Chris Wakelin felt he was on course to win the World Championship this year and has already made changes to give him a better chance in 2026.
The 33-year-old produced two of the performances of the tournament as he came through qualifying and then knocked out Neil Robertson and Mark Allen.
The Englishman was looking as good as anyone at the Crucible having never won a match at the venue before and he admits that thoughts started to turn to lifting the trophy.
Things went pretty horribly wrong in the quarter-finals as he struggled in a 13-5 defeat to eventual champion Zhao Xintong, which left Wakelin with mixed feelings after fine run.
‘It was great to get back and get my first win and get through to the quarters,’ he told Metro. ‘But there a massive part of me that thought I was going to win it.
‘It wasn’t just a case of being there and soaking it up and being part of the furniture as I was in years gone by. I genuinely felt like it could have been my year.
‘The only disappointing thing from my point of view was the only match that Xintong was beatable in was the one I played him in. I was just so mentally exhausted.’
Wakelin has taken that feeling as inspiration to get fit again, hitting the roads to get himself in shape for the challenges to come.
‘It was just psychological warfare out there. That sort of arena, that sort of opportunity,’ he said. ‘More than anything, the World Championship is an opportunity to catapult yourself up the rankings and into history.
‘I didn’t feel pressure in that third match, no more so than I did in the first round of qualifying. It just didn’t happen on that day.
‘You can put that down to whatever reason you want. I feel as though it’s given me a goal for this season, which is to be more physically fit. That’s my new challenge.
‘I lost four stone, just through running and doing a bit of gym work but that stopped about 18 months ago because I had a couple of injuries.
‘Running is firmly back on the agenda now, doing two or three 10ks a week.
‘I’ve got fitness goals now, as well as snooker goals, family goals, life goals. I want to get back to doing regular sub-two hour half marathons. For a guy who was nearly 18 stone not so long ago, I think that would be quite an achievement.’
Wakelin has made huge improvements to climb into the world’s top 16 and turn himself into a genuine threat to win ranking events.
That has come alongside a different outlook on snooker, with family life his priority after the birth of his daughter in December and he shares a philosophy with golf’s world number one Scottie Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler wrestling with motivation
The American said: ‘There’s a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them in life, and you get there, you get to No 1 in the world, and they’re like what’s the point? I really do believe that, because what is the point? Why do I want to win this tournament so bad?
‘That’s something that I wrestle with on a daily basis. Showing up at the Masters every year, it’s like, why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly? I don’t know. Because, if I win, it’s going to be awesome for two minutes. Then we’re going to get to the next week and it’s: “Hey, you won two majors this year; how important is it for you to win the FedExCup playoffs?” And we’re back here again.
‘I’m blessed to be able to come out here and play golf, but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or my son, that’s going to be the last day that I play out here for a living.
‘This is not the be all, end all. This is not the most important thing in my life. That’s why I wrestle with, why is this so important to me? Because I’d much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. At the end of the day, that’s what’s more important to me.’
Wakelin explained: ‘I was saying at the World Championship on several occasions, I actually don’t care if I win or lose. When I listened to what Scottie said, it made absolute sense, because it’s exactly how I feel now.
‘I’ve got a family now, I’ve got a little girl, and that’s my priority. As much as I want to go to tournaments and I want to win, I’d love to be standing there with the trophy again. At the end of each tournament that I play in, when I lose, it makes absolutely no difference to me in my life.
‘The things I want in my life are at home, they’re not on tour. This is just a product of what can possibly give us an easier life down the line.
‘All I want is to be able to go and try my best. That’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for my family, and the results will take care of themselves.
‘The only thing that does differ between Scottie and I, and you might say that’s why he’s world number one and I’m not, is that he hates losing. I don’t hate losing. I love winning, but if I lose, it’s history. It’s no longer a moment in my life, it’s something I don’t think about anymore.
‘I’ve got something else to focus on, whether that’s being a dad, or being prepared for my next match, or just being a good friend to people. That’s what you’ve got to be in life sometimes, it’s not all about snooker.’