Australian Open Preview

It's time for the trip down under to Bendigo for the Australian Open tournament, which could well be the last as the contract for the tournament runs out after this one. Most of the top players have once again missed this tournament, presumably because of the long journey and quite small prize money, as they have in the last couple of years. The tournament is also not on TV in Europe until the final, which is being televised on Eurosport, making the tournament even less appealing to European snooker fans particularly.

Quarter 1

The big stars in this quarter are defending champion Barry Hawkins, Ding Junhui and Robert Milkins. Barry starts his campaign off with an intriguing match against Dechawat Poomjaeng. We have seen since his run at the Crucible that Poomjaeng can cause problems for the top players and he will give Hawkins a good game here. However, Hawkins also proved last season that he is a top player, and will want to try and defend his title here and I expect him to come through this early test. The winner will then play Tom Ford or Ryan Day. This is a tough match to call, both are great players and are actually quite closely ranked, even though Day is a qualifier and Ford a seed. It definetly wouldn't be an upset of Day won and I think this could be a useful outside bet in the first round. I have a feeling that Day needs a run in an event this year to regain some confidence and if he starts with a win here this could well be the one. Therefore I am going to go for a Ryan Day win. In the other half of this quarter Robert Milkins takes on Ben Woollaston. Milkins is playing great stuff right now and could be ranked inside the top 16 after this tournament. I and many others would have predicted this last season and had another good run to the semi-finals in Wuxi, and he should beat Woollaston, who is just as good a player but has landed a very tough draw. Should Milkins get through he would play either Ding Junhui or Rory McLeod. On paper this looks like a comfortable Ding win, but McLeod could quite easily grind Ding down if the Chinaman is not motivated and becomes frustrated. I expect to see a Ding win still, but won't rule out the upset by any means

Quarter Pick: Barry Hawkins

Quarter 2

This quarter features both of the wildcard round matches, although judging by previous Aussie wildcards, Michael White and Mike Dunn shouldn't have too much trouble making it through. Should Dunn beat Steve Mifsud as expected he will play Dominic Dale in the last 32. Dunn has seen a resurgence in form in recent weeks, with his new cue, but I don't think he will have enough to beat Dale, if the Welshmen is on form. They are playing for the right to play either Ricky Walden or Fergal O'Brien. Fergal is always a tough opponent and one who can beat anyone on his day, but Ricky has a knack for getting through these tough matches even when nowhere near his best. If Ricky is off form I think that Fergal would win, but I think that Ricky has had quite a long rest since his World Championship run and will be fresh for the task this week. Walden will make it through for me. Elsewhere in this section we see Shaun Murphy who will play either young hot shot Michael White or wildcard Shaun Dalitz. If my recent interview with Shaun told me anything it was that he should have a successful week in Australia. Playing with a new cue for the first time, which he feels good with in practice, practicing hard in preparation for this and a general love of playing Australia. White will provide a big test for Murphy and could easily go through. Shaun will need to be on his game from the start but if he is it could be a good indicator of things to come this week. The winner will face either Marco Fu or Ken Doherty. Both have had slower starts to the season and it could well be a scrappy encounter and a tough call. Fu should get through but don't rule out ken for the win here.

Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 3

This quarter is probably the strongest in the draw with Aussie hope Neil Robertson and former champion Stuart Bingham as well as Martin Gould and Asian Tour 1 champion Joe Perry. Neil Robertson plays Scot Marcus Campbell. Robertson has a brilliant record against Campbell and he is the best player on the tour right now. As long as he can deal with home expectations, the Wuxi Classic champion should march into the Last 16. He would then play either Martin Gould or Jamie Cope. Cope has struggled in the last year while Gould has actually prospered in some minor events. Gould could well be a contender to go under the radar and I think that he may well have a good run here to set up a return to the top 16 in the coming months. Meanwhile, Joe Perry plays Xiao Guodong who had some success at the Asian indoor games winning the Six-red event. Perry is in good form at the moment though and I think he will keep that momentum going with a victory here. Should Perry win he would play either Stuart Bingham or Noppon Saengkham in the Last 16. I haven't seen much of Saengkham yet and, although he has had some good results, I don't think he will cause 2011 champion Bingham any problems here.

Quarter winner: Neil Robertson

Quarter 4

This quarter is one that I would say on paper should be one for the seeds to march through and could be short on upsets. Mark Davis plays Paul Davison in his first round match, and I think that the man in the peak of his career will have no problem getting through. I haven't seen much of Davison and whenever I do he isn't too impressive to be honest, but he seems like he can play a lot better than I have seen him play. Should be a comfortable Davis win though. Michael Holt faces "jack of all trades" Alfie Burden in the last 32 in Bendigo. Holt hasn't had the best start to the season and could be vulnerable against Burden, who is a heavy scorer when on form. This could well be an upset, depending on how well Burden plays - if scores well he has a great chance. In the bottom half Andrew Higginson play Zhang Anda in a match that he will be expected to win, but his inconsistent form is Zhang's best chance of a win. The Chinaman is a very useful player and will provide Higginson with food for thought. Higginson usually plays quite well against lower ranked players but struggles against the top guys, so in theory this match shouldn't trouble him. Finally Mark Selby plays Rookie of the year 2012 Ian Burns. Selby was knocked out at the Last 128 stage in the Wuxi Classic, but reached the AT1 final, and has recently lost his World No.1 ranking to Neil Robertson. He will be keen to earn that back and I think he will play well in this tournament, to try and win that back as he has done before. Burns is a very good player, but it will be interesting to see how his second season on tour goes, with added pressure and expectation. Selby should win on this occasion though.

Quarter Winner: Mark Selby

Tournament Winner: This may be a biased view, but I have a very strong feeling that Shaun Murphy will play very well this week, and with the absence of some top players- this could be a great opportunity for him to win his first ranking event since 2011. If he gains some early confidence in the early stages with his new cue, he will be very dangerous in the latter parts of the tournament. This could well be his event.