Legendary professional snooker and pool player Tony Drago has been challenging local snooker enthusiasts to a game at their local social club on Sunday mornings. Ronald Cassar finds the right angle.

Social clubs across the island organised a tournament for its members with the winner from each club getting a chance to play Tony Drago in an exciting final.

In fact, this novel initiative, supported by Cisk, was very well received.

“Having a beer with lifelong friends at the local każin on Sunday morning has been part of Maltese village life for many years – it’s a Sunday morning tradition which connects generations,” Karl Bondin, beer manager at Simonds Farsons Cisk said.

“Since Cisk is the local beer synonymous with traditional village life and local clubs are part of our Maltese village lifestyle, we felt that organising a series of events in these clubs would be a great idea.

“And because snooker is one of the most favourite games played in these village clubs, we decided to tie it in with this event.

“Having the possibility to play against Drago added that little bit of interest and fun to this tradition,” Bondin added.

Drago was very excited about the idea. Moreover, it was a trip down memory lane for him, as he started his first years as a snooker player playing in these clubs, most notably at the Anglo Maltese Band Club.

“It was a great pleasure for me to play against so many snooker enthusiasts around the island who, like me, have the game at heart,” he said. “It was fun meeting so many snooker fans and sharing this experience with them.

“I am very grateful to Farsons for sponsoring me, like they did in the past, and for giving me this opportunity. From these events I can confirm that the game of snooker is still very popular in Malta.”

Drago has spent the past 32 years playing snooker on the professional circuit – only Jimmy White has been around longer and is still active to date.

It was a great pleasure for me to play against so many snooker enthusiasts around the island who, like me, have the game at heart

During his peak years, Drago earned the nickname of ‘tornado’ for his quick playing style and flamboyant character, making him one of the most popular snooker players across the world.

“Snooker is still big in Malta and there is a lot of enthusiasm in local clubs. The most important thing at present is having a local snooker player who will be given the opportunity to compete professionally. A snooker academy is also being set up in the near future and this will surely give the sport a boost.

“A player who caught my eye and has got an all-round game to succeed is Brian Cini, currently Malta snooker champion. This boy has huge potential and if he continues to work hard – train consistently for long hours daily – he can make the grade as a professional player,” Drago said.

As for his future, Drago, who is 51 years old and has been playing as a professional since he was 19, said that “to train and participate against today’s top players, who are much younger, and without any doubt have more hunger to succeed, is very difficult.

“I can no longer put in eight hours of training on a snooker table every day. However, the instinct to compete again against the top players in the world is still there.

“I am not throwing in the towel. There is still fire in my belly to be out there on the professional tour and I will be doing my utmost to return where I belong – challenging the best players,” Drago reassured his fans.

Drago is back living in Malta and feels very settled here now. He travels abroad to play tournaments but returns home once an event is over. He said that in the past he spent too much time away from the most important person in his life – his mother. He has now decided to come back home for good.

Drago has had a great career but said his dreams were never fulfilled. He wanted to be the world number one ranked player and to win the Snooker World Championship. However, he insisted that he lived a great life for the past 32 years, made a lot of friends and visited some incredible places while playing the game that he always loved.

An added bonus for Drago during his long career were the tournaments he won, which gave him the strength to continue playing and practising.

As a side note, he said that, contrary to popular belief that he never won a major tournament, he did win a ranking tournament, the Strachan Open in 1992 against Ken Docherty in Aldershot.

“Since this tournament was not televised live at that time, it did not get the recognition it deserved. However, it was still a ranking tournament and that win got me in the world top 10 rankings for the first time,” he said.

When asked for advice to young aspiring snooker players, Drago said that local players needed to practise until their back hurt and they were exhausted.

“Also be humble and listen to what the senior players say.

“There are a lot of talented players on the island but they have to be dedicated and disciplined. They need to train every day.”