Gary Wilson was left speechless after his sensational shot in the Scottish Open quickly became an unlucky foul. The mistake did not prove decisive on Thursday as the 38-year-old beat Joe O’Connor to reach the last 32, though the English star is not heading into the latter stages of the competition in good spirits.
Wilson looked set for an early exit from the Scottish Open earlier this week when falling two frames down to Xing Zihao, but a remarkable 4-3 comeback saw him book his spot in the next round following two 100-plus breaks.
His victory saw him set up a repeat of last year’s final up against O’Connor, and Wilson came out on top once again. The world No. 20 secured an important win in Edinburgh, with two half-centuries playing a key role in the victory.
However, it was far from a dominant performance from Wilson, and his foul whilst leading 4-2 epitomised the struggles that he has been facing in recent months. After playing an excellent shot to sink a red, the cue ball ricocheted back up the table and knocked the yellow in as well.
Whilst the unfortunate shot unravelled, the Eurosport commentary team said: “Brilliant shot, terrific shot. Oh, wait for it though, wait for it.” The lead commentator then let out an almighty sigh as the yellow nestled into the pocket before exclaiming: “How cruel, how cruel is that.”
Wilson was very critical of his performance when speaking after his victory, revealing that he has the ‘yips’ and, as a result, the involuntary wrist movements are truly affecting the shots that he can play. He said: “I was absolutely useless, in all honesty, I was very lucky, Joe couldn’t finish me off. I’m smiling but I don’t know what to say, I don’t know how I got the four [frames].
“It feels like I can’t control my cue arm at all, I’ve got a form of the yips. It seems to be getting progressively worse. Now I just feel like I’m not even controlling what I’m doing, it’s horrible. I’m just hitting them really quick, I’ve got no timing at all, throwing my cue at them. You can’t play snooker like that.
“I’m not even practising to the level I’m used to, I’m still doing it in practice as well. When you’re bringing it into your practice game, when there’s no pressure, then you think there’s really got to be something up there. I’ve tried all sorts. Some of it probably comes to changing that many things that I don’t even know where I am anymore. Part of it is probably sticking with something and going with it, but each time it still creeps in. I’m sort of at a loss, I don’t really know what to do.”
