Stephen Hendry is beaten by his ex-wife’s nephew James Cahill as he falls out of the World Snooker Championship

STEPHEN HENDRY reckons his lack of match sharpness derailed his World Snooker Championship campaign.

The Scot was beaten 10-4 by James Cahill, his ex-wife’s nephew, in the first qualifying round last night.

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Despite hitting a 102 in his opening frame – the breakthrough of his illustrious career in the 777th – Hendry had to ruin missed opportunities in the first session at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

This was only Hendry’s fourth game of the season and he has now conceded that perhaps he should have paid more attention to the ball to find some rhythm.

The seven-time world snooker champion – who was given a wildcard to take part in the tour – has missed a glorious return to the famous Yorkshire theater for the first time since 2012.

Hendry, 54, will now join the Crucible as a commentator for the BBC.

He said: “I got off to a great start, century number 777 in the first frame. This is a much cooler number than 776.

“I don’t know, maybe it even worked against me. It was strange, I came down to earth quickly.

“I had a lot of chances in the next 2-3 frames. They were very shabby. James didn’t play well either. I should have been 3-1 up.

“Too many bad shots, I think that’s what doesn’t mean enough snooker competition for you.

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“I should have edited out missing basic shots and the casual mistakes I always criticize other people on TV for.

“I want to keep playing. It is a very distant future dream that one day I will enter the Crucible again. It’s very doubtful. Great odds against me doing this. But that is the dream.”

Blackpool potter Cahill, who is close friends with one of Hendry’s sons, scored the highest in the third frame with a 77 and now meets Chinese teenager Lei Peifan.

Cahill, 27, said: “I figured as long as I could find my game, I should win.

“I didn’t feel great today. I have an ear infection, a bit of a sore throat. I hope I can overcome that for the next game.

“It wasn’t uncomfortable. His son is my best friend. So, it was a little weird in that sense. I think other people made it a bigger deal than it was.”

Jimmy White, the six-time Crucible finalist, really takes on him in his qualifier after losing 7-2 to amateur Martin O’Donnell.

Stan Moody, a 16-year-old amateur from Halifax, is 8-1 behind China’s Zhang Anda, with 10 frames needed to advance.