Whilst the winners last week have a trip to the Crucible to look forward to next April, for the losers it is a disappointing time as in some cases, their professional seasons have come to an end. Here are some quotes from those who did not make it…
Matt Couch told Sport Scunthorpe:
“I didn’t pot enough balls and for whatever reason there was nothing in the tank”
“It could have been much closer at the interval but my head was in pieces. I just didn’t have anything inside me. It’s disappointing because it’s exactly how I played against him 11 years ago.
“All the damage was done in the first session and Joe’s too good a player to lose from 8-1 down.”
“I’ve kept my place on the tour but I’m back on the merry-go-round of winning a couple of matches and then not getting any further”
“Over the summer I’ve got to have a think about what I’m going to do and whether I’ll carry on as I am or whether I’ll put more effort in next season.”
Dave Harold told the Sentinel:
“I was poor and I saved my worst match of the season for the World Championships,”
“But that is the way that it goes, I guess.
“He (Wenbo) played well, he outplayed me.
“He also had the best running (of the balls) I’ve ever seen in a best-of-19 match. When you have those things against you, it’s very hard.”
“I have to look forward to China now and try to rectify things,”
“I’ll take a few days off then I’ll be back on the practice table.”
Ian McCulloch told the Lancashire Evening Post:
“That match sums my season up. I just can’t win a close frame.
“It’s been a really frustrating year. I don’t feel that I’ve played badly, I just can’t seem to win a frame on the colours.
“It’s not through playing bad shots. Sometimes you need a bit of a break and I haven’t had it.”
“The seventh frame was massive. That made it 5-2 instead of 4-3.
“But it’s happened to me all season. In the very first tournament I had a brown to get to 4-4 with John Higgins, missed it and he beat me.
“It’s been the story from then. I must have lost 20 frames on the colours this season and won something like two, but they’re the frames you have to win.”