World Snooker Championship: Anthony McGill reaches Crucible after 'tough' qualifying wins
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Anthony McGill has qualified for a ninth successive World Snooker Championship
Anthony McGill says qualifying for the World Snooker Championship is harder than ever after booking his slot at the Crucible for the ninth year running.
The Scot, 32, came from behind to defeat Cao Yupeng on Tuesday, after fighting back to beat unseeded John Astley in the opening round.
McGill was 3-0 down to Yupeng but won 10-6 at the English Institute of Sport.
"The standard is higher. John wasn't a seed but played fantastically, I got away with that one," he told BBC Sport.
"John is in the first year of his card, and he plays like a top 32 player. I've had easier games against top 16 players. Cao is tremendous, top class.
"It's so tough. It wasn't tough 10 years ago."
The championship draw takes place on Thursday with McGill delighted to be in that hat, despite battling challenging table conditions in his decisive match.
"I don't think I played well at all these two matches but did enough," he added.
"The match with John I just dug in and found something at the end.
"I think I handled the conditions a bit better today. I'm not saying I handled them well because I lost my head a few times.
"I could see Cao wasn't impressed with what we were given to play on, and I think I dealt with it a little bit better."