David Grace admits losing a lot of weight has made him feel much better as both a person and a snooker player. The 32-year-old has shed six stone since joining Slimming World back in 2016 and now weighs in at 16 stone. The Leeds-born star is yet to better his run to the semi-finals of the UK Championship in 2015 when he built a 4–2 advantage over Liang Wenbo before losing out to the Chinese ace.
However, the new trimmed-down version is hoping to hit the heights after admitting his diet has left him in much better shape. “I definitely feel better. You don’t notice anything overnight, it’s a slow process, and I have done it over 18 months,” he told the Yorkshire Post. “You are carrying six stones less so it has to be a lot easier on your joints and muscles.” The world number 47 has taken some notable scalps over the past couple of years, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic while also making the last eight at the Shoot-Out.
He may not have taken the next step to going deep in the biggest events but, with less weight to carry around, Grace hopes that will all change as he can now cope much better with all aspects of the sport. “Playing snooker, you do have to have a certain amount of fitness,” he added. “It’s not just the games, but the hours on the practice table, and the travelling.” Grace is priced at 251 to win next year’s World Championship, with Mark Selby the 3/1 favourite while Selby is price boosted 6/1 to take the Dafabet English Open.
Dafabet English Open odds available at Dafabet.