Dott shelves alternative plans

Graeme Dott might have been stacking supermarket shelves had he carried out his threat to quit snooker at the start of the season.

Instead, the world number 13 from Larkhall finds himself in the semi-finals of the Embassy World Championship.

A finalist in the Scottish and British Opens, Dott agreed his best of 33 frames encounter with UK champion Matthew Stevens will be the biggest match of his career.

“If I could have done anything else I would have chucked it,” said Dott after putting the finishing touches to a 13-7 win over Londoner David Gray.

“But I left school before taking my exams so there wasn’t a lot of things I could have done.

“Perhaps stacking shelves in ASDA, though I don’t know whether I’m tall enough to reach the top shelf,” he added.

“I never imagined, though, when I was trying to break my cue on a motorway service station, I would in the semi-finals at the Crucible.”

However, since his first match defeat at the Welsh Open in January, the Scot’s fortunes have taken a turn for the better.

Not surprisingly though he is the rank outsider of the last four line-up including Stevens, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry.

“But all the pressure is off me now,” added Rangers fan Dott.

“I didn’t want to lose to David and he didn’t want to lose to me because we both knew what was at stake.

“Now it’s down to a one table situation, it’s all about pride of performance.

“My only worry is how much the tournament has taken out of me,” added the slim Scot.

“The likes of Ronnie will feel as fresh as a daisy because he’s been winning frames in one visit.

“To be honest, I haven’t been sleeping well. After the second session I went straight back to my bed and didn’t get up until half an hour before I was due to come to the venue.”

Dott was still dozing as world number 12 Gray reduced his arrears from 11-5 to 11-6 with a break of 92 – his highest of a low quality game.

However, he moved to within one of victory by pinching frame 18 on the black.

Gray briefly kept the contest alive with another half-century but Dott’s 62 after trailing 31-0 took him through to the last four.

“I’m delighted with the win though the game was rubbish,” admitted the 26-year-old underdog.