England's newly-installed world number six bowler Mark Royal is flushed with excitement at the prospect of returning to Sheffield this week to make his debut appearance in the Co-operative Funeralcare World Matchplay Championship.
The World Bowls Tour event - featuring the top eight players in the WBT World Rankings - will take place at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, for the second year, from 10-11 July.
Royal, 33, from Stowmarket in Suffolk, enjoyed a sensational World Bowls Tour run last season - rounding it off by winning the Welsh International Open in Llanelli and leaping from 13 to six in the rankings.
"Winning the Welsh Open was the breakthrough for me," explained the left-hander. "Not only was it my first Tour title, but it gave me the ranking points which put me into the world top eight for the first time: A double whammy!"
But it was in the Yorkshire city that Royal tasted his first WBT success - at the International Open in 2002: "Sheffield is really special for me - the first ever WBT tournament I qualified for was at Ponds Forge, and I beat John Price to get into the last sixteen," said Royal, proud of his victory over one of the game's greats, a former world champion from Wales.
"That was my breakthrough - and everything has built from there. Sheffield has always been special for me and I really enjoy playing in the venue."
But like most of the players competing in the Co-operative Funeralcare-sponsored event, Royal will have to interrupt his outdoor season to adjust to the smooth-running WBT portable rink 'indoors' at Ponds Forge.
The Suffolk star battled through three games in the National Champion of Champions Singles regional finals at the weekend to earn a place in the National Finals at Worthing in August.
"I've been playing a bit outdoors recently - but I now need to find another club to get some indoor practice in as my club isn't available. Our green is covered with bouncy castles at the moment, so practice is out of the question," Royal explained.
"I might only get an hour or so - so I'll make sure I try and get as much time on the rink at Ponds Forge as possible before my first match.
"The difference between indoor and outdoor is quite significant - you have to change your delivery completely. You might also change your grip, even your stance! Your brain often takes a while to catch up! I've never had to mix the two before."
When asked the 'secret' of his recent success, Royal acknowledged that it was down to his wife Natasha's change of working hours (as a carer) - which gave him more time to practise. "It made a huge difference - it gave me more confidence. Also, being happy in life means that you're happy on the rink!"
Royal admits that he feels 'honoured' to be competing in the World Matchplay Championship for the first time. "Being in the world top eight has given me a lot more confidence - so rather than feeling privileged to be with the world's top players, I feel I've earned my place amongst them.
"I still look up to them - but until you've won a title, you don't feel part of the elite. But now I've won one, I feel that I could win more."
Royal's ambitions for next season are simple: "To get to world number one and become world champion. I had such a good run last season, with a good lot of points - so if I can have another good season I could do it.
"But even if I just stayed in the top eight, that would be an achievement in itself - it wouldn't be a huge disappointment," concluded the Englishman.
Royal takes on former world number one David Gourlay, the third seed, in his opening game. Success against the Australia-based Scot would take the sixth seed through to a semi-final clash against either Alex Marshall, the record five times world champion from Scotland, or Mervyn King, the former world champion from Norfolk.
Action from the Co-operative Funeralcare World Matchplay Championship will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, followed by recorded highlights.
1st round draw:
[1] Greg Harlow (ENG) v [8] Andy Thomson (ENG)
[4] Jason Greenslade (WAL) v [5] Paul Foster (SCO)
[3] David Gourlay (AUS) v [6] Mark Royal (ENG)
[2] Alex Marshall (SCO) v [7] Mervyn King (ENG)
Play gets underway at 1.00pm on Thursday 10 July, with first round matches continuing at 3.00pm, 6.00pm and (approx) 8.00pm. Friday's semi-finals kick off at 2.00pm, with the final scheduled at 7.00pm.
Official website: www.worldbowlstour.com Watch all of the action live - and re-live the excitement of all matches as replays, downloads and on DVD - on www.247.tv
Thanks to Howard Harding