Mark Selby insists he will retire from snooker if his form doesn't improve after the upcoming World Championship.
The four-time world champion exited the Tour Championship on Tuesday, losing to Gary Wilson in what he described as 'one of the worst games' he's ever played.
Selby has been unable to hit his usual heights this season and has now threatened to hang up his cue for good.
The 40-year-old did thrash Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-0 at the Players Championship less than six weeks ago, ending the Rocket's 16-match winning run at the time.
Mark Selby says he will retire if his form doesn't improve by the World Snooker Championship
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But he has not been able to build on that performance and was seriously downbeat after losing to Wilson in Manchester.
Wilson beat Selby 10-8 to reach the quarter-final of the last tournament before the Crucible.
And Selby said afterwards that he will have no hesitation to retire if he continues to play in the same vein.
He told ITV: "I was pathetic from start to finish. Probably one of the worst games I've played as a professional.
"If I carry on playing like that I won't be enjoying it and choosing a different career, for sure.
"I'll give the World Championships a go but if I carry on like that I won't carry on, 100 per cent.
"I've always said, when it gets to the point I'm not enjoying it, it doesn't matter where I am in the rankings, I'll be hanging my cue up.
"I can't enjoy performances like that."
Wilson admits he was lucky to meet Selby on an off day and was not happy with how he played either.
He said: "I don’t know how I won, I’m just thankful Mark didn’t play very well because I was embarrassing.
"The cue action wasn’t even there yesterday, it may have looked a bit better but I felt deep down I was struggling.
"I was hitting everything really quick and snatchy. I just tried to keep plugging away, that’s all you can do.
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Mark Selby only beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-0 less than six weeks ago
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"I can score well when I’m not cueing well but that was feeling really bad.
"It was feeling even worse today and that’s why I missed so many easy balls and played so many bad safety shots.
"I gave him so many chances, gave him so many lifelines. Really, if I’d been playing decent and Mark played as bad as he did there, I should’ve won 10-3 or 10-4 but it was that bad that it was really close.
"As I say, I’m just thankful he didn’t play very well either."
Mark Selby lost 10-8 to Gary Wilson at the Tour Championship
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Wilson will face Chinese star Zhang Anda in the quarter-final on Wednesday.
He added: "I’m not enjoying it but we go again and hopefully I can find something between now and then.
"When I play like that, that’s not what I’m here for. You’ve got to be professional and try and win and think of the long-term goal to win as many matches as you can.
"You never know, it can turn, I’ve proved that to myself in tournaments I’ve won. I’m going to try and knuckle down and try to find some cueing."
