Jack Lisowski’s admission after dad’s death and battle with cancer | Other | Sport

Jack Lisowski dedicated his debut ranking title win to his late father at the Northern Ireland Open. The Gloucestershire potter was hailed as a young prodigy but had been unable to get his hands on some silverware.

Lisowski has been one of snooker’s finest players for some time, but was previously renowned for his lack of titles and losses in finals. That all changed when he faced childhood friend Judd Trump in an emotional Northern Ireland Open final. The 34-year-old won what was an epic bout 9-8 and broke down in Belfast as the victory came less than a year after his father’s passing. Lisowski has also struggled with health issues in the past and endured a battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of just 16.

After his triumph against Trump in Belfast which saw Lisowski banish his ranking title demons, he paid tribute to his late father. He said: “I’ve got my dad’s socks on today. He didn’t live to see me win a ranking title. But this is for him if he’s watching down and it’s also for my Mum for everything she has done for me.”

Lisowski’s father passed away in March. He admits the sudden death took a toll on his snooker and he should have potentially delayed returning to the sport on the back of such tragedy.

“It’s been up and down, it feels different now,” said Lisowski earlier this month. “I didn’t have a lot of fighting in the first few months but now I’m able to play. The first month I played without my dad, every frame I just felt so emotional, so I wish I didn’t. I wish I didn’t play for a bit but I just kept going. It’s tough to support me, because there’s so much heartbreak.”

The Cheltenham-born star has battled through adversity before, namely when he was a teenager and was diagnosed with a form of cancer. A nine-month battle ensued, which featured 16 courses of chemotherapy and he still requires regular check-ups.

“You are 16 and you have your whole life ahead of you and something like that happens and you start fearing for your life. You wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” admitted Lisowski speaking during the first few years of his professional career. “I felt really ill, and started thinking really negative things, and I was convinced I was going to die.

“But my consultant told me: ‘I will do my best to cure you, and I’m confident I can.’ I never looked back from there, and every scan after that saw the lump go down. I still have to go for scans, but it’s looking pretty good.

“There were nine months of chemotherapy and 16 courses, and all that time I was thinking about my snooker and how I was going to give it everything when I got back. At that time I was too ill to practice, and had months of frustration. But I think it made me stronger as a person. I know that snooker isn’t everything.”

For his victory over the world No. 1 in Northern Ireland, Lisowski took home a top prize of £100,000. With his past losses in finals banished, he will undoubtedly look to mount challenges in a host of other tournaments this year with the UK Championship on the horizon.