Steve Davis reaches Crucible second round

Steve Davis kept another packed house on the edge of their seats tonight as he marked his 30th year at the Crucible with a thrilling first-round win.

He and Mark King - Romford residents, practice partners and firm friends - had fought a dogged battle ever since a safety contest in the opening frame was so deadlocked it required a re-rack.

They went all the way to a decider, Davis kept his nerve, and now he will take on defending champion John Higgins in the second round.

The 25th anniversary of the famous final between Davis and Dennis Taylor is approaching - next week they will mark the occasion with a one-frame rematch.

And a record 30th appearance at the Crucible was established the moment he began his first-round match.

But Davis came to the Crucible eager to prove he remains competitive as well as one of snooker's great statesmen.

When King took the opening frame of the concluding session to extend his lead to 6-4, the omens were not good.

Nonetheless Davis believed he stood a chance against King coming into the match, and a break of 54 in the next frame allowed him to cut the gap.

Davis then took the frame though - and the next - and at 7-6 he opened up a 50-6 lead with a break of 49 before running out of position.

But a fluked red let him back in and was the spur to a two-frame lead.

King had been warned for giving a 'V' sign in the frame, although he firmly denied doing so.

And the younger man, 36, picked off the next two frames, hauling himself level at 8-8 with a run of 54.

The oldest player to win a match at the Crucible was Fred Davis, who achieved the feat at the age of 65 in 1979 - the year Steve Davis lost on his debut in the first round to Dennis Taylor.

If it seemed the chances were diminishing of another victory for the veteran, the thought had not crossed Davis' mind.

He made his highest break of the match - 91 - to lead 9-8, but again King responded, even though from 70-0 down Davis briefly threatened to pinch the frame.

Davis made an outstanding long pot to give himself the first chance of the decider but then missed a comparatively easy green.

King squandered his chance and with midnight approaching Davis piled on the points, stayed calm as the tension soared, and received a helping hand at the finale when King - needing a
snooker - potted the pink to end his hopes.

Davis admitted the feeling of winning his first-round game matched the emotions involved in becoming world champion - a feat he has managed six times.

He said: ‘It's only the first round - I feel like I've won it!

‘What a feeling. The last frame was torture’

He revealed he was suffering from an ocular migraine during the final frame of the first session - which affected his vision, and how he saw the balls.

Davis said: ‘They all started going blurry and I managed to make a 40-odd break but I could only see half the ball.’

And tonight, with the pressure on, Davis knew the best way to cope.

He said: ‘I just stuck to my job, kept my head down and hoped it would go right.’