IAN McCulloch is confident of piling more agony on world number three Shaun Murphy tonight as he bids for Welsh Open glory.
The Walton-le-Dale potter cruised into the second round of the tournament by beating Drew Henry 5-1.
But the 36-year-old now faces a much sterner best-of-nine challenge from Murphy, who headed to the Newport Centre on the back of clinching the Malta Open last weekend.
But McCulloch has beaten Murphy on their last two meetings, including an impressive 5-2 win in the Shanghai Masters last August.
He said: "I feel good. Shaun's a tough player who does not give you a lot, but I'm pleased with the way I'm playing and I've beaten him twice recently.
"I've just got to take my opportunities. It would be nice to put a little run together here."
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With a provisional world ranking of 17 this season, McCulloch's aim is to break back into the top 16, thus ensuring automatic qualification to snooker's top events.
"It's been a good season so far, and there's six or seven us looking to get into that top 16, but I'm in the best position," he added.
After his Welsh exploits, McCulloch will look to make an impact at April's World Snooker Championships.
But he must win next month's best-of-19 qualifying match against up-and-coming Chinese star Liang Wenbo.
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