Tony Drago hates flying but Christmas is one time he puts his fears to one side to try and get home to Malta if he can.
“I’m not sure yet if I can make it this year,” Drago says.
“We’re playing qualifiers in Sheffield for the 2013 Haikou World Open so I wouldn’t be able to get home until about December 23. But if I do, I’ll spend Christmas with my mum. My aunt and her family also come round.
“Malta is becoming more like the UK these days but there is still a strong Catholic tradition and most people go to church services on Christmas Eve.
“My mother will cook on Christmas Day. She’s a wonderful cook and we do have the same meals as the UK, the Christmas turkey. Of course, the one thing we never get is a White Christmas!
“If I wasn’t so scared of flying I wouldn’t mind getting away to either the sun or the snow for a holiday.
“I don’t have children so Christmas isn’t so special for me. It’s nice to watch other people’s children enjoying Christmas and having fun though.
“It’s been four or five years since I’ve got back to Malta for Christmas time so I hope I can make it this time round.”
This will be a hectic yuletide for Drago with his commitments on the table.
“Before Christmas we’ve got the PTC in Scotland and then the Haikou qualifiers, so it’s a busy time for me,” he said.
“Talking of qualifiers if I could write a ‘Letter to Santa’ for a wish to be granted it would be for the qualifiers to be played at Gloucester or in the Badminton Hall at the EIS.
“It’s so much nicer to play in front of an audience and some atmosphere. South West Snooker Academy is a brilliant venue. It’s perfect for qualifiers and good for the fans.”
Late last month, Drago was in the news after losing his temper in a German Masters qualifier against Alan McManus, giving away the match after missing a simple shot and handing the initiative back to his Scottish opponent.
“I’d like to say sorry to everyone for my ‘head-banging’ at the last event. I know it’s no excuse but I just lost my temper,” Drago explained.
“I was playing McManus and at 4-4 I thought I’d lost it, then I got two snookers and thought I’d won it.
“Then I played a bad shot and I just exploded. I thought I deserved to be hit on the head!
“I saw Alan immediately after the game to apologise to him.
“He’s always been a model professional and I have great respect for him. He was really nice about it and said not to worry, we’ve all been there and know what the pressure can be like.”
On Monday, Drago popped up at the York Hall in London for the Mosconi Cup, the annual nine-ball tournament contested by Europe and USA which comes to a close today.
“I love the event. I’d love to say Europe will win it. My heart says Europe, but my head tells me USA are stronger this year. I think Europe will miss having a leader like Ralf Souquet,” Drago said.