excuse me, I must defecate. FECES!". 2013/2014 season Dale reached his second quarter-final in the Australian Goldfields Open in three years in the early stages of the 2013–14 season. He eliminated Mike Dunn and Fergal O'Brien, but then lost 5–1 to Marco Fu. In the next four ranking events he lost in the first round of two and failed qualify for both of the others. In January 2014, Dale won the Snooker Shoot-Out final in Blackpool, beating Stuart Bingham in a close frame. Dale had received significant support from the crowd and had promised to sing My Way should he win the event. In his post-match interview he sang a short rendition of the song, showcasing an impressive baritone voice. The result seemed to kick start his season as the following week he beat Steve Davis and John Higgins at the German Masters, but let a 3–1 lead slip in the last 16 against Ding Junhui to lose 5–3. Dale also won two matches before falling at the third round in the Welsh Open and World Open, losing to Mark Selby and Alan McManus respectively. Dale qualified for the World Championship courtesy of defeating Andrew Higginson in the final round of qualifying. He faced Mark Davis in the first round and beat him 10–5, marking his first win at the Crucible since 2000. Dale followed this up with a 13–4 win over Michael Wasley (who had beaten pre-tournament second favourite Ding Junhui in his opening match) to reach the quarter-finals for the second time, 14 years after the first. Dale played Barry Hawkins and trailed 11–5 after the second session, but then amazingly won seven frames in a row to be just one away from reaching the semi-finals and matching the biggest comeback at this stage ever at the Crucible. However, Hawkins won the two frames he required without giving Dale a chance to beat him 13–12. Later, Dale revealed that he had reverted to an old cue action before the start of the final session. 2014/2015 season Dale lost 5–3 to Mark Davis in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open and he reached the semi-finals of the Six-red World Championship, where Ricky Walden beat him 7–1. At the Shanghai Masters he knocked out Judd Trump 5–2, before losing 5–1 to Stuart Bingham. This last 16 defeat would prove to be Dale's best finish in a ranking event