Pagett Books Crucible Debut
Andrew Pagett booked his Crucible debut with a ten-frames-to-six win against Andrew Higginson in the final qualifying round of this year's Betfred.com world championship at the English Institiute of Sport in Sheffield.
Higginson, a former ranking event finalist and a player with a televised maximum break to his name has gradually moved up the rankings and with a decent run at this year’s blue riband event, would be pushing for a coveted top-16 place.
That wasn’t to be though as Pagett pinched the opening frame on the black to steady any nerves.
The first session was nip and tuck with first six frames shared and although Higginson went ahead by taking frames seven and eight, Pagett responded to take the last of the session and trail by a single frame going into the final session.
With just six frames separating the 28-year-old from World Championship Qualifying’s biggest ever Cinderella stories, the former Welsh Amateur champion, was not about to let this chance slip and produced a session of high quality snooker.
In the morning his highest break was just 45 but in the evening, he made frame winning breaks of 74, 64, 62, and 60 keeping Higginson under pressure throughout.
Pagett said, “I needed just six frames to get to the Crucible, I dreamed a dream and it came true”.
The win capped off an amazing run for the Welshman which started ten days ago with a ten-frames-to-six win over China’s Anda Zhang, a result which few might have predicted following Zhang’s own Crucible heroics twelve months ago.
Next in Pagett’s firing line was Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer and a comfortable 10-4 saw him into the last 64 where he would face Shoot-Out champion, Nigel Bond.
Many people expected Bond’s superior experience to see him through but with Pagett now guaranteed his biggest ever pay cheque, the pressure was off and he was able to play free.
Bond never really found his fluent best but did enough to force a 19th and deciding frame in which the Darley Dale man made one of just three fifty-plus breaks, which appeared enough to claim the win. Pagett had other ideas and managed to successfully get the two snookers he required and clear from blue to black for the ‘biggest win of his career’.
Pagett, a regular practice partner of Mark Williams and plays in the two-time world champion’s club in Tredegar, South Wales will be looking forward to walking out at snooker’s most famous stage for the first time and who knows, he may even be sitting next to Williams.
