Roy commits future to ‘winning’ Steelers
LEEDS potter David Grace is hoping his past exploits will stop him getting overawed by the Crucible experience in his debut appearance at the World Championship tomorrow.
Grace powered into the main draw of snooker’s showpiece for a first time after a 10-3 dismissal of Thailand’s Akani Songsermsawad in the final round of qualifying. The 31-yearold will face 14th seed Kyren Wilson in the opening round with the first session taking place at 2.30pm.
“I know it’s going to be special,” said Grace, the world No 51. “I will love every minute. A lot of players go through their whole career without doing it.
“Some people feel the atmosphere at the Crucible but I’d like to think that I have proven in previous experiences that I can cope with it.”
Grace has had a mixed 18 months on tour since his breakthrough at the 2015 UK Championships, where he reached the semi-finals in York.
That run saw him beat former world champion Peter Ebdon in the quarter-finals and the pair could meet in round two in Sheffield should Ebdon beat 2015 winner Stuart Bingham.
First, however, Grace will need to overcome Wilson, who beat Judd Trump in the 2015 Shanghai Masters final .
Wilson and Grace have never met as professionals but the Leeds man recalled beating the 25-year-old during the pair’s junior days.
“I think I beat him a couple of times but he was probably about 13 at the time,” Grace added. “We haven’t played a single pro match but he’s been on the radar in the qualifiers for a long time. He’s done fantastically well to get into the top 16.”
Elsewhere in the first round, draw, defending champion Mark Selby will meet Fergal O’Brien. Chinese star Ding Junhui has been paired with compatriot and fellow Sheffield-based player Zhou Yuelong while teenage star Yan Bingtao, who also trains in the city, will become the first player born in the 21st Century to play at the Championships when he meets Shaun Murphy. COACH Paul Thompson insists Mathieu Roy is one of the key pillars whom he wants to build Sheffield Steelers over the next couple of years.
The 30-year-old Canadian forward has agreed a new, two-year deal with the club and has been a firm favourite since arriving in South Yorkshire three years ago, lifting two regular season titles and a play-off championship during his short time at the club.
During that spell he has proved a talismanic influence, scoring 227 points – including 107 goals – in 206 appearances.
There had been concern among some fans that, after three years in the UK, Roy would move on elsewhere. But he and Thompson, who along with assistant Jerry Andersson agreed a two-year deal of his own on Wednesday, clearly share the same vision.
“There was never any doubt about bringing him back, it never entered my head,” said Thompson. “This one has been done a while. When he talks people listen but, to be fair, a lot of his talking is done out on the ice.
“He’s a winner and a competitor and he represents everything we want to build our club around for the next couple of years.”
Roy added: “I enjoy life in Sheffield and I’ve felt at home since the first day I arrived here. With the team we have got, we have a chance of winning every year.”