There was a time when the arrival of snooker action at the Crucible would guarantee that Scots were involved at the highest level of the sport.

Between 1990 and 2011, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Graeme Dott amassed 12 world titles between them: a record of consistent achievement which was almost unequalled in any other truly global pursuit.

Yet, when Dott bowed out of the game's premier tournament on Saturday, following a tight contest with Shaun Murphy, it not only signalled the end of Caledonian interest at Sheffield, but marked the first time in 25 years there will be no Scottish participants in the quarter-finals. Although some people will view this as a temporary blip, or a freak occurrence, they probably weren't studying the Crucible proceedings too closely.

If they had, they would have witnessed an out-of-sorts Higgins exiting with unusual meekness; Stephen Maguire unable to transcend the eccentricities of his rival, Dechawat Poomjaeng, whom he later described as being "not the full shilling"; and Alan McManus being brushed aside by Ding Junhui.

As for their compatriots, there was no shame in Marcus Campbell losing to the peerless Ronnie O'Sullivan or Dott eventually slipping to a 13-11 loss against Murphy. Yet, over the piece, it was a pretty wretched campaign for the quintet at a venue where the Scots have so often glittered.

Dott, to his credit, hasn't sought to offer excuses or indulge in PR spin while analysing the situation. But if he recognises it would be premature to begin penning retirement tributes for himself or Higgins, he is aware that all five Scots who qualified for the televised stages are aged between 32 and 42, with two of them – Campbell and McManus – now in their fifth decades. With Hendry now imparting his wisdom from the commentary box, there is definitely a feeling of the curtain falling on this particular generation.

Or, as Dott noted: "We really do need a new batch of players coming through. We have young Anthony McGill, but there aren't too many others. People are saying it is a surprise there are no Scots in the last eight, but we might need to get a bit more used to that in the future.

"I hope it is a one-off, but you have to say we are not getting any younger, any of us. I am certainly not at 35, John is 37, and the same applies to Marcus and Alan. So, while it is very unusual, it is maybe not such a massive surprise as some are making out."

The development of new talent wasn't helped by the internecine warfare which scarred the pursuit in this country for a number of years. Indeed, that rift has created a scenario where Scotland possesses plenty of promising youngsters, but almost nobody between 24 and 30, who might be expected to make an impact in the next couple of seasons.

Instead, the baton is being passed on to those such as McGill, 22, who has climbed to his loftiest ranking of 49, but is still seeking the elusive high-profile tournament success which would propel his career forwards; Michael Leslie, 20, who has been mentored by Higgins in recent times, but lost out to Poomjaeng in the qualifying competition for Sheffield; and Scott Donaldson, at 19 the country's youngest professional, and someone blessed with the all-round qualities to advance up the rankings.

As Alan Craig, the secretary of Caledonian Snooker, stated: "When we decided to establish the association, there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the way the amateur game was being run. We knew that there was plenty of talent in Scotland, but change was definitely needed if the sport was to thrive.

"We [now] have a tournament structure and environment with which the players are comfortable and it is obviously important the players are happy, because we know if they don't enjoy it, then they will lose interest and not come back."

At this juncture, it is too early to conclude Scottish snooker has gone to pot. But, considering the missionary work being implanted by the global authorities, and the emergence of some genuinely stellar cuemasters from Belgium to China, one suspects life will only grow tougher for the new breed of wannabe Hendrys and Higginses.