EXCLUSIVE Interview with Shaun Murphy

In the first of a new "Life as a snooker player" feature that Shaun Murphy has kindly agreed to do for the blog, I talk to Shaun about: what he thinks of the new format, how he thinks the season will go, his favourite places to visit and what he likes to do away from the baize including the development of his website and the charity work that he partakes in.

Hi Shaun, I’d like to start by asking you, what do you think of the new Flat 128 structure for ranking events?

Hi, yeah I’m definitely a fan of the new flat 128 structure. Ironically myself and Mark Selby both fell foul to it in the Wuxi classic and had to watch from home but that doesn't mean that I'm not in favour of it anymore. It's been a big topic of conversation at home too and the general feeling is that if you were inventing snooker today, this is how you'd structure it. I just feel that if you're a tour player then you should have the same opportunities as everyone else.

We know what you think of burnout, but will you plan your season to be fresh for the World Championship or will you play as much snooker as you can?

I don't feel that the tour is at the stage yet where players should be picking and choosing events to play in. In my book there are still lots of events that need the support of the higher ranked players as they are the ones primarily that the public pay to come and watch and without the support of these players these tournaments simply won't succeed. For me, I'm playing in as much as possible because I love it. I'm a snooker player, it's what i do.

Do you think you can win another World Championship?

Absolutely. This is one of my biggest goals now and one that I'm working towards on a daily basis. When I won the World Title back in 2005 it was weird. By that I mean it was my first pro TV win and so there were so many emotions running about, the fact that I'd become World Champion kind of got lost in there somewhere. So I'd like to win it again so I could enjoy it for what it is.

Why do you think that you have gone so long without a ranking event win, and do you think that the Flat 128 draw will offer up better opportunities for you?

I've no idea why it’s been so long. I hadn't really took any notice of it until I overheard Hazel Irvine broadcasting at The Masters. I was in the practice room warming up for my semi- final and heard them in the studio talking about how long it had been. I think to be honest, somewhere between '09 and '11 I perhaps didn't work quite as hard at my game as many others and certainly not as hard as i know I should've been. On that basis I didn't really deserve to win much but now I'm back to a good old fashioned six hours practise in the club every day, I'm convinced that more trophies are just around the corner.

On the other hand, does it please you that you have, at the same time, been very consistent in getting to the latter stages of events, and that if you continue to do so will it only be a matter of time before you win one?

Consistency is one of my least favourite words. Of course I'm pleased to be making the final stages of events regularly and challenging to win events but you know that isn't what I wanted to achieve from my snooker. I don't want to have to tell the grandkids that I was Mr consistent. They don't make cabinets for consistency; if they did mine would be bulging ha!

How much do you think your new cue will affect your game and if so will the affects be a positive or negative on your game?

Well I've certainly been putting the hours in with it. My new cue is yet to make its debut in competition, that’s coming in Australia but i'd say it’s a keeper. I did use a John Parris replica of my original that i'd had for five years or so in Bulgaria and was quite happy with it but that’s taken second place to my new John Parris cue. It's showing really well in practise so I can't wait to see how it performs out there when it matters.

How much do you enjoy travelling around the world, and do you take the opportunity to do some sightseeing when you can?

I always love going to new places and seeing the culture wherever it may be. I'm always amazed at how many players don't get into all that and just stay in the confines of the hotel. For me it’s all about creating memories to share with my family and friends in the future. They won't want to hear about shots and matches but about places and people.

Do many other players take on some sightseeing when on tour?

Some do and i hope with the new younger breed coming through there will be a few more takers for sightseeing and travelling to these faraway places. I was quite disappointed more top players didn't go to Brazil a few years ago and I think that is a very big part of why that tournament hasn't happened again. I hope the same isn't said about the Australian Masters in a year’s time.

Where is your favourite area to visit on the snooker tour outside of the UK?

I really enjoy all the Euro Tour events wherever they may be and have grown to like going to Shanghai, but my favourite place so far would be Australia. I mean its Australia for crying out loud, what’s not to like? The way of life is fantastic and I guess if it wasn't a whole 24 hours of travel away i'd definitely spend more time there.

What is your favourite snooker venue outside of the UK?

Has to be the Tempodrome in Berlin. In the early days we did quite a few exhibitions there and around Germany trying to generate some interest in the sport together with the TV coverage given by Eurosport. It's amazing now to see that venue full and them all enjoying their own ranking event. My best performance there so far has been a Semi- final and the atmosphere was fantastic.

Who is your favourite player to play and why?

I think that would still have to be Steve Davis. He was my idol growing up and someone that as a professional I've looked up to as a role model. Whilst doing some of these exhibition tours around Europe I've been lucky enough to watch how he handles himself, sponsors and the public and he's simply first class.

Do you have a least favourite player to play against and why?

Not really no. A few years ago on the UK tour I could never beat Mark Gray for some reason. He quickly became my bogey player and then in my early years on tour Matt Couch gave me similar problems.

How many players socialise around events, and are there many cliques in the snooker world?

Most players are very sociable on tour and get on with everyone. I'm not really sure that cliques exist; I just think that certain groups of players have either known each other longer or come from the same area and sometimes even practise at the same clubs so they are bound to stick together. In my case there is a group of players that I’ve grown up with through the junior and amateur game so we would all tend to have dinners and travel together when possible and try to make our trips away as comfortable as possible.

Which players do you spend most time with away from the baize?

Well nowadays we don't get too much time away from the baize so when we do it’s nice to be able to share some other hobbies with some of the other lads. I'm a very keen golfer and so any chance I get I'm out on the course. Fortunately there are quite a few keen and very good golfers among the snooker players so finding a partner isn't too difficult usually. Matt Selt and I have become good mates and have donated a small fortune to each other in golfing bets in the last 24 months or so. It's hard though playing golf with Matt because he is such a funny guy that it becomes very hard to concentrate on what you're trying to do and before you know it you're handing over the dough. Away from the golf I'm good friends with Selby, Carter, Walden and Higginson and many others. I've been friends with Nigel Bond for many years too and hope that will always be the case. When I was a kid he was one of the only pro's that took the time to practise with me and show me the ropes and I will always owe him a huge thanks for that.

What difference has Barry Hearn made to snooker and how much does snooker owe to him?

Quite simply, Barry Hearn and his new team at World Snooker are the best things to happen to the game in my lifetime. When you look back to the pre Hearn years of just a few years ago snooker was going nowhere, and fast. Now look at it. We've got a full diary, lots of events and more money to play for. How can anyone moan about that?

What advice would you give to a young player thinking of turning professional?

My best advice would be two fold. Firstly, make sure that being a snooker placer is absolutely the number one priority in your life. If it’s something that you quite like and are thinking of having a crack at don't bother. There are too many out there who want it more and you'll end up wasting the best years of your life. It has to be your passion. Secondly, don't make the mistake of thinking that practise makes perfect. It doesn't. Practise makes permanent, so only proper structured, goal orientated practise is worth it.

You do a lot of charity work for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. What sort of work do you do to raise money and awareness for the charity, how much do the children there inspire you, and why did you choose to help the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital?

I'd reached that point in my life where i thought it was time to start trying to do some good for others as well as myself. I started looking for a local charity to get involved with and because one of my relatives has spent much of her young life there, the RMCH seems the right place to start. 18 months ago now I started my £100 for 100 breaks initiative and that’s something I'm committed to long term, donating £100 for every century break I make. It really puts the pressure on when I get to 70 - 90 now! I also ran the Manchester 10k in May for them too and loved it.

You have a website of your own (ShaunMurphy.net) that you are also working on. What are you doing to develop the site and what information do you put on there for your fans?

With www.shaunmurphy.net we are constantly looking for ways to make it better and in the future we hope to have a much more interactive site with tuition and back stage footage to try and show a different side to life as a snooker player. I try to keep it up to date with regular match reports and previews and i guess together with my Twitter @magician147 it’s my chance to give my side of any story without the interference of a journalist’s opinion.

It’s not just snooker your good at, it is a well-known fact that you and many other snooker players are a dab hand with a set of Golf clubs. So, what other sports do you enjoy playing or watching in your spare time and why do you think so many other snooker players play Golf?

As already mentioned I do play a lot of golf and I'm sure that it’s because it’s a still ball sport that many snooker players take to it. That in built hand eye coordination comes out, well most of the time anyway and helps. Other than golf I play quite a bit of tennis and I've also got quite into running after doing the Manchester 10k for the RMCH in May. I’m also a bit of a motor enthusiast and if not at home cutting the grass or playing the piano and annoying everyone I'm usually in the garage tinkering away or cleaning the cars.

And Finally Shaun, John Higgins and Neil Robertson have set the bar high at the start if this season but, who do you think will win the most tournaments this season or will they be shared fairly equally like last year?

The standard set so far has been very good, and i think it will only get better. I predicted a few years ago that with all these new tournaments and a sharper set of players the standards across the whole tour would rise and I think that’s happening. From a players point of view its put much more emphasis on the time between events now spent in the club working on my game as that is where the improvements are (hopefully) made. One things for sure, if things carry on this season the way they've begun, it'll be one hell of a year.

Once again I would like to thank Shaun for doing this interview and look forward to the other pieces that he will hopefully do for the blog over the course of the season.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and, like me, are looking forward to more exciting and fun features on the blog in the near future.

Robertson scoops consecutive China titles

Neil Robertson today won his second ranking event in succession in China, after beating John Higgins 10-7 in the Wuxi Classic, once again showing his great break building and fighting qualities along the way.

Robertson made a decent start taking the first frame, but lost the next two as Higgins looked good early on with breaks of 78 and 56. A 91 levelled the scores at the Mid-session interval in the first session with a 91, but Higgins was playing just brilliantly and he threatened to take the game away from Robertson in the opening session. A couple of mistakes cost Robertson as Higgins made breaks of 70, 82 and 93 to take a 5-2 lead with 2 frames to go in the session. The way that Higgins was playing it looked like he would take at least a 6-3 lead into the final session, and Robertson would have been fearing a 7-2 deficit as it didn't look like Higgins could miss. However, the Aussie showed his true grit once again to take the next with a break of 52 to make it 5-3. In the last frame of the session he knocked in a long red and made a century (113) to make the score 5-4 to Higgins going into the final session. Robbo definetly would have felt the better at the end of the session, taking a 5-4 score line that really didn't look possible at one stage.

This feeling was taken into the final session, as Neil Robertson dominated Higgins and took full control of the final. Neil took all 4 frames before the mid-session interval, as Higgins only scored 58 points in those four frames and found himself 8-5 behind from 5-4 ahead. Breaks of 57 and 59 were just half of the story for Robertson as he shut Higgins out of the match. Finally Higgins could get a foot back in the door with a 66 to get the score back to 8-6. Robertson won the 15th though to go one away from victory at 9-6 and give John Higgins the almost impossible task. The Scot won a tight frame in the 16th to get 1 of the 4 he needed at 9-7, but Robertson sealed the match with a 65 to make him the 2013 Wuxi Classic Champion, with a 10-7 victory.

Neil Robertson was the deserved winner, finding the extra gear when it mattered most to get him through the tests that any player could throw at him over the course of the week. He scored well and battled hard when he had to and these were the 2 main components of his success.

Credit also has to go to John Higgins who continued his great start to the season, scoring well and playing a great tactical game as he always does when on form. This week also quashed talk of Higgins being past his best and proving to all of his critics that he can still mix it in the big events under pressure. It was also nice to see young players like Cao Yupeng and David Morris make it to the quarter-finals, causing some upsets along the way and playing some good snooker against the top players. This also showed us what the Flat 128 draw will give us over the whole course of the season, and hopefully giving some more young players the chance to shine on the big stage.

It is a while before the next snooker, roughly 2 weeks before the next event which is the Australian open and I will be back to preview that in good time, and hopefully with another fun piece in between.

Robertson and Higgins to contest Wuxi final

Neil Robertson and John Higgins will play out the Wuxi Classic final, in what could be a classic contest, after both players won their semi-finals quite comfortably 6-2.

Robertson beat Robert Milkins 6-2 in the first semi-final with a very clinical performance. After Neil won a large tactical battle in the first frame and took a 1-0 lead, he never looked back taking the next 3 as well to lead 4-0 at the interval. This included top breaks 51, 59, 71 and 77, and it looked like being a very comfortable victory for Neil. After the interval Milkins managed to get the first frame after Robertson missed the last red and Robert made a good clearance. A swift 72 gave Milkins the next and it looked like he was well back into the match. However, the Aussie stopped the rot in the next to go 1 away from the final, regaining control of the match. As he did in the quarter-final, Robertson finished off the match with his best break, this time a 92, to book his place in consecutive finals in China.

As for Higgins, he beat Matthew Stevens 6-2, with a very high scoring and clinical performance. John started with a tight opening frame which he then followed up with 61 break in the next to give him an early 2-0 lead. Within a flash he was 4-0 ahead at mid-session, with runs of 57 and 66. The Scot continued in the same vain after the interval with another 57 break to give him a 5-0 lead, with a whitewash on the cards for poor Matthew Stevens. However, Stevens managed to avoid the humiliation, with a run of 55 to get his first frame on the board. This boosted the Welshmen's confidence as he went on to make a 70, in getting the score line back to 5-2 - although the comeback still looked very unlikely. As always, John Higgins finished the match off in style with a 101 break to set up a final match-up with Neil Robertson, who he beat to win the Bulgarian Open PTC.

Final Preview 

John Higgins Vs Neil Robertson - As I just mentioned Higgins just beat Robertson 4-1 in the European Tour event 1, however that was in a much shorter format to the best of 19 the pair face tomorrow. This will do different things to both players. For Higgins it will increase his confidence having a recent victory over his opponent, playing very well in the process and shutting Robbo out. As for Robertson, it will make him more determined, as he will want revenge on Higgins, just like he wanted and got against Milkins in the semi-final. Both players won ranking events in China last year, Higgins the Shanghai Masters and Robertson his first - the China Open. I think that Robertson will just about edge this, and he has played excellently this week, taken his chances and scored well. Higgins has played equally well but has not really been tested so far in this tournament and has had a relatively easy ride to the final. As for Robertson he has been tested and has managed to find that extra gear to get him through, and that could prove key again tomorrow if he is to get away from Higgins.

Whatever happens it should be a fantastic final and a fabulous end to a tournament that hasn't been quite as exciting and lacking in something so far, with only a few close, tense moments and matches. I will be back tomorrow evening to review the final and the whole of the season's first ranking event.

Top players come to party ready for semi-finals

After all of the shocks of earlier on in the Wuxi Classic, the top 4 ranked players in the quarter-finals, all got through to the Last 4. Robert Milkins, provisionally ranked 17 in the world after his victory today, got through after a 5-3 win against Anthony Hamilton. Milkins soon found himself 3-1 up after breaks of 120 and 73 as well as taking a 56 minute frame before the interval. A 53 in the next frame put Milkins 4-1. Hamilton battled back though and got the score back to 4-3, but another 53 gave Milkins a thoroughly deserved victory. No-one would begrudge Milkins of the title this week, but the next thing he has to do is overcome an in-form Neil Robertson.

Robertson overcame a massive test today against Cao Yupeng, coming from 4-3 down to beat him 5-4, in one of Yupeng's finest performances to date. The huge turning point was at 3-2, and Robertson missed a black down the cushion for a 4-2 lead, but Cao potted it to take it to 3-3. However, when Robertson was 4-3 down he found an extra gear making his best break of the match, an 87, to take this match into a much deserved decider. Cao didn't really have a chance in the decider and Robertson dominated to secure a 5-4 victory.

John Higgins got through to the semi-finals with a 5-2 victory over Joe Perry. I expected Perry to push Higgins a bit more than this, but it didn't really happen for Perry. He didn't have many chances early on, and missed some chances later on as Higgins took an early 4-1 lead with breaks of 97, 50 and 61. Perry took the next, but Higgins eventually got the 5-2 win. He now plays Matthew Stevens who beat David Morris 5-2, with top breaks of 50, 61 and 62. Morris managed to get it to the interval at 2-2 but struggled afterwards as Stevens took control, winning the next 3 to secure victory.

Semi-final Draw and Prediction:

Robert Milkins Vs Neil Robertson - Both guys are in fabulous form at the moment and have played some great snooker so far this week. Milkins beat Robertson in the first round of the World Championship and he plays his best snooker out in China. However, the circumstances are very different this time around and I think that this match will be very close. After the test that Robertson came through today though I think that Robertson will just pip him at the post.

John Higgins Vs Matthew Stevens - John Higgins will be a hot favourite for this, but Stevens has also played some decent stuff this week, and has pretty much gone under the radar to get to this point. To be fair Stevens has come through some real scraps this week, but if this match turns scrappy there will only be one winner - John Higgins.

Whoever wins tomorrows Semi's, it will be a great final line-up and i'm looking forward to seeing how this weekend  unfolds.

Surprise quarter-finalists in Wuxi

There were some surprise quarter-finalists at the Wuxi Classic as only 3 of the top 16 have made it into the last 8, showing us already just what this new Flat 128 draw can produce.

One of the best results of the round was Anthony Hamilton's victory over Mark Williams 5-3, to nicely follow up his brilliant display against Stuart Bingham in the Last 32. Williams did look better in his win against Lisowski and knocked in some good long pots in this match. Unfortunately for him his break building wasn't quite on the mark, and Hamilton played well and did what he had to at the end for victory. This is probably Hamilton's best chance to win his first ever ranking event, the one that everyone in snooker knows that he deserves.

David Morris is another great story of this event. Having come through Q School in the summer, he has now made it through to the quarter-finals of the seasons opening ranking event, showing us that the future of Irish snooker is in safe hands for many more years to come. Morris today had another fantastic victory, probably the best of his career, in a decider against Ali Carter. Morris was up against it early on finding himself 2-0 and then 3-2 down, before turning the deficit around to lead 4-3. Carter took the match into a decider, but it was Morris that took an early lead in it and therefore control of it. He held his nerve and eventually potted match ball blue to take him through to a quarter-final meeting with Matthew Stevens. Stevens had a 5-3 victory over Peter Lines that in a match that, for the first half, was not particularly thrilling or free-flowing but Stevens did what he had to do for the win.

Neil Robertson impressed once again and made himself the huge favourite to make at least the final of this event and probably win it, after his 5-0 win against Mark King. Robertson made breaks of 75, 96 and finished off with a 111, punishing King's mistakes and inability to score heavy himself. He next plays young Chinamen Cao Yupeng who has also impressed on home soil this week. He is now the last player left flying the Chinese flag in Wuxi and proved right my bet of the round, beating Ben Woollaston 5-3. Cao took an early 2-0 lead, with breaks of 65 and 79 Woollaston pegged him back to 2-2 at the interval. Breaks of 60 and 71 soon restored his two frame advantage, before Woollaston made a 75 to keep the match going. Cao finished the match in style though with another good break of 73, to get through to the quarters.

Quarter-Final Draw and predictions:

Robert Milkins Vs Anthony Hamilton - I would love to see either player go on to win the tournament as it would be thoroughly deserved for either player. However, I just think that Milkins is more likely to get through to the semi-final on this occasion, although it will be close.

Cao Yupeng Vs Neil Robertson - Neil is in fine form this week, and when he is on form only very few players can stop. So as well as Cao is playing I don't think he can stop Robertson, if he continues to score as well as he is.

Joe Perry Vs John Higgins - The two winners of the first two PTC events, and both are in fine form. It's really hard to pick the winner of this one as Perry has already beaten Ding in this tournament while Higgins hasn't really had a big test in this tournament. I still expect Higgins to win, but wouldn't be surprised to see Perry win and would recommend him if you are after a good outside bet this could be it.

Matthew Stevens Vs David Morris - Matthew wasn't playing as well today and has come through a couple of scraps against Lines and Wenbo. As for Morris he has played really well and scored well to get to this point and battled hard today against Carter. It might be fair to say that this is a great opportunity for Morris to get through, and i'm sure he'll go into the match with no fear.

I hope to see some more surprises and have enjoyed watching what the new format has given us so far this week.

New faces shine in Wuxi

It's turning out to be the tournament for the underdog at the Wuxi Classic as some different faces, both old and new, have made it through to Last 16 stages of the seasons first ranking event.

David Morris, who got back on the tour through the 3rd Q School in May, beat Gerard Greene 5-2 with top breaks of 103, 77 and 51 to set up a Last 16 encounter with Ali Carter. This is a fantastic start to the season for Morris and is just one example of what this new Flat 128 structure could bring this season.

Scott Donaldson also continued his start to the season by beating Jimmy Robertson 5-4, and will now play Robert Milkins for a place in the quarters. Donaldson is really starting to fulfil his potential after a slow start in his first year as a pro, following a quarter-final in the Bulgarian Open and a run into the semi-finals of the APTC1, with his best ranking event performance to date.

There were also some of the older guard getting through as Anthony Hamilton put in a fine display to see of last years runner-up Stuart Bingham 5-2, with highs of 64, 72, 73 and 80. Hamilton's reward for that great performance is a match-up with Mark Williams who battled back hard to beat Jack Lisowski 5-4 having been 3-1 and 4-3 down. Hopefully this could be the start of better things for Williams who struggled for form last season, and has been working hard to improve during the summer. After today's win I can see Mark going far in this tournament and maybe even winning it with how it's opened up.

A special mention must also go to Peter Lines who followed up victory yesterday over Mark Allen with another good win today against Andrew Higginson 5-2. It seems that Higginson was once again punished for missed opportunities something he is all to guilty of. If Higginson is ever going to break through he must sort this part of his game out, losing matches that he's had enough opportunities to win. Lines will now meet Stevens who has gone under the radar a bit in this event so far, just as he always seems to do when he reaches the latter stages of an event. However, Stevens has as good as chance as any of walking away with the win, especially the way that the draw has opened up with only 5 top 16 players left standing.

Last 32 Results:

Robert Milkins 5-3 Jimmy White
Scott Donaldson 5-4 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Williams 5-4 Jack Lisowski
Anthony Hamilton 5-2 Stuart Bingham
Ben Woollaston 5-2 Joel Walker
Cao Yupeng 5-4 Barry Hawkins
Mark King 5-4 Marco Fu
Neil Robertson 5-2 Martin Gould
David Gilbert 5-2 Alan McManus
Joe Perry 5-1 Ding Junhui
John Higgins 5-1 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Xiao Guodong 5-4 Li Hang
Peter Lines 5-2 Andrew Higginson
Matthew Stevens 5-3 Liang Wenbo
Ali Carter 5-0 Lu Haotian
David Morris 5-2 Gerard Greene

Last 16 Draw and Predictions:

7.30am UK Time:
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson - Hard to say on Donaldson's form, tough to go against him but I fancy that Milkins will break into the top 16 this season, so Milkins win for me
Mark Williams Vs Anthony Hamilton - Tipping good things after today for Williams so I fancy him for victory here.
Ben Woollaston Vs Cao Yupeng - Both are great players, but Cao whitewashed Woollaston in the APTC1 he may have a slight edge
Mark King Vs Neil Robertson - Robertson playing well and when he's scoring well he takes some stopping, King can cause a shock but have to go for Neil Robertson

12.30pm UK Time:
David Gilbert Vs Joe Perry - Perry is in great form at the moment and can go far here, Gilbert is scoring well but Perry will take some stopping.
John Higgins Vs Xiao Guodong- if Xiao isn't careful here Higgins could have this won before it has started the way he is playing.
Peter Lines Vs Matthew Stevens - Mentioned earlier that Stevens could go under the radar and could prove a bit too much for Lines on this occasion, who may not have another big performance in him this week.
Ali Carter Vs David Morris - Morris has played well this week, but Carter's big match experience might prove this to be a step too far for young Morris this week. Make no mistake though, Morris is definetly one to watch this season and will have a lot more runs and results like this in him.

Will return tomorrow for Last 16 round-up and Quarters preview.

Allen and Trump Crash out, Higgins and Robertson through to last 32

Judd Trump and Mark Allen were both beaten at the Last 64 stage on the second day of the Wuxi Classic. Trump was well below his best and his safety play was below par and he soon found himself 3-0 down to his Chinese opponent Li Hang. Trump looked like making the comeback when he restricted his deficit to 3-2, but his struggles continued and Li Hang scored well when he had to secure the 5-2 victory which is the best of Hang's career so far.

Peter Lines pulled out an excellent performance to send Mark Allen packing in a deciding frame 5-4. Lines found himself 2-1 after Allen made breaks of 55 and 69, but Lines was equal to it making a century to square the match at 2-2 as the pair headed into the mid-session break. It was lines that came out stronger once again, and took the next 2 frames to lead 4-2. Allen fought back well making a break of 79 to make it 4-3 and eventually took the next to force the deciding frame. Lines took an early lead in the decider and managed to hold onto it to grab a fantastic 5-4 victory.

Neil Robertson battled back from 2-0 down against Zhu Yinghui, winning 5 frames in a row, to seal his Last 32 berth 5-2, including top breaks of 58, 69 and 83. John Higgins also reeled off 5 frames in a row to beat Australian Vinnie Calabrese 5-1, with a top run of 116. Meanwhile, Mark Williams came through a real battle to beat Liam Highfield 5-4.

Today's other results:

Robert Milkins 5-0 John Astley
Scott Donaldson 5-3 Gareth Green
Jack Lisowski 5-0 Tian Pengfei
Ben Woollaston 5-2 Chen Zhe
Gerard Greene 5-1 Michael Wasley
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Fergal O'Brien
Xiao Guodong 5-3 Peter Ebdon
Andrew Higginson 5-1 Steve Davis
David Morris 5-4 Gary Wilson
Jimmy Robertson 5-0 Graeme Dott
Matthew Stevens 5-1 Lu Ning
Liang Wenbo 5-4 Jamie Jones
Ali Carter 5-2 Alfie Burden

Tomorrows Last 32 matches (with predictions):

3am UK Time:
Anthony Hamilton Vs Stuart Bingham - Comfortable win for Stuart Bingham
Jimmy White Vs Robert Milkins - It could be a close one but should be a Milkins win
Joel Walker Vs Ben Woollaston - Comfortable win for Woollaston
Barry Hawkins Vs Cao Yupeng - This will be a battle for Hawkins but he should get through
Andrew Higginson Vs Peter Lines - Higginson could have a good run here now and I expect him to get through
Liang Wenbo Vs Matthew Stevens- Stevens will need to be on form and if he is he'll be in the Last 16.

7.30am UK Time:
Marco Fu Vs Mark King- This should be one hell of a FuKing last 32 match (couldn't resist), Fu will need to play better than on Monday but I think that Fu will be through.
John Higgins Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng- Higgins will easily survive the Poomjaeng antics for victory.
Martin Gould Vs Neil Robertson - This could well be a classic heavy scoring match, but I think that Robertson will make at least the semi-finals and will come through this close encounter
Mark Williams Vs Jack Lisowski - This could well be an upset with a Lisowski win
David Morris Vs Gerard Greene - This is a great opportunity for whoever wins this, therefore it will be a close tussle, and if it is I think Greene will win.

12.30pm UK Time:
David Gilbert Vs Alan McManus - Will again be very close but think it will be a Gilbert win.
Ali Carter Vs Lu Haotian- The experience of Carter will see him easily through this one for me.
Joe Perry Vs Ding Junhui- Perry is in good form but I think Ding will win the whole thing on his home turf.
Scott Donaldson Vs Jimmy Robertson- Both guys are playing really well and this is a very tough match to call, but I think Robertson will edge this in a decider
Xiao Guodong Vs Li Hang- Both players had good wins today and played well, but I just think that Xiao will edge this one by the odd frame or two.

Well that was the story of Day 2 in Wuxi, and I will have another blog tomorrow to summarise the Last 32 action.

Wuxi Classic Preview

Well folks it's time for the first ranking event of the season: the Wuxi Classic. This is our first opportunity to see how the new format with all players playing from the first round, will pan out at the venue. With the Last 128 being played as qualifiers in Gloucester, we start from the round of 64 in Wuxi. This means that there are an extra 2 tables in operation for the event and an extra session. The extra session is particularly frustrating for UK and European viewers as it is at 4am European time and 3am UK time. That aside for now it's time to get on with the preview:

Quarter 1

The top quarter of the Wuxi Classic is probably in the toughest 2 in the draw. Here we saw a disappointing defence of the title by Ricky Walden, who suffered a 5-2 first round defeat to Jimmy White. That was one of White's best results for many years, and he now faces either Robert Milkins or John Astley. Robert has a particularly good record in Chinese events, getting to the quarter-finals last year losing a decider to Ricky Walden. Elsewhere in this section we have Graeme Dott, who will need a quick return to some form this season if he is to remain in the top 16 at the end of it. He will play Jimmy Robertson in the first round after his Wildcard round victory. This could lead to a possible all Scottish Last 32 clash if in form player Scott Donaldson can beat amateur Gareth Green. Scott made the semi-finals of the recent APTC1 and the quarter-finals of the Euro tour event in Bulgaria. Scott was unable to shine in his first year too much, but he has started this season magnificently, beating Tom Ford to reach the venue in Wuxi. He could be a very dangerous player in this section is all that I will say. In the other half of this quarter we have Mark Williams who has a tough draw. He has a tricky encounter with Liam Highfield for a place in the Last 32 against either Jack Lisowski or Tian Pengfei. Williams has been working very hard in the off season, but this is hardly a desirable section for the Welshmen to land in, but if he could get to the quarter-finals it would show how much his hard work has been paying off. In the other half of this section, Stuart Bingham, last year's runner-up, beat Yu De Lu 5-2 who made the quarter-finals of APTC1. Having past that early test, last seasons in form player now plays Anthony Hamilton. Hamilton beat Ryan Day 5-2, which was a slight surprise as I am expecting better things for day this season.

Quarter Winner: A very tough call but I think it will be Stuart Bingham after his success here last year.

Quarter 2

This quarter at first glance would appear a little easier, with only Robertson and Hawkins as top 16 players in this section after Shaun Murphy was knocked out in qualifying by talented newbie Alex Davies. He was beaten 5-2 by Joel Walker in Wuxi, who beat Ian Burns in the first round. He now  plays Chen Zhe or Ben Woollaston in the Last 32. Out of those 3 remaining players I would expect to see Ben in the Last 16, but that doesn't mean that any of the others could come through and cause upsets in this tournament. Many people will be expecting big things from Michael White this season after his great run at the Crucible last year, and his success this season will be determined by how he can deal with this added expectation. His Last 64 opponent Cao Yupeng, had the same kind of expectation on his shoulders a year ago and struggled slightly in the back end of last season, so he would have been hoping for a better run this season. Cao was the winner on this occasion 5-3, an impressive start making a century along the way. The last match in this little section sees Barry Hawkins play the Fergal O'Brien. I would predict that Barry Hawkins will be in the quarter-finals here, and people will no longer be estimating his ability after his brilliant season that was topped off by a run to the Crucible final in Early May. Elsewhere, Marco Fu had a last 64 tie with Nigel Bond, in a match that I fully expected to see Fu win. Bond like many of the players flying out to Wuxi, hadn't qualified for many venues in recent times and could be a player that may suffer in the new format as the season progresses. Fu was a 5-2 winner in that match and will now face Mark King in a Fu/King Last 32 match-up. That was after King beat McLeod 5-3 in quite a lengthy match. There was another tasty match in prospect as Martin Gould took on Kurt Mafllin. The big Norwegian is a class act, but Gould will be looking to regain his place in the top 16 this season and will be a player that will flourish in this new format in my opinion, showing signs of that. The final match in this section sees World No.1 Neil Robertson take on wildcard Zhu Yinghui, who beat Reanne Evans 5-2. I hoped to see Reanne come through that for the good of the game, but now another lengthy debate about wildcards could be on the cards. Neil Robertson is by far the form horse of this section at the seasons early stage, making a 147 in the Wuxi qualifier and reaching the final of the Bulgarian open.

Quarter winner: Has to be Neil Robertson

Quarter 3

Even with the absence of Mark Selby, this quarter will probably turn out to be the toughest of the draw. We start of with Selby's victor Andrew Pagett who took on former Crucible Last 16 maker David Gilbert. Pagett is in fine form at the moment but couldn't cause another upset against Gilbert, who was the 5-2 winner including a top break of 100. He now has a last 32 tie with Alan McManus who had a Titanic match with Ken Doherty who he saw off 5-3. McManus has made a decent start to the season, reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Tour 1 and I think this is a great opportunity for him to make the last 16 of this event. There are some quite big names in the other part of this section including Ding Junhui in his home tournament who beat Jamie Burnett 5-3 for the right to play recent Asian tour 1 winner Joe Perry. Perry beat Jamie Cope 5-2 who's loss of form has been well documented along with the health problems that have caused it. I hope that he can have a good season to regain some confidence that has been badly hit by this as well. However it was always going to be tough for him to beat Perry. The bottom half of this quarter looks very tasty indeed. John Higgins heads it after his Bulgarian Open win and I don't expect him to have any problems against new Australian Vinnie Calabrese. The Scot would then face some Poomjaeng antics. This was after Dechawat beat Dominic Dale 5-1, reeling off 5 frames on the trot. Bet of the round for me has to be Xiao Guodong to beat Peter Ebdon, who if he struggles like he did last year will be in big trouble against the Chinamen. If Xiao were to get through he would play either Judd Trump or Li Hang. Li Hang is a dangerous young player who could cause Judd some trouble, but I'm still going to predict a comfortable win for the World No.3. I will be very interested to see how Judd goes in the early parts of this season as I expect him to have a much more consistent season this time around. A possible Last 16 match between Trump and Higgins could be match of the tournament if it happens, but there are a lot of people that will want to have a say in that.

Quarter winner: In his home of Wuxi, a surprising call but Ding Junhui could well end his China woes.

Quarter 4

Quarter 4 doesn't look like the toughest for the top 16 players in it, but there are quite a few good young players that could have a say in proceedings this week. Mark Allen is the main attraction in this quarter. The newly wed has a first round date with Peter Lines who, with all due respect to Lines, should not cause the World No.6 a problem. Allen would then play either Steve Davis or Andrew Higginson. Davis has a decent record against Higginson, but Higginson is a very consistent pro who I still think will come through that encounter. Another Chinaman, Liang Wenbo faces Jamie Jones. That should be a very good match, especially if Jones can find his form that got him to the quarters of the World Championship in 2011. There could be a possible all Welsh Last 32 clash as Matthew Stevens faces wildcard Lu Ning, who won 5-3 against Adam Duffy. Stevens had quite an up and down year last year, and will be hoping for a more consistent and successful season this time around. Elsewhere in this section, Ali Carter plays Alfie Burden in the last 64 for the right to play Lu Haotian, who beat Craig Steadman 5-3 on the first day in Wuxi. Burden is an underestimated pro who can score very heavily when on form. He could cause an upset there, but as long as Carter is fighting fit and on form - I'm sure he'll be in the Last 32. Two good young talents meet in the Last 64 as David Morris (back through Q School) plays Gary Wilson who has had a very impressive start to the season, already notching up victories over Mark King and Peter Ebdon this season. That should be a good, open match and judging by Wilsons form he could well have a good run in this event. The eventual winner will play Michael Wasley or Gerard Greene. Wasley showed a lot of promise last year, while Greene had quite a bad campaign and will be looking to regain some form (starting with this match) to gain some much needed ranking points as he is one player who is in danger of dropping off of the tour, although it is very early days.

Quarter winner: Mark Allen is my big favourite to win this quarter.

Tournament winner: As I mentioned earlier I think that this is Ding Junhui's time to end his poor run of form in Chinese events with a win in his home town.

Of course it is very difficult to judge the form at this stage of this season with only 2 small PTC events having been played and not all of the top players have entered those events, so the first ranking event of the season could go to anyone and will offer us a better indicator of player's form.