Stephen Hendry's woeful snooker comeback reached a new low as he was whitewashed in German Masters qualifying.
The seven-time world champion was thrashed 5-0 by Welsh veteran Matthew Stevens on Thursday evening in Leicester.
Hendry's latest humbling marked another pitiful performance in a comeback that has fallen completely flat.
The 53-year-old mustered a high break of just 32 as old rival Stevens outclassed him with runs of 78, 61 and 46 at the Morningside Arena.
Hendry, the youngest ever Crucible winner, has toiled on his return, a complete shadow of the player who dominated the sport in the 1990's.
He has won just three of 14 matches since being handed a wildcard by former World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn in 2020.
And Hendry is without a win at all this season after previous convincing defeats to Zhang Anda and Mark Joyce.
The legendary Scot has failed to make the most of having his wildcard renewed in April, with his only real highlight coming in a 6-3 World Championship qualifying victory over Jimmy White, the fan-favourite who he defeated in four Crucible finals.
Hendry has won just 22 of 79 total frames since making his comeback, leaving many in snooker circles frustrated over his inactivity since announcing his return to the tour two years ago.
Hendry hit the headlines after pulling out of this month's UK Championship qualifiers in York, citing punditry commitments at the prestigious Champion of Champions event in Bolton.
Welsh opponent Andrew Pagett was given a bye after Hendry's late withdrawal, and talented amateur Steven Hallworth was furious that a top-up could not replace the Crucible king in qualifying.
A top-up player is usually named after withdrawals in most of their events, but the nature of the new tiered UK Championship system meant a bye was preferred.
"How disgusting is this @WeAreWST when there are hungry players like myself chomping at the bit to get in these tournaments now, missing out by 2 places from the order of merit. Shambles," angry Hallworth tweeted.
He added: "Practise 8 hours a day UNPAID to read they are giving walkovers when I’m hungry to play in anything and everything."
