Stuart Bingham rallied from 7-3 down to win a 10-9 thriller against Stuart Carrington and earn his place on Judgement Day at Cazoo World Championship qualifying in Sheffield.
The 2015 World Champion has appeared at the Crucible every year since 2010. He was facing the very real prospect of a year away from the Theatre of Dreams, before mounting his fightback charge this evening.
Bingham has experience of success from the qualifying stages, having made the semi-finals in 2021. He was denied a place in the title match that year after a marathon 17-15 defeat to Mark Selby.
Facing a daunting 7-3 deficit, Bingham produced some of his best snooker to turn the match on its head. Breaks of 55, 73, 85, 55, 91 and 68 helped him to seven of the next nine frames and victory.
“It hasn’t been a good couple of seasons for me. It was a big match to still be in the tournament. I was fearing the worst all day, getting a bit impatient and frustrated. I don’t know where it has come from. It is still in there. I think it just takes my back being against the wall to get the best out of me. I’ve hardly missed a ball in the last three frames."
Stuart Bingham
2015 World Champion
Bingham added: “Every player wants to finish their season at the Crucible. Having tasted victory there before it would have been very disappointing to bow out. I’ve got one game left. It is going to be another tough game and I’ve got to be on top of my form to get through.
“In 2021, I beat Luca Brecel to qualify and I was confident going into the Crucible. Being sharp helps. It is every player’s dream to play at the Crucible so it would be nice to get the job done and be there this season.”
His Judgement Day opponent will be Louis Heathcote, who has come all the way through from the opening round this week.
Heathcote scored a nerve shredding 10-8 win over Elliot Slessor tonight. The Leicester cueman held a commanding 7-2 lead after the opening session today, but it was Slessor who came roaring back.
At 9-8 up, Heathcote left his opponent needing a snooker. Slessor got the required penalty points, but couldn’t get over the line and Heathcote claimed victory on the black.
Zhou Yuelong blitzed to a 10-0 whitewash win over James Cahill. That sets up a Judgement Day encounter with Jak Jones, who beat Jamie Clarke 10-6.
Stephen Maguire sealed his progression with a 10-7 defeat of Ashley Hugill. The Scot will play Yuan Sijun in the final round. Yuan came through 10-8 against Michael White.
