Jack Lisowski is defending champion at the Northern Ireland Open but will need a huge improvement in form if he is to lift the Alex Higgins Trophy again this month.
Jackpot produced one of the most memorable moments of last season as he edged out Judd Trump 9-8 in the Belfast final.
It was the first ranking title of his career and came just months after he tragically lost his father, so there were plenty of tears as he thanked close friend Trump for his support during a terrible time for his family.
Many had tipped Lisowski to win a string of titles when he had finally claimed his first, but those floodgates are yet to be opened.
He did reach the Welsh Open final in March, but otherwise victories have proved very difficult to come by since Belfast.
This season so far has been particularly challenging and Jackpot knows the pressure is on as he expects to miss events in January and February as his fiance will be giving birth to their first child in Brazil and he will be by her side.
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‘So frustrating. Yeah, very frustrating so far,’ Lisowski said of his season. ‘And I’ve known for a few months that I’m going to probably be out of action in January, February. So I’ve been trying to get ahead.
‘I thought, right, I’ve got to try and crack on now. So if I have a few months off or whatever, it’s not going to do too much damage. But yeah, it’s been a terrible start. Not been very good and it’s been frustrating.
‘But I guess I know what to do to, what works for me. So I think it’s just pretty much hard work now. I just need to work hard to get myself out of the little rut I am in.’
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The 35-year-old has been in and out of the top 16 this season, current #18 in the world, so has had to qualify for the main stages of most ranking events.
These have not been going very well and Lisowski has missed out on trips to the China Open, Wuhan Open, Shenzhen Open and International Championship.
‘The standard’s getting so much better. Everyone’s just a lot better these days,’ he said. ‘You’ve got players the public would have probably never even heard of, but they can make one visits all day long and play good snooker, especially in these qualifiers.
‘So yeah, the standard of qualifying is very good. It’s tough. I think it’s four out of four I haven’t qualified for China this season, which is really bad.
‘I think on a couple of them games, I’ve ran into players playing really well. So yeah, I’m not in some crisis yet, anyway.
Jackpot will be buoyed by a return to the scene of his greatest triumph, though, as he prepares to play Huang Jiahao in his Belfast opener on Sunday.
‘It’s going to be emotional going back there,’ he said. ‘I’m so grateful to the people at Belfast for the support they gave me. There’s going to be so many memories going back there.
‘I’m going to feel pressure because I really want to do well again. Because I know how incredible it can be when you do well there.
‘It’s going to be very special. But still, I can’t be like, “Oh, this is amazing to be back here” because before I know it, I’ll be 3-0 down!
‘I’m under pressure and I’ve just got to block it out, I guess. Play the snooker table. If you win, then you can take it all in after and look back on it in good memories. But at the time, I’ve just got to try my best and not get distracted. It’ll be very difficult.’
The snooker world seemed to be united in their happiness for Lisowski a year ago at the Waterfront Hall and he recalls some special message from fellow professionals, some of which he would class as his heroes.
‘The fact that probably…I think every single player messaged me and that meant so much,’ he said. ‘Really top players were saying they cried. You know, my heroes. So that was very special.
‘Messages like that off those people. You never expect it. And when it happens, yeah, it’s very special.’
Asked who those heroes are, he said: ‘I can’t say, you know who the heroes are! Everyone’s heroes.’
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