Cork's Greg Casey aiming to make professional snooker tour
Cork snooker player Greg Casey with his daughter Dani-May before a tournament.
CORK snooker and pool player Greg Casey is just back in Cork after competing in the Ultimate Amateur Pool Championships Shootout which was held in Stoke on Trent.
He finished runner-up after losing out to Scott Pope in the final. This was a very credible performance from the Northside native as there were over 300 players taking part in the tournament.
Greg has had a successful career to date and is a two-time Senior Home Internationals winner, a three-time Irish National Junior Champion, a four-time Munster Club Champion and a two-time All-Ireland Club Champion. Casey also won a bronze medal at the 2019 European Men’s Snooker Championship but went one better that the following year by bringing home a silver medal in the European Team Championships.
He has over 60 caps playing for Ireland.
Greg also had the opportunity to play in the Professional World Snooker Championships in Sheffield in 2016, but lost out to Ding Junhui 10-4 in round one, however, Junhui went on to the final and lost narrowly out to Mark Selby.
Greg grew up on Maryaikenhead Place, which is just off Cathedral Road with his parents Judy and the late Anthony, and is still living in the area with his partner Claire and his daughter Dani-May.
He started playing snooker in the local Crucible Snooker Cub which is based just off Blarney Street from the age of ten and he is still playing there to this very day.
Greg has played with some great players over the years, to mention a few, David Cassidy, Ryan Casey, Aaron Hill, Noel Landers and Daniel O’Regan. More importantly, they are now his lifelong friends.
He also plays Pool with O’Cionnaigh’s Bar in the Shandon area of the city and won multiple trophies with his friends in the Cork Pool Leagues and all over the country. Although he lost last week he is more determined to move on to the next competition with his goal of getting his professional snooker card in the coming years, with Hill currently doing well on the circuit.
"Last week I was playing in the Ultimate Pool finals it was held in Stoke On Trent, it started off with a couple of hundred players and I lost in the final. It was a great run but it stung me not getting the winners trophy.
"I want to have another crack at the professional game by gaining my card at Q School as I came very close to gaining it a few years ago when I was only two matches away on the world tournament and one match away from a professional card in the European Championships.
"However, I did get to play against Professional players Judd Trump, Jack Lisowski, Ding Junhui, Mark Allen and Anthony McGill."
Playing in big Snooker and Pool tournaments can be a very expensive sport, however, Greg is lucky to have Tomas Singleton of Singleton’s SuperValu Hollyhill as his main sponsor and he is very grateful for this.
“I met Tomàs in 2016 and it’s been a dream come true ever since, he’s been incredibly good to me and over-generous throughout my years.
"He’s not just a great sponsor now to me, he is also a great friend. I really want to thank him as he is a legend in the Northside area for all the people he sponsors in many sports and charities.
"I also want to thank my own mother Judy and my father Anthony (who sadly passed away last November) who have supported me my whole life and career.
"They gave me everything I ever needed as Tomàs does now, so I’m truly grateful to them all.
"A special thanks to my partner Claire and daughter Dani-May who has to put up with all my traveling and practice time.
“Snooker and Pool would be my sports but I did enjoy a little soccer when I was younger, but I soon found out that playing with the small ball suited me better.
"I Just have to keep working hard and keep pushing forward and hopefully get a break at the right time with a bit of luck."
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