Dave Gilbert has been one of the form players of the season so far and his impressive results are coming amid an image transformation.
The Angry Farmer has downed Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy at the British Open this week to make the last 32, having beaten world champion Wu Yize and Ding Junhui at last month’s China Open.
He’s beating these big names with a slightly new look, but it will only get more different having vowed not to cut his hair until after the World Championship in May.
Hollywood legend Keanu Reeves is what he is aiming for, in his iconic John Wick role.
‘I want full John Wick by May,’ Gilbert told Metro. ‘I missed my last haircut with my mate and I thought, that’s it, sod it, I’m growing it. It’s getting mixed reviews but I’m sticking with it.
‘My barber, good pal of mine, let me down for a little trim up a couple of months ago so I slicked it right back for an exhibition with Stan Moody because I looked a complete mess. People told me I should grow it and I thought, why not?
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‘I am a bit of a John Wick fan. He’s a pretty cool dude. I wouldn’t mind being him or having his bank balance.’
The 45-year-old falls in and out of love with snooker, going through spells of finding motivation difficult to come by, but the enthusiasm is there at the moment.
‘I’m just enjoying trying to compete, whether it’s good or bad, I’m digging in there to the end,’ he said after a brilliant performance to beat Murphy 4-2.
‘I think it’s just a case of practicing hard. We have a new club (The Potters Kiss in Tamworth) and a new snooker room just after the World Championship.
‘I got beat there and I wasn’t bothered at all, to be honest with you. I put the old paint brush in my hand and decorated the place every day, till four in the morning, until I was done. I absolutely loved it. Got stuck in.
‘We had a new snooker room put on, it’s a lovely room and I felt like hitting some balls. Then I’ve been hitting balls every day, which is something I’ve not done for a long time. I need to practice to play properly and that’s all I’m trying to do.
‘Usually I’d put my paintbrush down and have a pint, but I fancied a knock. Something switched in me where I actually wanted to play, which is something that’s not been there for a while.’
It has been a big turnaround for the world number 33, who intends to ride the wave, for however long it lasts.
‘I would hate to predict the future, I would not go that far into it,’ he said. ‘I’m here this week in Cheltenham, I love this place. The arena’s good, there’s people watching.
‘The game still drives me mad, don’t worry about that, but it’s nicer winning.’
Gilbert is still looking to improve, seeing fitness as the key to more success, especially on the road in China.
‘I’m old, that’s my problem,’ he said. ‘I found that I need to get fitter, I’ve put a bit of timber on.
‘I gassed out in the China Open when I was playing really well against [Zhou] Yuelong. It was a match I felt I definitely should have won but I completely gassed out.
‘You have a day in China where it hits you and I feel if I was a bit fitter I might have been ok. I’m going to get on a fitness plan after this week or when we’ve got some time off.’
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