Burnett's betting pressure

Burnett: Under pressure

On the black I said to myself, 'I need to get this, I need to get this' in case some people start talking. I just felt so under pressure, probably the most pressure I have felt in my life.

Jamie Burnett
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Jamie Burnett admitted he has never felt under so much pressure as he missed a black that cost him his match against Stephen Maguire.

After Maguire built up a 6-2 lead from the first session, bookmakers reported an unusually large amount of money overnight on a 9-3 scoreline for the former UK Championship winner.

At 8-3 and with just the black left on the table, Burnett had the chance to sink it to win the frame and reduce the deficit to 8-4.

Burnett missed his attempted black by a long way, enabling Maguire to step in and confirm a 9-3 win in his favour, and the that result did set alarm bells ringing although Burnett has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Pressure

Burnett admits that he had been made aware of the betting patterns, and said that he had never felt so much pressure than when he stood over that pot - knowing what would be said if he missed.

"In the last frame I have never felt more pressure in my life," Burnett admitted in his post-match press conference.

"I didn't think I could have played the colours knowing people have been saying things.

"On the black I said to myself, 'I need to get this, I need to get this' in case some people start talking. I just felt so under pressure, probably the most pressure I have felt in my life.

"Then to come off was the lowest feeling, I felt terrible."

The sports governing body did not comment on and matter but did issue a statement on their procedures surrounding betting.

Statement

It read: "We have arrangements in place with both Betfair and the Association of British Bookmakers, who contact World Snooker confidentially if irregular betting patterns emerge.

"In such cases the match in question is carefully monitored by World Snooker and a fair assessment of the player's performance will be made.

"In past incidents, which are extremely rare, World Snooker has a particularly stringent line where players have been judged guilty of match-fixing or intention to match-fix."

Maguire moved on into the next round after the world number two lost just one more frame from overnight.

"I could see he was a different Jamie from when he started the match," Maguire said. "But that's to be expected really - I'd be the same if I was 6-2 down.

"I was surprised he missed it but I was just relieved. I was just trying to win."