Stephen Hendry to continue playing despite World Championship snooker defeat – ‘Crucible return still a distant dream’

Stephen Hendry suffered a 10-4 defeat to James Cahill in the first round of World Championship qualifying at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

The seven-time Crucible winner opened with a sparkling break of 102, his 777th in the sport, but toiled for large swathes of the contest as world No. 99 Cahill claimed the next six frames with breaks of 77, 50, 54 and 57.

A 75 break from Hendry was enough to claim his second frame of the match after Cahill produced 63, but it was a temporary reprieve as the Blackpool player dominated the ninth frame to end the first session 7-2 clear.

Another 70 from Cahill made it 8-2 before Hendry won the next two frames, including a 54 in the 11th frame, but it was never going to be enough to prompt a recovery as Cahill added another 67 in the 13th frame in claiming the final two frames to progress to the second qualifying round.

Cahill will meet Lei Peifan chasing three more wins to reach the Crucible final stage. Hendry admits he needs to commit more to practise sessions if he is offered a fresh two-year wildcard to continue playing.

“I played too many bad shots really,” said Hendry, who retired in 2012 after a 13-2 defeat to Stephen Maguire in the Crucible quarter-finals before returning on a World Snooker Tour wildcard in 2021. “In a match when you follow one bad shot with another, it snowballs a bit.

“I started off great making two doubles in a century. That’s unusual for me because I’m the worst doubler in the world. There was little bits and pieces here and there.

“But generally too many unforced errors. It is something I criticise players for when I commentate. There was just a whole load from me.

“Apart from the century, the first four frames were pretty forgettable and I could have won all four. That was my chance gone in the early part to put pressure on James.

“You have to play matches to get used to being in there again and unfortunately I’m not playing many matches because I’m getting beat in the first round of tournaments.

“Next season, if I get another wildcard, and I’d love one, I need to start practising with players and get used to playing people. That will be the plan.

“As I keep stressing, this is not a comeback. But I’ll play in the events I can play in. In a perverse way, its fun.

“It is still a very distant dream in the future that one day I’ll walk out again at the Crucible. Its very doubtful, its huge odds against, but that is still the dream.”

Jimmy White is facing an uphill battle to remain alive in this year’s tournament after falling 7-2 behind against fellow Englishman Martin O’Donnell, who is due to return to the professional circuit next season.

White had high hopes of qualifying for the Crucible for the first time since 2006, but lost the final four frames of the opening session after closing to 3-2 behind courtesy of an 82 break.

O’Donnell produced 77, 53 and 75 to lead 7-2 with a 66 in the third frame helping him move 3-0 ahead.

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