Mcgill thrilled with come-from-behind victory over Day as he dodges curse of first-round seeds
Many players cave under the pressure of playing at the Crucible Theatre, but Glasgow’s Anthony Mcgill admits he’s inspired by it – and that showed yesterday
Mcgill was pushed to the limit in his Betfred World Championship first round match, coming from 8-5 down to see off Wales’ Ryan Day 10-8 in a pulsating contest that, while low on quality, was full of drama.
Despite being the seeded player, Mcgill was widely considered the underdog against Day – who has claimed two ranking titles this season.
However, Mcgill now goes on to face Chinese superstar Ding Junhui with a spring in his step and smile on his face which was lacking for much of this match.
“To play well when it matters is great. I love it here. It is a World Championship, it is worth trying in. If you are not at 100 per cent then you have given up,” he said.
“From the position I was in at 8-5, I needed to win 5-0 or 5-1. I did not think I could do that with the way I was playing but I did play a bit better.
“That is what happened last year. I played Stephen Maguire and I was 7-2 down overnight. I came back and I never settled – I knew I was going to get beat basically.
“But this year I had a bit more fight about me and it shows what can happen.”
The first round in Sheffield has thrown up some improbable shocks, with six seeds already knocked out – including world champions Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham, Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott.
Qualifying, it seems, is a big advantage and Day looked excellent in the early stages and led 6-3 overnight, which he converted into 8-5 at the mid-session interval.
Two quick frames saw Mcgill move 8-7 behind and the pressure he exerted on Day began to take its toll – with the Gibraltar Open winner missing the simplest of blacks and allowing Mcgill to level at 8-8.
That was decisive as Mcgill, with confidence starting to flow, made a steady break of 76 to move ahead for the first time before winning it on the black in the next to book a clash with Ding.
“I am over the moon. For most of the match I was behind and then I struggled to make in-roads initially,” he added.
“I was 8-5 down and my plan was just to keep him on eight for as long as I could and then steal it. Thankfully, that’s what happened.
“I should be going home but I will be trying my absolute best. Ding is one of the best break builders there has ever been in the game.” l Watch the snooker World Championship live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Ronnie O’sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.