‘It was my dad’ – Donaldson pays tearful tribute after coming from 5-0 down to stun Bingham
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Scott Donaldson is convinced the hand of fate was on his shoulder after launching the greatest comeback of his career to seal his place at the UK Championship.
The world No. 52 looked down and out when he trailed 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham 5-0 in the final round of qualifiers at Wigan’s Robin Park Leisure Centre on Wednesday night.
But a stirring comeback saw him reel off six straight frames against a stunned Bingham, boosted by breaks of 56, 64, 110, 51 and 91, to take his place in the last-32 draw on Thursday afternoon, with the 16 qualifiers facing the top 16 in the rankings at the York Barbican.
“Brilliant performance from Scott Donaldson,” said David Hendon on commentary.
“He looked down and out trailing 5-0, but has completed a remarkable turnaround to qualify for the UK Championship.”
Donaldson looked up to the heavens after shaking hands with Bingham.
He feels his inspirational father Hector, who died at the age of 70 last month, was the reason he managed to complete the astonishing victory, with the 100th century of his career also achieved in the eighth frame.
“It was my dad. There is no way I could win that match normally,” he told reporters. “I can’t believe it, I’m struggling for words. There’s no way I have done that. I couldn’t play.
“The run of the ball I had in the last three frames, it was incredible. Stuart must be sick, he had chances.”
The 31-year-old Perthshire potter revealed he has been fighting personal heartache during the competition after his dad tragically passed away on October 2.
He withdrew from a meeting with Mark Williams at the Xi’an Grand Prix before losing 4-1 to Gao Yang in Scottish Open qualifying, and 4-3 to recent International Championship winner Wu Yize in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.
But after producing fine victories over Ross Muir (6-5) and Anthony McGill (6-1) before usurping Bingham, who rolled in a 117 in the fifth frame to lead 5-0, Donaldson takes solace from the feeling that his dad is still fighting his corner.
“I played the Scottish Open qualifiers two days after his funeral. That was impossible,” the four-time ranking event semi-finalist told the BBC.
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“I went to Belfast for the Northern Ireland Open. He’d already booked his flights and hotel as he was coming to watch me. That was incredibly hard – I was just in my seat welling up.
“I don’t know how I managed to get three frames off Wu Yize. Since then, I’ve kind of been okay because I know he would always want me to just do my stuff.”
Donaldson is in exclusive company in being one of the few players to pull off a victory from 5-0 behind in a best-of-11 match, emulating Nigel Bond’s 6-5 win over Barry Hawkins in the second round of the 2014 UK Championship.
“My dad loved watching me play,” he said. “In my mind, he’s still there watching me play. I just don’t know where he is right now.
“I just got so much good luck at the end, which was very unusual, and I think dad was doing something.”
Meanwhile, 2004 UK winner Stephen Maguire eased past Ian Burns 6-1 to book his trip to York, with former UK semi-finalist Zhou Yuelong completing a 6-2 win over Jamie Clarke.
The final qualifying round for the 49th UK Championship is completed on Thursday in Wigan before the main event is staged at the Barbican from November 29 to December 7, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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