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.gif) There won't be many Bagillt folk walking a red carpet in Shanghai this week, cheered on by thousands of adoring fans.
But there will be one talented 26-year-old snooker star from Flintshire taking in the adulation, in a country where the green baize greats are treated like pop stars.
Ricky Walden came of age in last year's Roewe Shanghai Masters, proving that he has the ability to rise to the very top of the sport. He had never previously been past the quarter-finals of a world ranking event, but with a tremendous display of skill and calmness under pressure, he went all the way to the title.
No one could say that Walden did it the easy way. He had to beat the three greatest players of the modern era along the way: Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Fellow up-and-comers Neil Robertson and Mark Selby were also dispatched en route to the final, where he beat O'Sullivan 10-8.
The trophy has been sitting on top of the television in the living room of his parents' house - where he still lives - but Walden has now handed it back having flown to the Orient for the first ranking tournament of the 2009/10 season. As defending champion, Walden will be number one seed for the event, ahead of the likes of O'Sullivan, Hendry, World Champion John Higgins and China's golden boy Ding Junhui.
"I've never felt better going into a season," said Walden, who shot up the world rankings from 35th to 20th last term. "I'm looking forward to getting out to Shanghai as it will be a new experience for me, to defend a title. Everything is going in the right direction for me and I feel as if the other players respect me more now that I've won a tournament. It's definitely given me the taste to win more."
Reflecting on the Shanghai surprise he sprung last year, Walden said: "I showed that I can mix it with the best. Beating Ronnie O'Sullivan was a massive step forward for me, especially in a final. I'd only played him once before, that was in the UK Championship a few years ago. I was 8-7 up and had a chance to win, but ran out of position and he came back to win 9-8. I was gutted at the time, but he played really well in that match so to have gone toe-to-toe with him gave me a lot of confidence, and I knew I could beat him."
Critics of Walden would point to the fact that he has often produced his best against the top players throughout his career - he beat John Higgins twice in 2004 - but has seen his progress up the ranking list hindered by his patchy record against lesser opponents.
"Before I won the tournament last year, I was going through such a bad time in my head," he admits. "I knew I had the ability, but the consistency wasn't there, and there were times when my mind was switching off in matches. That's why I struggled to put lower-ranked players away. It's something that still affects me sometimes and I am still working on it."
Walden, who was born in Chester and considers himself English despite living most of his life in North Wales, is a down-to-Earth character and remains grounded despite his new found fame and fortune. He is considering buying a house with girlfriend Heather, but is happy for the time being with his parents, and bought nothing more extravagant with last season's six-figure earnings than a 52" plasma TV.
As he starts to appear more frequently in the televised stages of major tournaments, he has got used to being recognised around Bagillt, though his profile is far higher in China, where TV viewing figures for snooker matches have been known to reach a staggering 110 million. "It's crazy over there," he said. "Everywhere you go you get mobbed by autograph hunters. I love it because you get big crowds and they all know their snooker. It gives me a real buzz."
Travelling is Walden's biggest hobby - he visits Las Vegas several times a year, and following a recent trip to New York, he decided to combine his fondness for the Big Apple with an activity which he believes will help his snooker career.
"I'm going to run the New York Marathon on November 1," said Walden, a Liverpool FC fan and Anfield regular. "I've done a couple of half marathons before, but never a full one. It could finish me off! I've been doing a lot of running because it gives me discipline outside snooker, and it improves my fitness. I have struggled with my weight over the years, fitness doesn't come naturally to me so I have to work at it. It can only help my game, especially in the long matches, and that will give me more chances to win trophies. It was one of those things where I was chatting to a mate in the pub, and we were talking about running a marathon to raise money for charity. The New York one was coming up, so we decided to go for it. It's a great place and we'll spend a few days there after the race."
Closer to home, Walden is embarking on another project, as he and his manager have bought and revamped the Q Bar Snooker Club in Chester. It's a handy practice base, though not quite as handy as Pontin's in Prestatyn, where World Snooker has staged the qualifying rounds of major tournaments for the past six years.
"It's very convenient for me, just a few miles from home, whereas other players have to travel from all over the UK and overseas," he said. "The UK Championship qualifiers are played over two sessions, so I go home in between and my mum makes me dinner."
The standard of snooker in the qualifiers is remarkably high, with former World Champions Steve Davis, John Parrott, Ken Doherty and Graeme Dott as well as legend Jimmy White and young prodigy Judd Trump among those fighting tooth and nail to get through to the TV stages.
"I'm determined to get into the top 16 so I can leave the qualifiers behind," said Walden. "The venues are where I'm supposed to be. I'm not the type of player who studies the rankings much. My main ambition is just to win tournaments, and if I do that I'll be in the top 16 before long."
Walden did make a breakthrough in the qualifiers last season, getting to the TV stages of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship. He beat Anthony Hamilton in the final qualifying round to secure his first visit to the hallowed Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Handed a tough draw against Mark Selby, Walden gave the former Masters champion a real test, but lost 10-6.
"I had my moments, but three or four missed balls cost me the match," said Walden, who also played in the Masters at Wembley Arena last season after being handed a wild card to snooker's biggest invitation event. "Just to play at the Crucible was awesome and it was long overdue in my career. I'd heard players talking about the atmosphere there and the pressure it brings, and I thought it was all rubbish. But when I got there I realised that it's different to any other venue. It was a massive buzz and I was pleased by the way I settled quickly. Next time I play there I'll be ready."
So who knows, maybe Bagillt will have its very own World Champion come next May. The Walden clan are keeping a space free on the TV set.
* You can watch Walden, as well as the likes of Steve Davis, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and John Parrott, play in the Grand Prix qualifiers at Pontin's in Prestatyn from September 21 to 24. Tickets cost just £5 per day and can be purchased at the entrance.
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