Six former finalists and a brash 14-year-old who has described Judd Trump’s style as “clumsy” are among the 128 players who will begin the quest to reach this year’s World Snooker Championship on Tuesday. Ukrainian Iulian Boiko, who will become the youngest ever player in the qualifiers, has already secured a two-year tour card and proclaimed his desire to emulate Ronnie O’Sullivan and become the dominant player of his era. Bond, now 54, reached the Crucible final in 1995 where he lost to Stephen Hendry, and has not given up hope of making it back to the famous venue for the first time since 2009. “At the end of the day not many people can say they’ve been in a world final and it was massive in raising my profile. I’ve got to be satisfied with my career but I still think to myself that in a way I’ve under-achieved.”Bond showed signs of a spectacular career resurgence last year when he beat Trump en route to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship.

Source: Express July 20, 2020 11:48 UTC