Ross Muir is channeling the pain of his mother's death into a driving force for his snooker career, determined to finally fulfill his potential after a turbulent journey both on and off the table. The 30-year-old Scot, who first turned professional in 2013 at age 17, admits he has 'definitely not shown anything at all' since then, with last-16 runs his best in ranking events. But he believes greater achievements lie ahead after a devastating personal loss.
Mother's death reshapes priorities
Muir's mother, Margaret, passed away in February after a year-long battle with heart failure. The months leading up to her death saw snooker fade into the background as Muir focused on caring for her. 'It's still a bit surreal. She was my best friend and very supportive with snooker,' Muir told Metro. 'She has been with me for the whole journey. She always loved watching my games and we always chatted after the games. So from that perspective it's a massive gap in my life now.' He added: 'I can't put it into words to be honest, and I don't think there really are words to describe it. It's just one of these horrible things in life, it's cruel, you know, it's cruel to everyone involved.'
Mother's final wish reignites career
Before her death, Margaret urged Muir to return to snooker. 'She had a good talk with us. She wanted us to look forward. She wanted me to be a snooker player again. She appreciated all the time that we spent together. But she did ask me to be a snooker player again, so that's what I'm trying to be,' Muir said. After the World Championship qualifiers, he immediately resumed training. 'The following day I was on the practice table and I've been working harder than I've ever worked before. I've been tackling all the technical problems that were in my game. I'm really delighted with how things have come out.'
Turning tragedy into motivation
Muir recognizes the potential for grief to derail or drive him. 'I realise there's two ways a tragic event like this can impact a person: very negatively or you can use it as a driving force. That's what I've tried my best to do,' he said. 'There are great signs going forward, as an opponent I'm a different prospect than I've been for a couple of years. I'm starting to play proper snooker again. I don't need to try and grind things out like I was doing over the last year.' Currently ranked world number 109, Muir needs strong results this season to retain his tour card, but he is confident of deep runs.
Ocular migraines nearly ended career
Muir's career turbulence included a severe bout of ocular migraines in 2019 that caused up to 90% vision loss during matches. 'I was pretty much not seeing anything. It was 90 per cent vision loss when it was at its worst. I think it was pressure driven, so generally the more pressurised the match was, the worse it would get,' he explained. The condition forced him off the professional tour. 'When I fell off the tour, at the end of the second year of suffering, I was done with it. I thought, what's point of battling when you can't see, when I can't see the break-off? There seemed no point in pursuing it.' He did not touch his cue for six months, and the migraines eased. He later identified triggers such as diet, fitness, and stress, and now manages them through lifestyle changes.
Comeback from the brink
After believing his career was over, Muir took security jobs at an office building and railway station in Edinburgh. But the lure of snooker proved irresistible. 'I was comfortable for a while, but missing snooker started to creep in and that feeling became a little bit too strong,' he said. It took about a year to regain his form, during which he struggled to win matches. He eventually returned to the professional tour in 2023 by winning the European Amateur Championship. 'I'm absolutely delighted. Snooker's a wonderful job. I'm very lucky to be able to play the game professionally. I'm very grateful for that opportunity,' Muir said. He added: 'As a whole I'm very fortunate. It's a perspective thing. That's something that I'm always very mindful of and now I use it as a form of motivation in, in the sense of, right, I've got access to these pro events. Enjoy them. That's first and foremost, enjoy what you have there because there's much worse positions to be in.'
Training with top players in Musselburgh
Muir practices with John Higgins, Anthony McGill, and Scott Donaldson at a converted church in Musselburgh. He is determined to surpass his previous ceiling of last-16 finishes. 'That's definitely not my limitation by any means. Over the years I've been a little bit turbulent with various different things. I'm trying to just be a bit more consistent and a bit more stable,' he said. 'I certainly don't want to be in a position of just grinding by, getting near the top 64, falling off, resetting. That's not what I want to do, I want to be pushing a lot further forward than that. And I definitely know that I've got the game, I've got the determination to do that, and that's definitely the two things that are required to achieve that.'
