Stevens delighted by Masters return
Welshman fights his way back into the world's top 16
Matthew Stevens is thrilled to be back at The Masters later this month after a five year absence.
Welshman Stevens won the tournament back in 2000, beating Ken Doherty 10-8 in the final. But he dropped out of the world's top 16 in 2007, therefore missing out on the Masters, which is an exclusive invitational tournament for the sport's elite players.
But Stevens has now regained his top 16 berth and can't wait to take to the stage again against John Higgins and compete for the £150,000 top prize, with the event starting at Alexandra Palace on January 15.
"It's one of the tournaments all the top players want to be in," he said. "I've not been involved in it for a few years so it's great to be back. The event gets such a massive audience on TV and in the arena so it just feels really special.
"I'm sure Alexandra Palace will be completely different to Wembley so it's a fresh start for all the players. I've watched the darts at Ally Pally on TV - it looks like a really good venue with a great atmosphere.
"Being back in the top 16 has made a massive difference for me. With all the new tournaments the calendar is very busy, so if I had to go to the qualifiers as well it would be a lot tougher.
"I'm winning matches that I was losing before, just the odd 5-4 here and there, but when you add those up it makes a big difference."
Stevens will turn 35 this year and it's seven years since he reached the second of his two World Championship finals. But he believes he has plenty of time to add to his haul of trophies.
"I still feel as if I've got a lot of good years ahead of me in the game," he said. "My eyes aren't going and I'm in decent nick. Hopefully I'll still be playing at a high level when I'm 40 and beyond." -http://www1.skysports.com/
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