2006 World Champion Graeme Dort last won the title 15 years ago, but after a few great games at the end of last season, he felt he was not far from the moment of lifting the trophy.
At last season's European Masters, world-ranked 35th-ranked Dot looked poised to win the battle for a place in the final, when he competed with Chinese teenager Fan Yi for a place in the final, but the much-anticipated Dort lost to his opponent 4:6, and Fan Zhengyi also shocked everyone to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 10:9 to win the title after rushing to the final.
Dortmund then reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural Turkish Masters in Antalya before scoring his second career 147 points in the World Championship qualifiers. He won £10,000 in the full score, but with Neil Robertson also scoring the full score in the regular stage, Dort and Robertson shared the highest single-shot bonus. Sadly, Dort lost 8:10 to Jamie Clark on "Judgment Day" and missed the opportunity to come to Crucible.
We interviewed Dort to hear his reflections on the end of last season and his thoughts on ending the championship drought.
WST: Graeme, first of all, how does it feel to create the second perfect score of your career in the World Championship qualifiers?
"It feels good. Obviously I haven't played that much 147, so it feels great to be able to do it once. There's a certain excitement when you hit the full score, but it's completely different from what it feels like to win a race. In fact, it was done at the World Championships, and it was good and I will always remember it. ”
"When I was younger, I had a lot of chances to hit a perfect score. I think one of the reasons is that after I hit my seventy-odd points I don't even try to hit the full score anymore, I just want to move on to the next inning. After the snooker movement started to do all kinds of statistics, I realized that my data didn't look very good, so I always tried to fight to break the hundred. ”
Obviously, I was a little annoyed that Neil hit that perfect score at Crucible, but on second thought he wouldn't have someone else. In fact, almost every game has someone who has the opportunity to take a punch at 147. Whenever I turn from one table to another, there is a player who tries to score the highest score. I actually accepted in my heart that someone would shoot a shot, and I just hoped that there would be no more two people to play. ”
WST: Did you disappoint that you missed the opportunity to travel to Crucible after losing the final round of the World Championship qualifiers?
"It was a painful feeling. I haven't been to the World Championships in a few years, and it's painful not to play there. Every time you miss an opportunity it's painful. He (Jamie Clark) was lucky enough to win 10:8, but I didn't play well and was destined to do so. I understand him and everyone is talking about it, but I'm really bad at these two games. He deserves this victory and I don't have too many complaints. I felt good at the end of the season and the pace was good. I played well in the first game. I may feel too much pressure and I don't know why. My bad ball and being able to chase the score to 8:10 when I'm not in good form is enough to illustrate some of the problems. ”
WST: How do you see the semi-finals of the European Masters, do you think there is any necessary connection between Fan's victory and the current level of talent of young Chinese players?
"I would love to win the game. Of course, I hope I can beat Fan Zhengyi in the semi-finals. Again, like at the World Championships, he played well and I didn't really play. That's how I've been in recent years. When my form is there, I can beat anybody and I know that. Although my state has faded a lot more than before, I don't know what grades I can get when I'm in good shape. ”
"You can try to dissect the game in any way, but the young Chinese players are very good. It was a week that belonged to him, everything went smoothly, he played well and felt good. And these are what we are all trying to fight for, but they can be encountered and not sought. You can't deny that any young Chinese player can do that. ”
"When I retire, the tour will be full of Chinese players, they are so good. Even amateurs from China are many more than British amateurs. Their talent isn't how to excel, but they'll eventually learn the survival wisdom of the Tour, and it's hard to stop their success at this point, they're all so good. ”
WST: What does it mean for you to win another big competition?
"As long as I'm in form, I can beat any player, but it has to be done in a game from start to finish. If I can win any more trophies, that means it all to me. Considering that I've been playing professionally for so long, the effect of winning the title again must be amazing. I've been on the tour for a long time and a lot of players my age have quit the tour and I'm still able to play. I'm still here, and I'm still playing well. But it's very difficult, and it gets harder every year. Although it is not far away, it is still missing a 'east wind' for winning the championship. You need a little luck. All I can do is work my game and hopefully when the opportunity arises, I will be in good shape in the game. ”
WST: Your favourite football team, Glasgow Rovers, reached the final in the Europa League but they lost in a penalty shootout. Where do you watch the semi-finals and finals?
"The fact that I had COVID-19 during the final, I had to stay home. When we lost the game in the penalty shootout, I was so happy to be in the house, it felt so bad. After losing the final, I couldn't sleep for a few nights. I'm still proud of what they did and how they pushed the game towards penalty shoot-outs. I was saddened to see what they had tried and lost in the penalty shootout. ”
"I came to watch the rangers and Leipzig semi-final at the Ebrox stadium, and the noise on the scene cannot be described in words. I've never heard anything like that on the pitch. I've been watching football for a long time, but it was the noisiest one ever. Even I felt like the stadium was shaking. I've never experienced an atmosphere like that. I was with my son, and I said to him, it was an atmosphere that could never be surpassed. It was a brilliant night. There was tension in the air, and when Lundstrom scored the third goal, we knew we had won, and that tension was really released. ”