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Walden Awarded Masters Wild Card
Ricky Walden has been handed a wild card entry to snooker's top invitation event, The Masters.
The 26-year-old from Flintshire will make his debut in the tournament against Mark King on Sunday January 11 at 7pm. The Masters runs from January 11 to 18 at Wembley Arena.
Walden won his first ranking title at the Roewe Shanghai Masters in October, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-8 in the final. He is officially ranked 35 in the world, but his landmark success in the Far East has helped him leap to 18th in the provisional standings.
"I'm delighted to get the wild card," said Walden, whose
Bagillt home is in North Wales, though he considers himself English. "I always thought I'd have to get into the top 16 before I played in the Masters, so to get in now is fantastic as it's a massive tournament. This makes winning the tournament in Shanghai even more special.
"I've never played at the Crucible or Wembley and I want to be on the big stage with the top players and showing people what I can do."
Walden is currently on holiday in Las Vegas, but has been following the action at the Maplin UK Championship in Telford, particularly the progress of Mark Williams, Matthew Stevens and Stephen Lee, who all reached the last 16 but failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals.
"I knew that if one of them won it, they'd have a good chance of getting the wild card," added Walden, who has never played King before in a professional tournament. "I can enjoy the rest of my holiday now.
"I've got a lot of pals in London so it will be a dream to play there and I'll be giving it everything."
Judd Trump, who earned the other wild card by winning last month's qualifying tournament, will play Mark Allen on Monday January 12 at 11am.
For tickets 0844 815 0815 or visit www.wembleyarena.co.uk
Ricky Walden has been handed a wild card entry to snooker's top invitation event, The Masters.
The 26-year-old from Flintshire will make his debut in the tournament against Mark King on Sunday January 11 at 7pm. The Masters runs from January 11 to 18 at Wembley Arena.
Walden won his first ranking title at the Roewe Shanghai Masters in October, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-8 in the final. He is officially ranked 35 in the world, but his landmark success in the Far East has helped him leap to 18th in the provisional standings.
"I'm delighted to get the wild card," said Walden, whose
Bagillt home is in North Wales, though he considers himself English. "I always thought I'd have to get into the top 16 before I played in the Masters, so to get in now is fantastic as it's a massive tournament. This makes winning the tournament in Shanghai even more special.
"I've never played at the Crucible or Wembley and I want to be on the big stage with the top players and showing people what I can do."
Walden is currently on holiday in Las Vegas, but has been following the action at the Maplin UK Championship in Telford, particularly the progress of Mark Williams, Matthew Stevens and Stephen Lee, who all reached the last 16 but failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals.
"I knew that if one of them won it, they'd have a good chance of getting the wild card," added Walden, who has never played King before in a professional tournament. "I can enjoy the rest of my holiday now.
"I've got a lot of pals in London so it will be a dream to play there and I'll be giving it everything."
Judd Trump, who earned the other wild card by winning last month's qualifying tournament, will play Mark Allen on Monday January 12 at 11am.
For tickets 0844 815 0815 or visit www.wembleyarena.co.uk
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