Crucible place on the line as Williams chases Beijing pot
SPORTS LOG
Two-time world champion Mark Williams is dreaming of another Crucible charge after a Beijing masterclass left him on the brink of qualifying.
The Welshman, who hasn’t lifted silverware since 2011, swept aside Iran’s Hossein Vafaei 6-1 to reach today’s China Open Final.
Victory over Mark Selby in Williams’ 30th ranking final would seal an automatic world championship place and a £85,000 top prize.
He said: “I knew coming here I needed to win to reach the Crucible but I haven’t won one for a while so I wasn’t really thinking about that.
“Obviously I’m now thinking about it because it’s only one more match – fingers crossed I can do it.
“I’ve won this tournament a couple of times before so I’m excited to try to win it again.
“At the start of the week it was six or seven matches to reach the Crucible but now it’s in my own hands.”
Selby is chasing a second China Open crown after beating Kyren Wilson 6- 4. Eilish McColgan clocked a world championships and Commonwealth Games qualifying time on her 10,000 metres track debut only to declare herself “disappointed” with her race.
The 26-year-old came third at the Stanford invitational in California, her time of 32 minutes 10.59 seconds the fifth fastest by a Scotswoman.
And McColgan, who reached the 5000m final at last year’s Olympics, revealed the outing came with one eye on the Gold Coast next year.
She said: “It makes sense to do a 10,000m on the track so I have that option for the Commonwealth Games if I want to do both.
“It would open a few more doors without having to do it mid-season. It’s not something I want to focus on this year but getting an early qualifier keeps it open.” Gordon Shedden will begin the defence of his British Touring Car Championship title from third on the grid in today’s season opener at Brands Hatch.
The three-time champion clocked a time of 48.527 secs in his Honda Civic Type R during a qualifying session punctuated by two red flag sessions and rain.
Shedden finished 0.160 secs behind the Honda of Jeff Smith, who edged Tom Ingram in his Toyota into second by 0.062 secs.
The 38-year-old said: “I’m perfectly happy with that. The conditions were challenging for everybody, with the rain drifting in and out and the track being wet then drying.” Britain’s Chaz Davies set a new qualifying record at the MotorLand Aragon circuit as the Ducati rider’s time of one minute 49.319 secs saw him claim pole for race one at the third round of the superbike world championship. Sterling Davis admits Glasgow Rocks’ make-orbreak weekend is putting him through the wringer.
The Rocks beat Sheffield Sharks 84- 55 on Friday to strengthen their claim for third place in the British Basketball League.
They entertain Worcester Wolves today and Davis said: “You’re getting two of the top five teams in a weekend.
“Worcester are in the thick of this three-way battle for third with ourselves and Sheffield – they’re coming off a win against Newcastle.
“There are a lot of possible twists and turns coming up, which is great for the fans. But even though I’m confident it’s a stressful time.”
Caledonia Pride’s push for a play-off spot in the women’s BBL continued as they beat Oaklands Wolves 66-56.