SNOOKER: Ricky Walden wants his first-ever tournament victory to inspire him to greater heights in next week's Travis Perkins UK Championship.
Chester-born Walden takes on Michael Holt in the first round at the Barbican Centre in York on Tuesday, fresh from his win in the 2005 Swiss Open.
The 23-year-old, who's ranked 34th on the main tour, beat former world champion Ken Doherty 5-3 in Sunday's final in Zofingen to earn him a winners cheque worth £2,500.
Walden rates his success over world number 11 Doherty as his best yet. To get to the final, the former World Snooker Young Player of Distinction had to get through the qualifiers to book his place in the last 32, where he beat Bjorn Haneveer 3-1, before seeing off Neil Robertson 4-2, David Roe 4-3, and Tom Ford 4-2 to set up the clash with Doherty.
Walden said: 'I'm chuffed as you can imagine. I played pretty consistently throughout the tournament, but there wasn't too much time to think about how I was doing.
'I had to get through four qualifiers to reach the tournament proper and then I worked out I was playing an average of three matches a day, but I just got on with it.
'It's given me a lot of confidence going into the UK event in York.'
Walden's opponent in York, Holt, is another of the game's brightest talents, and is ranked 27th on the tour. The winner of the match will faces Mark Williams in the last 32, with Stephen Hendry expected to lie in wait after that.
