That is what Sam Chin found out when he made his international debut against Australia last year.
Chin (54), the owner of the Crown Hotel, was selected for New Zealand in the transtasman test in Adelaide.
"I was very nervous on the first day," he admitted. "But I was ranked No 1 in the country last year after ending up beating the Australian No 1 James Delahunty on the opening day."
Chin was ranked top last year after winning the regional and South Island 8 and 9- all titles.
He reached the quarterfinals at the national championships.
Coming back to the Masters Games after competing in the electric international arena was easy for Chin and he won gold medals in both singles.
He beat his old mate, Kevin Fitzgerald (Perth), 5-4 in the 8-ball and 9-8 in the 9-ball in the aged 50 to 59 finals.
"I was lucky," Chin said. "Kevin made a costly mistake and I had to make him pay. If I had missed he would have done the same to me."
But the old firm of Fitzgerald and Peter Weeda (Dunedin) won the gold medal in the 8-ball doubles when they beat Dunedin's Tony Maitland and Paul Knox 5-3 in the final.
Chin and Russell Sharpe (74) won the bronze medal.
Chin started playing snooker as a young teenager but has only played pool for the past 20 years.
He is dedicated to his sport and practises two hours a day in the Q-Room at the Crown Hotel.
