By Elliott West
Introduction
As the World Championship qualifiers draw to a close, it is important to remember the players we have lost from the tour this season as a result and those that are within touching distance of the first round that starts at the Crucible on Saturday. With the likes of Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry dispatched, Soheil Vahedi, Rod Lawler, Jackson Page and Jimmy White dropping off the tour and the announcement that Alan McManus would be retiring at the end of the season after a 31 year professional career, the pieces of the theatre of dreams are already starting to fuse together. It seemed unlikely that these qualifiers would cause anymore drama. How wrong people could be!
The Final Countdown
On day six of the qualifiers, it was as if someone had ramped up the pressure. Nigel Bond may be a veteran of the sport but boy can this man compete! In his latest match, he was up against the former Indian Open winner, Matthew Selt. This was a battle that it looked like Bond had won. Leading 5-2, Selt summoned up a fight back that was courageous to say the least and came back to win the match 6-5. A player in fine form and retribution for his exits in the qualifiers in previous years.
“Once Nigel got a foothold in the game, he pretty much strangled me. “When I was 3-2 and 4-2 down I was sat in my chair telling myself I had bottled it to be honest. My game is really good at the moment. I’ve played Nigel a few times and he doesn’t give you anything, he wouldn’t give you a nod in the desert”.
Matthew Selt
Elsewhere, Kurt Maflin produced another barnstorming display in his match against Jak Jones. Maflin produced three centuries on the way to a 6-4 defeat of the Welshman. Jones will now have to enter Q School to retain his place on the main tour.
This resurgence in form seemed to be infectious. Mark King romped home in his clash with the Austrian player, Florian Nuessle. Florian seemed to have lost some of his spark compared to his previous performance and it was King who ruled the baize on this occasion. Mark has now set up a mouthwatering draw with Luca Brecel with a Judgement Day spot on the line. Jamie Jones has also just set up a Judgement Day match with Li Hang after defeating Michael Holt, putting him one match away from the Crucible and Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo beat Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-5
The Chinese contingent also remains strong in this year’s qualifiers with Zhou Yuelong and Chang Binyu still remaining strong. Perhaps a Crucible winner will come from this fold or could it still be one of the usual suspects?.
What is clear is that Judgement Day will weed out the barley from the chaff and only the best players will cross that magic winning line. What has just become clear whilst writing this piece, is the fate of Jimmy White. WST have just announced that Jimmy White will be offered a two year invitational tour card for the next two seasons, an offer he has accepted and he will join Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry and Marco, who have all been offered the card in recognition for their dedication to snooker.
“I would like to thank Barry and Jason, I am very grateful for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to a new start next season.”
Jimmy White
Summary
Snooker fans wait with baited breath for the tournament proper to begin on 17/04/2021 and thankfully we can enjoy this festival of snooker with an audience and a capacity one for the final, circumstances permitting. Whoever wins at the end of this seventeen day sporting battle, will the best of the contenders and deserve the accolade of being named World Champion.
