I had two tough matches to begin my attempt to getting competitive again. I played in the main event a guy called Adam Clarke who was very nice, and who used to be a full time professional in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, to play as badly as I did was no joke and I was comprehensively beaten playing the worst Pool I can remember in a pro event and lost 9-2. I could not even feel that disappointed, considering I played so below what I can do it was inevitable playing a quality player I would lose.

My opponent in the challenge event first round was a guy called Damian Massey, who used to be a full time pro snooker player, and a very solid player. I played better in this match but still suffered from terrible form and lost 9-3. I was missing 9-balls, playing bad safety shots, you name it - it went wrong.

I was very angry with myself considering I can run racks from the break and can play to a good level. I have made an 8-ball club open semi-final in the past in a national tournament and to play so badly really annoyed me.

My next tournament is a tournament in Nottingham on the 17th February. I will practise hard and I am relishing putting the hard work in and getting back to some level of form. My expectations are not to be U.K. number one, I know realistically that is out of my range but I expect to play well, and at least run the racks where I get a chance. That is not too much to ask! As I get more experience I hope to improve my matchplay and play better. I did feel inexperienced at this tournament and only time will see me get better.

I enjoyed the event and it was very well ran and executed by both the club and tournament organisers. The hotel I stayed at was also very nice and I look forward to the next event and hopefully doing a bit better.