Jack Lisowski’s slow start to the season continued with a first round defeat at the English Open on Monday, but he feels his best stuff is just around the corner ahead of the UK Championship.
It has been a very stop-start beginning to the season, especially for the top 16 players who have not had to go to qualifying for the Home Nations events so simply haven’t played much snooker.
Lisowski didn’t play in the Championship League – a decision he now regrets – so has played just eight matches since his exit from the World Championship in April.
He doesn’t feel like his game is in a bad place, but he is struggling to blast off the early season rust and a lack of sharpness has cost him here in Milton Keynes this week, as well as the British Open, Northern Ireland Open and German Masters.
‘It’s just not happening for me yet,’ he told Metro.co.uk at the English Open after a 4-3 loss to Mark Joyce. ‘But it’s like my fourth tournament of the season so I’m still quite rusty.
‘I’m still missing a few but I felt quite good out there both mentally and in my game so it’s quite disappointing really.
‘I just don’t feel like I’ve played a lot of snooker yet. Making a few silly little errors.’
Not one to wallow in disappointment, Lisowski is turning his attention to the next big event on the calendar, the UK Championship, which he is looking to really get his teeth into later this month.
‘The UK Championship is the next tournament for me, that’s a best of 11, it’s a proper tournament so if I can win my first few games in that I can have a decent tournament because I’m playing some decent stuff,’ he said.
‘It’s just getting into it, I haven’t played many tournaments for about seven months so I still feel very rusty on the match table, but nick a few games and it can all change.’
Skipping the Championship League in August seemed a bold move from Jackpot as it was a good chance to gain a bit of sharpness first thing this season, and he admits it is a decision he regrets after the planned Turkish Masters was postponed in September.
‘I didn’t go in that first tournament then Turkey got cancelled so I barely feel like I played any snooker since the Worlds, it’s such a long time,’ he explained.
‘I had a nice break after the Worlds, it was so draining last season, it was so long and I was playing in everything.
‘I gave myself a nice break and didn’t go in that first tournament because I thought Turkey was on. With hindsight if I’d have known Turkey would be cancelled I’d have gone in it.
‘It’s a shame, but I’m playing catch-up now and I need to start winning some games.’
The 30-year-old now has three weeks to prepare himself for the UK Championship in York, which gets underway on 23 November as he looks to improve on his fine run to the quarter-finals last year.
MORE : Judd Trump dismisses Kyren Wilson’s table complaints: ‘I don’t sympathise, you have to earn it’
MORE : Ronnie O’Sullivan reveals retirement plan and idea for ‘swansong around the world’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Snooker News Click Here
