Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby had pretty easy 4-1 wins on Thursday to make the quarter-finals, while John Higgins beat Judd Trump 4-3 in an absolute classic contest to set-up a quarter-final with O'Sullivan. Meanwhile, carrying the last hopes of Wales on his shoulders in Newport, Mark Williams was knocked out by Marco Fu in a good performance for the Hong Kong man.
Defending champion Stephen Maguire suffered a shock though as he was knocked out 4-3 by young Joel Walker, while my tournament tip Ding Junhui suffered no such troubles as he whitewashed young Scott Donaldson.
Thursdays Last 16 results:
Mark Selby 4-1 Ali Carter
Joe Perry 4-3 Stuart Bingham
Joel Walker 4-3 Stephen Maguire
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Ricky Walden
Ding Junhui 4-0 Scott Donaldson
John Higgins 4-3 Judd Trump
Barry Hawkins 4-2 Liang Wenbo
Marco Fu 4-2 Mark Williams
Quarter-Final Preview:
Ding Junhui Vs Joel Walker - Joel Walker really has had some brilliant wins this week, but he has said that he's going to need to start scoring heavier if he has any chance against Ding Junhui this afternoon. Ding probably hasn't been at his absolute best, but he's also not that far from it and he should be powerful enough in every department to punish Walker if he can't take his chances, especially as Joel won't be getting many chances. Can only see one winner here in this big ranking event quarter-final.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs John Higgins - In prospect here we have probably the match of the whole tournament so far, between two of the worlds best ever players. Higgins didn't have much confidence coming into this, but he won his first 3 matches 4-0 and then had a great win yesterday against Judd Trump, where he was better than Judd in every department. Ronnie meanwhile came into this event a little bit rusty and has gradually upped his game as required, and he will need another big push today to beat a John Higgins on the comeback trail after a few poor months. We're into the best-of-9's now which will help both players, and I can only see this match being 5-4 either way.
Mark Selby Vs Joe Perry - Both players have been playing well in this event, and it's good to see Mark Selby coming close to his best form ahead of a busy 2 months ahead. Selby has been good in both departments of safety and scoring this week, making 2 tough looking Last 32 and Last 16 matches look easy. Joe meanwhile, has had 2 tight wins in the Last 32 and Last 16 to get here, and will need to up his game another notch to have any chance tonight against Mark, and take his chances when they come or Selby will make his life very difficult in all areas.
Barry Hawkins Vs Marco Fu - This is another incredibly close match in prospect between 2 players that have played some really great snooker this week, but also gone under the radar to get to the quarter-finals. Fu was quite superb yesterday against Williams, taking his chances when they came along, and really punishing Williams, as he will need to do today to Hawkins. Barry also seems like he's been playing well, away from the TV cameras (and this match will be played away from them again tonight) scoring well, especially in his nice comeback from 3-1 down against Jack Lisowski, but also from 2-0 down yesterday against Liang Wenbo. However, he is going to need to up his game again to beat an in-form Marco.
Whatever happens today, we have some amazing quarter-finals today that will produce some equally exciting semi-finals tomorrow, and a cracking final on Sunday. I hope you all enjoy a great weekend of snooker.
Thursday 27 February 2014
O'Sullivan, Selby, Trump and Maguire ease through - Robertson and Murphy both crash out.
There were easy wins in the Last 32 of the Welsh Open for Ronnie O'Sullivan against Xiao Guodong, Judd Trump 4-1 against Anthony McGill, Mark Selby whitewashing Dominic Dale, Stephen Maguire handing out the same treatment to Andrew Pagett, and John Higgins doing the same to Mark King.
Meanwhile, there were also quite a few deciders with Shaun Murphy losing from 3-1 up to Liang Wenbo, a defeat that disappointed him more as he had chances in every frame to win it, while Barry Hawkins cam back from 1-3 down against Jack Lisowski and Neil Robertson lost 4-3 to home favourite Mark Williams who stole 3 frames in the match with superb clearances.
There were also good Last 32 wins for Marco Fu, Stuart Bingham, Ricky Walden, Joe Perry and Ali Carter.
Last 32 results:
Mark Selby 4-0 Dominic Dale
Liang Wenbo 4-3 Shaun Murphy
Joel Walker 4-1 James Wattana
Scott Donaldson 4-3 Andrew Higginson
Mark Williams 4-3 Neil Robertson
Joe Perry 4-3 Matthew Stevens
Ali Carter 4-2 Mark Allen
Ricky Walden 4-2 Anthony Hamilton
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Xiao Guodong
Judd Trump 4-1 Anthony McGill
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Michael Holt
Marco Fu 4-2 Graeme Dott
Stephen Maguire 4-0 Andrew Pagett
John Higgins 4-0 Mark King
Barry Hawkins 4-3 Jack Lisowski
Ding Junhui 4-3 Ben Woollaston
Time to look ahead to todays last 16 then: (picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Ali Carter - This match will be another really good match, with both players playing very well in their Last 32 encounters. Carter really has been due a run in a big event after having a tough season on and off the table, and I'd love to see him go far this week. However, Mark Selby seems to be near top form, and when Selby's top form actually comes out it's very hard to stop. The problem is that Selby doesn't produce it enough.
Stuart Bingham Vs Joe Perry - Neither of these two have really been playing as well as they would've liked this week, but are both top quality players and with an even head to head this match could go either way. Stuart has been struggling a bit since Christmas but seems to be nearing his best again now at the right time, and with Joe tailing off a bit in recent weeks, I have to favour Bingham for the job here.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ricky Walden - After a promising start this week, Ricky Walden has had to scrap out his last two games against Hamilton and Selt, something he won't be able to do in this one. He won't need any reminding of what O'Sullivan can do after sitting in his seat for a Masters quarter-final where he barely had a chance. Ronnie though, hasn't quite been at his blistering best this week but seems to be slowly playing himself back into the groove after a month off with little practice, and if he can go up another gear as needed for this match he should win quite comfortably.
Stephen Maguire Vs Joel Walker - Joel Walker has had 3 really good wins this week, and has started to show everyone what he can do after a year on the tour without really showing us too much, but Ronnie O'Sullivan himself said what a talent Walker could be, before he even joined the tour (which is hardly a small endorsement). As for Maguire though, he was different class in his Last 32 win last night against Pagett, playing top class snooker, despite a swollen disk in his lower back. If he can produce that again today he will brush Walker aside just as he did to Andrew Pagett.
Judd Trump Vs John Higgins - This is going to be a very very close match with John Higgins looking like he could get back to something near his best with 3 good wins this week, without dropping a frame as yet. However, playing Judd Trump will be a different test entirely to the ones he's had so far, and it will show us how confident he is, in the way he approaches this match. Trump hasn't quite been firing on all cylinders this week and that could make him vulnerable to John today, if Higgins is confident and fancies the job. The game could well come down to the tactical play, which will need to be top notch from Higgins with some of the long ones Trump has been knocking in again lately. Got 4-3 written all over this one.
Ding Junhui Vs Scott Donaldson - Ding Junhui wasn't quite at his best yesterday against Ben Woollaston, nearly throwing away a 3-1 lead, which is exactly the deficit Donaldson cam back from yesterday morning against Higginson. Scott has been playing well this week, but will he be any match for Ding who is starting to fulfil his potential? You have to say the answer to that is a giant no.
Marco Fu Vs Mark Williams - Marco has been playing well this week and has slightly gone under the radar up until this point, without even playing on TV as yet, but he did have to grind a little bit against Graeme Dott, and I'm not sure he will get away without taking his chances, if Mark Williams can punish him as he did Neil Robertson yesterday afternoon. Mark played some good snooker yesterday and could easily have lost if he hadn't have held his nerve in ice-cool Williams fashion to make 3 superb clearances, and with the home crowd on his side and his family (including Williams Junior) and friends around supporting him, I think he will take a massive boost from that and his great win yesterday, into this match.
Barry Hawkins Vs Liang Wenbo - The final Last 16 encounter sees the battle of the comeback kings, who both came back from 3-1 down to win yesterday against Lisowski and Murphy respectively. Hawkins probably played slightly the better of the two, making a 134 under pressure to force the decider and another break of 50 to win it. As for Wenbo, he really should've lost to Shaun Murphy who had chances in all of the remaining 3 frames to win, but kept handing chances on a plate to Liang instead. It will be a very tight tussle, but Hawkins does seem to be the man in slightly better form, whereas Wenbo hasn't played as well but may take a boost having been handed a massive lifeline.
Whatever happens today there are 4 great matches on the TV with Selby/Carter, O'Sullivan/Walden, Trump/Higgins and Williams/Fu gracing our screens this evening, but it really is very disappointing that these games are still only best-of-7's as there could've been some great matches here over the longer format.
Meanwhile, there were also quite a few deciders with Shaun Murphy losing from 3-1 up to Liang Wenbo, a defeat that disappointed him more as he had chances in every frame to win it, while Barry Hawkins cam back from 1-3 down against Jack Lisowski and Neil Robertson lost 4-3 to home favourite Mark Williams who stole 3 frames in the match with superb clearances.
There were also good Last 32 wins for Marco Fu, Stuart Bingham, Ricky Walden, Joe Perry and Ali Carter.
Last 32 results:
Mark Selby 4-0 Dominic Dale
Liang Wenbo 4-3 Shaun Murphy
Joel Walker 4-1 James Wattana
Scott Donaldson 4-3 Andrew Higginson
Mark Williams 4-3 Neil Robertson
Joe Perry 4-3 Matthew Stevens
Ali Carter 4-2 Mark Allen
Ricky Walden 4-2 Anthony Hamilton
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Xiao Guodong
Judd Trump 4-1 Anthony McGill
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Michael Holt
Marco Fu 4-2 Graeme Dott
Stephen Maguire 4-0 Andrew Pagett
John Higgins 4-0 Mark King
Barry Hawkins 4-3 Jack Lisowski
Ding Junhui 4-3 Ben Woollaston
Time to look ahead to todays last 16 then: (picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Ali Carter - This match will be another really good match, with both players playing very well in their Last 32 encounters. Carter really has been due a run in a big event after having a tough season on and off the table, and I'd love to see him go far this week. However, Mark Selby seems to be near top form, and when Selby's top form actually comes out it's very hard to stop. The problem is that Selby doesn't produce it enough.
Stuart Bingham Vs Joe Perry - Neither of these two have really been playing as well as they would've liked this week, but are both top quality players and with an even head to head this match could go either way. Stuart has been struggling a bit since Christmas but seems to be nearing his best again now at the right time, and with Joe tailing off a bit in recent weeks, I have to favour Bingham for the job here.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ricky Walden - After a promising start this week, Ricky Walden has had to scrap out his last two games against Hamilton and Selt, something he won't be able to do in this one. He won't need any reminding of what O'Sullivan can do after sitting in his seat for a Masters quarter-final where he barely had a chance. Ronnie though, hasn't quite been at his blistering best this week but seems to be slowly playing himself back into the groove after a month off with little practice, and if he can go up another gear as needed for this match he should win quite comfortably.
Stephen Maguire Vs Joel Walker - Joel Walker has had 3 really good wins this week, and has started to show everyone what he can do after a year on the tour without really showing us too much, but Ronnie O'Sullivan himself said what a talent Walker could be, before he even joined the tour (which is hardly a small endorsement). As for Maguire though, he was different class in his Last 32 win last night against Pagett, playing top class snooker, despite a swollen disk in his lower back. If he can produce that again today he will brush Walker aside just as he did to Andrew Pagett.
Judd Trump Vs John Higgins - This is going to be a very very close match with John Higgins looking like he could get back to something near his best with 3 good wins this week, without dropping a frame as yet. However, playing Judd Trump will be a different test entirely to the ones he's had so far, and it will show us how confident he is, in the way he approaches this match. Trump hasn't quite been firing on all cylinders this week and that could make him vulnerable to John today, if Higgins is confident and fancies the job. The game could well come down to the tactical play, which will need to be top notch from Higgins with some of the long ones Trump has been knocking in again lately. Got 4-3 written all over this one.
Ding Junhui Vs Scott Donaldson - Ding Junhui wasn't quite at his best yesterday against Ben Woollaston, nearly throwing away a 3-1 lead, which is exactly the deficit Donaldson cam back from yesterday morning against Higginson. Scott has been playing well this week, but will he be any match for Ding who is starting to fulfil his potential? You have to say the answer to that is a giant no.
Marco Fu Vs Mark Williams - Marco has been playing well this week and has slightly gone under the radar up until this point, without even playing on TV as yet, but he did have to grind a little bit against Graeme Dott, and I'm not sure he will get away without taking his chances, if Mark Williams can punish him as he did Neil Robertson yesterday afternoon. Mark played some good snooker yesterday and could easily have lost if he hadn't have held his nerve in ice-cool Williams fashion to make 3 superb clearances, and with the home crowd on his side and his family (including Williams Junior) and friends around supporting him, I think he will take a massive boost from that and his great win yesterday, into this match.
Barry Hawkins Vs Liang Wenbo - The final Last 16 encounter sees the battle of the comeback kings, who both came back from 3-1 down to win yesterday against Lisowski and Murphy respectively. Hawkins probably played slightly the better of the two, making a 134 under pressure to force the decider and another break of 50 to win it. As for Wenbo, he really should've lost to Shaun Murphy who had chances in all of the remaining 3 frames to win, but kept handing chances on a plate to Liang instead. It will be a very tight tussle, but Hawkins does seem to be the man in slightly better form, whereas Wenbo hasn't played as well but may take a boost having been handed a massive lifeline.
Whatever happens today there are 4 great matches on the TV with Selby/Carter, O'Sullivan/Walden, Trump/Higgins and Williams/Fu gracing our screens this evening, but it really is very disappointing that these games are still only best-of-7's as there could've been some great matches here over the longer format.
Tuesday 25 February 2014
Robbo, Murphy, Ding and Ronnie record Last 64 wins and Last 32 Preview
There were good wins on Tuesday at the Welsh Open for Ronnie O'Sullivan over Barry Pinches, Ding Junhui over Jamie Cope, Neil Robertson over Rory McLeod, while Shaun Murphy came through what turned into a tough match against Craig Steadman. Also, Graeme Dott came through a decider against a home favourite Jamie Jones, while Ryan Day was also sent packing 4-1 by Anthony McGill.
One home favourite that did make it through today was Mark Williams, who beat Tian Pengfei, while Ali Carter beat Mike Dunn in a tense contest, Barry Hawkins won another of Tuesday's deciders against Cao Yupeng.
Tuesday's Last 64 results in full:
Ding Junhui 4-1 Jamie Cope
Anthony Hamilton 4-1 Li Hang
Graeme Dott 4-3 Jamie Jones
Liang Wenbo 4-0 Fergal O'Brien
Mark Williams 4-0 Tian Pengfei
Anthony McGill 4-1 Ryan Day
Ben Woollaston 4-1 Alfie Burden
Ali Carter 4-3 Mike Dunn
Neil Robertson 4-0 Rory McLeod
Shaun Murphy 4-2 Craig Steadman
Barry Hawkins 4-3 Cao Yupeng
Jack Lisowski 4-1 Martin Gould
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Barry Pinches
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ricky Walden 4-2 Matthew Selt
Right then, it's time to have a look at what we can expect in today's Last 32 games: (picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Dominic Dale - This one will be a very close match, with 2 players that are playing some decent stuff at the moment. Selby looked very good in the Last 128, and played reasonably snooker in a tricky match against Harold on Monday. As for Dominic, he played pretty well against Dechawat Poomjaeng and with the home crowd on his side, I think he will thrive on the big match atmosphere. I still think Selby has been playing slightly better this week and will just get on with the job tomorrow.
Shaun Murphy Vs Liang Wenbo - This is going to be another very close match, and one that is very tough to call. Murphy played very well in the first round, but struggled through a tough match yesterday against Steadman, that he would have just been pleased to win. The same really would apply to Liang Wenbo's first round game, while he played much better yesterday making 2 centuries to beat O'Brien. There really is nothing to choose here, but if you go on recent form, Murphy has been playing so well leading up to this and will be very confident.
James Wattana Vs Joel Walker - Both players have had some very good results to get to this stage, and they've both clearly been playing well. Wattana will be slightly more desperate for this win here as he is in a worse off position to stay on tour than Walker - who will survive either way via the Euro Order of Merit. It's bound to be another close one, but I think James Wattana has really been fired up for the fight in the last couple of weeks.
Andrew Higginson Vs Scott Donaldson - Again this is going to be another very close contest, between 2 guys that have both played some decent results this week, with Scott having a couple of very nice wins against Milkins and Gilbert. However, Higginson has gone under the radar this week, but could really use a run here for his confidence and with good memories from Newport, this may be one bridge too far for Donaldson this week.
Neil Robertson Vs Mark Williams - Both players in this one had 4-0 wins yesterday, but Neil Robertson's win was the complete performance really with great break building and match play, and if he plays like that again for the rest of the week, there will be nothing anybody can do. Mark Williams will need to bring his very best to win this one, and his current form will simply not be enough.
Mark Allen Vs Ali Carter - Ali Carter had quite a struggle to get through yesterday against Mike Dunn, whereas Allen made strides after his close call in the first round with 2 centuries to beat Noppon Saengkham on Monday and I think his form has picked up at the right time for this one. A close match, but I think Allen might just have the edge, especially with the extra day off against Carter who had such a tough battle yesterday.
Joe Perry Vs Matthew Stevens - This match has got another close contest written all over, with Stevens not necessarily playing well up until this point, but the last 3 frames from yesterday sort of showed a mini turnaround, and the way his form was going he really needed that. Perry has been playing well this week, but I just have a sneaky feeling about Matthew here.
Ricky Walden Vs Anthony Hamilton - I think this will be quite a scrappy affair, that could easily go either way, but I think that with Walden being fresh he has to go in as the clear favourite, especially as he seems to be in better form than Hamilton as well.
Judd Trump Vs Anthony McGill - Anthony has had 2 very good performances from what I can see, but playing against Judd Trump this afternoon will be a different prospect. Judd has played very well in my opinion in his first 2 matches, and all the pressure will be on McGill to keep it very tight from the off, but with Trump carrying on from the German Masters it will be incredibly difficult for the Scot.
Marco Fu Vs Graeme Dott - This has yet another close match written all over it, with both players in decent form. Fu has showed some of his inconsistency lately again, but he did seem to play exceptionally well against Kurt Maflin on Monday. As for Dott, he had more of a scrap against Jamie Jones yesterday and he wasn't quite at his best, as he will need to be today against Marco, so I think Fu will just nick it.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Xiao Guodong - This is a very tasty match in prospect, between 2 very attacking players. Xiao played very well in his match with Michael White in a cracking match on Monday, and if he can repeat that form again today he will cause problems for Ronnie. I still thought Ronnie was quite rusty in a 4-1 win over a very poor Barry Pinches who had plenty of chances. O'Sullivan needs to sharpen up here or he will be punished, but all the pressure will be on the Chinaman.
Stuart Bingham Vs Michael Holt - Stuart hasn't been at his sparkling best yet in this tournament, and he himself has recognised that he will need to step it up to go any further in this event, which is what he had to do for the last part of his match yesterday against Un-Nooh. As for Holt, he hasn't been producing his best snooker in this event either, but an extra day off for him to practice and be ready for this match will possibly help him out. It could turn into a very tense match, but I think after a couple of scrappy wins, Holt won't be able to do the same here.
Stephen Maguire Vs Andrew Pagett - Pagett has had 2 very good, but also surprise wins in his home event, and with Stephen suffering with his back he could pull off another surprise win here. However, Andrew has had to really scrap for these 2 wins, and hasn't really played great snooker to get here, and with Maguire playing well despite an injury that he is taking painkillers for and insists doesn't affect him when he is actually down on the shots, there is only one winner.
Ding Junhui Vs Ben Woollaston - Ding Junhui has been playing well again this week, and has to be one of the favourites to win his 5th ranking event of the season this week. Ben will need to be at the top of his game to win this one, but looking at some of this weeks frame scores, he may not be far away from that. I just think that Ding is so good at the moment in every aspect of the game that is hard to see many players beating him.
John Higgins Vs Mark King - The Welsh Open for King so far has been a real struggle for form, being involved in 2 incredibly scrappy matches, where he just about managed to get through on both occasions. As for John, he seems to be more confident this week and is playing some better snooker now than he was before Christmas, perhaps this could be a week where he has a decent run.
Barry Hawkins Vs Jack Lisowski - Jack played some very good snooker yesterday against Martin Gould, and could well cause an upset here, but I said the same thing before he played Hawkins in the World Championship and I was totally wrong. Hawkins has also been in decent form this week, which makes it slightly harder to see Lisowski producing an upset in this one.
Whatever happens today, it will be a cracking day of snooker, with some very very close matches everywhere you look. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will, and i'll be back tomorrow for a Last 16 preview.
One home favourite that did make it through today was Mark Williams, who beat Tian Pengfei, while Ali Carter beat Mike Dunn in a tense contest, Barry Hawkins won another of Tuesday's deciders against Cao Yupeng.
Tuesday's Last 64 results in full:
Ding Junhui 4-1 Jamie Cope
Anthony Hamilton 4-1 Li Hang
Graeme Dott 4-3 Jamie Jones
Liang Wenbo 4-0 Fergal O'Brien
Mark Williams 4-0 Tian Pengfei
Anthony McGill 4-1 Ryan Day
Ben Woollaston 4-1 Alfie Burden
Ali Carter 4-3 Mike Dunn
Neil Robertson 4-0 Rory McLeod
Shaun Murphy 4-2 Craig Steadman
Barry Hawkins 4-3 Cao Yupeng
Jack Lisowski 4-1 Martin Gould
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Barry Pinches
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ricky Walden 4-2 Matthew Selt
Right then, it's time to have a look at what we can expect in today's Last 32 games: (picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Dominic Dale - This one will be a very close match, with 2 players that are playing some decent stuff at the moment. Selby looked very good in the Last 128, and played reasonably snooker in a tricky match against Harold on Monday. As for Dominic, he played pretty well against Dechawat Poomjaeng and with the home crowd on his side, I think he will thrive on the big match atmosphere. I still think Selby has been playing slightly better this week and will just get on with the job tomorrow.
Shaun Murphy Vs Liang Wenbo - This is going to be another very close match, and one that is very tough to call. Murphy played very well in the first round, but struggled through a tough match yesterday against Steadman, that he would have just been pleased to win. The same really would apply to Liang Wenbo's first round game, while he played much better yesterday making 2 centuries to beat O'Brien. There really is nothing to choose here, but if you go on recent form, Murphy has been playing so well leading up to this and will be very confident.
James Wattana Vs Joel Walker - Both players have had some very good results to get to this stage, and they've both clearly been playing well. Wattana will be slightly more desperate for this win here as he is in a worse off position to stay on tour than Walker - who will survive either way via the Euro Order of Merit. It's bound to be another close one, but I think James Wattana has really been fired up for the fight in the last couple of weeks.
Andrew Higginson Vs Scott Donaldson - Again this is going to be another very close contest, between 2 guys that have both played some decent results this week, with Scott having a couple of very nice wins against Milkins and Gilbert. However, Higginson has gone under the radar this week, but could really use a run here for his confidence and with good memories from Newport, this may be one bridge too far for Donaldson this week.
Neil Robertson Vs Mark Williams - Both players in this one had 4-0 wins yesterday, but Neil Robertson's win was the complete performance really with great break building and match play, and if he plays like that again for the rest of the week, there will be nothing anybody can do. Mark Williams will need to bring his very best to win this one, and his current form will simply not be enough.
Mark Allen Vs Ali Carter - Ali Carter had quite a struggle to get through yesterday against Mike Dunn, whereas Allen made strides after his close call in the first round with 2 centuries to beat Noppon Saengkham on Monday and I think his form has picked up at the right time for this one. A close match, but I think Allen might just have the edge, especially with the extra day off against Carter who had such a tough battle yesterday.
Joe Perry Vs Matthew Stevens - This match has got another close contest written all over, with Stevens not necessarily playing well up until this point, but the last 3 frames from yesterday sort of showed a mini turnaround, and the way his form was going he really needed that. Perry has been playing well this week, but I just have a sneaky feeling about Matthew here.
Ricky Walden Vs Anthony Hamilton - I think this will be quite a scrappy affair, that could easily go either way, but I think that with Walden being fresh he has to go in as the clear favourite, especially as he seems to be in better form than Hamilton as well.
Judd Trump Vs Anthony McGill - Anthony has had 2 very good performances from what I can see, but playing against Judd Trump this afternoon will be a different prospect. Judd has played very well in my opinion in his first 2 matches, and all the pressure will be on McGill to keep it very tight from the off, but with Trump carrying on from the German Masters it will be incredibly difficult for the Scot.
Marco Fu Vs Graeme Dott - This has yet another close match written all over it, with both players in decent form. Fu has showed some of his inconsistency lately again, but he did seem to play exceptionally well against Kurt Maflin on Monday. As for Dott, he had more of a scrap against Jamie Jones yesterday and he wasn't quite at his best, as he will need to be today against Marco, so I think Fu will just nick it.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Xiao Guodong - This is a very tasty match in prospect, between 2 very attacking players. Xiao played very well in his match with Michael White in a cracking match on Monday, and if he can repeat that form again today he will cause problems for Ronnie. I still thought Ronnie was quite rusty in a 4-1 win over a very poor Barry Pinches who had plenty of chances. O'Sullivan needs to sharpen up here or he will be punished, but all the pressure will be on the Chinaman.
Stuart Bingham Vs Michael Holt - Stuart hasn't been at his sparkling best yet in this tournament, and he himself has recognised that he will need to step it up to go any further in this event, which is what he had to do for the last part of his match yesterday against Un-Nooh. As for Holt, he hasn't been producing his best snooker in this event either, but an extra day off for him to practice and be ready for this match will possibly help him out. It could turn into a very tense match, but I think after a couple of scrappy wins, Holt won't be able to do the same here.
Stephen Maguire Vs Andrew Pagett - Pagett has had 2 very good, but also surprise wins in his home event, and with Stephen suffering with his back he could pull off another surprise win here. However, Andrew has had to really scrap for these 2 wins, and hasn't really played great snooker to get here, and with Maguire playing well despite an injury that he is taking painkillers for and insists doesn't affect him when he is actually down on the shots, there is only one winner.
Ding Junhui Vs Ben Woollaston - Ding Junhui has been playing well again this week, and has to be one of the favourites to win his 5th ranking event of the season this week. Ben will need to be at the top of his game to win this one, but looking at some of this weeks frame scores, he may not be far away from that. I just think that Ding is so good at the moment in every aspect of the game that is hard to see many players beating him.
John Higgins Vs Mark King - The Welsh Open for King so far has been a real struggle for form, being involved in 2 incredibly scrappy matches, where he just about managed to get through on both occasions. As for John, he seems to be more confident this week and is playing some better snooker now than he was before Christmas, perhaps this could be a week where he has a decent run.
Barry Hawkins Vs Jack Lisowski - Jack played some very good snooker yesterday against Martin Gould, and could well cause an upset here, but I said the same thing before he played Hawkins in the World Championship and I was totally wrong. Hawkins has also been in decent form this week, which makes it slightly harder to see Lisowski producing an upset in this one.
Whatever happens today, it will be a cracking day of snooker, with some very very close matches everywhere you look. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will, and i'll be back tomorrow for a Last 16 preview.
Trump, Selby ease through, while Maguire survives a Last 64 scare
There we easy victories on the first day of the Last 64, and televised action at the Welsh Open for the likes of Mark Selby, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Joe Perry, Marco Fu and Mark Allen, while Stephen Maguire came from 3-1 behind to beat Sam Baird 4-3.
Meanwhile there were also good victories for home favourites Andrew Pagett and Dominic Dale, while another home favourite in Michael White was knocked out by Xiao Guodong in a great match and Mark Davis was knocked out by Joel Walker.
Let's take a look at Monday's Last 64 results:
Stephen Maguire 4-3 Sam Baird - Maguire was in quite a bit of trouble in this one, especially as he was suffering from a bad back during the match, revealing post match that he was on pain killers. The Scot took an early 1-0 lead in the match, but Baird was soon 2-1 with breaks of 75 in the second and a 60 helping the youngster to the third. Baird needed a couple of chances to move 3-1 ahead, and put the defending champion in trouble, and after going 43 points up early in the fifth frame, Maguire couldn't afford many more mistakes. He went on to win the fifth by just 2 points, and then saw a break of 42 late in the sixth frame force the decider. Stephen had the first chance in the decider, and he made the most of it bringing out his highest break of the match, a 68, to seal a good comeback win 4-3.
James Wattana 4-2 Tom Ford
Dominic Dale 4-1 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Joel Walker 4-3 Mark Davis
Matthew Stevens 4-2 Ian Burns - To start with this match was a struggle for both players, with Stevens particularly in poor form, as he had been for the last few weeks. It was the Welshman that took the opener with a 35 clearance, before Burns levelled at 1-1 taking a fairly scrappy second frame. A break of 82 from Burns gave him a 2-1 lead, and with Stevens 50 points down in the next the home favourite was in trouble. However, the game turned on a superb clearance of 60 from Stevens that really didn't look on at the time, as he squared again at 2-2. Ian Burns had the first chance again in the fifth before he missed a tricky pink, and Stevens was able to do enough with another good 61 this time to go 3-2 in front. Stevens made the early running in the sixth frame this time, and once he went 58 points ahead, Burns could never recover and Matthew was able to close out a 4-2 win, looking in much better form towards the end.
Mark Allen 4-2 Noppon Saengkham
Scott Donaldson 4-1 David Gilbert
Andrew Higginson 4-3 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Selby 4-1 Dave Harold - This one got off to quite a scrappy start with neither player being able to settle, but a break of 33 followed by a good snooker on the blue from Selby, was eventually enough after Harold stuck the blue up from the snooker. Dave looked in much better form in the next, with a decent break of 72 to make it 1-1. The Jester dominated the third frame, with an early break of 52 helping Selby towards a 2-1 lead. Harold should've won the fourth frame, but when his break of 59 ended abruptly, Selby cleared the colours to force a re-spotted black, and after a long battle on it, it was eventually Dave that left it cuttable for Selby, and he obliged to make it 3-1. Mark looked in much better form in the final frame, once he'd got some breathing space, with a run of 61 giving him the match and a nice 4-1 victory.
Marco Fu 4-1 Kurt Maflin
Andrew Pagett 4-3 Gerard Greene
Joe Perry 4-0 Liu Chuang
Judd Trump 4-1 Jamie Burnett - Judd started the match off in fine form and in high confidence, but still giving Jamie Burnett chances, which he couldn't convert, as an earlier break of 49 from Trump proved enough to make it 1-0, Trump needed a couple of scoring chances in the next, but he took them well and moved into a swift 2-0 lead, with a quick end in sight. Trump took on a very confident, but ultimately fatal thin cut red, opening the reds right up for Burnett from the start, who made a nice 80 break to close to 1-2. Both players had lots of chances in a scrappier fourth frame, but once Trump made enough on the colours to go 3-1 ahead, that looked like game over. So it was proved in the next frame as Trump, needing a few chances, was let in once too often by a bad Burnett miss and he did what was required to complete a 4-1 win. It was hardly vintage Trump, but he didn't need to be to get the job done.
John Higgins 4-0 Ken Doherty
Xiao Guodong 4-3 Michael White
Michael Holt 4-2 Peter Lines
The seeds continuing to dominate things then in Newport, but will things be the same today? Well we'll just have to wait and see, but you can have a look at what I think about the remaining Last 64 games here: cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/welsh-open-update-last-64.html
Meanwhile there were also good victories for home favourites Andrew Pagett and Dominic Dale, while another home favourite in Michael White was knocked out by Xiao Guodong in a great match and Mark Davis was knocked out by Joel Walker.
Let's take a look at Monday's Last 64 results:
Stephen Maguire 4-3 Sam Baird - Maguire was in quite a bit of trouble in this one, especially as he was suffering from a bad back during the match, revealing post match that he was on pain killers. The Scot took an early 1-0 lead in the match, but Baird was soon 2-1 with breaks of 75 in the second and a 60 helping the youngster to the third. Baird needed a couple of chances to move 3-1 ahead, and put the defending champion in trouble, and after going 43 points up early in the fifth frame, Maguire couldn't afford many more mistakes. He went on to win the fifth by just 2 points, and then saw a break of 42 late in the sixth frame force the decider. Stephen had the first chance in the decider, and he made the most of it bringing out his highest break of the match, a 68, to seal a good comeback win 4-3.
James Wattana 4-2 Tom Ford
Dominic Dale 4-1 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Joel Walker 4-3 Mark Davis
Matthew Stevens 4-2 Ian Burns - To start with this match was a struggle for both players, with Stevens particularly in poor form, as he had been for the last few weeks. It was the Welshman that took the opener with a 35 clearance, before Burns levelled at 1-1 taking a fairly scrappy second frame. A break of 82 from Burns gave him a 2-1 lead, and with Stevens 50 points down in the next the home favourite was in trouble. However, the game turned on a superb clearance of 60 from Stevens that really didn't look on at the time, as he squared again at 2-2. Ian Burns had the first chance again in the fifth before he missed a tricky pink, and Stevens was able to do enough with another good 61 this time to go 3-2 in front. Stevens made the early running in the sixth frame this time, and once he went 58 points ahead, Burns could never recover and Matthew was able to close out a 4-2 win, looking in much better form towards the end.
Mark Allen 4-2 Noppon Saengkham
Scott Donaldson 4-1 David Gilbert
Andrew Higginson 4-3 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Selby 4-1 Dave Harold - This one got off to quite a scrappy start with neither player being able to settle, but a break of 33 followed by a good snooker on the blue from Selby, was eventually enough after Harold stuck the blue up from the snooker. Dave looked in much better form in the next, with a decent break of 72 to make it 1-1. The Jester dominated the third frame, with an early break of 52 helping Selby towards a 2-1 lead. Harold should've won the fourth frame, but when his break of 59 ended abruptly, Selby cleared the colours to force a re-spotted black, and after a long battle on it, it was eventually Dave that left it cuttable for Selby, and he obliged to make it 3-1. Mark looked in much better form in the final frame, once he'd got some breathing space, with a run of 61 giving him the match and a nice 4-1 victory.
Marco Fu 4-1 Kurt Maflin
Andrew Pagett 4-3 Gerard Greene
Joe Perry 4-0 Liu Chuang
Judd Trump 4-1 Jamie Burnett - Judd started the match off in fine form and in high confidence, but still giving Jamie Burnett chances, which he couldn't convert, as an earlier break of 49 from Trump proved enough to make it 1-0, Trump needed a couple of scoring chances in the next, but he took them well and moved into a swift 2-0 lead, with a quick end in sight. Trump took on a very confident, but ultimately fatal thin cut red, opening the reds right up for Burnett from the start, who made a nice 80 break to close to 1-2. Both players had lots of chances in a scrappier fourth frame, but once Trump made enough on the colours to go 3-1 ahead, that looked like game over. So it was proved in the next frame as Trump, needing a few chances, was let in once too often by a bad Burnett miss and he did what was required to complete a 4-1 win. It was hardly vintage Trump, but he didn't need to be to get the job done.
John Higgins 4-0 Ken Doherty
Xiao Guodong 4-3 Michael White
Michael Holt 4-2 Peter Lines
The seeds continuing to dominate things then in Newport, but will things be the same today? Well we'll just have to wait and see, but you can have a look at what I think about the remaining Last 64 games here: cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/welsh-open-update-last-64.html
Sunday 23 February 2014
Welsh Open update: Last 64
Tomorrow sees the start of the televised stages of the Welsh Open from Newport, starting with the Last 64 with the 32 games being played across Monday on Tuesday, with 4 sessions per day across 4 tables. There's not really a great deal to report from the Last 128 round with the seeded players winning the majority of the matches, with Robert Milkins being the biggest casualty thus far.
Let's take a look at the Last 64 matches then:
Monday's matches: (picks in bold)
Stephen Maguire Vs Sam Baird - Stephen had a routine victory in round 1 over Elliot Slessor, while Sam Baird also had a good win against Robbie Williams. Maguire seems to be playing quite well at the moment, and even though Baird is well capable of an upset here, I don't really see it happening
Tom Ford Vs James Wattana - James had a good couple of wins last week against Rod Lawler in the first round here, and against Matthew Stevens in the China qualifiers. However, if Tom Ford is playing well he is a formidable threat, and with Wattana's best years well and truly behind him, Ford is a clear favourite for this.
Mark Davis Vs Joel Walker - Mark only just scraped through in round 1, and has been struggling quite a lot since a successful early season Asian swing. As for Walker, he had a very tight win against Advani in round 1 and will certainly make this a very close match as well. If Davis doesn't step it up, and Joel plays well, then there could certainly be an upset on the cards.
Dominic Dale Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng - Dominic struggled through in round 1, and with the Welshmen not having a great record in their home event he could well fall foul of some Poomjaeng antics. However, Dale has otherwise played pretty well recently, and if he can continues in that vein, then there is only one winner here.
David Gilbert Vs Scott Donaldson - David is one player that has always had great potential and is starting to climb the rankings, and really looks like he could have a big tournament run soon. He will have a tough match though against Scott, who beat Milkins in round 1, though Robert did give Scott a few chances, and if David can keep it tighter than he won't have the same problems.
Jimmy Robertson Vs Andrew Higginson - Both had good first round wins, and from what I saw of Higginson, he looked re-finding some of his old form. However, Higginson has been very inconsistent in the last year, and if Jimmy can keep him under pressure, he has a great chance. However, Jimmy isn't always the most consistent man himself, and if Andrew starts off well he should win this one.
Matthew Stevens Vs Ian Burns - Both came through deciders in round 1, and Stevens has really been struggling of late. Ian has also been slightly less consistent this year, as he was last year when he won "Rookie of the year" in the World Snooker awards. This close match could come down to how the home crowd affects Matthew, whether he feels the added pressure, or whether he thrives on it.
Mark Allen Vs Noppon Saengkham - Mark struggled through in round 1, coming from 1-3 down to overcome amateur Sydney Wilson, but the Northern Irishman seemed to step it up in the latter stages of that one and really play well, and a lucky escape in the Last 128 could really spur him on. As for Noppon, he overcame Steve Davis in round 1, in a match that became extreme scrappy at the back end, with both players being handed plenty of chances, something Saengkham won't get against Allen.
Gerard Greene Vs Andrew Pagett - Gerard Greene had a fairly good win in round 1, while Andrew had a very good win against an underperforming Marcus Campbell, and it has to be said that Andrew didn't have to play that well there, and hasn't played spectacularly this season so far.
Joe Perry Vs Liu Chuang - The last year seems to have been a real struggle for Liu Chuang, with the odd decent win here or there, which isn't really good enough to build up a decent career. Meanwhile, Joe has been much more consistent this year, and playing a lot better with some really good runs in tournaments this season. Only one winner here.
Mark Selby Vs Dave Harold - Depending on how this match starts off, this could be quite a lengthy contest. However, there were signs last week that Selby could be nearing his best again, and if he's close to that here, he'll blow Dave away.
Marco Fu Vs Kurt Maflin - It took Marco quite a while to get going in his opener on Saturday morning, and it showed some of Marco's inconsistency again. As for Kurt, he seemed to be playing well against Alex Davies, and if he can play a sensible game against Fu and not get bogged down he has a great chance of winning, but I could just see Marco scrapping this one out.
Michael Holt Vs Peter Lines - Michael is playing quite well this season, making the quarter-finals of the German Masters and making the final of AT2. As for Peter Lines, he's involved in a scrap for his tour place, picking up the odd good victory along the way, but not winning consistently enough. Could be a close one, but just see Michael edging it either way.
Judd Trump Vs Jamie Burnett - Judd had a very tough match in round 1 with Kyren Wilson, which he could have easily lost, but in the end he showed some of the form that got him to the German Masters final, with 2 centuries getting him into the Last 64. As for Jamie, he's struggled a bit for a run this season, and I can't really see him troubling Judd here if Trump is on his game.
John Higgins Vs Ken Doherty - John seemed a lot more confident after his win against Tony Drago, and he could really do with a good run in Newport to get him some confidence back. Ken Doherty meanwhile, has had a real struggle for large parts of this season, and with age no longer on his side, you have to worry about how long Ken has left, despite signs last week that this could only be a temporary loss of form. I can really only see one winner here though.
Xiao Guodong Vs Michael White - This could be an absolutely cracking contest between two brilliant young players, but also 2 players that had to come through deciders on Saturday evening. Xiao seemed to play the better snooker of the two though, with Michael really struggling against Chris Wakelin and he'll have to really up things if he's to win this one.
Tuesday's matches: (picks in bold)
Ding Junhui Vs Jamie Cope - Ding looked a very formidable prospect in his opening round win against Gary Wilson, as he has been all season, while Jamie Cope has really been struggling for his game in the last year or more, and would need a miracle to win this one.
Graeme Dott Vs Jamie Jones - Graeme played some very good stuff last week in both his Last 128 matches in Newport and for the China Open, and could be an outside threat this week if he keeps it up. Meanwhile, another home favourite here Jamie Jones has also been playing well and will have the crowd on his side, but I'm not quite sure it will be enough to see off Dott.
Fergal O'Brien Vs Liang Wenbo - Fergal has played well lately, reaching the final of the Gdynia Open, while Liang Wenbo has also been playing well lately, despite a struggle in his Last 128 match, where it seemed like he was getting bogged down a touch. The same could easily happen here, but I think Liang will still just win this very tight match to call.
Anthony Hamilton Vs Li Hang - It seems as though Li Hang has been playing some quite decent snooker of late, especially here in dispatching Peter Ebdon, but Anthony Hamilton is a different prospect, and a player in better form than Peter at the moment, and is often quite an underrated player. His experience should be the difference in this match for me.
Ben Woollaston Vs Alfie Burden - Another very even match is in prospect here between 2 evenly matched players, that both played some good stuff in round 1. Both score heavy when they get in, and are both very experienced, so what will be the difference? It could well be temperament, with Burden being much more aggressive than Ben, and I think this conservative attitude could serve him well in this one.
Ali Carter Vs Mike Dunn - Ali was yet another player that impressed in round 1 with another good win, while Mike seems to be on the up winning both his Last 128 ties in this and for the China Open, but Ali is just in a different class you have to say.
Mark Williams Vs Tian Pengfei - Round 1 on Saturday was a real struggle for Mark Williams, and he said on twitter afterwards that it would alright if he could pot the "sitters". With that kind of form in mind, Tian Pengfei has been playing well recently pulling off some good victories since the turn of the year, and another here would put him a massive step closer to securing his tour card for next year.
Ryan Day Vs Anthony McGill - Ryan as the home favourite here, will want another good run to go with his German Masters semi-final appearance, and he has to be the favourite in this one against McGill. However, McGill played well in the back half of his match with Jamie O'Neill from 2-0 down to win 4-2, and he could put a lot of pressure on Ryan who doesn't always perform to his potential in his home event. I still think that Day will manage to get through though.
Neil Robertson Vs Rory McLeod - Neil played a lot better on Friday than he did in the China Open Last 128, and he feels that he should've had 3 centuries against Lu Haotian, without making 1, which will really fire him up for this match. Rory will make this tough for Neil in his own unique (but painfully slow) style, but it won't be enough.
Shaun Murphy Vs Craig Steadman - Shaun has been a changed man in the last month, making big breaks for fun and full of confidence, he will be incredibly dangerous in this event. Shaun and Craig are good mates off the table, but that won't affect things on it, and as good a player as Craig is, I can't see him stopping the train that is currently Shaun Murphy.
Martin Gould Vs Jack Lisowski - Martin and Jack both struggled a little lately for consistency, whilst still playing some decent snooker. Martin's inconsistencies couldn't have been displayed any better in the China Open qualifier, losing to Barry Pinches having just won Championship League group 6. As for Jack, his game is still dominated by his attacking flare, which comes off on some days and doesn't on others. However, I'm just going to go for Jack here as he just seems to be in slightly better knick.
Barry Hawkins Vs Cao Yupeng - Barry played well in his round 1 match that lasted only 1 hour, while Cao Yupeng has not been in as good form as he was around a year and a half ago, which should make this a more comfortable (but still a fairly tough) match for Hawkins.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Barry Pinches - Even though Ronnie said he was rusty after his round 1 game, and Barry Pinches has been much improved in the last 2 or 3 months, I still can't see any way that Barry will win this.
Ricky Walden Vs Matthew Selt - Ricky looked very good and fresh in his first win against Paul Davison, while Matt Selt won his first round match against our Libyan friend Abumdas, with a highest break of 45, which hardly shows the same from he was in in Gdynia where he made the semi-finals beating Trump and Milkins along the way. Selt is certainly dangerous here, but with Walden being fresh and looking decent he will have the advantage.
Stuart Bingham Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - Stuart played a lot better in his opening round win, and will hopefully soon be back to the form he showed Pre-Christmas. As for Un-Nooh, he is a very very good player on his day, but he is also incredibly inconsistent at times, and almost unpredictable. One thing that has to be said for Thepchaiya is that he is attacking, which could play into the experienced hands of Bingham.
Mark King Vs Alan McManus - Mark King admitted after his first round match that he struggled quite a bit at times, while McManus didn't seem to be much more convincing in his Last 128 triumph. This is bound to be a very close match, and one that is very difficult to call. I think Mark still played pretty well in round 1 though, and I'm going to go for a very tight win for him.
I'm really looking forward to this week now, with so many players playing well it is sure to be a great tournament with some great matches, with any of great number of players capable of winning on the form they showed in round 1. Hope you all enjoy as well at home.
Let's take a look at the Last 64 matches then:
Monday's matches: (picks in bold)
Stephen Maguire Vs Sam Baird - Stephen had a routine victory in round 1 over Elliot Slessor, while Sam Baird also had a good win against Robbie Williams. Maguire seems to be playing quite well at the moment, and even though Baird is well capable of an upset here, I don't really see it happening
Tom Ford Vs James Wattana - James had a good couple of wins last week against Rod Lawler in the first round here, and against Matthew Stevens in the China qualifiers. However, if Tom Ford is playing well he is a formidable threat, and with Wattana's best years well and truly behind him, Ford is a clear favourite for this.
Mark Davis Vs Joel Walker - Mark only just scraped through in round 1, and has been struggling quite a lot since a successful early season Asian swing. As for Walker, he had a very tight win against Advani in round 1 and will certainly make this a very close match as well. If Davis doesn't step it up, and Joel plays well, then there could certainly be an upset on the cards.
Dominic Dale Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng - Dominic struggled through in round 1, and with the Welshmen not having a great record in their home event he could well fall foul of some Poomjaeng antics. However, Dale has otherwise played pretty well recently, and if he can continues in that vein, then there is only one winner here.
David Gilbert Vs Scott Donaldson - David is one player that has always had great potential and is starting to climb the rankings, and really looks like he could have a big tournament run soon. He will have a tough match though against Scott, who beat Milkins in round 1, though Robert did give Scott a few chances, and if David can keep it tighter than he won't have the same problems.
Jimmy Robertson Vs Andrew Higginson - Both had good first round wins, and from what I saw of Higginson, he looked re-finding some of his old form. However, Higginson has been very inconsistent in the last year, and if Jimmy can keep him under pressure, he has a great chance. However, Jimmy isn't always the most consistent man himself, and if Andrew starts off well he should win this one.
Matthew Stevens Vs Ian Burns - Both came through deciders in round 1, and Stevens has really been struggling of late. Ian has also been slightly less consistent this year, as he was last year when he won "Rookie of the year" in the World Snooker awards. This close match could come down to how the home crowd affects Matthew, whether he feels the added pressure, or whether he thrives on it.
Mark Allen Vs Noppon Saengkham - Mark struggled through in round 1, coming from 1-3 down to overcome amateur Sydney Wilson, but the Northern Irishman seemed to step it up in the latter stages of that one and really play well, and a lucky escape in the Last 128 could really spur him on. As for Noppon, he overcame Steve Davis in round 1, in a match that became extreme scrappy at the back end, with both players being handed plenty of chances, something Saengkham won't get against Allen.
Gerard Greene Vs Andrew Pagett - Gerard Greene had a fairly good win in round 1, while Andrew had a very good win against an underperforming Marcus Campbell, and it has to be said that Andrew didn't have to play that well there, and hasn't played spectacularly this season so far.
Joe Perry Vs Liu Chuang - The last year seems to have been a real struggle for Liu Chuang, with the odd decent win here or there, which isn't really good enough to build up a decent career. Meanwhile, Joe has been much more consistent this year, and playing a lot better with some really good runs in tournaments this season. Only one winner here.
Mark Selby Vs Dave Harold - Depending on how this match starts off, this could be quite a lengthy contest. However, there were signs last week that Selby could be nearing his best again, and if he's close to that here, he'll blow Dave away.
Marco Fu Vs Kurt Maflin - It took Marco quite a while to get going in his opener on Saturday morning, and it showed some of Marco's inconsistency again. As for Kurt, he seemed to be playing well against Alex Davies, and if he can play a sensible game against Fu and not get bogged down he has a great chance of winning, but I could just see Marco scrapping this one out.
Michael Holt Vs Peter Lines - Michael is playing quite well this season, making the quarter-finals of the German Masters and making the final of AT2. As for Peter Lines, he's involved in a scrap for his tour place, picking up the odd good victory along the way, but not winning consistently enough. Could be a close one, but just see Michael edging it either way.
Judd Trump Vs Jamie Burnett - Judd had a very tough match in round 1 with Kyren Wilson, which he could have easily lost, but in the end he showed some of the form that got him to the German Masters final, with 2 centuries getting him into the Last 64. As for Jamie, he's struggled a bit for a run this season, and I can't really see him troubling Judd here if Trump is on his game.
John Higgins Vs Ken Doherty - John seemed a lot more confident after his win against Tony Drago, and he could really do with a good run in Newport to get him some confidence back. Ken Doherty meanwhile, has had a real struggle for large parts of this season, and with age no longer on his side, you have to worry about how long Ken has left, despite signs last week that this could only be a temporary loss of form. I can really only see one winner here though.
Xiao Guodong Vs Michael White - This could be an absolutely cracking contest between two brilliant young players, but also 2 players that had to come through deciders on Saturday evening. Xiao seemed to play the better snooker of the two though, with Michael really struggling against Chris Wakelin and he'll have to really up things if he's to win this one.
Tuesday's matches: (picks in bold)
Ding Junhui Vs Jamie Cope - Ding looked a very formidable prospect in his opening round win against Gary Wilson, as he has been all season, while Jamie Cope has really been struggling for his game in the last year or more, and would need a miracle to win this one.
Graeme Dott Vs Jamie Jones - Graeme played some very good stuff last week in both his Last 128 matches in Newport and for the China Open, and could be an outside threat this week if he keeps it up. Meanwhile, another home favourite here Jamie Jones has also been playing well and will have the crowd on his side, but I'm not quite sure it will be enough to see off Dott.
Fergal O'Brien Vs Liang Wenbo - Fergal has played well lately, reaching the final of the Gdynia Open, while Liang Wenbo has also been playing well lately, despite a struggle in his Last 128 match, where it seemed like he was getting bogged down a touch. The same could easily happen here, but I think Liang will still just win this very tight match to call.
Anthony Hamilton Vs Li Hang - It seems as though Li Hang has been playing some quite decent snooker of late, especially here in dispatching Peter Ebdon, but Anthony Hamilton is a different prospect, and a player in better form than Peter at the moment, and is often quite an underrated player. His experience should be the difference in this match for me.
Ben Woollaston Vs Alfie Burden - Another very even match is in prospect here between 2 evenly matched players, that both played some good stuff in round 1. Both score heavy when they get in, and are both very experienced, so what will be the difference? It could well be temperament, with Burden being much more aggressive than Ben, and I think this conservative attitude could serve him well in this one.
Ali Carter Vs Mike Dunn - Ali was yet another player that impressed in round 1 with another good win, while Mike seems to be on the up winning both his Last 128 ties in this and for the China Open, but Ali is just in a different class you have to say.
Mark Williams Vs Tian Pengfei - Round 1 on Saturday was a real struggle for Mark Williams, and he said on twitter afterwards that it would alright if he could pot the "sitters". With that kind of form in mind, Tian Pengfei has been playing well recently pulling off some good victories since the turn of the year, and another here would put him a massive step closer to securing his tour card for next year.
Ryan Day Vs Anthony McGill - Ryan as the home favourite here, will want another good run to go with his German Masters semi-final appearance, and he has to be the favourite in this one against McGill. However, McGill played well in the back half of his match with Jamie O'Neill from 2-0 down to win 4-2, and he could put a lot of pressure on Ryan who doesn't always perform to his potential in his home event. I still think that Day will manage to get through though.
Neil Robertson Vs Rory McLeod - Neil played a lot better on Friday than he did in the China Open Last 128, and he feels that he should've had 3 centuries against Lu Haotian, without making 1, which will really fire him up for this match. Rory will make this tough for Neil in his own unique (but painfully slow) style, but it won't be enough.
Shaun Murphy Vs Craig Steadman - Shaun has been a changed man in the last month, making big breaks for fun and full of confidence, he will be incredibly dangerous in this event. Shaun and Craig are good mates off the table, but that won't affect things on it, and as good a player as Craig is, I can't see him stopping the train that is currently Shaun Murphy.
Martin Gould Vs Jack Lisowski - Martin and Jack both struggled a little lately for consistency, whilst still playing some decent snooker. Martin's inconsistencies couldn't have been displayed any better in the China Open qualifier, losing to Barry Pinches having just won Championship League group 6. As for Jack, his game is still dominated by his attacking flare, which comes off on some days and doesn't on others. However, I'm just going to go for Jack here as he just seems to be in slightly better knick.
Barry Hawkins Vs Cao Yupeng - Barry played well in his round 1 match that lasted only 1 hour, while Cao Yupeng has not been in as good form as he was around a year and a half ago, which should make this a more comfortable (but still a fairly tough) match for Hawkins.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Barry Pinches - Even though Ronnie said he was rusty after his round 1 game, and Barry Pinches has been much improved in the last 2 or 3 months, I still can't see any way that Barry will win this.
Ricky Walden Vs Matthew Selt - Ricky looked very good and fresh in his first win against Paul Davison, while Matt Selt won his first round match against our Libyan friend Abumdas, with a highest break of 45, which hardly shows the same from he was in in Gdynia where he made the semi-finals beating Trump and Milkins along the way. Selt is certainly dangerous here, but with Walden being fresh and looking decent he will have the advantage.
Stuart Bingham Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - Stuart played a lot better in his opening round win, and will hopefully soon be back to the form he showed Pre-Christmas. As for Un-Nooh, he is a very very good player on his day, but he is also incredibly inconsistent at times, and almost unpredictable. One thing that has to be said for Thepchaiya is that he is attacking, which could play into the experienced hands of Bingham.
Mark King Vs Alan McManus - Mark King admitted after his first round match that he struggled quite a bit at times, while McManus didn't seem to be much more convincing in his Last 128 triumph. This is bound to be a very close match, and one that is very difficult to call. I think Mark still played pretty well in round 1 though, and I'm going to go for a very tight win for him.
I'm really looking forward to this week now, with so many players playing well it is sure to be a great tournament with some great matches, with any of great number of players capable of winning on the form they showed in round 1. Hope you all enjoy as well at home.
One year of Cue Action Blog
Today, Sunday 23rd February 2014, marks a year to the day that I started writing Cue Action Snooker blog, and I have to say I've been surprised with how well I feel things have gone in the last 365 days of running a snooker blog. To be honest, when I started the blog I didn't think it would last any longer than a couple of months, simply because of my terrible ability of starting projects off, but not seeing them through. However, the more I got into it, the more I started to enjoy it, and the more features I thought of for it. I think things have massively been helped by the fact that I started up a Twitter account to promote the blog, and there's a really good fun environment on there amongst the true snooker fans from all parts of the world, and I liked to thank all of my followers on there for supporting my blog.
So what have I done in the first year of the blog? Well, I've done a few interviews and blog pieces with Shaun Murphy and another good interview with David Morris, so I'd like to thank both Shaun and David for agreeing to take part in those. In fact, it was quite ironic that only 2 days ago my the 2 of them played each other in the Last 128 of the Welsh Open, in what became known as the "Father of the blog" match. Shaun took the spoils in that one 4-0, showing his class with a brilliant 142 break to complete victory. That's another thing I've enjoyed, my summaries of goings on at tournaments, and something I aim to do more of in the next year, because I don't really feel I've done another reviewing, and haven't always had time to. My favourite thing (other than the interviews) is the special features which I've done in the first year. The first special feature which I came up with was a Twitter debate panel, to debate on a weekly basis the hot topics in the game. With fans, fellow bloggers, players, referees, coaches and World Snooker Chairman himself - Barry Hearn getting involved, it was a really enjoyable and fun experience, but also very interesting to find out everyone's varying opinions on a range of subjects within Snooker, and I'd love to start that up again at some point in the coming months. While I'm on the subject, I'd also like to thank everyone that was involved in those debates last year for showing an interest and sharing your views on all things snooker.
Another great feature that I really enjoyed doing, was re-living the best snooker from 2013, with my "Classic matches of 2013 countdown" feature. It was really good fun to watch those games back again, and feeling all the same tension that I did the first time - even though I knew exactly what was going to happen. I'd like to thank Shaun Murphy (again) for sharing a few thoughts on the 4 matches that he was involved in as part of the countdown, and telling me how he felt as the matches played out.
What are my plans for the next year of blogging? Well, I'd love to get some more top players to agree to do interviews for the blog, and to get even more people involved with and re-start the Twitter debate panel. I'm also going to do even more Previews, and reviews of the action from events, big or small. Another feature I will be starting is a Player of the Month profile, taking an in-depth look at the performances of the best player in each month of the year, before deciding on a Player of the year at the end of it all. Other features I've got planned are: A "guest bloggers" feature getting true snooker fans to write a piece on a topic close to their hearts, the Classic Matches countdown for 2014, some more comedy features and some more pieces taking an in-depth look at certain aspects of the game I love.
Finally, I'd just liked to say thanks once again to everyone that has supported the blog and been involved in any features for the blog in the last year, it's been great fun. Now here's to another year of fantastic snooker, and even more snooker blogging.
Thanks all,
Michael Annison
Author of Cue Action Snooker Blog.
So what have I done in the first year of the blog? Well, I've done a few interviews and blog pieces with Shaun Murphy and another good interview with David Morris, so I'd like to thank both Shaun and David for agreeing to take part in those. In fact, it was quite ironic that only 2 days ago my the 2 of them played each other in the Last 128 of the Welsh Open, in what became known as the "Father of the blog" match. Shaun took the spoils in that one 4-0, showing his class with a brilliant 142 break to complete victory. That's another thing I've enjoyed, my summaries of goings on at tournaments, and something I aim to do more of in the next year, because I don't really feel I've done another reviewing, and haven't always had time to. My favourite thing (other than the interviews) is the special features which I've done in the first year. The first special feature which I came up with was a Twitter debate panel, to debate on a weekly basis the hot topics in the game. With fans, fellow bloggers, players, referees, coaches and World Snooker Chairman himself - Barry Hearn getting involved, it was a really enjoyable and fun experience, but also very interesting to find out everyone's varying opinions on a range of subjects within Snooker, and I'd love to start that up again at some point in the coming months. While I'm on the subject, I'd also like to thank everyone that was involved in those debates last year for showing an interest and sharing your views on all things snooker.
Another great feature that I really enjoyed doing, was re-living the best snooker from 2013, with my "Classic matches of 2013 countdown" feature. It was really good fun to watch those games back again, and feeling all the same tension that I did the first time - even though I knew exactly what was going to happen. I'd like to thank Shaun Murphy (again) for sharing a few thoughts on the 4 matches that he was involved in as part of the countdown, and telling me how he felt as the matches played out.
What are my plans for the next year of blogging? Well, I'd love to get some more top players to agree to do interviews for the blog, and to get even more people involved with and re-start the Twitter debate panel. I'm also going to do even more Previews, and reviews of the action from events, big or small. Another feature I will be starting is a Player of the Month profile, taking an in-depth look at the performances of the best player in each month of the year, before deciding on a Player of the year at the end of it all. Other features I've got planned are: A "guest bloggers" feature getting true snooker fans to write a piece on a topic close to their hearts, the Classic Matches countdown for 2014, some more comedy features and some more pieces taking an in-depth look at certain aspects of the game I love.
Finally, I'd just liked to say thanks once again to everyone that has supported the blog and been involved in any features for the blog in the last year, it's been great fun. Now here's to another year of fantastic snooker, and even more snooker blogging.
Thanks all,
Michael Annison
Author of Cue Action Snooker Blog.
Tuesday 18 February 2014
The Welsh Open Preview
Wednesday starts, in full, the Welsh Open from the Newport Centre with the full 128 playing at the venue with TV coverage starting with the Last 64 on Monday 24th, with the final taking place on Sunday 2nd March. With so many players taking part in this one, it's tough to try and pick out a winner, and with so much good snooker in prospect it should be a good indicator for the World Championships, but also a great tournament in itself.
So here's what we can expect in the next 11 days of action from Newport:
Stephen Maguire Vs Elliot Slessor
Robbie Williams Vs Sam Baird
Gerard Greene Vs Li Yan
Marcus Campbell Vs Andrew Pagett
Tom Ford Vs Gareth Green
Rod Lawler Vs James Wattana
Pankaj Advani Vs Joel Walker
Mark Davis Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson
David Gilbert Vs Duane Jones
Jimmy Robertson Vs Luca Brecel
Andrew Higginson Vs Martin O'Donnell
Ben Woollaston Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Alfie Burden Vs Ahmed Saif
Jamie Cope Vs Ryan Clark
Ding Junhui Vs Gary Wilson
This quarter, along with all the quarters really, has plenty of names that could go on and win it, but only a select few that have the form for me to tip to do so. Here we have defending champion Stephen Maguire, winner of 4 of this seasons ranking events Ding Junhui, Mark Davis and Robert Milkins. Out of these guys both Mark Davis and Robert Milkins have struggled lately and both failed to qualify for the China Open just this week. Stephen Maguire meanwhile, will have good memories of winning in Newport last year and has been playing well having won one of the 6 championship league groups this year, and making the Masters semi-finals. However, in actual ranking events, Maguire has been fairly inconsistent, and hard to predict, which is why it is more difficult to predict him to win this quarter, despite the fact I know he's in good form. Ding Junhui meanwhile, has been different class this year, whilst also being very tactical about things, he's won 4 ranking events this year, but has also been very clever about what events he should actually enter. He hasn't entered any of the championship league groups this year, and also missed the recent ET8 event, which means he has been fresher when the big events come around. This means his best form has come out in the ranking events, and he has won a lot more titles this year and I have to say he is one of my favourites to win again this week.
In terms of the end of season money list there are 2 key games between Robbie Williams and Sam Baird and then Gerard Greene and Li Yan where all 4 of those players could do with the win for their respective positions with Greene, Williams fairly close to the Top 64 line either side, and Baird a little further ahead in 61st while Li Yan is looking desperate in 91st. James Wattana in 75th also needs a win or 2, starting against Rod Lawler. However, none of these things should really effect who wins the quarter overall.
Quarter Winner: The machine that is Ding Junhui
Stuart Bingham Vs Daniel Wells
Jimmy White Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Peter Lines Vs Ross Muir
Michael Holt Vs Stuart Carrington
Matthew Stevens Vs Adam Wicheard
Yu De Lu Vs Ian Burns
Liu Chuang Vs Chen Zhe
Joe Perry Vs Allan Taylor
Mark Allen Vs Sydney Wilson
Steve Davis Vs Noppon Saengkham
Aditya Mehta Vs Mike Dunn
Ali Carter Vs Andrew Norman
Dominic Dale Vs Anthony Parsons
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Liam Highfield
Dave Harold Vs Zhang Anda
Mark Selby Vs Joe Swail
This quarter also looks very strong, and much stronger than quarter 1 with former champion Mark Selby, last year's runner-up Stuart Bingham, Joe Perry, Mark Allen, Ali Carter and home favourites Matthew Stevens. Mark Selby has been a little poor since losing in the Masters final to Ronnie O'Sullivan, with poor shows in the German Masters and Championship League groups, but he looked a lot better in his China Open qualifier this week, and looking at Mark's draw and the format of best-of-7's until the quarter-finals (Quarter-finals best-of-9, semi's best-of-11 and final best-of-17) he could save a lot of energy in the early rounds which would be key for him going into the latter stages. As for Mark Allen, he's not been in the best of form lately with round 1 exits in the Masters and German Masters since the turn of the year, and missing the ET8 and Championship League events. So really, he is a little shorter on match preparation coming into this than the likes of Selby and Perry who have played considerably more than Allen in 2014, though this could be to the Northern-Irishman's advantage as he'll be a lot fresher. However, one thing Allen does have against him is a possible Last 32 match with Ali Carter which could go either way. Stuart Bingham has not been in great form of late with early exits in the Masters, German Masters, Gdynia Open and looking far from convincing in his China Open qualifier. For whatever reason, Bingham hasn't quite looked himself lately and I'd like to see that all change this week, but I can't really see it happening. Joe Perry however, has also been in good form lately making the quarter-finals of the German Masters and winning the 2nd Championship League group, and with a nice enough early draw, I could see him making at least the quarter-finals, but it will take some good performances for him to go much further.
In terms of the money list there is one massive game in here with 59th placed Jimmy White taking on 67th placed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. You fancy that the winner of that match would have an excellent chance of staying on tour, and both players played excellently in their recent China Open qualifiers. 77th placed Liu Chuang takes on 89th placed Chen Zhe elsewhere in the Last 128 and the winner of that would be in a slightly better position, but still in massive amounts of trouble. There are also big games for 60th placed Steve Davis and 70th placed Mike Dunn on the end of season money list who play Noppon Saengkham and Aditya Mehta respectively, with both needing wins to try and secure their tour places.
Quarter Winner: Such a tight quarter and I have changed my mind a few times, but going to go for Mark Selby.
Neil Robertson Vs Lu Haotian
Rory McLeod Vs Dylan Mitchell
Tian Pengfei Vs Alex Borg
Mark Williams Vs Michael Wasley
Graeme Dott Vs Lee Page
Jamie Jones Vs Cao Xin Long
Kurt Maflin Vs Alex Davies
Marco Fu Vs Chris Norbury
Shaun Murphy Vs David Morris
Mark Joyce Vs Craig Steadman
Fergal O'Brien Vs Sanderson Lam
Liang Wenbo Vs Jak Jones
Martin Gould Vs Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon
Jack Lisowski Vs Adam Duffy
Cao Yupeng Vs David Grace
Barry Hawkins Vs Fraser Patrick
This quarter sees the likes of UK champion Neil Robertson, Australian Open champion Marco Fu, recent ET8 Gdynia Open champion Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, Graeme Dott and Mark Williams that are all capable of winning this quarter and the whole event. Starting with Neil Robertson, despite his obvious position as UK champion and world No.1 and making countless centuries this season, he has hit a slight poor patch in his form, being knocked out in the Last 32 in Germany by Tian Pengfei, struggling in his China Open qualifier against Li Yan and finishing bottom of the recent Championship League group 5, and he does seem to be struggling a little (just a tad). If he continues like this I don't see him winning the quarter. Marco Fu has also been struggling a little, just a little, since throwing away a 4-1 lead against Shaun Murphy at the Masters. He had quite a bad Last 64 exit at the German Masters, and seemed to be struggling and giving his opponents plenty of chances in the last 2 Championship League groups. Marco was slightly more impressive in his China Open qualifier, but his opponent there Adam Wicheard did look very poor in that one and didn't pressure Fu enough. It will be very interesting to see how Fu goes under pressure in this event. Meanwhile, Shaun Murphy is on the up and up in recent times, winning the Gdynia Open in Poland recently and then going on to win the 5th Championship League group quite comfortably both in the same week. His scoring in both was superb and he seemed to have gained a lot more confidence, and if he can continue this in Newport, he has a brilliant chance of going on a great run. In this quarter, you certainly wouldn't rule him out. Barry Hawkins on the other hand, hasn't been in poor form, but has lost a fair few matches recently in which he has thrown away big leads. He led Selby 5-3 in the UK quarter-finals before losing 6-5, he led Walden 5-2 in the Last 16 of the Masters before losing 6-5 and he lost 5-4 to Ryan Day in the Last 32 of the German Masters having led 4-1. So really, that all points to form that has been less than sparkling since the New Year. Meanwhile, Graeme Dott is a man that could do some damage in this quarter, while Mark Williams could do the same, but will be under big pressure on his home patch.
In terms of the end of season money list, Tian Pengfei has a nice draw sitting in 68th place and playing Alex Borg in the Last 128. Adam Duffy could really do with a run as well, but playing Lisowski and sitting in 90th place he looks dead and buried.
Quarter Winner: Going on form of 2014 it has to be Shaun Murphy
Judd Trump Vs Kyren Wilson
Jamie Burnett Vs Ratchayothin Yotharuck
Anthony McGill Vs Jamie O'Neill
Ryan Day Vs Rhys Clark
Mark King Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Alan McManus Vs John Astley
Ken Doherty Vs James Cahill
John Higgins Vs Tony Drago
Ricky Walden Vs Paul Davison
Matt Selt Vs Khailed Abumdas
Anthony Hamilton Vs Michael Leslie
Peter Ebdon Vs Li Hang
Xiao Guodong Vs Hammad Miah
Michael White Vs Chris Wakelin
Nigel Bond Vs Barry Pinches
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mitchell Travis
In this, the final quarter we have the likes of World and Masters Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and former World Champion John Higgins, recent German Masters runner-up Judd Trump and semi-finalist Ryan Day, UK semi-finalist Ricky Walden and Shanghai Masters runner-up Xiao Guodong, so a load of players that could do plenty of damage in the next week and a half. Starting with Ronnie O'Sullivan, he has had a month off since his phenomenal display at the Masters, where he brushed everyone aside without blinking. I don't know whether this month off will be good or bad for Ronnie, and it will all depend on what he's been doing and how much he has prepared for this tournament and wants to win. But with a potential Last 32 meeting with Michael White or Xiao Guodong very possible, he's not going to have it all his own way and will have some big early tests. Meanwhile, Judd Trump is in decent form at the other end of this quarter, having recently reached the final of the German Masters and looking like getting back to his old self. However, he has a really tough first round draw against Kyren Wilson, and could well find himself in some early trouble there. John Higgins has had some trouble lately with form, and as he has said motivation and enjoyment of the game. All of that, and pretty inconsistent form, points to him not doing too well in Newport either, but you never know with John. Although, I do get the feeling that he really needs a good run before the end of the season for his own confidence. Ricky Walden could be dangerous in this quarter, but his issue has always been consistency, but if he could produce his best form this week, then he has every chance of going far in Wales. As for the likes of Day and Guodong, they both have tough draws facing likely Last 32 ties with Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan respectively, and though the early format lends itself to the odd shock, I don't really see it happening here, but you never know. Guodong probably has the better chance if he Ronnie isn't quite at his best.
In terms of the end of season money list, there are a lot of players looking very desperate and not even worth mentioning at this stage, though Barry Pinches in 74th still has a chance of getting out, and he plays Nigel Bond in the Last 128, so he could've had tougher matches.
Quarter Winner: Thought long and hard on this one but finally gone for Ronnie O'Sullivan
Tournament Runner-up: Ronnie O'Sullivan
Tournament Winner: Ding Junhui
Whatever does happen in the next week and a half, you know it will be a great event down in Newport with plenty of twists, turns and shocks thrown in, along with some classic snooker as we have another ranking event with 128 players at the venue. I hope you enjoy it as much as I surely will.
So here's what we can expect in the next 11 days of action from Newport:
Quarter 1
Last 128 Draw: (My picks in bold)Stephen Maguire Vs Elliot Slessor
Robbie Williams Vs Sam Baird
Gerard Greene Vs Li Yan
Marcus Campbell Vs Andrew Pagett
Tom Ford Vs Gareth Green
Rod Lawler Vs James Wattana
Pankaj Advani Vs Joel Walker
Mark Davis Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson
David Gilbert Vs Duane Jones
Jimmy Robertson Vs Luca Brecel
Andrew Higginson Vs Martin O'Donnell
Ben Woollaston Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Alfie Burden Vs Ahmed Saif
Jamie Cope Vs Ryan Clark
Ding Junhui Vs Gary Wilson
This quarter, along with all the quarters really, has plenty of names that could go on and win it, but only a select few that have the form for me to tip to do so. Here we have defending champion Stephen Maguire, winner of 4 of this seasons ranking events Ding Junhui, Mark Davis and Robert Milkins. Out of these guys both Mark Davis and Robert Milkins have struggled lately and both failed to qualify for the China Open just this week. Stephen Maguire meanwhile, will have good memories of winning in Newport last year and has been playing well having won one of the 6 championship league groups this year, and making the Masters semi-finals. However, in actual ranking events, Maguire has been fairly inconsistent, and hard to predict, which is why it is more difficult to predict him to win this quarter, despite the fact I know he's in good form. Ding Junhui meanwhile, has been different class this year, whilst also being very tactical about things, he's won 4 ranking events this year, but has also been very clever about what events he should actually enter. He hasn't entered any of the championship league groups this year, and also missed the recent ET8 event, which means he has been fresher when the big events come around. This means his best form has come out in the ranking events, and he has won a lot more titles this year and I have to say he is one of my favourites to win again this week.
In terms of the end of season money list there are 2 key games between Robbie Williams and Sam Baird and then Gerard Greene and Li Yan where all 4 of those players could do with the win for their respective positions with Greene, Williams fairly close to the Top 64 line either side, and Baird a little further ahead in 61st while Li Yan is looking desperate in 91st. James Wattana in 75th also needs a win or 2, starting against Rod Lawler. However, none of these things should really effect who wins the quarter overall.
Quarter Winner: The machine that is Ding Junhui
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw: (My picks in bold)Stuart Bingham Vs Daniel Wells
Jimmy White Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Peter Lines Vs Ross Muir
Michael Holt Vs Stuart Carrington
Matthew Stevens Vs Adam Wicheard
Yu De Lu Vs Ian Burns
Liu Chuang Vs Chen Zhe
Joe Perry Vs Allan Taylor
Mark Allen Vs Sydney Wilson
Steve Davis Vs Noppon Saengkham
Aditya Mehta Vs Mike Dunn
Ali Carter Vs Andrew Norman
Dominic Dale Vs Anthony Parsons
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Liam Highfield
Dave Harold Vs Zhang Anda
Mark Selby Vs Joe Swail
This quarter also looks very strong, and much stronger than quarter 1 with former champion Mark Selby, last year's runner-up Stuart Bingham, Joe Perry, Mark Allen, Ali Carter and home favourites Matthew Stevens. Mark Selby has been a little poor since losing in the Masters final to Ronnie O'Sullivan, with poor shows in the German Masters and Championship League groups, but he looked a lot better in his China Open qualifier this week, and looking at Mark's draw and the format of best-of-7's until the quarter-finals (Quarter-finals best-of-9, semi's best-of-11 and final best-of-17) he could save a lot of energy in the early rounds which would be key for him going into the latter stages. As for Mark Allen, he's not been in the best of form lately with round 1 exits in the Masters and German Masters since the turn of the year, and missing the ET8 and Championship League events. So really, he is a little shorter on match preparation coming into this than the likes of Selby and Perry who have played considerably more than Allen in 2014, though this could be to the Northern-Irishman's advantage as he'll be a lot fresher. However, one thing Allen does have against him is a possible Last 32 match with Ali Carter which could go either way. Stuart Bingham has not been in great form of late with early exits in the Masters, German Masters, Gdynia Open and looking far from convincing in his China Open qualifier. For whatever reason, Bingham hasn't quite looked himself lately and I'd like to see that all change this week, but I can't really see it happening. Joe Perry however, has also been in good form lately making the quarter-finals of the German Masters and winning the 2nd Championship League group, and with a nice enough early draw, I could see him making at least the quarter-finals, but it will take some good performances for him to go much further.
In terms of the money list there is one massive game in here with 59th placed Jimmy White taking on 67th placed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. You fancy that the winner of that match would have an excellent chance of staying on tour, and both players played excellently in their recent China Open qualifiers. 77th placed Liu Chuang takes on 89th placed Chen Zhe elsewhere in the Last 128 and the winner of that would be in a slightly better position, but still in massive amounts of trouble. There are also big games for 60th placed Steve Davis and 70th placed Mike Dunn on the end of season money list who play Noppon Saengkham and Aditya Mehta respectively, with both needing wins to try and secure their tour places.
Quarter Winner: Such a tight quarter and I have changed my mind a few times, but going to go for Mark Selby.
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw: (My picks in bold)Neil Robertson Vs Lu Haotian
Rory McLeod Vs Dylan Mitchell
Tian Pengfei Vs Alex Borg
Mark Williams Vs Michael Wasley
Graeme Dott Vs Lee Page
Jamie Jones Vs Cao Xin Long
Kurt Maflin Vs Alex Davies
Marco Fu Vs Chris Norbury
Shaun Murphy Vs David Morris
Mark Joyce Vs Craig Steadman
Fergal O'Brien Vs Sanderson Lam
Liang Wenbo Vs Jak Jones
Martin Gould Vs Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon
Jack Lisowski Vs Adam Duffy
Cao Yupeng Vs David Grace
Barry Hawkins Vs Fraser Patrick
This quarter sees the likes of UK champion Neil Robertson, Australian Open champion Marco Fu, recent ET8 Gdynia Open champion Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, Graeme Dott and Mark Williams that are all capable of winning this quarter and the whole event. Starting with Neil Robertson, despite his obvious position as UK champion and world No.1 and making countless centuries this season, he has hit a slight poor patch in his form, being knocked out in the Last 32 in Germany by Tian Pengfei, struggling in his China Open qualifier against Li Yan and finishing bottom of the recent Championship League group 5, and he does seem to be struggling a little (just a tad). If he continues like this I don't see him winning the quarter. Marco Fu has also been struggling a little, just a little, since throwing away a 4-1 lead against Shaun Murphy at the Masters. He had quite a bad Last 64 exit at the German Masters, and seemed to be struggling and giving his opponents plenty of chances in the last 2 Championship League groups. Marco was slightly more impressive in his China Open qualifier, but his opponent there Adam Wicheard did look very poor in that one and didn't pressure Fu enough. It will be very interesting to see how Fu goes under pressure in this event. Meanwhile, Shaun Murphy is on the up and up in recent times, winning the Gdynia Open in Poland recently and then going on to win the 5th Championship League group quite comfortably both in the same week. His scoring in both was superb and he seemed to have gained a lot more confidence, and if he can continue this in Newport, he has a brilliant chance of going on a great run. In this quarter, you certainly wouldn't rule him out. Barry Hawkins on the other hand, hasn't been in poor form, but has lost a fair few matches recently in which he has thrown away big leads. He led Selby 5-3 in the UK quarter-finals before losing 6-5, he led Walden 5-2 in the Last 16 of the Masters before losing 6-5 and he lost 5-4 to Ryan Day in the Last 32 of the German Masters having led 4-1. So really, that all points to form that has been less than sparkling since the New Year. Meanwhile, Graeme Dott is a man that could do some damage in this quarter, while Mark Williams could do the same, but will be under big pressure on his home patch.
In terms of the end of season money list, Tian Pengfei has a nice draw sitting in 68th place and playing Alex Borg in the Last 128. Adam Duffy could really do with a run as well, but playing Lisowski and sitting in 90th place he looks dead and buried.
Quarter Winner: Going on form of 2014 it has to be Shaun Murphy
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw:Judd Trump Vs Kyren Wilson
Jamie Burnett Vs Ratchayothin Yotharuck
Anthony McGill Vs Jamie O'Neill
Ryan Day Vs Rhys Clark
Mark King Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Alan McManus Vs John Astley
Ken Doherty Vs James Cahill
John Higgins Vs Tony Drago
Ricky Walden Vs Paul Davison
Matt Selt Vs Khailed Abumdas
Anthony Hamilton Vs Michael Leslie
Peter Ebdon Vs Li Hang
Xiao Guodong Vs Hammad Miah
Michael White Vs Chris Wakelin
Nigel Bond Vs Barry Pinches
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mitchell Travis
In this, the final quarter we have the likes of World and Masters Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and former World Champion John Higgins, recent German Masters runner-up Judd Trump and semi-finalist Ryan Day, UK semi-finalist Ricky Walden and Shanghai Masters runner-up Xiao Guodong, so a load of players that could do plenty of damage in the next week and a half. Starting with Ronnie O'Sullivan, he has had a month off since his phenomenal display at the Masters, where he brushed everyone aside without blinking. I don't know whether this month off will be good or bad for Ronnie, and it will all depend on what he's been doing and how much he has prepared for this tournament and wants to win. But with a potential Last 32 meeting with Michael White or Xiao Guodong very possible, he's not going to have it all his own way and will have some big early tests. Meanwhile, Judd Trump is in decent form at the other end of this quarter, having recently reached the final of the German Masters and looking like getting back to his old self. However, he has a really tough first round draw against Kyren Wilson, and could well find himself in some early trouble there. John Higgins has had some trouble lately with form, and as he has said motivation and enjoyment of the game. All of that, and pretty inconsistent form, points to him not doing too well in Newport either, but you never know with John. Although, I do get the feeling that he really needs a good run before the end of the season for his own confidence. Ricky Walden could be dangerous in this quarter, but his issue has always been consistency, but if he could produce his best form this week, then he has every chance of going far in Wales. As for the likes of Day and Guodong, they both have tough draws facing likely Last 32 ties with Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan respectively, and though the early format lends itself to the odd shock, I don't really see it happening here, but you never know. Guodong probably has the better chance if he Ronnie isn't quite at his best.
In terms of the end of season money list, there are a lot of players looking very desperate and not even worth mentioning at this stage, though Barry Pinches in 74th still has a chance of getting out, and he plays Nigel Bond in the Last 128, so he could've had tougher matches.
Quarter Winner: Thought long and hard on this one but finally gone for Ronnie O'Sullivan
Tournament Runner-up: Ronnie O'Sullivan
Tournament Winner: Ding Junhui
Whatever does happen in the next week and a half, you know it will be a great event down in Newport with plenty of twists, turns and shocks thrown in, along with some classic snooker as we have another ranking event with 128 players at the venue. I hope you enjoy it as much as I surely will.
Wednesday 5 February 2014
European Tour 8: Gdynia Open Preview
This weekend, starting on Friday and coming to a conclusion on Sunday is the professional stages of the final European Tour Players Tour Championship event in Poland. It's going to be a very tense weekend for a lot of players with spots in the PTC Grand Finals in Thailand up for grabs, with still a fair few players in with a chance of making the Top 24 on the European Order of Merit. Also, the race is well and truly on to try and take the 8 tour cards that will be offered to the 8 highest ranked players on the Order of Merit that haven't already qualified for next season. The 8 players currently holding these spots are: Sam Baird, Joel Walker, Luca Brecel, Scott Donaldson, Ian Burns, Michael Wasley, David Grace and Tony Drago. As well as all of this going on in the background, of course there is also a tournament to be won and a top prize of around £20,000 making it's way into someone's bank account after Sunday's final.
It's time to take a look then at all of the weeks scenarios, and who I think will go far in this event:
Mark Selby Vs Chen Zhe
Anthony Hamilton Vs Amateur Qualifier
Matthew Stevens Vs Allan Taylor
Matthew Selt Vs Ahmed Saif
Martin Gould Vs Amateur Qualifier
Peter Lines Vs Xiao Guodong
Robert Milkins Vs Paul Davison
John Astley Vs Fraser Patrick
Judd Trump Vs Liu Chuang
Chris Wakelin Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Mike Dunn Vs Michael Leslie
Steve Davis Vs Amateur Qualifier
Tom Ford Vs Amateur Qualifier
Aditya Mehta Vs James Wattana
Mark King Vs Chris Norbury
Joe Perry Vs Daniel Wells
This quarter sees the likes of Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Joe Perry, Robert Milkins and Matthew Stevens as favourites to win it, while Tom Ford and Martin Gould amongst others could all produce good runs capable of winning the quarter. Meanwhile there are also lots of players that will be looking to boost their money ranking or to try and get into the top 8 players not already qualified for next season, and of course there are players in this section that can still make the Grand Finals.
Firstly, Mike Dunn is in a position where he is around £800 behind Tony Drago who holds the final tour card spot, and being £3,000 away from the Top 64 on the provisional money list, you have to say his best opportunity would be to get back on tour via the Euro OoM. Steve Davis is also around £800 pounds behind and could do with getting within this bracket, being only around £5000 ahead of place 65 which should be enough but you never know. Meanwhile the likes of Paul Davison, Daniel Wells, James Wattana and Michael Leslie all need wins this week for the money list you'd think, being a long way behind on that and with no realistic chances of making the top 8 not already on tour for next season. The important match in this quarter could well be between Davis and Dunn with the 2 due to meet in the Last 64 if they win their opening round ties, with the possible winner being in a much better position to stay on the tour you feel.
In terms of PTC Grand finals qualification, Martin Gould, Aditya Mehta and Robert Milkins would be the closest people outside of the Top 24 to be able to qualify this weekend with a few wins under their belts. Mehta is currently 28th on the OoM, while Gould is 31st and Milkins 39th. Looking at the draw and the current positions you have to say Mehta and Gould have the best chances, with Gould around £1,700 behind 24th placed Shaun Murphy, meaning realistically Gould will need to make the Last 8 to have any chance. As for Aditya, he is only £1,200 behind Shaun, meaning he will need either a Last 16 place and early exits for those above him, or a Last 8 spot and still for other results to go his way.
In terms of winning the quarter itself (you could've forgotten with everything else going on) you have to make Selby, Trump and Perry the main favourites this week. Perry has been resurgent all season and is back playing at his best again, and with an Asian PTC under his belt this season you couldn't rule him out this coming weekend. As for Mark Selby, he won the last PTC in November in Antwerp, and despite making the UK and Masters finals, he hardly produced his best snooker in Germany last week, and there are no signs that he could make a deep run in Poland this weekend, but you never know with Selby. Judd Trump is my favourite for the quarter though, having showed a return to form in Berlin last week, where he reach the final before losing out to the unstoppable Ding Junhui (who won't be in Poland to trouble anyone in this event). With Judd back in form it won't be long before he's winning tournaments and with his good record in PTC's, why can't it be this week?
Quarter Winner: Judd Trump
Michael Holt Vs Li Hang
Jamie Jones Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Davis Vs Ratchayothin Yotharuck
Martin O'Donnell Vs Jak Jones
Kyren Wilson Vs Tian Pengfei
Robbie Williams Vs Li Yan
Stuart Bingham Vs Amateur Qualifier
Shaun Murphy Vs Jamie O'Neill
Stephen Maguire Vs Cao Xin Long
Ryan Day Vs Robin Hull
Gary Wilson Vs Adam Duffy
Michael Wasley Vs Amateur Qualifier
Barry Hawkins Vs Ryan Clark
Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon Vs Jimmy White
John Higgins Vs Amateur Qualifier
Anthony McGill Vs Elliot Slessor
This quarter sees the likes of Stuart Bingham, Stephen Maguire, Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy and John Higgins battling to try and win this quarter, along with the likes of Mark Davis and Ryan Day that are also well capable of a good run in Poland this weekend. In terms of Grand Final spots we also have places 23, 24 and 25 on the Order of Merit in this quarter along with places 20 and 21 that aren't yet safe and 36 and 37 that still have slim chances of qualifying. As well as this, we also have a fair few players that desperately need prize money this weekend to keep their tour spots via the OoM or Prize money list.
Firstly, in terms of PTC Grand Final spots, Shaun Murphy in 24th currently holds the final qualifying spot, while Barry Hawkins in 23rd is only £17 ahead of him, and therefore nowhere near safe. As for Robbie Williams, in 25th spot he is only £134 behind Shaun and therefore £151 behind Barry meaning it couldn't be tighter between those 3, with realistically the best performing of the 2 being in great shape to qualify. Meanwhile, Mark Davis and Gary Wilson are far from safe, being only around £1,300 clear, and with a lot of people around them being in their quarter, it's still all to play for. Anthony McGill and Kyren Wilson also still have very small chances of qualification, with both sitting around £2,400 or £2,500 behind however, they would need to make a run to at least the semi-finals in my opinion.
On the subject of tour survival, this quarter sees Michael Wasley who is currently within the top 8 not already qualified and being £1,000 ahead of the 9th best player not already qualified, which means that Michael is in a really good position but still needs a win or 2 this weekend to make sure. The current unlucky player who is the 9th best player not already qualified for next year is Martin O'Donnell, who is an agonising £600 behind Tony Drago. Also, the likes of Jimmy White, Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon and Adam Duffy all have decent survival chances, with Jimmy currently £4,000 clear of 65th on the Money list but still in need of wins, while Duffy is actually around £17,000 behind with very little chance of survival unless he has a massive run sometime soon. Thanawat meanwhile is £1,700 behind Tony Drago and would need to run deep in Poland and hope for results to go his way to have any chance of tour survival.
In terms of actually winning the quarter, the form book doesn't really have anything to back up Bingham, Hawkins or Murphy in recent times or even Maguire based on his German Masters showing. In fact Bingham and Murphy are somehow due to meet in the Last 64, but Bingham hasn't quite been himself in 2014 so far, while Murphy has showed glimpses of his best form. Hawkins has also struggled lately throwing away big leads in the UK quarter-final, Last 16 of the Masters and in the Last 32 of last weeks German Masters. Maguire did look good in the Masters and in winning Championship League group 4, but he would have been disappointed not to have gone further than the Last 32 in Berlin. It is sure to be a very tight quarter and with the likes of Higgins and Mark Davis also in the quarter, there are several big players who could win it, but not many that you'd back going by their recent records.
Quarter winner: Stephen Maguire
Ricky Walden Vs Amateur Qualifier
Marcus Campbell Vs Andrew Higginson
Joel Walker Vs Amateur Qualifier
Andrew Norman Vs Dave Harold
Joe Swail Vs Ross Muir
Michael White Vs Craig Steadman
Alfie Burden Vs Noppon Saengkham
Jimmy Robertson Vs Andrew Pagett
Marco Fu Vs Amateur Qualifier
Nigel Bond Vs Hammad Miah
Sam Baird Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Luca Brecel Vs Amateur Qualifier
Barry Pinches Vs Amateur Qualifier
Pankaj Advani Vs Alex Borg
Ian Burns Vs Yu De Lu
Scott Donaldson Vs James Cahill
This quarter isn't exactly littered with top stars, but it is filled with a lot of people that need money in terms of the order of merit or the Prize money list. The likes of Ricky Walden, Marco Fu and Michael White will be among the favourites to win the quarter, but this quarter has the look about it of a surprise winner for sure, not that you'd like to try and name one from the capable players within it.
Firstly, looking at players fighting for Grand Final spots Joel Walker, Joe Swail and Luca Brecel are all players that are in with a shout of finishing in the top 24 on the OoM, while apart from that Michael White is the only other player in this quarter that could possibly make it, though he is £2,600 behind Shaun Murphy in 24th. As for Walker, he is himself £1,400 behind him and would therefore need at least a run to the Last 8 to have a good chance, with the same applying to Joe Swail who is £1,700 off of the pace, and Luca Brecel who is £2,100 adrift. On that evidence it is difficult to see any of them qualifying.
As for matters down the rankings and tour survival, the likes of Sam Baird, Luca Brecel and Joel Walker and Scott Donaldson all look certainties to gain tour cards via the Euro OoM with the lowest of those 4 (Donaldson) having a £2,000 cushion from unlucky 9th highest player not already qualified for the tour Martin O'Donnell. As for Ian Burns he is £1,100 clear of O'Donnell and 3 places above him, but he would still like a win or 2 this week (starting out against Yu De Lu) to be 100% of his tour place. The other player worth a look is Barry Pinches, who is 10th best not already qualified for next season, and is currently about £600 behind Drago holding the final tour card spot. So, if he can get a good couple of wins this week, starting against his amateur qualifier, he has every chance of gaining qualification for next year, what with being £9,000 behind on the money list.
As for a quarter winner, I have to make Marco Fu favourite despite his Last 64 exit in the German Masters, as he has been playing fairly well through the season, and in this quarter I can't really see many players stopping him to be honest. Ricky Walden had a week off last week which would have allowed him a good period of relaxation ahead of this one, and after a good comeback at the Masters you wouldn't put it past him to go far in this event. I have to say that one of Michael White, Andrew Higginson or even Luca Brecel could make it to a quarter win here, looking at the draw, but I couldn't trust myself to back one of them outright to do so.
Quarter Winner: Ricky Walden
David Gilbert Vs Cao Yupeng
David Grace Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Joyce Vs Ken Doherty
Gerard Greene Vs Zhang Anda
Kurt Maflin Vs Lee Page
Rod Lawler Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ben Woollaston Vs Rory McLeod
David Morris Vs Jamie Cope
Graeme Dott Vs Peter Ebdon
Stuart Carrington Vs Patrick Einslie
Neil Robertson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Alan McManus Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Fergal O'Brien Vs Alex Davies
Tony Drago Vs Liam Highfield
Dominic Dale Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Mark Williams Vs Liang Wenbo
This quarter sees the likes of Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Graeme Dott and Dominic Dale battling it out as favourites to take the quarter, while the likes of Kurt Maflin, David Gilbert and Ben Woollaston are all capable of good outside runs to win this quarter. Meanwhile, we also have a few players that will be battling for tour and grand final spots.
Starting with the PTC grand final places, Graeme Dott, Fergal O'Brien and Kurt Maflin are the players within this section that all still have shots at making it into the top 24. Graeme currently sits in 27th around £1,100 behind 24th placed Murphy, meaning he still has a great chance of qualification if he could get a run to the Last 16 or quarter-finals. Fergal O'Brien sits just 2 spots behind Dott and £1,500 off of a grand final spot, realistically meaning he needs a place in the Last 8 to have any chance. Norwegian Kurt Maflin sits £1,800 behind Murphy which also means he will need to make at least the quarter-finals, but for a player of his class that is still well within his grasp.
Next up is the race for tour spots for next season, with the top 8 not already qualified from the OoM getting promotions to the tour for next season. In this quarter we have places 7 and 8 on that little list who are David Grace who is just £17 ahead of 8th placed Drago. This means they both have around £500 leads over the next best, and with Drago facing a fellow tour survival candidate in Liam Highfield (who needs the money being £11,000 behind on the Prize Money list) he isn't safe just yet, while Grace faces an amateur qualifier in round 1, but won't really be able to breath easy unless he can win this match and one more in Poland this weekend. We also have in this quarter Zhang Anda, who can't qualify from the OoM (barring unlikely results) but is only £7,000 behind on the money list and a decent run this weekend could boost his chances on that list.
Finally, for the quarter I'm struggling to see past Neil Robertson who has been a ton machine this season, and has already won 2 ranking events and was the runner-up in the 1st European Tour event, and he has been playing consistently well for most of the season. Mark Williams will probably provide the biggest challenge for the Australian on Saturday and Sunday having already won a PTC event this season, you wouldn't put it past Williams to do so again, though his form is a lot more in and out this season, and now that he is out of the Top 16 he does get much tougher draws than he would like in the full ranking events. Dotty and shoot-out winner Dale will also provide competition this week, with Dale in decent form, but Graeme's form is patchy at best these days, and he will have a lot of pressure on him this week as he will be fighting hard for every result to try and gain a Grand Final spot. Although, this could make him an even better shout for the quarter, putting everything and much more into every match this weekend as he always does, it's still tough to see him winning it though.
Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson
Tournament runner-up: Neil Robertson
Tournament Winner: Judd Trump
However, whatever happens throughout this weekend it is surely going to be very exciting for the viewers and extremely entertaining to keep track of all the permutations, and watch some incredibly nervous matches as there could be more twitches than a rabbits nose with the fight for Grand Finals spots and tour cards reaching a climax on Sunday evening. I hope you've enjoyed reading my preview and taking in all the possibilities for this weekend, and if you want to see how the OoM is looking after every match this weekend then head to snooker.org where their Provisional Euro Order of Merit will be updated as every result comes in throughout the 3 days of the event.
It's time to take a look then at all of the weeks scenarios, and who I think will go far in this event:
Quarter 1
Last 128 Draw:Mark Selby Vs Chen Zhe
Anthony Hamilton Vs Amateur Qualifier
Matthew Stevens Vs Allan Taylor
Matthew Selt Vs Ahmed Saif
Martin Gould Vs Amateur Qualifier
Peter Lines Vs Xiao Guodong
Robert Milkins Vs Paul Davison
John Astley Vs Fraser Patrick
Judd Trump Vs Liu Chuang
Chris Wakelin Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Mike Dunn Vs Michael Leslie
Steve Davis Vs Amateur Qualifier
Tom Ford Vs Amateur Qualifier
Aditya Mehta Vs James Wattana
Mark King Vs Chris Norbury
Joe Perry Vs Daniel Wells
This quarter sees the likes of Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Joe Perry, Robert Milkins and Matthew Stevens as favourites to win it, while Tom Ford and Martin Gould amongst others could all produce good runs capable of winning the quarter. Meanwhile there are also lots of players that will be looking to boost their money ranking or to try and get into the top 8 players not already qualified for next season, and of course there are players in this section that can still make the Grand Finals.
Firstly, Mike Dunn is in a position where he is around £800 behind Tony Drago who holds the final tour card spot, and being £3,000 away from the Top 64 on the provisional money list, you have to say his best opportunity would be to get back on tour via the Euro OoM. Steve Davis is also around £800 pounds behind and could do with getting within this bracket, being only around £5000 ahead of place 65 which should be enough but you never know. Meanwhile the likes of Paul Davison, Daniel Wells, James Wattana and Michael Leslie all need wins this week for the money list you'd think, being a long way behind on that and with no realistic chances of making the top 8 not already on tour for next season. The important match in this quarter could well be between Davis and Dunn with the 2 due to meet in the Last 64 if they win their opening round ties, with the possible winner being in a much better position to stay on the tour you feel.
In terms of PTC Grand finals qualification, Martin Gould, Aditya Mehta and Robert Milkins would be the closest people outside of the Top 24 to be able to qualify this weekend with a few wins under their belts. Mehta is currently 28th on the OoM, while Gould is 31st and Milkins 39th. Looking at the draw and the current positions you have to say Mehta and Gould have the best chances, with Gould around £1,700 behind 24th placed Shaun Murphy, meaning realistically Gould will need to make the Last 8 to have any chance. As for Aditya, he is only £1,200 behind Shaun, meaning he will need either a Last 16 place and early exits for those above him, or a Last 8 spot and still for other results to go his way.
In terms of winning the quarter itself (you could've forgotten with everything else going on) you have to make Selby, Trump and Perry the main favourites this week. Perry has been resurgent all season and is back playing at his best again, and with an Asian PTC under his belt this season you couldn't rule him out this coming weekend. As for Mark Selby, he won the last PTC in November in Antwerp, and despite making the UK and Masters finals, he hardly produced his best snooker in Germany last week, and there are no signs that he could make a deep run in Poland this weekend, but you never know with Selby. Judd Trump is my favourite for the quarter though, having showed a return to form in Berlin last week, where he reach the final before losing out to the unstoppable Ding Junhui (who won't be in Poland to trouble anyone in this event). With Judd back in form it won't be long before he's winning tournaments and with his good record in PTC's, why can't it be this week?
Quarter Winner: Judd Trump
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw:Michael Holt Vs Li Hang
Jamie Jones Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Davis Vs Ratchayothin Yotharuck
Martin O'Donnell Vs Jak Jones
Kyren Wilson Vs Tian Pengfei
Robbie Williams Vs Li Yan
Stuart Bingham Vs Amateur Qualifier
Shaun Murphy Vs Jamie O'Neill
Stephen Maguire Vs Cao Xin Long
Ryan Day Vs Robin Hull
Gary Wilson Vs Adam Duffy
Michael Wasley Vs Amateur Qualifier
Barry Hawkins Vs Ryan Clark
Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon Vs Jimmy White
John Higgins Vs Amateur Qualifier
Anthony McGill Vs Elliot Slessor
This quarter sees the likes of Stuart Bingham, Stephen Maguire, Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy and John Higgins battling to try and win this quarter, along with the likes of Mark Davis and Ryan Day that are also well capable of a good run in Poland this weekend. In terms of Grand Final spots we also have places 23, 24 and 25 on the Order of Merit in this quarter along with places 20 and 21 that aren't yet safe and 36 and 37 that still have slim chances of qualifying. As well as this, we also have a fair few players that desperately need prize money this weekend to keep their tour spots via the OoM or Prize money list.
Firstly, in terms of PTC Grand Final spots, Shaun Murphy in 24th currently holds the final qualifying spot, while Barry Hawkins in 23rd is only £17 ahead of him, and therefore nowhere near safe. As for Robbie Williams, in 25th spot he is only £134 behind Shaun and therefore £151 behind Barry meaning it couldn't be tighter between those 3, with realistically the best performing of the 2 being in great shape to qualify. Meanwhile, Mark Davis and Gary Wilson are far from safe, being only around £1,300 clear, and with a lot of people around them being in their quarter, it's still all to play for. Anthony McGill and Kyren Wilson also still have very small chances of qualification, with both sitting around £2,400 or £2,500 behind however, they would need to make a run to at least the semi-finals in my opinion.
On the subject of tour survival, this quarter sees Michael Wasley who is currently within the top 8 not already qualified and being £1,000 ahead of the 9th best player not already qualified, which means that Michael is in a really good position but still needs a win or 2 this weekend to make sure. The current unlucky player who is the 9th best player not already qualified for next year is Martin O'Donnell, who is an agonising £600 behind Tony Drago. Also, the likes of Jimmy White, Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon and Adam Duffy all have decent survival chances, with Jimmy currently £4,000 clear of 65th on the Money list but still in need of wins, while Duffy is actually around £17,000 behind with very little chance of survival unless he has a massive run sometime soon. Thanawat meanwhile is £1,700 behind Tony Drago and would need to run deep in Poland and hope for results to go his way to have any chance of tour survival.
In terms of actually winning the quarter, the form book doesn't really have anything to back up Bingham, Hawkins or Murphy in recent times or even Maguire based on his German Masters showing. In fact Bingham and Murphy are somehow due to meet in the Last 64, but Bingham hasn't quite been himself in 2014 so far, while Murphy has showed glimpses of his best form. Hawkins has also struggled lately throwing away big leads in the UK quarter-final, Last 16 of the Masters and in the Last 32 of last weeks German Masters. Maguire did look good in the Masters and in winning Championship League group 4, but he would have been disappointed not to have gone further than the Last 32 in Berlin. It is sure to be a very tight quarter and with the likes of Higgins and Mark Davis also in the quarter, there are several big players who could win it, but not many that you'd back going by their recent records.
Quarter winner: Stephen Maguire
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw:Ricky Walden Vs Amateur Qualifier
Marcus Campbell Vs Andrew Higginson
Joel Walker Vs Amateur Qualifier
Andrew Norman Vs Dave Harold
Joe Swail Vs Ross Muir
Michael White Vs Craig Steadman
Alfie Burden Vs Noppon Saengkham
Jimmy Robertson Vs Andrew Pagett
Marco Fu Vs Amateur Qualifier
Nigel Bond Vs Hammad Miah
Sam Baird Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Luca Brecel Vs Amateur Qualifier
Barry Pinches Vs Amateur Qualifier
Pankaj Advani Vs Alex Borg
Ian Burns Vs Yu De Lu
Scott Donaldson Vs James Cahill
This quarter isn't exactly littered with top stars, but it is filled with a lot of people that need money in terms of the order of merit or the Prize money list. The likes of Ricky Walden, Marco Fu and Michael White will be among the favourites to win the quarter, but this quarter has the look about it of a surprise winner for sure, not that you'd like to try and name one from the capable players within it.
Firstly, looking at players fighting for Grand Final spots Joel Walker, Joe Swail and Luca Brecel are all players that are in with a shout of finishing in the top 24 on the OoM, while apart from that Michael White is the only other player in this quarter that could possibly make it, though he is £2,600 behind Shaun Murphy in 24th. As for Walker, he is himself £1,400 behind him and would therefore need at least a run to the Last 8 to have a good chance, with the same applying to Joe Swail who is £1,700 off of the pace, and Luca Brecel who is £2,100 adrift. On that evidence it is difficult to see any of them qualifying.
As for matters down the rankings and tour survival, the likes of Sam Baird, Luca Brecel and Joel Walker and Scott Donaldson all look certainties to gain tour cards via the Euro OoM with the lowest of those 4 (Donaldson) having a £2,000 cushion from unlucky 9th highest player not already qualified for the tour Martin O'Donnell. As for Ian Burns he is £1,100 clear of O'Donnell and 3 places above him, but he would still like a win or 2 this week (starting out against Yu De Lu) to be 100% of his tour place. The other player worth a look is Barry Pinches, who is 10th best not already qualified for next season, and is currently about £600 behind Drago holding the final tour card spot. So, if he can get a good couple of wins this week, starting against his amateur qualifier, he has every chance of gaining qualification for next year, what with being £9,000 behind on the money list.
As for a quarter winner, I have to make Marco Fu favourite despite his Last 64 exit in the German Masters, as he has been playing fairly well through the season, and in this quarter I can't really see many players stopping him to be honest. Ricky Walden had a week off last week which would have allowed him a good period of relaxation ahead of this one, and after a good comeback at the Masters you wouldn't put it past him to go far in this event. I have to say that one of Michael White, Andrew Higginson or even Luca Brecel could make it to a quarter win here, looking at the draw, but I couldn't trust myself to back one of them outright to do so.
Quarter Winner: Ricky Walden
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw:David Gilbert Vs Cao Yupeng
David Grace Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Joyce Vs Ken Doherty
Gerard Greene Vs Zhang Anda
Kurt Maflin Vs Lee Page
Rod Lawler Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ben Woollaston Vs Rory McLeod
David Morris Vs Jamie Cope
Graeme Dott Vs Peter Ebdon
Stuart Carrington Vs Patrick Einslie
Neil Robertson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Alan McManus Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Fergal O'Brien Vs Alex Davies
Tony Drago Vs Liam Highfield
Dominic Dale Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Mark Williams Vs Liang Wenbo
This quarter sees the likes of Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Graeme Dott and Dominic Dale battling it out as favourites to take the quarter, while the likes of Kurt Maflin, David Gilbert and Ben Woollaston are all capable of good outside runs to win this quarter. Meanwhile, we also have a few players that will be battling for tour and grand final spots.
Starting with the PTC grand final places, Graeme Dott, Fergal O'Brien and Kurt Maflin are the players within this section that all still have shots at making it into the top 24. Graeme currently sits in 27th around £1,100 behind 24th placed Murphy, meaning he still has a great chance of qualification if he could get a run to the Last 16 or quarter-finals. Fergal O'Brien sits just 2 spots behind Dott and £1,500 off of a grand final spot, realistically meaning he needs a place in the Last 8 to have any chance. Norwegian Kurt Maflin sits £1,800 behind Murphy which also means he will need to make at least the quarter-finals, but for a player of his class that is still well within his grasp.
Next up is the race for tour spots for next season, with the top 8 not already qualified from the OoM getting promotions to the tour for next season. In this quarter we have places 7 and 8 on that little list who are David Grace who is just £17 ahead of 8th placed Drago. This means they both have around £500 leads over the next best, and with Drago facing a fellow tour survival candidate in Liam Highfield (who needs the money being £11,000 behind on the Prize Money list) he isn't safe just yet, while Grace faces an amateur qualifier in round 1, but won't really be able to breath easy unless he can win this match and one more in Poland this weekend. We also have in this quarter Zhang Anda, who can't qualify from the OoM (barring unlikely results) but is only £7,000 behind on the money list and a decent run this weekend could boost his chances on that list.
Finally, for the quarter I'm struggling to see past Neil Robertson who has been a ton machine this season, and has already won 2 ranking events and was the runner-up in the 1st European Tour event, and he has been playing consistently well for most of the season. Mark Williams will probably provide the biggest challenge for the Australian on Saturday and Sunday having already won a PTC event this season, you wouldn't put it past Williams to do so again, though his form is a lot more in and out this season, and now that he is out of the Top 16 he does get much tougher draws than he would like in the full ranking events. Dotty and shoot-out winner Dale will also provide competition this week, with Dale in decent form, but Graeme's form is patchy at best these days, and he will have a lot of pressure on him this week as he will be fighting hard for every result to try and gain a Grand Final spot. Although, this could make him an even better shout for the quarter, putting everything and much more into every match this weekend as he always does, it's still tough to see him winning it though.
Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson
Tournament runner-up: Neil Robertson
Tournament Winner: Judd Trump
However, whatever happens throughout this weekend it is surely going to be very exciting for the viewers and extremely entertaining to keep track of all the permutations, and watch some incredibly nervous matches as there could be more twitches than a rabbits nose with the fight for Grand Finals spots and tour cards reaching a climax on Sunday evening. I hope you've enjoyed reading my preview and taking in all the possibilities for this weekend, and if you want to see how the OoM is looking after every match this weekend then head to snooker.org where their Provisional Euro Order of Merit will be updated as every result comes in throughout the 3 days of the event.
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