It’s a hell of a trek from St Helens to Minehead, especially if you’re not staying long.

And unfortunately for Stephen this time around in the Players Championship Finals that was the case.

Heading to Somerset in decent form, the former World Champion would have been hugely disappointed to have seen his recent game elude him.

Rarely you’ll see an 83 average from the Bullet but on this occasion, the timing of this anomaly was pretty bad.

Jamie Hughes took full advantage and despite honours even at the halfway stage, it was Yozza who then charged to the line claiming the final two legs and register a 6-4 victory.

Afterwards, a reflective Stephen said: “Of course I’m gutted with how I performed.

“That average isn’t good enough to win matches at this level.

“It’s frustrating as my preparation was excellent, it just didn’t happen for me up on stage.

“But I’ll take it on the chin, move on and get ready now for Ally Pally where I’m very confident I’ll play much better.”