JUST a year after watching the tournament in his underwear, Zak Surety wrote himself into World Snooker Championship folklore on his debut at The Crucible.
The Englishman, playing for the first time in Sheffield, became the first player in history to hit four centuries on debut at the World Snooker Championship.
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Surety had come through qualifying to earn himself a meeting with 10th seed Ding Junhui – the Godfather of Chinese snooker – in the opening round.
Ding, the beaten finalist in 2016 when he lost 18-14 to Mark Selby, ran out a 10-7 victor against Surety, although the world No. 73 greatly impressed on his first showing among snooker’s elite.
What made Surety’s performance that much more impressive was the fact that last year, he had been sat at home watching the tournament in his pants.
The Basildon Bull Dog admitted that he was “the biggest snooker nerd” when it came to the season finale.
Surety, 33, said: “Honestly, I’m the biggest snooker nerd when it comes to the Crucible.
“I like to sit in my pants for 17 days and just watch every session on TV.
“I don’t move – 10am to midnight every day, just watching snooker. So to be involved with it now, it’s unreal.
“I haven’t even been there to watch before.
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“I’m keen on my running. A few years ago, I thought I had never actually seen the place.
“I typed the address into my iPhone maps and ran towards it. When I saw the Stage Door, I felt my knees buckle.”
Humorously, Surety also said that he watched episodes of EastEnders on BBC iPlayer before games.
He said: “Not many people know but EastEnders goes up on the iPlayer at 6am.
“It’s perfect prep for a game – a bit of Phil Mitchell and then the Crucible.”
Unfortunately for Surety, he could not rediscover the winning touch that saw him get through three qualifying rounds, including defeating players ranked higher than him.
Those scalps included Jack Lisowski, the world No. 25, and Ricky Walden, the world No. 40.
Surety’s conqueror Ding will go on to face either former world champion Luca Brecel or world No. 36 Ryan Day in the last 16, before a potential encounter with second seed Shaun Murphy in the last eight.