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Mark Williams and Zhao Xintong take centre stage in the World Snooker Championship final this weekend, and joining them will be referee Desislava Bozhilova.
The 32-year-old from Bulgaria has long been a fixture on the World Snooker Tour, becoming one of the most respected officials in the game.
Already taking charge of the Masters and UK Championship finals in 2022, she will complete her own Triple Crown by refereeing the Crucible showpiece on Sunday and Monday.
Asked how she first took the step into the unique career of snooker refereeing, she said: ‘I was playing pool and watching snooker on TV and then I found we had a referee’s association in Bulgaria. So I signed up for the seminar, took an exam and started reffing.’
It was not quite the career her family expected her to pursue, given the vastly different education she was following.
‘I was in university studying landscape architecture,’ she explained. ‘I think they’re connected because it all has to do with angles and maths. There is something in common.
‘Right now it’s just snooker. The architecture is in the background. I did some computer graphics for a while. Interiors, exteriors, but I don’t have time for that now.’
On her family’s reaction to her chosen path: ‘Oh yeah they were surprised but they’ve been very supportive.’
As with all the officials who dedicate huge parts of their lives to snooker, Bozhilova is immensely passionate about the game and appreciates being in thick of the action.
‘The best part is that we’re just so close and part of the game,’ she said. ‘We have the best spot during a match.’
On the drawbacks of the career, she said: ‘Worst part, I don’t know, maybe travelling a lot. But that’s not bad as well, it could be positive. Sometimes it’s a bit much but in general it’s good because we travel a lot, see many countries, meet different people, so that’s also good.’
Outside of snooker, the Bulgarian is a talented baker and fancies a second career with cakes when she hangs up her white gloves.
‘It started because I wanted to decorate, all my life I’ve been drawing, decorating so I thought I’d tried to decorate a cake,’ she said. ‘Since then I’ve been doing that for friends as a hobby and I did a course last year for a baker.
‘I do that as a hobby. I’ve done a pool nine-ball cake, not a snooker cake yet, but I have the idea.’
On running her own bakery or cafe, she said: ‘Yeah, it does cross my mind that it would be nice because I really enjoy making cakes, but for now snooker is my main thing.’
With two very laidback characters joining her in the World Championship final, she will not be expecting any trouble from Williams or Zhao, but she says that helping the players rather than punishing them is the focus of the job.
‘Obviously there is pressure during a match and our job is to help the match to go easier,’ she said. ‘Not to cause even more pressure to them.
‘It’s part of the job to deal with pressure, it’s part of the job. Our job is to resolve everything, no matter what problems players have, it’s our job to help around. Not only punish, we’re there to help as well.’
The Crucible final is a long way from her early days of refereeing in her home country, even from her first televised game, which still sticks in her mind.
‘I do remember it,’ she said. ‘A PTC in Bulgaria in 2013, I believe. It was John Higgins against a Bulgarian player Bratislav Krastev.
‘I definitely didn’t expect it [refereeing a World Championship final], especially at the beginning. I remember at the start my dream was to ref a ranking final in Bulgaria.
‘But it started so quick with all the PTCs we had around Europe. That gave me a chance to learn a bit quicker, to go to many events, practice and get advice from our assessors.’
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·