Dave Gilbert knows he has a woeful record against Crucible opponent Stuart Bingham, but hopes he can replicate Brock Lesnar breaking The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak on the baize.
In a surprising head-to-head record, Bingham has won all 12 matches he has played against Gilbert as a professional, from their first meeting in the 2005 Grand Prix to their most recent at the 2020 Masters.
Given that the Angry Farmer has been a top 16 player and a title-winner, it is odd to see such a one-sided ledger, but Gilbert says streaks have been ended before, even if the wrestling ring is very different from the snooker table.
Gilbert recalls that the legendary Undertaker won at Wrestlemania for 21 straight years before Lesnar beat him in 2014 in a result that stunned the wrestling world and the Farmer is taking inspiration from it ahead of his first round clash with Bingham.
‘I avoided Ronnie [O’Sullivan] and [Mark] Selby so I was happy with that,’ Gilbert told Metro.co.uk of his draw. ‘Obviously my head-to-head with Stuart is pretty amazing, it’s something like 28-0!
‘But the great Undertaker of the wrestling world had the best streak of all-time and even that got broken eventually, so possibly, I’m hoping it’s my time to break the Stuart Bingham streak. I’m Brock Lesnar!
‘I have actually beaten him once, in a Pro-Am at Willie Thorne’s in Leicester when I was a youth, when he was world amateur champion, so I do have one victory over him, but the record’s quite incredible.’
Gilbert is full of praise for the man he has struggled to beat over the years, saying that despite being a former World and Masters champion, Bingham does not get the respect he deserves.
‘Stuart’s an incredible player, he should get a lot more credit,’ said Gilbert. ‘He’s a great player, won the Worlds, the Masters, multiple maximums, multiple tournaments, millions of tons, his stats are fantastic and I’d love to swap with him.
‘Almost any snooker player would love Stuart Bingham’s career, he’s an incredible player, he’s a better player than me.
‘Although a lot of the times we faced each other, I’m guessing, would have been many years ago when I was really crap, now I’m just crap so you never know.’
Gilbert has had a difficult couple of seasons but looked good in qualifying and is sounding positive about his game again, not just hopeful of beating Bingham, but going deeper at the Crucible.
‘I’m feeling good, I was pleased with how I played against Matthew [Stevens, in the final qualifying round] and I enjoyed the game for once, it was nice, like the old feelings I used to have so I’m really looking forward to the game.
‘I’ve got bigger ambitions than just turning up at the Crucible, I do feel like I can go there and play well and if I play well I can win.’
MORE : Who can stop Ronnie O’Sullivan on his quest for an eighth World Snooker Championship title?
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