Reanne Evans insists her World Cham-pionship bid is “do or die” for women in snooker.
The 29-year-old is aiming to be the first woman to qualify for the World Championship in Sheffield this month when she faces former champion Ken Doherty in qualifying.
Evans has won 10 women’s world titles and plays Irishman Doherty at Pond’s Forge in Sheffield tomorrow. And, while her profile is dwarfed by the men’s game, Evans knows she must take her chance.
“As much as it’s brilliant, you get the added pressure. I’m do or die for the ladies. You have to accept it, that’s the way it is,” she said.
“I hope it all goes in the right direction. It’s going to take time and I’m getting old now, all the wrinkles are showing. If I don’t get to play (in the main draw), I hope (my attempt to qualify will inspire) the young girls because they need to see a future in the game.
“We don’t need every match on TV but it’s just to show ladies are playing snooker and it might invite more players in.
“When I first started playing I didn’t even know there was a ladies tour. If I didn’t know, and I was into it, how are other people going to find out? We just need it public and to make sure there are lady players out there.”
Opponent Doherty won the Crucible title in 1997 but Evans admits she is dreaming of making the main draw, which will require her and all the other 128 entrants to the preliminary draw to win three best-of-19-frame matches.
She said: “Everybody wants to dream and sometimes they come true. It’s going to be such a tough ask, to win one is hard but to win three is going to be mega-tough.”
Six-time Crucible champion Steve Davis faces Jamie Cope in qualifying the day after Evans faces Doherty.
Malta will be represented by two players in the qualifying rounds – Tony Drago and Alex Borg.
They will both be in action on Friday afternoon. Drago plays Sam Baird and Borg takes on Jamie Burnett.
The 16 players who make it through to the tournament proper will be decided on April 15.
The draw for the main tournament pro-per will be made the following day, with the event getting under way on April 18 and concluding on May 4.