James Couch, Chartered MCSI, puts readers in the frame about his passion for pool and snooker. Lora Benson reports.
Readers might recall the TV programme Pot Black, an annual snooker tournament which ran from 1969-1986. The programme was credited with producing one of the most memorable British sports quotes: legendary commentator Ted Lowe, aware that not all viewers had colour televisions, said “and for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green”.
For James Couch, Chartered MCSI memories of watching Pot Black on TV are vivid and partly responsible for his ongoing enthusiasm today for the game of pool, which he plays for a team in the City of London Pool League.
“I first started playing pool and snooker over 30 years ago on a half-sized table at home. The 1980s were, in many ways, the golden years of snooker with high TV audiences and many of the characters playing then still household names today, such as Steve Davis, Jimmy White and Dennis Taylor. I became immediately taken by the game and soon realised that I had a talent for cue sports and progressed to playing in local and county tournaments.”
The City of London Pool League has 16 teams across two divisions. James joined his current league team in 2003 and took over management of the side a couple of years later, becoming a Director of the League in 2013 with primary responsibility for the smooth running of the top division.
When younger, James often played snooker or pool for anything up to 20 hours per week. He now plays once or twice a week.
“Although a reasonable level of pool can be reached quite quickly, to become good at the game does take many, many hours of practice."
"Cue sports have been compared to chess"Born and bred in Kent, where he lives today, James’s first job was working in a retail branch of Beneficial Bank (now part of HSBC) and after a couple of years he moved into investment banking. He worked in front and back office positions and internal audit and now specialises in risk management, in particular operational risk. He is currently an operational risk consultant for Jefferies, the American investment bank.
“I have also aimed to keep my academic learning up to date, most recently completing the
CISI Diploma in Investment Operations CISI Award in 2012.”
He says: “Although I work in risk management I believe that the game of pool should be played in an attacking manner, the player taking any opportunity that arises. Many players, however, may choose to play the game more defensively and it is important to be able to know what shot to play in any given situation. Cue sports have been compared to chess in the past, with the level of foresight needed to clear the pool or snooker table compared to the planning required to checkmate your opponent.”
Trophy haul
James has won many individual trophies for both snooker and pool over the years, from local tournaments held where he lives to more national victories, such as six wins in the national annual Mensa Snooker competition and two wins in the associated pool contest.
“In the City of London Pool League I am the only person to have won three individual Singles Knockout season titles and have enjoyed both league and cup success with my team”, says James.
He adds: “There can be fierce debate as to whether pool and snooker are games or sports. On the basis that both disciplines require intense knowledge, concentration and skill, I think that there can be no argument that both are sports. I would like to think that it will only be a matter of time before they take their rightful place at the Olympics.”
James has had many memorable matches over the years, including playing Steve Davis in an exhibition frame of snooker, although he says, “the result didn’t go my way that time”. One other snooker frame also readily springs to mind - when he scored his first century break. “It was a 127 total clearance,” James proudly recalls.
If you are interested in competing in the City of London Pool League, contact James at
div1@londoncitypool.com. For further details, see
londoncitypool.com