Players Prepare Ahead Of World
Global-snooker.com caught up with a couple of this year's world championship contenders and found out how they spend the last couple of days in the build up to the big one...the Betfred.com World Championship in Sheffield.
Martin Gould
Gould will be heading north to Sheffield on Sunday so it gives him a day to relax before getting underway against Marco Fu on Tuesday morning.
Final preparations to his game will include a couple of sessions with Joe Perry, who is preparing for his showdown with seven-times champion, Stephen Hendry.
Gould will also be trying to squeeze in a couple of rounds of golf.
“I play off around 17 although, don’t have an official handicap and usually play at Shendish Manor, said the PTC finalist who gave Neil Robertson his biggest scare en route to the title twelve months ago.
Stuart Bingham
Exciting times lie ahead for Essex-man, Bingham, who faces Peter Ebdon on Monday and Tuesday, hoping to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2008.
Whatever the result, he will return home after the match when he and his fiance, Michelle go for a 20-week scan when they will find out the sex of their first baby due in the summer.
The world number 17 had a few days off after returning from the China Open and enjoyed the sunshine.
A keen golfer, who plays off single figure handicap played for the first time this year last week and was reasonably happy with shooting 84 at Crondon Park, home of the Championship League.
He then had a round fellow pros Mark Davis, Gerard Greene and Matthew Selt on Monday and shot 78 to take the money!
Then it was back to the practice table, losing 10-6 to the newly crowned China open king, Judd Trump at the Grove Academy in Romford.
Final preparations include further sessions against Crucible veteran Mark King and debutant Jimmy Robertson before hitting the M1 going north.
Andrew Pagett
Crucible debutant, Andrew Pagett has also had the clubs out in an effort to relax ahead of the biggest game of his career against Jamie Cope at the home of snooker on opening weekend.
Played the Twenty Ten course at the Celtic Manor last week, but found the stage of the 2010 Ryder Cup a little too tough. “It is a stunning course but too long for me, and there are bunkers everywhere. I guess McDowell and them just hit straight over them, whereas I was straight in”.
The 28-year-old Peter Pan of snooker, expressed a mix of excitement and nerves were beginning to kick-in as his Crucible debut approached.
I have been practising with Mark at his club in Tredegar and I am quite happy with the way I am playing. Mark has been trying to prepare me for the atmosphere at the Crucible, but I have been there with him before and so I know what to expect, so I am really looking forward to it.
I am heading up on Thursday with one of my mates, and Barry [Hearn] has sorted a couple of tickets for the Premier League darts at Sheffield Arena so I will enjoy that and then get my head down on Friday for the serious business.
Mark Williams (and Ryan Day)
The sun was shining on Mark as he took his family away for a short break ahead of his annual pilgrimage to Sheffield, and was joined by the Day family on the South Wales coast.
“We hired a caravan in Porthcawl, just to get away for a couple of days and the weather was more like the South of France”, said the two-time champion.
Mark has been playing against Andrew Pagett and will also host 2002 world champion, Peter Ebdon for a couple of days before heading north on Thursday.
