Player Information

Nickname/Web username: Brother Truth/Marty
Year of birth: A while ago…
Year started playing pool: 1978
Current team: Greenhills Emeralds

Singles Information

Aspirations for the current season:
Do as well as I can in all competitions I enter. I would like to get to latter stages of the EK singles, I never seem to do well in that.

Greatest pool achievement in singles:
Beating Colin phillip 5-0 in a tournament…I may have mentioned it before! I also won a Super League flyer.

Honours in singles competition

I have won some local tournaments but no EK majors.

I’ve been player of the year for the following teams:

• Westwood select – 1997
• Greenhills Bar – 2002
• Greenhills Bar – 2003
• Whitehills Wizards – 2005
• Whitehills Aces – 2006
• Greenhills Bar – 2007
• Greenhills Bar – 2008/09
• Greenhills Bar – 2009/10

Team Information

Aspirations for the current season:
As it’s the Emerald’s first year, our sights aren’t too high, but I would be happy with a top 8 finish.

Greatest pool achievement with a team:
Winning the EKPF treble with the Westwood team which included myself, Davie Angus, Oby, Mark Smith and Davie Dewar.

Honours in team competition

• EKPL League champions – the Hawks – 1998
• EKPL League champions – the Predators – 1999
• EKPL League champions – Westwood – 2003
• EKPL Shield winners – Westwood -2003
• EKPL League Cup winners – Westwood – 2003
• EKPL League Cup winners – the Wizards – 2004

Cue

Make: Rileys
Acquired: Alan Maxwell (Maxi)
Cost: £110
Tip size: 9mm
Who retips it? Oby…who else?

General Questions

Who, or what, inspired you to play?
My mate Paul Brown got a table for his Christmas and we started to play all the time, I was about 13 at the time and have loved the game from then on.

Favourite EK team you have played in?
I’ve played for Westwood Select, the Hawks, the Predators, Wstwood Wizards, Whitehills Wizards, Whitehills Aces and the Greenhills bar. Up to this season, it would be the Greenies, the guys are second to none for camaraderie and banter, although I’ve got a good feeling about the emeralds!

Favourite EK team you haven’t played in?
People may be surprised at this, but I would say the Top Guns. Again, I think Tuesday nght pool is about camaraderie and banter as well as good pool, and I’ve always thought the Top Guns have this in abundance.

Best player you have ever played against?
This is a really hard one, although he is’nt playing currently, I would say Colin Phillip. He’s just a fantastic player with naturally ability to spare (wish he had gave me some). Some of the best finishes I have ever seen were produced by Colin (although not when I beat him 5-0…have I mentioned that?). Having said all that, currently I would have to say Oby. Just the effort and time he puts in practice should be a guide to all the new and young players coming through. He’s a real dedicated player, which is why he is top 3 in EK in my opinion.

Best player you have played alongside?
Another hard one as I’ve been in teams with guys like Billy, Livvy, Purdie, Lee Miller, John Muir, and Davie Angus, but again, just for consistency, it would have to be Oby. He just seems totally focused on his game and very rarely plays below par.

Favourite pro players (Pool or Snooker):

• Jim Rempe
• Ralph Souquet
• Jason Shaw

Who is your bogey player?
I’ve had a few bogey players, but i do seem to eventually get to grips with them. Currently though it’s got to be Oby, just cant get close to him in matches at the moment.

What’s the one match that sticks in your memory
I once beat Colin Phillip 5-0…only kidding. The cup final between the Greenies and Mr Kelly’s mob. It went to 6-6 and we played a three game play off with Davie Pew playing Billy and he dished him, then Campbell Crawford played Livvy and dished him! At one each, the last frame to win it was a doubles. I can’t remember all the players involved, but Billy broke and dished and so we lost the cup, but three dishes in a play off was fantastic.

What’s would you say your best pool attribute is?
Going from what people have said to me, wether I have the break or not I can generally make an impact in a frame, so probably a bit of patience.

How would you rate the current standard of pool in EK?
I definately think the standard is good, but it could be better.

What do you think we could do to raise the standard?
I’m not sure, but we need a lot more players entering tournaments outside EK to get experience of top players. Events like IMs, Grass Roots, and the Super League. We have a league of two hundred players but as far as i know only twenty to thirty players play in the IMs! We need more guys/gals to experience life outside the EK goldfish bowl.

Anything else you would like to say?
I’ve always thought we have a great league in East Kilbride. A lot of guys/gals with a lot of passion for the game, so it’s disappointing that we haven’t had as much national success, wether it was in singles or in team events, that I believe we deserve. I certainly think we have had the talent through the years, but I’m not really sure why that is the case. One thing I am convinced of, is that I believe East Kilbride can win a Super League event, and I hope that happens soon.

Also, I would like to say (in relation to the picture), I’m really proud of the work that the players, Lindsay and myself do every year through the Old Firm Charity match, but this was a special one. Our league raised £4500 of the £60,000 needed to help wee Jade and she is now a happy little girl who can run, walk and dance like any normal kid. What we did was totally life changing for Jade…it just dosen’t get any better than that in my opinion.