ANTHONY HAMILTON regrets the decision to quit the Covid-hit 2020 World Snooker Championship as he tries for possibly the last time to reach the Crucible.
Popular – known as the Sheriff of Pottingham – withdrew from the tournament five years ago after it had been moved back four months to the August following the pandemic crisis.
Hamilton, an asthma sufferer, was set to play on the opening day when smaller crowds were permitted but on medical grounds.
It is his bad fortune that he was not scheduled for later in the event because by day two, the crowds were banned as the government changed its Covid policy.
Though he had legitimate health concerns, he was branded “selfish”; by and attacked by then World Tour chairman for the late withdrawal.
Hamilton, 53, is aiming to win three matches to qualify for the Worlds for the first time since 2008 and begins his quest on Friday against Steven Hallworth in round two.
Should he not make it – and if he does not regain a Tour Card via Q School – then he will retire after 34 years as a professional and look towards snooker coaching.
Hamilton told SunSport: “Do I regret pulling out? In retrospect, yeah.
“In retrospect, if it had been now and we knew what everything was about, I’d have played, definitely.
“But at the time we weren’t sure. I’m an asthma sufferer, I thought the government were winging it.
“The day after I pulled out, the crowds stopped anyway. Which is unfortunate because if I was playing any other day than the first day, I’d have been able to play.
“ (O’Sullivan) rang me up and said: ‘You’ve got to play’. I said: ‘I can’t, I’ve already pulled out, Ron.’ He was quite angry about it.
“I got slated by our chairman (Hearn) on national TV which was a shame. It’s not like I’d pulled out for any other reason than health terms.
“I thought we’ve got that idiot () running the country, ‘I’m not taking his word for anything’.
“The last thing I wanted to do was pull out because the last time I’d played there was 12 years earlier – having to pull out was the hardest decision ever.”;
What happened then has only strengthened Hamilton’s resolve to experience the warm reception of the Crucible crowd one final time.
Should he not qualify then he plans to go along as a fan, because there is the danger the event could move away from the South Yorkshire theatre when the contract expires in 2027.
Memories of his sole ranking tournament win – he beat Ali Carter 9-6 in the 2017 German Masters final in Berlin – come flooding back as he looks back on his career.
Yet there will always be a tinge of ‘what it?’ given he has spent so many years with a painful back problem that was diagnosed aged 35.
Hamilton takes painkillers before every match and has done yoga and stretching for 20 years.
He explained: “I’ve almost had two careers – one before the spine problem and one after.
“I’ve been pretty poor for the last 15 or so years but I’ve done alright considering.
“It was amazing I could win with such a bad back. I thought I’d had more of a chance winning the EuroMillions than winning a tournament back in those days.
“At the age of 35, I started getting real pain in practice.
“I went over to Harley Street and a doctor, after looking at the MRI scan, said: ‘What you do for a job, you’ve probably got 3-4 years left.’
“I thought that was the end of my career. But I found a way to keep playing.
“Not to a very great standard. But keep playing and living a good lifestyle.
“It’s not all bad, doom and gloom, it’s better than working for a living.
“You can’t have surgery. It’s wear-and-tear on the C3-4-5-6 vertebrae. You can see the cartilage is dehydrated.
“I feel a little bit cheated that I couldn’t maybe find the very top of where you could get to.“But almost I feel quite lucky now because I’m going to go into coaching when I retire.
“I’ve had to delve so far into the mental side of the game to compete. I’ve got a lot of empathy for players.
“I know what they’re going through. I’m a nice geezer – so hopefully people get on with you, which is important for a coach.”;
