RICKY WALDEN has set his sights on major glory at the UK Snooker Championship in York.

The Chester cueman is fresh from the biggest title of his career, a 10-7 victory over Mark Allen in the International Championship final in Shanghai earlier this month.

It’s a triumph which has only served to whet Walden’s appetite for more big tournament glory and the two-time York Barbican semi-finalist is keen to go a step further and reach the final of one of the sport’s triple crown events.

Walden was defeated by Mark Allen in the last four in 2011 and lost to Mark Selby 12 months ago.

A semi-finalist at the World Championship, the 31-year-old will meet Steve Davis in the first round at the Fishergate venue on November 26 and he said: “It was a great run for me in York last year, especially beating a lot of good players.

“In the end I just fell short of the final so this time I would love to go one further. If you are getting to semi-finals of tournaments regularly then you will win your share. I have got to the last four a few times now in big BBC events and I need to get past that hurdle. But at least I’m putting myself in the mix. A lot of very good players never get that far.

“I’ve won three ranking titles in China and when I play there I’ve got the belief that I can go all the way. I’ve just got to bring that to the events in the UK.

“I’m really looking forward to York because it’s a great city, especially in the build-up to Christmas. The venue is brilliant, the tables play well and we get good crowds. It’s definitely one of my favourite locations on the circuit.”

Tickets are now sold out for the evening session of the final, on December 7, and only a few remain for the afternoon session. With sales for this year’s tournament very brisk, several other sessions are close to selling out.

Tickets start at £8 (concessions £4). All 128 players will be in action during the first three days of the competition, which begins on November 25. For details phone 0844 854 2757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets