The 2022 World Snooker Championship qualification tournament is in full swing, with some people rejoicing and others worrying. In a second-round match on April 7, England's 56-year-old veteran Nigel Bond lost 1-6 to Germany's Klekes and was also relegated. Therefore, the veteran, known as the "007" in the Taiwanese arena, officially announced after the game that he would end his 33-year career and no longer renew his professional qualifications through professional qualifiers and wild cards.
Born on November 15, 1965 in Bond, he officially became a professional player in 1989, and was a contemporary of the "King of Ball" Davis, "Emperor of Billiards" Hendry and other famous legends. Bond also became the only active player to become a professional player in the 1980s, and set a record for the longest 33 consecutive years of professional status without a wild card. Even Jimmy White, another "evergreen" who still insists on being on the field, has suffered relegation in previous years, but he has regained his professional qualification through wild card qualifications.
The highlights of Bond's career mainly include the following aspects, a total of 128 shots in a single shot, currently ranking 63rd in the historical list; from 1992 to 1999, the world ranking was firmly in the top 16, and the highest world ranking was the fifth place in the 1996-1997 season; at the 1995 World Championships, Bond reached the final, but finally lost to Hendry 9-18 and won the runner-up; at the 1996 British Open, Bond defeated Higgins 9-8 in the final. He won the first and only ranking championship of his career, and later reached three ranking finals, but was second in all places. Bond has also won eight invitational titles, including the 2011 Single Time Limit and the 2012 Senators World Championships. The brightest moment at the end of Bond's career was at the 2019 British Championships, when he defeated Trump, who was at his peak, but unfortunately lost 5-6 to Allen in the quarter-finals and missed the semi-final opportunity.
As he grew older, Bond's state of flux in recent years and the world rankings continued to decline, so he once expressed his idea of retiring in an interview with the media, and as long as he was relegated, he chose to retire. Unexpectedly, this day really came, the world championship qualification round out, the world ranking will not be able to return to the top 64 at the end of the season, can only regret relegation, lose professional qualifications.
So Bond didn't have much sadness when it came to retirement, "After 33 years of being a professional, today is a sad day because snooker has always been my life." Over the past few years, it's getting harder and harder when your performance doesn't meet the required standards. I feel very grateful for being able to start a career out of my passion. It is reported that after retiring, Bond will continue to engage in the snooker business, participate in the elderly tournament and coaching work.