Williams and Day On Course For Sheffield Challenge
Wales’ only two representatives at this year’s Betfred.com world snooker championship took a day off from their preparation to take on the Twenty Ten course at The Celtic Manor Resort, the host venue for October’s Ryder Cup.
Before teeing it up, both players took time out to speak to Global-snooker.com and BBC Wales, and give their verdict on the championship and the boardroom battles at World Snooker HQ.
Day told Global-snooker.com, “I can’t wait to play. The Crucible is unlike any other venue, but I have reached the quarter-final stage the last few years, so I know I can play there.
“I have a tough first round match against Mark Davis, who beat Mark [Williams] to win the world six-reds championship in Ireland recently.
“He probably has the best record of all the 16 qualifiers this season, so it couldn’t have been much tougher.
“I know it is a cliché, but there really is no point in looking further ahead than one match. If I prepare to play the seed in the second round and they lose their opener, it can throw you.
“It really is a case of concentrating on what I am doing, if I play well, I have a good chance, if I don’t then the chances are not as good.
Day will head to snooker’s capital city on Sunday, ready to play his match on Tuesday.
By that time, if all goes according to plan, Williams should be through to the last 16.
In the opening round he faces Scotland’s Marcus Campbell, a seasoned professional of almost twenty years whose career highlight was whitewashing seven times world champion, Stephen Hendry, nine-frames-to-nil in the 1998 UK Championship.
Neither prior to that result or since has the world number 40 achievements warranted any other tag than ‘journeyman’.
The first round at The Crucible is notorious as a potential banana skin, so Williams won’t be taking any chances.
He will enter snooker’s most famous stage with a renewed bounce in his step after winning his first title in four seasons in China earlier this month.
“It doesn’t really matter who you play. They can all play if you let them.
“It feels good to be going there as a winner, any added edge can help. The confidence is good, so I am looking forward to it.
“Results become a habit. You can get in a slump and fall into the habit of losing matches, and no matter how well you play, it is hard to close out the match.
“Equally, winning is a habit, so I will be trying to ride that habit for as long as possible”.
Both players were supportive of Barry Hearn's plans to 'take-over' snooker. Williams claimed, "I have said for years, that Barry should come in and work his magic on the game. He is proven to have done it in other sports and I think he will do it for us too."
Day backed that up saying, "I like Barry's plans to increase the number of tournaments and give us new opprtunities to play in different countries, with the aim of making the sport bigger. And I think making the rankings reflect current performances more is also a good thing."
And what about today’s challenge are the boys up to the challenge of the Twenty Ten Course at the impressive Celtic Manor Resort.
In less than six months time, the five-star complex on the outskirts of Newport will play host to 24 of the world’s greatest golfers as one of the biggest sporting events in the World arrives in Wales.
Judging by the scorecards at the end of the round, Day or Williams won’t be figuring too highly on Captain Montgomerie’s shortlist of wildcards.
