Player Information

Nickname/Web username: dbonner (should’ve been more inventive!)
Year of birth: 1971
Year started playing pool: 1989
Current team: Langlands

Background

David is a returning member to the pool league with his Langlands team after an abscence of over ten years. His team have been a welcome addition to the league this year, and have proved a handful for opposing teams. Through David’s captaincy they are sure to be in good hands again next year and will no doubt continue to be a solid league side which no team relishes facing.

Singles Information

Aspirations for the current season:
To win games in one less visit that I used to take

Greatest pool achievement in singles:
Haven’t won any tournaments so my best achievement is still to come

Team Information

Aspirations for the current season:
Be above the bottom 3 in our first season and for our new players to learn what’s needed to win in competitive pool

Greatest pool achievement with a team:
6th place when we played from Whitehills in 1998

Cue

Make: An old Jimmy White cue
Acquired: BCE
Cost: 30 quid (but my old man worked for BCE so I got it as a sample)
Tip size: ?
Who retips it? ?

General Questions

Who, or what, inspired you to play?
We lived close to the Whitehills Farm which was a hub for EK and Scottish pool in the ’80s and ’90s. Thursday night tourneys were a great night out and if you won the game of killer it paid for your whole night! I remember seeing an exhibition from Ross McInnes and that inspired me to take up the game.

Favourite EK team you have played in?
Langlands

Favourite EK team you haven’t played in?
Haven’t decided yet, but it’s great that almost every team we’ve played against are enjoying their pool

Best player you have ever played against?
When Ricky Shepherd was on his game it was great to watch

Best player you have played alongside?
We’ve never had any of the big stars in our teams but I always enjoyed watching Brian Cruickshanks and Paul Keegan play

Favourite pro players (Pool or Snooker):

• John Higgins
• Efren Reyes
• Francisco Bustamante

Who is your bogey player?
My brother Mike!

What’s the one match that sticks in your memory
Beating Colin Philip over 5 frames (when he was EK #1 and light years ahead of the rest of us) in the early rounds of a tourney held in the Greenhills Lounge

What would you say your best pool attribute is?
Seeing the more unusual shots to keep a run going

How would you rate the current standard of pool in EK?
The great thing is we’ve got a lot of people playing pool at present. However, the standard at the top could be improved as we’ve not had too many new players break through in the past 5-10 years.

What do you think we could do to raise the standard of pool in EK?
We should introduce “Pool School” to bring through a new generation of younger players. Create Under 18’s events in venues where no alcohol is served and the focus is on the game of pool