A heroic performance has landed Anthony Hamilton a place in the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions in Coventry.
Now he’s dreaming of the biggest draw possible against either five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan or four-time winner John Higgins.
The world number 26, who battled back from 4-2 down to beat Ryan Day 6-4 to secure his place, told ITV4: “I’d love to play Ronnie or John, last hurrah for me. I don’t care if I get pumped to zip. The two Gods. Three, another here (Hendry).”
This was Hamilton’s debut at the lucrative invitational event after he won his first ever ranking title at the German Masters in February this year. The 46-year-old subsequently admitted that he invited his Mum and Dad along to watch him at the tournament in Berlin as he believed it might be the last time he qualified. Instead, he went home with the trophy.
Before beating Day, Hamilton won another hard-fought contest 4-1 against China’s Ding Junhui. There were times throughout the day when Hamilton looked like he was struggling himself but in the end was rewarded for his ability to dig in and keep punching.
This run to the last four will be a dream come true for Hamilton who prior to his win at the German Masters was struggling financially and just about had enough money in his pocket to support himself and keep entering tournaments for the love of the game.
This week, he already has £25,000 secured and can look forward to a shot at glory at the weekend.
Hamilton will now wait to face the winner of the group containing O’Sullivan, Higgins, Neil Robertson and Anthony McGill.
