Anthony McGill is sounding very positive about his game, and why not, after an impressive 4-1 win over Tom Ford at the Scottish Open.
The Glaswegian did not have far to travel to take on Ford in Edinburgh and had a good afternoon in his first outing in the main stage of the event.
Breaks of 90 and 118 helped him on the way to the last 32 where he will take on either Chris Wakelin or Oliver Lines.
‘It seemed to have everything,’ McGill told World Snooker Tour. ‘I thought it was a pretty good standard. Not too many glaring mistakes, which I feel like I’m used to! Good standard match, good fight and a great win for me. Tom’s fantastic.
‘It’s the last tournament of the year, my target was just to enjoy it – being on the main stage – and I did, and I think it showed in my snooker, I thought I played alright.
‘This is a great venue for the Scottish. I think this is much better than the one in Glasgow. We always get good crowds here and I think it suits the tournament.’
It is encouraging talk from a player who has won two-ranking titles and been to the World Championship semi-finals, but has had a couple of quiet years and not played at the Crucible since 2023.
He showed his brilliant quality again this season on a run to the British Open final and he feels his best stuff is returning and will show itself again soon, either this week or the second half of the season.
‘I think my game’s there,’ he said. ‘A few things off the table right now that are distracting me a little bit. But going into the new year, I think my mid will be totally on snooker. I’m really excited, actually, for 2026.’
That British Open final defeat was a painful one for McGill, as he was in fine form and it was a competitive final which the Magician won 10-7.
The Scot came in for criticism for his runner-up speech, which was fairly shot and to the point, but McGill felt it was a positive that he showed how disappointed he was to lose.
‘I was gutted at the time, obviously. I got a lot of stick for it. I thought I congratulated Shaun, I certainly did at the handshake,’ he said.
‘It’s good that I was gutted. It you put a microphone in my face and I’m all happy then there’s probably something wrong. If you’d have got me 10 minutes later I’d have been absolutely fine.
‘It’s good to feel like a little bit of a player again. It’s been a long time since I’ve won some matches on a big stage. It was nice. I haven’t quite kicked on from it, but I feel like my game is there somewhere.
‘It’s not the case that just because I’m lower down the rankings I’m happy getting beat. I don’t like getting beat as much as Shaun Murphy.
‘When I look back on it, I can go, I’ve got to the final, boosted my rankings, I’m in the Grand Prix. I can take positives.
‘At the time I’m devastated. That would have been my biggest achievement in snooker. So I was gutted, but it’s fine now.’
