Hamilton hits out

Hamilton: Crucible win

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Anthony Hamilton qualified for his 12th visit to the World Championship at the Crucible, but hit out at the snooker calendar for the lack of other 'proper' events.

Nottingham potter Hamilton has made the quarter-finals four times at the Crucible, and will return to the big stage after blitzing Scott MacKenzie 10-2 in the final qualifying round.

The 36-year-old hit a century and five half-centuries during his victory, but as soon as he was through he hit out at the lack of major tournaments in snooker.

"Apart from the Masters, the World Championship is the only proper tournament we've got," Hamilton said.

"They are the only two sporting events we have. The others are just playing for £30,000 first prizes. They're tin-pot. You only get 12 people in the audience.

"At the Crucible, you know it'll be full of people who want to watch you play. Plus, they're chucking cash at you.

"It's a shame we don't have the calendars they have in golf or tennis. This is what it's all about for us.

"The arena is second to none. I've been there 12 times and get more nervous every year."

Poor season

Hamilton is 35th in the provisional rankings after a poor season, but always hopes for better fortunes at the Crucible.

"I played really well and Scott played really badly," Hamilton added. "I was 3-0 up and should have been 3-0 down. I know what that feels like. It feels like you've lost 20 frames.

"It's been a bad season but the players who have beaten me since Christmas have played brilliant snooker.

"But I've always had good vibes about this tournament."

Dave Harold made it ten Crucible appearances as he comfortably defeated Mike Dunn 10-4 thanks to breaks of 66, 63 and 73.

The 41-yer-old from Stoke made up for an agonising defeat in the final qualifying round last year when he was edged out 10-9 by Joe Swail.

"This is the one match everyone just wants out of the way," Harold said.

"There's so much pressure involved that you're not bothered how you win. You just want to scrape over the line.

"It's not a nice match to be involved in. I didn't enjoy the first session but told myself to try and enjoy the final session and I played quite well."

Kent cueman Barry Hawkins also beat Andy Hicks 10-8 to advance to the televised phase and he keeps his place in the world's top 32 as a result.

And in Sunday's final game, Dubliner Michael Judge defeated Nottingham's Michael Holt 10-6 to claim a Crucible place for the third time in his career, but the first in six years.