Stuart Bingham reveals trip to A&E with son before Masters win over Kyren Wilson - 'It was a bit of a nightmare'
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ByEurosport
Published 12/01/2023 at 08:16 GMT
Spending a number of hours in A&E with your son who has just fractured two fingers while playing basketball is far from ideal preparation ahead of a Masters match against Kyren Wilson. Just ask Stuart Bingham, who had to make the surprise visit to the hospital just a day before the crucial match. However, it didn't appear to affect the 2020 champion, as he ran out a 6-2 victor.
'Great stuff!' - Watch as Bingham hits second centrury against Wilson at Masters
Stuart Bingham’s preparations for his first round match at The Masters against Kyren Wilson were far from ideal as the 2020 champion revealed he spent a number of hours in A&E with his son the previous day.
Bingham’s young son fractured two fingers while playing basketball and he was swiftly taken to hospital by his father.
It didn’t seem to affect Bingham’s performance, however, as he ran out a 6-3 victor on Wednesday evening, winning the first five frames to set up a quarter-final with Shaun Murphy.
“It was so nice to have my boy [watching the match],” Bingham reflected in the Eurosport studio afterwards.
“He’s fractured his two fingers playing basketball yesterday. I was in A&E and Michelle [Bingham’s wife] came over after a couple of hours and took over, and he’s down there for about six hours.
“I got back at 9 o’clock, so I had enough sleep, but it was a bit of a nightmare.
“He said to me ‘I’ve hurt my hand’. I’ve looked at it and it looked fine. When I’ve got my come back, his fingers were like, pretty fat.
“My wife had a charity meeting and so I’ve had to take him down.”
Bingham continued, laughing: “I’ve missed a nice Indian that we’ve booked, so yeah, the boy comes first.”
After what sounded an eventful day, Bingham was involved in a dramatic match as well. After cruising into a 5-0 lead and seemingly headed towards a whitewash, Wilson suddenly turned the game on its head by taking the next three frames.
Bingham eventually got over the line, and speaking immediately afterwards, he couldn’t hide his relief.
He said: “I thought the snooker gods were against me. It just shows you when you're struggling for a win what can happen.
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Bingham seals victory over Wilson with splendid long yellow
“I’m just over the moon, what a great crowd. Every year we come out here and it's superb.”
Bingham had previously been dumped out of the UK Championship, the English Open and Scottish Open, as well as the German Masters, at the first round. But he credits teaming up with coach Chris Henry last month as the turnaround in his form and believes the crowd at Alexandra Palace has helped.
“He’s just calmed me down. Obviously, got a bit nervous there at the end, but yeah, it's just… I don't know. I think it's the crowd, it's sort of like… you can only play well if you enjoy it out here and put on a good show for these people. I think I play my best stuff.”
As Jimmy White pointed out, Bingham’s last success in the trophy came three years ago, when he started the tournament in wretched form. Bingham believes he can take inspiration from his success of 2020.
“Getting my hands on that trophy… you know you can do it,” Bingham said.
“Getting my hands on that trophy… you know you can do it,” Bingham said.
“You come out here, coming down to the crowd - unbelievable. It’s every player’s dream. It’s like a footballer’s Wembley. It's a golfer’s Masters or Open.
“I was actually a bit nervous coming out because I haven’t been in this atmosphere for a couple of months. Watching on TV and missing it all.”
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