Belfast’s Joe Swail is considering hanging up his cue after falling off the tour.
The two-time World Championship semi-finalist had to win his first-round of Crucible qualifying to ensure his tour survival.
But the veteran potter was crushed 10-1 by tour rookie Joe O’Connor, who has beaten four-time world champion John Higgins twice in his debut season.
Swail will ponder his future whilst in Spain after a tough day at the office.
The 49-year-old admitted: “It’s very, very hard to take and for some reason I didn’t turn up.
“I think it is coming to the stage now where I need to ask myself ‘do I want to continue?’
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“I’ve been thinking about it for a while.
“I’ll go away for a few days to Spain and figure out what I want to do and whether I want to continue or not.
“I need to put myself first instead of putting snooker first for the first time in my life. It hurts because snooker’s been my life but I need to think about what I want to do.”
Swail hasn’t appeared on the game’s grandest stage since way back in 2009.
To get back on the tour the Northern Irishman will have to go through the gruelling Q School process.
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He added: “If I do decide to finish, or do decide to continue which I doubt because I’m off the tour now, I don’t think I’ll be going to Q School.
“I’ve been there and done all that and my body can’t take it anymore. “I think that’s going to be it.”
Meanwhile, Dublin’s Michael Judge kicked off his Crucible bid with a tight 10-9 win over Peter Lines.
The former pro pocketed a top break of 53 in a scrappy encounter.
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