The Twitter trolls aren’t going to affect Martin Gould as the Pinner-based potter vows to stay true to his particular brand of snooker.

Gould, who used to practise in Watford, is renowned for his attacking play but has been receiving flak on social media recently for being reckless in his shot choice.

But that style didn’t seem to hinder him in the first round of the Betway UK Championship as he eased past Northern Irish veteran Joe Swail 6-3.

By his own admission, the 36-year-old wasn’t at his best at the York Barbican – although he did make breaks of 57, 62, 73 and 108 en route to victory – but is confident of rounding into form as the tournament goes on.

“I was pleased – Joe is no easy customer and he’s been around for a long time, so it’s never an easy game,” said Gould, who will face Robbie Williams in round two on Sunday evening.

“I was happy with how I hit the ball – I scored when I needed to and although a couple of silly mistakes crept in, it’s only the first round, so you don’t want to be producing too much good stuff straight away.

“You want to be easing yourself in and it’s a long tournament, so I’m pleased to be through.

“I finished the match off nicely with a century, so it’s nice to know I’m ending matches quickly. There’s another five or six matches to go, so it’s about keeping focused and keeping going.

“I’ve had a couple of people criticise me on Twitter recently, saying I’m too attacking but that’s how I play. If you don’t like it, don’t watch!”

Gould won the only ranking event of his career at the 2016 German Masters but having reached the semi-finals at the International Championship and the quarter-finals at the Shanghai Masters in the past month, the world Number 18 is heading in the right direction to potentially add a second crown.

“I’ve had a semis in Daqing and a quarter-final in Shanghai – John Higgins and Mark Selby were the players to beat me,” added Gould.

“I’m in good form and it has taken two good players to beat me but you can only take one match at a time.

“The main thing is I’m still in the tournament – I can do a bit of practice and get ready for the weekend.”

However, another player based at Rileys Watford, Martin O’Donnell, suffered a first-round defeat as he went down 6-3 to good friend Williams.

Watch LIVE coverage of the UK Championship on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds