Sheffield (Agencies): The final qualifying round for the snooker World Championship is “horrible”, says Scotland’s Graeme Dott.
Dott, 45, beat Andy Hicks 10-6 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield to reach ‘Judgement Day’. The 2006 world champion has missed out on a place at the championships for the past three years, losing in the last round each time.
Dott faces Englishman Matthew Selt on Tuesday.
“That last round is not nice. I don’t think anybody could enjoy it,” said Dott.
“They are horrible matches to play in. All you want to do is win, regardless of how you feel or how you play.” Dott also said it had been a difficult experience watching the championships over the past three years.
“I would rather just go on holiday for two weeks and not see it, but hopefully this year I can get back there,” he said.
Elsewhere, Anthony McGill fought back from 9-7 down to beat John Astley 10-9, including breaks of 136 and 98 to take the game to a deciding round.
McGill will face Cao Yupeng, who beat Ben Woollaston 10-6. Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh also made it through to the final round after beating Mark Joyce, and he will face Ricky Walden.
This year’s World Championship takes place from 15 April-1 May at the Crucible in Sheffield.
Dott reaches ‘horrible’ final qualifying round
