'I switched sports after fight in a snooker hall - now I'm competing in pool's Ryder Cup'

Pool star Jayson Shaw has revealed that he is only playing the sport because of a fight he had at a snooker hall as a youngster. The 36-year-old is Britain's top pool player and is currently ranked at No. 3 in the world.

Shaw is part of the European team taking on Asia this week in the Reyes Cup - pool's equivalent of golf's Ryder Cup.

He has won a string of titles throughout his illustrious career, including the US Open Pool Championship and numerous Mosconi Cups.

Shaw's introduction to the baize came as a teenager at a snooker hall in Glasgow that welcomed the likes of John Higgins, Stephen Maguire and Graeme Dott.

And Shaw told : "Back in the day I worked at Craigpark Masters, cleaning the tables, filling the fridges, and I got to play. I got into a little bit of a fight outside the club one day and they ended up kicking me out of the club.

"I just ended up sticking with pool. I really feel if that had never happened I would have become a pro [snooker player] because I was really into it, hitting 100 breaks every day, and I was only playing for like two or three months."

The ace continued: "Stuff happens for a reason. I enjoy nine-ball pool, I get to meet a lot of different people, travel the world, and obviously play in big competitions. I can't be too mad - I feel blessed."

The Reyes Cup got underway on Tuesday and will run until Friday, with Team Asia taking control in the opening days of the contest.

And discussing the team format of the event, Shaw added: "When you're playing singles and you get beat, it's on you, right? You don't want to let the team down. You're playing doubles, you don't want to let your partner down. So there's a lot more to it. Your brain is definitely thinking a lot more about more stuff.

"When you play singles it's all about you. If you do get beat, you can kind of turn around and say, 'Well, I did that wrong'.

"When you're playing in a team, even if you get beat, you've still got to be around and have that happy face on. If they see one of their players is not 100 per or he's down on himself, that can bring the team down.

"There's matches that just don't go your way, but you just got to swallow it and get back in the dressing room and get behind the guys and try and win."