As reported over on Snooker Scene Blog, Graeme Dott will be lining up at the Pro Challenge event tomorrow with a new cue. Click below to find out why…
Just as happened to countryman and rival Stephen Hendry nearly six years ago now, it seems that Graeme’s cue was broken beyond repair at an airport. This is far from the best preparation for what is a crucial season for the Scot who will be keen to get back into the top 16 where he will feel that he belongs.
That said, the last time Graeme was forced to change his cue (I say forced, he smashed it up at a motorway service station), he reached his first World Championship final, before returning just two years later to take the title so it clearly did him no harm. As Dave says, perhaps this could signal a fresh start for Graeme after all of the problems of the last few years.
The difference this time however is that he was actually playing pretty well with the old cue and after a tricky start to last season, was able to end it on something of a high. In addition it seems that this has happened quite recently so he will not have had long to practice and adapt to using a different cue.
Either way we will soon see how he is getting on as he takes on Gerard Greene tomorrow at the Northern Snooker Centre ahead of the Shanghai Masters qualifiers the following week…
UPDATE:
It appears from this article on the Daily Record website that the cue was broken a while ago following the World Series event over in Portugal, so hopefully Graeme has had time to practice with its replacement and become more comfortable with it. Graeme is quoted as saying:
“I don’t know what happened to the cue but despite a couple of alterations, it was damaged beyond repair. This is the last thing any player wants.”
You can read more from Graeme over at the World Series of Snooker website here.