SNOOKER: Adam stepping it up
9:00am Saturday 18th February 2012 in Latest Sport News By Dan Barnes
Adam Wicheard
TROWBRIDGE cueman Adam Wicheard reckons he did himself justice on his first-ever appearance in the latter stages of a major ranking tournament this week.
The 26-year-old, who is ranked number 89 in the world, got through four qualifying rounds to set up Wednesday’s clash with world number seven Stephen Maguire at the Welsh Open in Newport, eventually losing 4-2 to the Scotsman.
Maguire raced into a 3-0 lead, with back-to-back breaks of 131 and 101 before Wicheard battled back, winning two of the last three frames.
“He started off on fire and I was thinking that I was going to be home in time for Countdown. It’s a good job the seat was comfy,” said Wicheard.
“After he went 3-0 up, the referee gave me a little wink, as if to say ‘enjoy it’.
“I only missed one pot and he definitely played some of the best frames I’ve ever seen against me.
“I didn’t really know how I was going to react beforehand because the pressure was all on him, but I thought that I did myself justice. It was nice to see that I can match the top players a little bit.
“It’s the first time I’ve reached the venue at a ranking tournament and anything that happened after that was a bonus.
“It’s really good for your confidence and I enjoyed it.”
Next up for Wicheard are next week’s qualifiers for the China Open, as he takes on Sam Craigie in the first qualifying round at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield next Tuesday.
Fellow Trowbridge potter, world number 15 Stephen Lee was playing 27th-ranked Tom Ford for a place in the Welsh Open quarter finals yesterday afternoon.
