SNOOKER ace Ian McCulloch was aiming to put the skids under Welshman Mark Williams as their first round match in the Embassy World Championships was set to start at the Crucible today.

Title contender Williams likes his cars the way he plays his snooker.....fast!

And that's why his bank manager won't be getting his hands on a cheque for £230,000 should he succeed John Higgins as Embassy World champion.

The BMW driving Welshman is ready to buy himself a dream machine if he goes two steps further than last year's 17-14 semi-final defeat by Irishman Ken Doherty.

"If it's my year - and I reckon I have a great chance if my form holds up - then I've got my eye on a Ferrari 355," says the world number five from Cwm.

And the cost of such a beast? "About 120,000 grand," says Williams who has already earned £275,000 this season.

"I'll then drive it down to the club and show all my mates. It's a tough area but we have all come up together and I have never had any trouble," he adds. But Accrington-based McCulloch is equally revved up for his Crucible debut and hopes to add £5,850 to the £12,500 cheque he has already pocketed for making it through to the last 32.

And should he make it into the last 16, he will play practice partner Nick Walker, from Chester, who dispensed with French-Canadian Alain Robidoux 10-6 yesterday.

McCulloch beat Gary Wilkinson 10-9 in a real thriller at Telford two weeks ago to set up his first ever meeting with the Welsh dragon.

But he'll have his work cut out if he wants to progress further as Williams aims to become the first Welshman since Terry Griffiths in 1979 to capture snooker's greatest prize.

Indeed, Griffiths is also the last player from the Principality to reach a Crucible Theatre final, losing to Steve Davis in 1988.

Williams goes to Sheffield in great form, having already won the Irish, Welsh and Thailand Opens this season.

And just for good measure, the 24-year-old left hander also helped his country to a memorable Nations Cup success over world team champions Scotland in January.

"The confidence I now have in my game means that I don't fear anyone. After all, when they are in their chair watching you pot balls they can't do anything to stop you," said Williams. "I'm very relaxed when I'm playing and that's because I've worked so hard on my game over the past two years. "I can't compare myself to the greats in this game like Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry. It's stupid to say I'm in their class just yet."

Davis and Hendry, winners of 12 world titles between them and one time deadly rivals, have a common goal when they also embark on their campaigns in Sheffield today.

Both set out on their quest for a seventh Crucible crown; one with greater expectation than the other.

It's 10 years since 41-year-old Davis, the oldest cue wielder in town this year, won the last of his six titles.

Hendry can remember his last Sheffield success with more clarity as it came just three years ago.

However, of the two, world number 14 Davis appears to have the easier first round draw against Cambridgeshire qualifier Joe Perry. Hendry tackles Yorkshireman Paul Hunter. "I have got a chance to win the title again," says Davis. "But you could make a case for 20 players in this year's championship.

"Fifteen years ago you only needed one hand to count the possible winners. Today it's like spinning a roulette wheel and hoping your number comes up." In addition to world title number seven the Essex star has another more realistic ambition. Victory would almost certainly retain his status as a top 16 professional for a record 20th consecutive season.

One of Hendry's six world final victims is Peter Ebdon, who last night fell at the first hurdle.

The 1996 runner-up from Wellingborough appeared to have done the hard work against Matthew Stevens when he recovered from first session deficits of 4-0 and 6-2 to level at 7-7.

Instead all his hard work came to no avail as his 21-year-old opponent clinched three frames in a row for a 10-7 success. Stevens' countryman Darren Morgan resumes this afternoon trailing world number 16 and fellow left hander Mark King 5-4.

Thailand's James Wattana re-starts today against Hong Kong's Marco Fu leading 5-4.

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