KEIGHLEY potter Chris Melling is determined to prove he can lock horns with the best in the business despite a first-round exit at the UK Snooker Championship on Thursday.

Melling – a two-time eight-ball pool world champion – returned to the professional snooker tour this year, following a seven-year absence.

But there was to be no dream outing at the York Barbican, where the 35-year-old was beaten 6-1 by youngster Jack Lisowski.

Melling insisted it could have been a very different story, but he was happy to concede his opponent had done enough to move into round round.

“My season has been so-so to this point – it's been nothing special but I know if I play my A-game then I can beat anybody,” he said.

“But it's not about how good you are when you're on form, it's about how good you are when you're bad.

“I’ve had to change my cue action because the tables are so fast and it doesn't suit my action. Jack looked like he was comfortable on the tables whereas I'm a little bit worried what's going to happen.

“I had a few 30-odd or 40-odd breaks but then I just broke down by losing control of the cue ball. He's missed balls and got a little bit fortunate a couple of times but he played well.

“I'm always confident though – if you're not confident you're not going to win. It's just a matter of time before I click and when I do click I will do some serious damage.”

Attentions now switch to next month’s Lisbon Open, where Melling will look to bounce back, but not before stopping by at one of the biggest events on the pool calendar.

“The transition from pool to snooker has been fine – safety-wise I'm as good as most people and I'm probably better at getting out of snookers and that sort of thing,” he added.

“It's just cue ball control that I'm really struggling with for some reason – I think playing more tournaments and getting used to the tables will make a big difference for me.

“I'll be back on the practice table right away before going to the Mosconi Cup in Blackpool for a couple of days to support some of my friends.

“Then it's off to Portugal where I play Rory McLeod in first round – I've played him once before and won 3-0 but it's a different day and anything can happen.”

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