Dobey discusses Masters inclusion: "It was a nice surprise, I thought they were winding me up"

Chris Dobey reached the third round of the World Championship recently losing out to Daryl Gurney in a 4-1 defeat and with January usually being a quiet month, for 'Hollywood' like many other players, he has been keeping sharp while also having some time off.

"I normally keep on top of things. Obviously coming off normally in the past couple of years, I've had a decent run in the World Championship so I want to keep on a high. I normally stay solid on the board and I've only had a few days off late which I think I need to recharge things," said Dobey to Tungsten Tales.

At times during 2020, the Bedlington ace did have some poor form and he puts that down potentially to confidence.

"It may have been not enough practice but I was playing online competitions so it wasn't as if I wasn't practicing, I just might not have been doing enough. It was confidence wise, that's what I'd put it down to."

He will now play in the Masters due to the expanded format where he will have a tough opener against Dimitri van den Bergh and he is glad to be involved in Milton Keynes.

"It was a nice surprise, I thought they were winding me up to be fair. It's made me put a bit more time in on the board and hopefully it's a good start to the year."

"Form wise, he's playing fantastic. But it's whatever happens on the day. Dimi knows how well I can play, I know how well Dimi can play, we've had some great battles over the last couple of years and hopefully we'll get another cracker."