Andy Lee’s unique snooker journey continues with return to pro tour his proudest achievement

Andy Lee is back on the World Snooker Tour as his fascinating journey with the sport continues, and this latest path he turns down is both a surprise and the proudest achievement of his career so far.

The 41-year-old won through Q School this month to earn himself a third crack at the professional tour and, after two years of inactivity at home in Hong Kong, he admits the success was a bit of a shock.

‘I was pretty much speechless after I qualified, because I wasn’t expecting it,’ Lee told Metro.co.uk. ‘I’ve been away for a couple of years now from elite level competition and I was in doubt as to where my game was at, especially under the hammer.

‘There were a lot of doubts and I didn’t know whether I could respond, but I managed to tough it out.’

Lee’s snooker tale began in his home town of Hinckley, Leicestershire, where he grew up with the game and then the incredible junior scene based at Willie Thorne’s club in Leicester alongside the likes of Mark Selby and Tom Ford.

Winning the English ProTicket play-offs in 2008 gave him his first shot at professional status, but it was brutally difficult to make a living out of the game at that point so life on tour lasted just one year.

The financial pressures of trying to make it in snooker saw Lee break up with his then fiancée and have to pick up a job in recruitment, before he hatched a plan that would change his life entirely.

With parents from Hong Kong, Lee had the option of moving to there and become a funded player through the Hong Kong Sports Institute, getting a wage and financial support to play the sport, while being based over there.

It was a great option to have for Lee, but a tricky choice to make to move to the other side of the world.

‘It wasn’t an easy decision