Snooker fans were left gutted after a World Championship qualification hopeful lost a crucial frame in agonising fashion. Zak Surety breezed past Ricky Walden 10-3 in their qualifying round clash on Wednesday, securing his place at the World Championship.
World No. 73 Surety comfortably qualified for the Crucible for the very first time, leaving his opponent, three-time ranking event winner Walden, likely ruing his performance. And a big part of that is because, while trailing 7-3, Walden lost an important frame in the cruellest of ways.
After an impressive bit of play, he inexplicably failed to pot the pink off the spot. Walden was then faced with a tricky situation where he needed to pot the pink by bouncing it off the black into a corner pocket.
He managed to pull it off, only to watch in dismay as the black ball sneaked into a middle pocket. Commentator Ken Doherty couldn’t believe Walden’s rotten luck.
Doherty said: “Is he going to try to knock the pink off the black and try to put it in the corner pocket? I think he can play this shot, you know, off the black. Just watch the right corner pocket here.
“There you go, now where’s the black… it’s going close, it’s going in! It can’t go in! Ah, you’re joking me! That’s so unfair.
“That was such an unbelievable shot he played. How’s he knocked the black in there? That was unbelievable.”
Walden didn’t directly lose the frame because of the shot but went on to lose the frame regardless, while fans took to social media to voice their shock, tweeting: “Absolutely vile luck,” and: “OH MY GOD I FEEL SICK!”
A third X user wrote: “Snooker Gods are having the last laugh here!” as others chimed in with: “That’s brutal,” and: “So unlucky for Ricky.”
It did not matter to Surety, however, as he now eyes his World Championship debut.
He said: “I am the biggest World Championship fan. I listen to the draw every year and this time I’m actually in it.
“I will probably be up at 5am getting nervous waiting for it. When I lost in the semis in China (6-5 to John Higgins having led 5-3) it was devastating.
“I was thinking today, it can’t happen again can it? Surely it’s my turn for a nice drive home with a smile on my face.
“I must be doing something right. When Ricky shook my hand I have never been so relieved.”
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