Hamilton beat Sam Craigie 6–3 and beat Scott Donaldson 10–5 to qualify for the 2020 World Snooker Championship. Hamilton then withdrew from the tournament. As an asthmatic, Hamilton had criticised the decision to allow a limited number of spectators into the Crucible in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Defending champion Judd Trump said Hamilton should have made his decision earlier, as by participating in the qualifiers despite knowing there would be spectators in the final stages he had denied a place to another player. This was despite government advice changing after qualifying entries had been announced.