Jack Lisowski has revealed how a three-day drinking binge helped him shrug off the shock of a positive coronavirus test and keep his confidence at an all-time high.
The 29-year-old was led out of his Milton Keynes hotel after testing positive for the virus on the eve of his expected first round match at the Masters earlier this month.
It was a bitter blow for the world number 14, who had played some of the best snooker of his career in pushing Judd Trump to the brink in the final of the World Grand Prix before Christmas.
And after reaching the last eight of the German Masters on Thursday with wins over Louis Heathcote and Luca Brecel, Lisowski told the PA news agency: “I just went on a blow-out for the first few days.
“I thought, I’ll just trying drinking and kill the virus. I don’t even drink. I’d worked so hard for the tournament and I was going to go crazy. I did it and I’m still here and I feel like Superman now.”
Lisowski was mostly symptomatic for his period with the illness, and intimated that his previous experiences with ill health – he beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in his teens – put his latest setback into perspective.
“My game is as good as it’s ever been and I really believed I could have had a good Masters,” he added. “I’d never been as confident as I am now, so I was absolutely gutted.
“But I’ve definitely had worse news. It was weird someone telling you you’re ill and you’re not in control – it was like deja vu. But this virus has been serious for so many people, so in the end I was lucky.”
Judd Trump, who was forced out of the Masters on the same day as Lisowski, beat Joe Perry to reach the last eight – where he will face Ding Junhui.
Trump has lashed out at his Masters exclusion, telling the Daily Mirror: “I felt fine. I don’t even think the test was accurate so to be pulled from the tournament was a bit of a joke.”
World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn told the paper he was “disappointed” by Trump’s comments, adding: “Judd is a great champion but that comes with responsibilities, including understanding issues like Covid. He is not a doctor.”
