Chris Wakelin has admitted that he wanted to lose his match against practice partner Liam Pullen at the World Snooker Championship. The duo were pitted against each other in the opening round, with Wakelin securing a comfortable 10-6 victory. He is projected to face Neil Robertson in round two, provided the Aussie gets past Junxu Pang on Thursday.
After his victory, Wakelin ventured into the BBC studio for a post-match chat with Hazel Irvine. He waxed lyrical over Pullen, who he trains with on a regular basis and was making his Crucible debut. At one point, he admitted that he wanted the 20-year-old to beat him and make a big statement as a potential future star of the sport.
“I know how dangerous Liam is,” said Wakelin. “We practice together on a weekly basis now. I knew it was going to be a really tough match, so to get off to a good start was really important.
“Something that I don’t think anyone will understand is that I am playing Liam today, I went 7-5 up, I went 8-5 up, I still wanted him to win.
“I would have loved if Liam had put in a real amazing match and to have beaten me. He is such a good lad, he is such a great prospect for the future and had he beaten me today, I would have been the first person to congratulate him.”
Wakelin trains with several other budding prospects, including the likes of Stan Moody and Antoni Kowalski, but is convinced that Pullen’s specific skillset will bring future success.
“He’s drilled me a few times,” added the 34-year-old. “Liam is the most consistent [of the three]. He’s just got every single part of the game.”
Pullen was relatively pleased with his display against Wakelin, having achieved a childhood dream by completing a century break in front of the Crucible crowd.
“I was quite nervous before going out there but I really enjoyed every second, I felt great and enjoyed it,” he said afterwards.
“It felt like I could’ve played well at any moment during that match but for some reason, stuff was happening and I found it really hard to get my control on the match. It just wasn’t meant to be.
“I probably should have had a few [century breaks] earlier but I wasn’t too bothered, to be fair. When I made the century and got the clap. I should probably have potted a few before then.
“The target is just to keep improving. It’s a great way to end the season at the Crucible. I had plenty of tough matches in the qualifiers. Overall, a very good season and onto the next one.”