So let's take a look at how it should pan out:
Quarter 1
Last 128 Draw:Mark Williams Vs Amateur qualifier
Anthony McGill Vs Barry Pinches
Tom Ford Vs Paul Davison
David Grace Vs Amateur Qualifier
Alan McManus Vs Amateur qualifier
Alfie Burden Vs Amateur Qualifier
Peter Lines Vs Amateur Qualifier
Aditya Mehta Vs Michael Leslie
Andrew Norman Vs Jack Lisowski
Martin O'Donnell Vs Fraser Patrick
Fergal O'Brien Vs Vinnie Calabrese
David Morris Vs Alex Borg
Robbie Williams Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ryan Day Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Scott Donaldson Vs Adam Duffy
Dominic Dale Vs Amateur Qualifier
As you can see from the draw, this quarter is hardly littered with top stars, the stand-out player by far being Mark Williams, who is safe at 2nd on the OoM. Anything can happen in these PTC events, so anyone could win this quarter really, but Williams has to be the strong favourite, with Lisowski, Day and even Mehta and Morris for good company based on recent form. The likes of Barry Pinches, David Grace, Michael Leslie and Martin O'Donnell could all do with runs, Grace and O'Donnell looking to consolidate their positions in the top 8 not already qualified for next season, while Pinches would like a couple of wins to boost his hopes of breaking into that bracket. However, guys like Adam Duffy and Paul Davison need a really good run to have any chance of making it in to that top 8 not already qualified bracket. Of all of these players, Grace has the nicest draw, by the virtue of playing an amateur qualifier, and should be able to help his position in the order of merit. In terms of the quarter itself, I can't really see past Mark Williams, while Day or Morris could provide a good match in the quarter's I don't think either will do enough to beat him.
Quarter Winner: Mark Williams
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw:Tony Drago Vs Amateur qualifier
Martin Gould Vs Tian Pengfei
Ian Burns Vs Noppon Saengkham
Mike Dunn Vs Andrew Pagett
Joe Swail Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Judd Trump Vs Cao Xin Long
Mark Selby Vs Robin Hull
Anthony Hamilton Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Joyce Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Ding Junhui Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ali Carter Vs Elliot Slessor
Luca Brecel W/O Li Yan
Rod Lawler Vs Jimmy White
Marco Fu Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Ricky Walden Vs Patrick Einslie
Jamie Jones Vs Amateur Qualifier
This quarter is practically the opposite, and will probably receive most of the TV attention on Friday in Antwerp. The likes of Trump (finalist in ET6), Ding Junhui (finalist in ET5), Mark Selby (finalist in ET2), Marco Fu (finalist in ET3), Ricky Walden (Winner of ET3), whilst Ali Carter, Jamie Jones and Luca Brecel have also showed that they are well capable of runs that could win the quarter. There are also some very important matches for the likes of Jimmy White, Tony Drago, Mike Dunn and Ian Burns could all do with good runs, hovering there or there about on the prize money list, or in the top 8 not already list on the Order of Merit. Drago, Dunn and Burns have decent first round draws to try and get up the OoM some more, but Drago needs to go much further and I can't see it happening, with a possible Last 64 match with Martin Gould.
In terms of the quarter, I think it will be a quarter-final showdown between Judd Trump and Ding Junhui, with the likes of Walden, Selby and Carter still offering some stiff opposition, but all are in indifferent form at the moment. Marco Fu is certainly one never to rule out meanwhile. I do think that after last week, Trump will go on another good run this weekend, and isn't far away from another tournament win and a complete return to form.
Quarter Winner: Judd Trump for me, and one of my favourites for the title this week.
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw:John Higgins Vs Chen Zhe
Sam Baird Vs James Cahill
Matt Selt Vs Rory McLeod
Pankaj Advani Vs Amateur Qualifier
Matthew Stevens Vs Amateur Qualifier
David Gilbert Vs Amateur Qualifier
Michael Holt Vs Ryan Clark
Ben Woollaston Vs Jamie O'Neill
Stuart Carrington Vs Andrew Higginson
Mark King Vs Lee Page
Joel Walker Vs Alex Davies
Chris Wakelin Vs Jamie Cope
Kyren Wilson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Kurt Maflin Vs Li Hang
Mark Davis Vs Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon
Nigel Bond Vs Ratchayothin Yotharuck
Once more this quarter isn't filled with top players, but there are still plenty of decent players in this section of the draw, as well as a couple of players that could certainly do with runs to help boost their chances of staying on the tour for next season. Such players include Joel Walker, who is currently in the top 8 not already qualified on the OoM, and could do with a couple of wins this weekend to boost his standing. Meanwhile, the likes of Jamie O'Neill and Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon could do with a decent run, just to boost their overall ranking on the prize money list, as they really would need to do something special to make the top 8 not already qualified on the European Order of Merit. Thanawat and Jamie don't have the best draws though, and could be struggling once more this week, but Joel Walker plays Alex Davies who he's already beaten this season in the Wuxi Classic, so he'll be hoping for more of the same this weekend.
As for winning the quarter, John Higgins and Mark Davis have to be the stand-out names, while Michael Holt, Matthew Stevens, Ben Woollaston and David Gilbert are also capable of a good run, and Mark King and Andrew Higginson could never be ruled out. Higgins isn't in the best form at the moment, and could do with a run here to give him some confidence for the UK Championships. Stevens has never really shone that much in these PTC events over the last year or so, and is quite inconsistent over the best-of-7 format. So, my favourites for the quarter are Mark Davis, who certainly has the ability to go and be a serious contender for the event. However, I wouldn't rule Holt and Gilbert out of runs that could see them take the quarter either, and Holt especially has the capabilities to win the quarter and the event, and based on his recent form, I wouldn't be surprised if he did so this weekend.
Quarter Winner: Mark Davis
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw:Robert Milkins Vs Joe Perry
Hammad Miah Vs Amateur Qualifier
Gerard Greene Vs Liam Highfield
Gary Wilson Vs Liang Wenbo
John Astley Vs Craig Steadman
Marcus Campbell Vs Yu DeLu
Shaun Murphy Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Allen Vs Allan Taylor
Daniel Wells Vs Graeme Dott
Barry Hawkins Vs Chris Norbury
Stuart Bingham Vs Dave Harold
Ken Doherty Vs James Wattana
Michael Wasley Vs Zhang Anda
Michael White W/O Ahmed Saif
Ross Muir W/O Stephen Maguire
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Jak Jones
The bottom quarter of the draw is filled with top players, and plenty of contenders for the title in Antwerp. For starters Mark Allen has won the last 2 European tour events, and you wouldn't rule him out for a third in a row in this event. However, he could face Shaun Murphy in the Last 64 of this one, and even though Shaun is struggling at the moment, he was a semi-finalist in the third European tour event and is well capable of beating Allen. The likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan (winner of ET4), Barry Hawkins, Stuart Bingham, Graeme Dott (semi-finalist in ET6), Robert Milkins and Joe Perry are all capable of winning this event and even the likes of Liang Wenbo (AT3 winner) and Gerard Greene (ET4 runner-up) are capable of good runs in this event. This event does have a big importance for those searching for form ahead of the UK Championships, with the likes of Murphy, Bingham and Hawkins struggling a little at the moment. In fact I would honestly say that one of those will probably win the quarter, but with Allen and O'Sullivan here too, it would be a very tough call to make to pick 1 of those 4 to win the quarter.
As for the race for tour survival, the likes of Daniel Wells and James Wattana are 2 guys that could both do with runs to climb up the OoM or the provisional prize money list, but both have tough draws to try and do this, making it quite unlikely. Meanwhile the likes of Craig Steadman and Michael Wasley also need some wins in this tournament, though Wasley is significantly closer to safety than Steadman, and both have decent first round draws, though being drawn in this quarter will obviously make progression very difficult. However, the most important first round match could be between Liam Highfield and Gerard Greene. Though Greene is safe either way, this could be an important tournament for us to see on what list he will survive (with the OoM to fall back on if he dropped out of the 64), while Highfield could do with a run to try and boost his standing on both lists, with a good run desperately needed at some stage to try and get him up the Prize money list.
However, as I have mentioned, this is not where the main running will happen in this quarter, and it is impossible to try and tell who will win the quarter, with so many top stars involved in this section this weekend.
Quarter Winner: Really an impossible call, with about 9 players capable of winning this section. However, if I was going on form it would have to be Mark Allen. Although I think there will be a lot more to it than that.
Tournament Winner: Judd Trump to win the event for me, which would give him a required, but also a massive, boost ahead of the UK Championships in York.
Whatever the outcome this weekend, it should be another cracking PTC and 3 days of great snooker, with the eventual winner on Sunday night worthy of every penny of the 25,000 Euro's, and I'm really looking forward to watching the tournament unfold, and seeing who that eventual winner will be.
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