HE is set to battle snooker’s brightest talent but, as he tells STEVE CARROLL, Dominic Dale won’t be cowed when he meets Judd Trump in the first round of the UK Championship at York

HIS quick-fire style and breathtaking potting is a throwback to the days when Alex Higgins and Jimmy White thrilled snooker fans all over the globe.

But while Judd Trump’s scintillating play is a joy to watch and is on the way to making him the biggest player in the sport, there’s another side to the coin. Or, more precisely, another player sat on the other side of the room.

When Trump is “potting them off the lampshades” as world champion John Higgins put it last week, there are few that can stand up to the onslaught.

Dominic Dale, however, isn’t phased a bit.

Partly, it is because the 42-year-old has seen it all before. The Welshman is the only player to have won more than one ranking tournament without having reached the top 16. Mainly, it’s because he has beaten Trump before.

“I’ve played Judd a few times,” he said. “Not particularly recently, but I might have won four out of six against him. I’ve certainly beaten him a few times but he’s a different player now. He won in China last season and then followed it up by getting to the final of the World Championship.

“It was incredible – to go from where he was languishing in the rankings to move up how many places in the space of a month. He has fulfilled his potential. He seems pretty comfortable in the rankings and he is still playing very good snooker.

“It will be a tough, tough, match. He can be like Stephen Hendry in his heyday. He can knock you flat and steamroller you if you struggle. I will have to score pretty well and, most importantly, not give him easy chances.

“I always think it is a mistake, though, to look at who you are playing and form a plan of attack. That’s not a positive thing to do. I hope my game will be good enough on the day. With 50/50s I will look to keep him away from the balls.”

It is ambition that continues to drive Dale on – a player who won ranking tournaments a decade apart when beating John Higgins to take the Grand Prix in 1997 and seeing off Ryan Day in the Shanghai Masters ten years later.

Close to getting into the top 16 for the first time, and being able to spurn the spectre of qualification for the big tournaments, Dale knows victory against Trump on Monday will not only raise eyebrows in the crowd but will be one step closer to the promised land.

“I have got to practise hard and think my form will be there,” he added. “I have won a couple of majors myself so Judd will have a lot of respect for me – as I have for him.

“If I start well I could hammer him and he could do the same very easily. He will be the favourite but I am still playing all right.

“It’s great to play one of the up and coming guys. He reminds me of Paul Hunter in a way – a quick and attacking player who is fearless – and we haven’t had anyone like Judd for quite a while. It’s great for the game.

“I’ve got a lot of ambition to get into the top 16 during the season and I could have a worse draw than Judd. If he is at his best then that could be very tough but I am hoping I will have the game to make it difficult for him.”

Dale, who won a Players Tour Championship event last year, reached the last 16 the first time the tournament was held at the Barbican – a feat which still represents his best run in the £650,000 competition.

But he comes to York this time on a high, and believes he is in good form, despite losing 5-4 to Pickering’s Paul Davison last week as he failed to qualify for the German Masters in February.

“I have been doing pretty well in ranking events,” Dale said. “I qualified for pretty much all the venues last season and did well in the PTC last year. This year I haven’t done so well in the PTC but there are so many you have to put most of your concentration on the majors.

“We haven’t played a major since Shanghai in September and I haven’t worried about the PTCs. You can’t prepare for them. You are down to play your first match at 3pm, you can get there at 2.30pm and you find you are playing at 5.15pm because matches are running over.

“I once beat Joe Perry 4-3 in a long-running match and I was playing another ten minutes later. I play all the PTCs – I just want to get the ranking points – but I concentrate on the majors.

“I had a good win in the UK qualifying round against Nigel Bond. I went 4-0 up and won 6-2. The UK is the game’s second biggest tournament and there are a lot of ranking points at stake so you need to win the first match.

“I have a lot to play for and a lot of ambition. I do still feel I’ve got ten to 15 years in me – I am just as fresh and enthusiastic about the game as I ever was – and I am really looking forward to it.”