One of the world’s top disability snooker players said the sport helped him overcome bad mental health.
David Church, who is 27 and from Norwich, has Moebius syndrome – a rare birth defect that affects facial muscles and eye movement.
He is currently ranked third in the world and is due to compete in the World Abilitysport Games in Thailand.
Church said the game helped his mental health following a car crash and the death of his father.
He first picked up a snooker cue when he was 17 and it was quickly apparent that he had a special talent.
“When I was a kid it was just ‘football, football, football’, it was all I wanted to do,” he said.
“I had a road traffic accident in 2013 and I was suffering with my mental health and my dad took me down the snooker club one day a couple of years later.
“Ever since then I’ve loved it. I was an OK player and since then I’ve just progressed.”
Church said he had further struggles in 2017 when his dad died.
“I went down the wrong road, snooker really saved my life in many ways,” he said.
Church is number three in the world group four rankings, has already won two tournaments on the World Disability Snooker Tour and been a runner up 10 times.
In January 2020 he was given the chance to play his hero Ronnie O’Sullivan in a one frame exhibition match at a Snooker Legends event in Reading.
“I got in, potted a long red, potted a pink, then played safe and he cleared the table!” he said.
“I was just sat there saying – ‘oh my god, how has he done that?’
“He’s my hero, you look what he’s been through in his life, how close he was to his dad and what he’s given to snooker.
“He’s the best ever.”
With the help of friends, Church converted an old garage at his home in Norwich into a snooker room.
He trains at what he calls the Norfolk Crucible, in reference to the home of the World Championships in Sheffield, on a daily basis.
Church has been invited to play in the World Abilitysport Games in December, and called this a proud moment.
“Where I’ve come from, being disabled and going though life with all my challenges to play in Asia, playing the sport I love would be incredible,” he said.
“I’m so excited.”
Church says his disability does affect the length of time he can spend at the table.
“I have weak muscles and the eye movement in snooker is massive because you’re always looking at the white and then the ball you are going to hit,” he said.
“Walking about and standing for a long time really takes it out of me. Some days I can do two or three hours, some days four or five, it all depends on the day.”
He says he is inspired by the memory of his dad, who was also called David, and has a special tattoo on his arm.
“There’s some snooker balls and it says ‘My Dad, my best friend, my hero’. Dad was everything to me.”