Stuart Bingham was scathing of his own performance in defeat to Jak Jones in the World Snooker Championship semi-finals, labeling his display ’embarrassing’ in a 17-12 defeat.
Bingham came into the contest full of confidence after downing Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals and started the semi in style as he opened up a 3-0 lead.
However, that was really as good as it got for the 2015 world champion, with only flashes of his brilliant best, with two tons and two half-centuries from him over the next 26 frames.
Jones admitted himself that he didn’t feel like he is playing that well, but Bingham felt his own performance was a long way off where it should have been.
‘Embarrassing really,’ Bingham told the BBC. ‘I must have given eight frames away. Probably missed eight or nine blacks off the spot. You can’t do that at this level. Very, very disappointed after playing like I did against Ronnie. Just didn’t enjoy it out there.
‘Everything was hard work today. Too many mistakes, cost me big time.
‘He didn’t really have to work hard to get in. You can see he’s a great cueist, very calm, got a bit jittery at the end but there was nothing left in me.’
He added on Eurosport: ‘Missing too many easy balls, gave him too many easy starters, just an embarrassing performance on my part. Can’t put my finger on why, just gutted.
‘That’s the sort of things that’s been happening the last couple of years. Put in a good performance, beat Ronnie in the last round then play shocking snooker in the following. Gutted to end that way.
‘A lot of the frames he won, I got in, I had every chance in every frame. It ain’t like he’s blown me away. Disappointed I didn’t put any sort of fight up in the end. Just gutted.’
Jones is into the final to play Kyren Wilson after wins over Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui and Judd Trump before beating Bingham, but he is not entirely sure how it keeps happening.’
‘I don’t think I am playing well, I’m just winning,’ he said. ‘I’m not doing anything exceptional, I don’t think. I’m not scoring heavy, I’m not doing anything special.’
MORE : Dave Gilbert on ‘bonkers’ Crucible after Kyren Wilson semi-final defeat
MORE : Ronnie O’Sullivan on what Kyren Wilson is doing better than anybody at the Crucible
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