Elliot Slessor admits his form deserted him during the latter stages of the Dafabet Northern Ireland Open following his semi-final exit at the hands of Mark Williams. The Englishman made it through to the last four of a ranking event tournament for the very first time at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, with his run to the latter stages including an eye-catching 4-1 victory over five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
However, the 23-year-old was far from happy with his performance during his semi-final showdown with Williams, as he was comprehensively beaten 6-2 and only registered one break over 50 during the contest. “I felt comfortable out there, it wasn’t the pressure I just wasn’t able to play, I was really poor in the quarter-final as well – I’ve got no idea,” Slessor told the World Snooker website. “I’m trying to think how I could possibly have played that badly in front of my own eyes.”
Slessor will now turn his attention to the upcoming UK Championship in York, although he has a poor record at the event as he has never made it past the first round at the Barbican Centre. The world number 82 will face Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the first round of the tournament and he is priced at 200/1 to go all the way and claim his first ranking event title. World number one Mark Selby is the defending champion in York and he is available at 4/1 to claim overall glory, while the likes of Judd Trump, John Higgins and Ding Junhui are also expected to be in contention.
Snooker odds available at Dafabet.