snooker ace Andy Hicks is keeping his fingers crossed that 2007 is going to be his lucky year, as he prepares for the World Championships in Sheffield next week. Andy, 33, who is from Tavistock, is now based in Launceston. But he is delighted to be sporting another Tavistock connection when he plays at The Crucible — his new sponsor, Drake's of Tavistock. 'Even though I don't live in Tavistock now, everybody associates me with it, so it's good for them,' said Andy, who has just returned from playing in Beijing. Now ranked 31 in the world, Andy has been playing professional snooker for 17 years. His previous best showing in the World Championships was in 1995, when he reached the semi-finals. 'I've struggled a bit at the first half of this season, but fortunately it's got better,' said Andy, who only had to play one game to qualify for this year's big event, in which he beat Rory McCloud. 'I played fairly well, although I didn't play to the best of my ability. But I'm playing really well in practice now, so it's a matter of trying to do that on the day.' Andy admits to still suffering a degree of nervousness before big games. 'It's probably got worse as I've got older, but you just have to try and use your experience,' he said. Andy predicts Ronnie O'Sullivan will be the player to beat this year, with the young Chinese player Ding Junhui also one to watch. 'Other than that I would say it's quite an open field,' said Andy. 'It would be nice to have a good run there this year.' He said doing well in the world's most prestigious tournament meant a huge amount to him. 'It's obviously the main event for us and it's the last tournament of the season and it's double ranking points, so it means a lot all round,' said Andy, who is due to play his first game of the tournament against Ali Carter on Wednesday April 25.
