.
“I have lost a lot of hard matches which just didn’t go my way because the tour is so strong.
“Over the last 18 months my game has come on so much, I feel as if I’m playing the best snooker of my life.”