Pickering snooker professional Paul Davison has made the grade to bid for a place among the stars in the UK Championship to be played in York.

He has received confirmation from the World Snooker Association that he finished in the top 16 on the Challenge Tour, which means he can enter the qualifying rounds of all the major tournaments next season.

Davison, 29, sailed in at number 11 in the final standings. And he marked the good news by scoring two century breaks only a few hundred yards away from the Barbican Centre where he aims to be playing in the UK Championship in December.

Playing at Tramways WMC recently against 11 club players, Davison chalked up a break of 105 on his first visit to the table. In the next few frames he made breaks of 71, 57, 35 and 49, and after the interval he made a superb break of 120 with 15 reds and 15 blacks.

An unfortunate kiss on the blue made it impossible for him to get the maximum 147. He followed this with breaks of 82, 81 and 78.

"It was a brilliant night," said club secretary Malcolm Dawson. "Paul was just breathtaking. His consistent break-building is a pleasure to watch."

Speaking this week about his return to the major circuit, Davison said: "I am over the moon. It means I will be able to play regularly against top class opposition.

"I had a bad season last year but I am now more focussed. People say I am good enough to be in the top 50 and I believe that I am good enough to be there, but the only way for me to prove that is to do it."

Davison, who is club professional at Filey Snooker Centre, has been a professional for eight years. His next big test will be at Newport, south Wales, in July and August, when a whole series of qualifying rounds for several major tournaments will be played.

"It costs £2,000 to enter the major tournaments and the qualifying rounds in Newport last three or four weeks, which means I have accommodation to pay for, but I have a little money put by and I will hope to start winning some," he added.

The World Snooker Association have a meeting on June 7 to decide about qualifying rounds for all the major events next season. Some early rounds of the UK Championship will be played at the Barbican before BBC televise the tournament from the quarter-finals onwards from December 8 to 16.

Davison, who lived in Walmgate, York, at one time, is particularly keen to win the right to play at the Barbican Centre in front of a North Yorkshire audience.

He has been on the major tournament circuit before, and a few years ago was only a couple of rounds off making it to the televised stages of the Embassy World Championship.

The award to the Tramways player of the night went to 86-year-old George Taylor. The others who played were Mark Gregory, Eric Jamieson, Don Gregory, Brian Knott, Brian Bulmer, Darren Clough, Steve Bradley, Mark Green, Steve Greenhough and Terry Canham.

The Tramways Snooker Challenge was sponsored jointly by Ricky Graham Leisure and John Smith's Brewery.

Any club who would like to engage Davison for an 11-frame challenge should contact Malcolm Dawson on York (01904) 634427 for details.

Updated: 12:40 Tuesday, May 22, 2001