We have just concluded the second session of the World Snooker Championships quarter-final. And defending champion Judd Trump is in trouble He is 10-6 down and out of form.
A fact which is obvious to his opponent, the dangerous Kettering cue-man Kyren Wilson. For Wilson has hit a level of concentration that is the goal of everyone who plays at The Crucible. He is seeing each shot as simply as ‘ball to target’. Getting down on his shot each time, like it’s a fresh shot. And renewing his pre=shot process every time. Just like he is in the practise room.
It looks so simple. So free of drama and emotion. A player who has spent hour after hour honing their technique and routine. And now it is working automatically. Like being in a dream.
And all the while his opponent is searching for the key to unlock the potent magic he unleashed so brilliantly last year.
Confidence comes from a belief in your process. That you know that it works. And how it works. It”s like a friend who is not going to let you down. You trust it totally. To the point where you feel that you simply cannot miss.
Time will tell whether Wilson can recapture this evening session of purity and simplicity. He is not a genius, mercurial talent. But someone who has worked hard to perfect their process. And now, on the world’s biggest stage, it is working exactly as it was designed to do.
Which for a professional sportsman, who wants to minimise risk and maximise certainty, this is the pay-off time!