Maria's right on cue

"I have been playing snooker in working men's clubs since I was 15," says Maria, who is ranked second in the world in women's snooker.

"Everyone at the Sedgley and the Woodcross clubs has been wonderful and they treat me with the utmost respect.

"As a girl you can feel out of it surrounded by men, but they have all looked after me.

"I'm 25 now and when I first walked into one of the clubs 10 years ago I had a few strange looks.

"Some of them didn't want to play snooker with me because I was a girl. But then it started to change and now they don't want to play against me because I am too good."

Receiving training from her cousin, snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan, has certainly helped Maria.

"I used to visit Ronnie a lot when I was younger and he taught me everything," she says.

"Ronnie is nicknamed The Rocket because he is so quick. I have the same style and can clear a table in less than eight minutes – although he can do it in around five minutes.

"We still meet up and we make sure that if we are interviewed at a tournament we mention each other.

"It is fantastic to see how well Ronnie has done and it would be great to have two world champions in the family."

Competing

Maria recently won the National Women's Championship at Luton and is now number two in the world.

"It was the last competition leading up to the World Championships, which starts on Friday and the final is next Wednesday in Cambridge.

"In preparation for the world championships I have been practising every day for around five hours a day.

"To win the world championships is my main aim because I love the buzz I get from competing in and winning tournaments.

"There isn't a better feeling than competing at a high level." Maria, who lives on Cole Street in Netherton, says the teachers at Hill Crest School were understanding when she had to take time off for tournaments.

"My school were amazing and because I was off playing matches around the country I really needed their support," she says.

"Even though I only started playing seriously when I was 15, I have always been into snooker.

"My dad Antonio, who runs a local ice-cream company, sponsors me and snooker has always been a passion of mine.

"Even when I was seven, I had a birthday cake made to look like a snooker table.

"My mother Angela is amazed by how well I have done – she is behind me 100 per cent. I have three brothers and a sister and they all support me, my youngest brother has even taken the sport up so he will be the third one in the family to go into it.

"My friends are also really into it and they support me at big games. When I won the national championships it was a fantastic feeling and great to share it with my family and friends."

Millionaire

But Maria says women's snooker is not well supported financially.

"The money isn't the same for women as for men," she says.

"If I was a man and second in the world at snooker I would be a millionaire. The prize money for the world championships is only £1,000.

"It didn't used to be like this but we recently lost a lot of sponsorship from the tobacco companies."

But this does not deter Maria, who travelled to America last year and won the nine ball championships.

"I won the championships in Florida in September and have qualified for the US open in August in Mexico, which will be on Sky Sports," she says.

"At the moment I'm not thinking about settling down and getting married, I'm too busy concentrating on my career.

"It keeps me so busy and I love travelling all over the world – snooker is my life.

"I would encourage any girl who is thinking about getting into snooker to just get themselves a cue and don't be put off by the fact it is a male-dominated sport. Ronnie has encouraged me every step of the way."