Irish star Bulman set for his biggest task to date

By Gerard Mulreaney (@gerardmulreaney)

Ireland’s newest Snooker star Ross Bulman got his first professional win at the recent Northern Ireland Open, and now is set to face his idol in the UK Championships next week.

The 18-year-old from Youghal will walk out at the Barbican Centre in York on Thursday to play Ronnie O’Sullivan, a player he calls, ‘The best player to ever hold a que.’

“Playing Ronnie O’Sullivan is a huge one for me, probably the best opportunity of my lifetime,” said Bulman.

In the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast Bulman beat China’s Zhang Jiankang 4-1 in the first round, before succumbing 4-2 to world number fifteen Joe Perry. He was happy to finally get that first pro win: “Getting my first win was probably the best thing ever. I’ve been waiting on that for almost seven months, so it was good to get it there.

“It was a very tough game, I could’ve been 3-1 up, with a small bit of luck on my side. However, I was happy enough with 4-2 in the end against a player ranked number 15 in the world in my first pro event.

“The Northern Ireland Open is a huge tournament, probably the biggest around. People love it in Belfast. I was talking to a few pros and they said it’s one of their favourite tournaments of the year.”

The youngster initially started playing pool but graduated to the bigger table when his brother started playing. He moved on to the CYMS snooker hall in Youghal after that and hasn’t looked back since.

He had a phenomenal underage career, winning Irish titles at U16, U18, U19 and U21, all in the same season as a 15-year-old. This year he reached the final of the EBSA European Under 21 Snooker Championship in Israel, where he lost to Jackson Page of Wales.

Bulman played snooker legend Jimmy White in final qualifying for the World Snooker Championships in April, losing 10-5. He said he wasn’t overawed by the occasion: “I wasn’t nervous, it’s something I don’t ever get. It was unbelievable exciting. You get called into the arena by a microphone, lots of people clapping. 

“It was a very good experience. I was very unlucky in that final not to be 3-0 up. Playing Jimmy White in the World Championships was a great experience, probably the best experience I’ve had so far.”

With his swift rise up the snooker rankings Bulman is indebted to his sponsors, Paul and Carmel Dempsey of Berties Bar in Youghal, who’ve come on board this season. They’re very good sponsors. They’re from my own town of Youghal, and to be honest I couldn’t thank them enough. They started to sponsor me this year and that’s greatly appreciated,” said Bulman.

On what’s needed to improve Bulman said: “The more experience you get the more improvement you’re going to get. I probably practice about 7-8 hours a day. It’s a tough school, but it has to be done.”