Snooker star Matthew Stevens appeared visibly unimpressed after correcting MC Rob Walker during his World Championship introduction. The Welshman was in first-round action against Barry Hawkins at the Crucible. During Stevens’ walk-on, Walker announced: “Three times a semi-finalist. He loves the long frame format. A UK Champion, a Masters winner and still a class act on and off the base, the Welsh Dragon, Matthew Stevens.”
Yet upon hearing the ‘three times semi-finalist’ remark, Stevens looked bemused. He held up four fingers and mouthed “four times” before appearing irritated and then breaking into a grin as he made his way to the table. It was, naturally, a pointed reference to the fact he has reached the semi-finals on four occasions at the Crucible, not three. The match saw the 48-year-old suffer a 10-4 defeat against World No.11 11 Hawkins, bringing his World Championship campaign to a premature close.
Ahead of the contest, Stevens confessed to having a ‘love-hate’ relationship with the tournament, having been beaten in the 2000 and 2005 finals. “I’ve had so many good wins there,” Stevens told the BBC.
“I’ve played in the one-table set-up six times I think, and I’ve got loads of scars from there, but I wouldn’t change anything. I’d probably change one or two results, but that can’t be helped.”
He added: “I do enjoy playing but I’ve been a bit lazy recently. I’ve been saying that for the last 15 years so nothing’s changed.
“Instead of practising, I just watch old YouTube videos of myself winning, and sometimes it works and gives me a lift. I’ll play a little bit [before my first-round match] but not much.
“I keep saying [I can do damage at a tournament] but I haven’t done it. It’s just keeping it up, I suppose. I beat Judd [Trump] in China this year and if you can beat someone like that it’s just about being more consistent. I’m still a danger if I play well and can win any match.”
Hawkins will go up against the victor of the Mark Williams vs Antoni Kowalski clash in the second round of the tournament. Williams holds a 6-3 advantage heading into the evening session of their match.
Zhao Xintong and Mark Allen are the only other two players to have secured their spots in the second round thus far. Xintong defeated Liam Highfield 10-7, while Allen edged out Zhang Anda by a 10-6 margin.