ONE of snooker’s all-time greats, Steve Davis, is heading to The Shipley Club on Friday to talk about his life within the game, and he is a big fan of Bradford’s contribution to it.

Invited by Gilstead snooker aficionado Keith Walker, this will be Davis’ second visit to Shipley in recent years after an exhibition evening there in 2019.

The six-time World Snooker Champion told the T&A: “Snooker has really got history in Bradford, most notably because of the wonderful Joe Johnson, who’s done a lot for the sport in the area after winning his world title.

“In Yorkshire in general, people are interested in the game, and whenever there’s snooker on in the area it’s well-attended.

“I don’t really play the game any more, but I can entertain the crowd on Friday with my stories, and I’m sure by the end of the night, I’ll pick up a cue at some point, just to prove that I used to be able to play.”

He reserved special praise for Crucible stalwart Walker, saying: “Keith’s a real snooker person and he’s part of the family.

“Within snooker, we all feel that the people who’ve been there for us since day one like Keith are part of the family.

“It’s an astonishing story he’s got too, given he was caught up in the 2017 Manchester bombing with his family (Walker lost his hearing in one ear as a result while wife Sue had a shrapnel wound in her leg).

“He’s been a massive supporter of snooker over the years and it’s going to be nice to go somewhere on Friday where you’ll feel in safe hands, and all the people there will be singing from the same hymn sheet.”

That being said, Davis added: “It’s interesting, because I’m not a massive fan of nostalgia, as I think we tend to live in the past in the UK.

“But when it’s just sport, I think it’s okay to think that way, and it’s nice to talk about snooker and what it means to people.

“A lot of people got TV exposure to it, and eras of people have grown up with the game.

“It was great for me to be there when the game exploded. We weren’t the first era of the game, but the 80s were the first time the game was really getting TV exposure and that it was accepted by the public.

“It used to be said that playing snooker was the sign of a misspent youth, and we had to live in the shadow of that for a while.

“But when the BBC started showing the Worlds in its entirety, it converted old fans, and brought new ones to the game.”

But Davis is not living in the past, and has little time for those who say the game has gone south over the years.

He said: “Snooker right now is interesting, because people will say it’s not how it was, but it’s better than ever.

“Now it’s gone truly worldwide, as it can reach anyone, and the likes of the Far East and parts of Europe have really embraced the game.

“The model of how people consume TV is different now, so there’s no way we could sustain the level of snooker watching in the UK that we had in the 80s.

“The sport is a success story because it’s expanded to other parts of the world and I’m proud of that.

“Look at Germany and China, and how we have champions from different countries turning professional.

“There’s more countries than ever represented in our 128 professionals, which is incredible.

“Those who complain that it’s not like it used to be are stuck in their own little world, and need to accept that times change.”