When I was an amateur I was ok like most people, I wasn’t quick but I was normal, and then when I played in the World Championships I’d have people telling me I was quite slow and I’d think ‘Quite slow?’

I really would like to go back to playing on the main tour, but here in Brazil we need to work much more on the marketing aspect of snooker so that it receives the same sort of investment as other sports. This isn’t just for me, but for snooker as whole. But yes, I really would like to return.

Winning the PTC meant a lot to me. I didn’t expect to win going into the tournament, I just wanted to win two matches to secure my place in the top 64, and then it just got better and better. I couldn’t believe I’d won!

Gareth Allen is a talented 23 year old Welsh amateur snooker player with ambitions to make it onto the main professional snooker tour. Real life has so far got in the way of his snooker playing ambitions, but with the advent of the PTCs and sponsorship courtesy of Sport Wales he has taken the plunge for a once in a lifetime crack at the big time.