Official Fergal O'Brien Website
888.com World Championships
Next week, on Monday, March 10th, I play Jamie
Cope in the final
qualifying match for this years World Championships.
The match is over the best of 19 frames in
two sessions, the first at 10.00am
and the second at 4.00pm. The winner will be going to the Crucible in April.
Obviously it is an important match, as everyone loves to play at the Crucible
and my ultimate goal is to become World Champion,
so I will be giving it all I have on Monday to try and qualify.
Jamie is a tough opponent but in that round
there are no easy matches anyway,
so I will have to be on the top of my game to progress.
As I failed to qualify for the Welsh
Open, I took a couple of weeks off
and then started my preparations for the World Championships.
I have been playing up to six hours a day
on my own and also practicing with Colm Gilcreest,
Rodney Goggins and Michael Judge (who is also playing on Sunday for a place
at the Crucible).
We have been playing best of 19 practice
matches to get a feel for the distance we will be playing.
I have been playing well, scoring heavy
and enjoying my practice
and I am really looking forward to next Monday.
Off the table, I will be celebrating my birthday
today, (March 8th), before flying to Sheffield at lunchtime.
I can't think of a better present than qualifying for the Crucible.
I have given up eating chocolates, sweets
and crisps for lent (not an easy thing to do, especially for a chocaholic
like me).
I am trying to set a good example for my daughter Isabel, who is 7, and I
am surprised I haven't broken my promise.
I do think that I will allow myself a large bar of Galaxy (as a birthday present
to myself).
I can't wait. Then it's back to the hard grind until Easter.
On Easter Sunday I will be in China,
so I must make sure to pack a couple of Easter eggs in my suitcase for the
trip.