Jackson Page aims for title after Crucible debut: ‘I’m someone not to be messed with’
Assessing his chances of getting his hands on silverware this season, Jackson Page believes perceptions of him will have changed after his Crucible debut.
The 20-year-old made it through Worlds qualifiers for the first time last season, picking up a superb 10-7 win over Barry Hawkins in his first appearance at the Crucible.
The Welshman was hugely impressive in his win over the Hawk and despite suffering a tough 13-3 loss to his training partner and close pal Mark Williams in the next round, he’s still drawing the positives.
He climbed to number 72 in the world and expects his first tournament victory to take him up to number 32 in the near future.
Having never made it through the fourth round of a ranked event before, that would be a huge leap forward, but that’s the confidence a win in the Crucible can give you.
“I think winning a tournament this year is realistic,” Page said WST. “I want to do that and try to get myself in the top 32 and target the top 16.
“I’ve always thought I could win an event and every tournament I play I try to win. Since the Crucible, I’ve gotten that extra bit of confidence. It made me realize that I can actually beat any of these players.
“I think maybe the other players previously thought there was no way I could win an event, while now they might think I’m someone not to be messed with.”
It was a brutal loss to Williams, but one that Page took well as the three-time world champion put on an almost unstoppable performance.
Six centuries and eight more half centuries gave the Welsh Potting Machine the big win and Page took it by the chin.
“I’ll be honest, I think you could ask Mark and he’d probably say that was one of his best performances ever,” Page said. “Only in terms of the way he played. It was immense.
“I couldn’t pick many people who’ve ever played like that, in my opinion. He was in a different league and it was even better than he would practice at the club. You can’t do anything about it. They would have to be in top form to compete even remotely.
“We enjoyed the experience of playing each other at the World Cup. It was my first time there and Mark had been there many times. It was really nice, it wouldn’t make a difference to our relationship who won or lost.
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/25/jackson-page-targeting-title-after-crucible-debut-im-someone-not-to-be-messed-with-16707205/ Jackson Page aims for title after Crucible debut: 'I'm someone not to be messed with'