Liam Davies relishing 'brilliant' brutal draws and remembers 'lovely ...

Liam Davies is loving the challenge of his first year as a professional, even as he is handed a string of brutally tough draws at the start of the season.

The 18-year-old has first round matches at the Xi’an Grand Prix, Wuhan Open and British Open coming up against the trio of Ricky Walden, world champion Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins respectively.

It couldn’t be a lot trickier for the rookie as he looks to make an impression on the three ranking events, but he is anything but worried and enjoyed seeing the big names come out of the hat next to his.

‘I don’t do things easy, to be fair,’ Davies told Metro.co.uk. ‘I think it’s brilliant. It’s a big challenge because obviously I’m a massive second favourite in all three games, but it’s brilliant. It’s a nice test at the start of the season to see where your game’s at.’

The Welsh teenager plays Walden on Friday in Xi’an Grand Prix qualifying, but his matches with Wilson and Hawkins are held over to the main venues in Wuhan and Cheltenham, something else he is looking forward to.

‘First year on tour, first time playing in China, playing the world champion, it doesn’t get much bigger than that for your first game in China,’ he said. ‘Maybe playing Ronnie would be bigger, but the current world champion, that’s a big occasion, it’ll be a good experience.

‘I was happy when I saw the draw for Cheltenham as well because I was up there with Mark [Williams] last year when he won the British Open. It’s a brilliant venue so I wanted to play there.’

Davies got his pro career underway at the Championship League last month, where he impressively beat Marco Fu and picked up a draw with Hammad Miah.

It was a low-key start to life on the World Snooker Tour, but his enthusiasm for the game shines through at any event.

‘It was brilliant,’ he said. ‘Being behind closed doors, it wasn’t quite the same, but perfect conditions, it was brilliant. Made three 90s to beat Marco Fu.

‘I had Ryan Day, Fu and Hammad Miah, so a few tough draws to start off there too. I definitely don’t do things the easy way!’

Snooker was hit with the sad news over the weekend that six-time world champion Ray Reardon passed away at 91 years old.

Reardon was a legend of the game and sport in general, but nowhere is he more revered than in his home country of Wales.

Despite being born in 2006, long after Reardon retired from playing in the early 90s, Davies did get to meet the iconic figure and has a touching story to tell of him.

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‘I met him the year they made the Welsh Open trophy the Ray Reardon Trophy [2016], Ray sorted tickets and backstage passes out for me and my dad,’ said Davies.

‘We had a coffee and a chat backstage. He was so lovely. The things I remember about him was how lovely he was and that he was the best dressed and best smelling person I’ve ever met in my life.

‘I was really young. I think I was nine or 10, so he wasn’t really giving me advice but it was a pleasure to meet him. I never get starstruck, but the first couple of minutes I couldn’t really say anything, I was just staring at him, it was surreal. When he walked in the room he had such a presence about him.

‘He’s a Welsh sporting icon. I don’t think he gets quite the respect he deserves in the sport as one of the best sports people to come out of Wales.’

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