SHOKAT Ali missed out on a place in the British Open after his second crushing defeat inside a week at Blackpool yesterday.
The Accrington-based snooker star lost 5-1 to world number 68 Dave Finbow in the final qualifier for the £370,000 event at the Norbreck Castle Hotel.
Just two days earlier, Ali, ranked 49th in the world, suffered a humiliating 5-2 defeat against little-known world number 296 Matt Wilson in the final qualifier for the Regal Scottish.
The Pakistani captain now faces two months out of action until the qualifying stages for the World Championship take place at the end of March.
Dennis Taylor, who will captain the Northern Ireland team at the Nations Cup in Newcastle next week, also failed to make the final stages of the British Open after crashing out 5-2 to Nottingham-based professional Michael Holt.
Trailing 2-0 at the interval, Taylor clawed his way back to 2-2 at the interval, but Holt then won three scrappy frames to progress and deny the Blackburn man a farewell appearance in the £370,000 event in his final season on the circuit.
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