Anthony McGill got the better of Jack Lisowski at the Crucible on Monday, but was full of praise for his beaten opponent, saying snooker is lucky to have him.
McGill dominated the early stages of the match, opening up a huge 10-1 lead, making three centuries along the way, before Lisowski battled back to make a game of it.
Jackpot looked like he might pull off an amazing comeback at 8-11 down, but McGill eventually did enough to get over the line at 13-8 and set up a quarter-final tie with debutant Si Jiahui.
The Scot is a daunting prospect for almost anyone at the Crucible, so it is no shame for Lisowksi to lose out, but it is another disappointment in his quest for a first big title in the sport.
McGill has no doubt that the 31-year-old will get his hands on silverware, and warns the rest of the tour that when he does, there could be plenty more to come.
‘I’m a massive fan of Jack, I think he gets a hard time,’ said McGill. ‘Everyone loves to watch him play, but the amount of stick he gets for being a bit loose sometimes.
‘Everyone’s asking him every interview about when he’s going to win a tournament. It just keeps getting hammered home to him. Everybody’s got to realise, it’s not as easy as that.
‘I’m alright at the safety side of the game and I think Jack bossed it towards the end of the game. He’s got the full game more than people think.
‘Of course he’s not the finished article, but none of us are. The game of snooker is so lucky to have him. Someone like that who looks like he’s got such style.
‘You watch him and think, I wish I could look as good as that when I play snooker. I think people should go a bit easy on him, leave him to it, and realise how lucky snooker is to have someone play the way he does, to the standard he does, in our sport.
‘He’s incredible. I’ve known him since we were 12 and he was always dynamite and he still is. I think he’s going to get there and everybody’s got a problem when he figures it out, and I think he will.’
The pair shared some words at the end of the game, with Lisowski revealing it was a quick swapping of compliments.
Jackpot told a post-match press conference: ‘I just said, “I think you’re awesome,” and he said, “I think you are too.”‘
Lisowski obviously cut a less positive figure than McGill after the loss, saying that he felt his game was ‘exposed’ by the Glaswegian.
‘I need to go away, not get too down, and figure out the game plan for next season,’ he said. ‘I can’t tell you what that is because I’ve got no idea, but I’m not happy with a few things, need to sort a few things out and come back with more of a solid game.
‘My game’s too patchy. It’s not even my safety, my safety was as good as his, that’s not what cost me, it was the simple stuff. Scoring, potting, it wasn’t there. I didn’t play rubbish, just not up to standard with him.
‘I just don’t think I had enough finesse. My touch wasn’t there. I wasn’t accurate enough. I think my game got exposed a little bit and I’ve got to figure out how to make it stronger.’
Former world champion Peter Ebdon has been working with both players and Lisowski admits it was not an ideal situation during the match, although did confirm he will continue to work with the coach.
‘It was a shame, with two of his own players. Anthony was probably the worst player I could have played, in that respect,’ he said.
‘I didn’t have the edge of having Ebdon, it was a bit unlucky we had to play each other, but it is what it is, we got on with it and had a game of snooker.’
Asked whether he saw some of what he works on with Ebdon in McGill, he said: ‘Not really no. I think he’s a different player to me and I admire him. I wish I had a lot of his qualities, I think he’s always had them.’
MORE : Anthony McGill well aware of Si Jiahui threat at the Crucible after trio of defeats
MORE : Mark Selby reveals awkward John Higgins situation ahead of Crucible quarter-final
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