China Open Preview

One week of snooker has just finished in Preston at the Players Championship Grand Finals with Barry Hawkins taking the title and the £100,000 winners cheque last night, and another week of snooker begins tomorrow in the early hours with the China Open in Beijing, as the build-up to the World Championships continues, and we get our final little guide as to how things might go at the Crucible this year, not that the China Open has ever provided much of a guide in recent years.


Time to have a look at how things could shape up in Beijing this week:

Quarter 1

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Anthony Hamilton
Mark Williams Vs Anthony McGill
James Wattana Vs Mark Joyce
Duane Jones Vs Yu De Lu/Chen Zifan
Mark Allen Vs Luca Brecel/Yuan Sijun
Jack Lisowski Vs Dominic Dale
Graeme Dott Vs Rory McLeod
Dave Harold w/o Stephen Maguire


This quarter sees the likes of Neil Robertson, Mark Allen, Graeme Dott and Mark Williams battling for a place in the semi-finals, and Stephen Maguire was meant to be in this section before his withdrawal from the event due to a bad back.


Neil Robertson's form has gone missing a little bit in recent times, failing to get past the Last 16 of a ranking event since winning the UK Championships, and it's hard to work out why since he has made 92 centuries this season, which points to consistent performances in ranking events across the whole season. However, it could be said that he's maybe started to concentrate to heavily on the 100 centuries landmark, and this could have put a little bit of extra pressure on him, which may have showed at certain times. I still make him a clear favourite for this quarter because he is probably the best and most consistent performer in it.


Mark Allen will be up there for this quarter, having made the recent World Open semi-finals and Players Championship quarter-finals. However, he would've been incredibly disappointed to lose to Gerard Greene in the quarter's and it showed some of the inconsistencies that are present in his game, having played so well in the Last 32 and the Last 16 to then play so poorly in the quarter-finals. With such an inconsistent game it is tough to try and tip him for big things in this event, especially after a short turnaround for him since the Players Championship. The likes of Mark Williams and Graeme Dott will certainly cause problems for Robertson and Allen, but again they aren't quite the consistent performers they used to be, though you wouldn't put it past Graeme Dott to go on and make the quarter-finals with the draw that is in front of him.


Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson

Quarter 2

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Jamie Cope
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs David Grace
Xiao Guodong Vs Hammad Miah
Ricky Walden Vs Pankaj Advani
Ali Carter Vs Jamie Jones
Ryan Day Vs Matt Selt
Peter Ebdon Vs Jimmy Robertson
Judd Trump Vs Kurt Maflin


This quarter sees the likes of recent World Open champion Shaun Murphy, Championship League winner Judd Trump, Ricky Walden, Ali Carter, Ryan Day and Xiao Guodong all battling for a semi-final place, but not all of these guys are in the best form of late.


Shaun Murphy is probably in the best form of any of the players in this quarter having just won the Haikou World Open before then beating Neil Robertson in the first round of the Players Championship, and Murphy's confidence has well and truly returned to him at the right time with tournaments coming thick and fast. He has a nice little draw to start him off here, and I don't think he'll have a problem here so he can build himself into the tournament nicely, saving his energy for both the final stages of the tournament and the upcoming World Championships.


Judd Trump is also in good form at the moment, but he has had a very short turnaround having played in the semi-finals yesterday at the Players Championship and he hardly has an easy draw playing Kurt Maflin in the first round, with a possible Last 32 match with Peter Ebdon (who has a great record in Beijing) and then a possible Last 16 match with possibly Ryan Day or Ali Carter. Another good run for Trump then doesn't look as likely here and I think he will probably be beaten in one of the early rounds.


Some of the other guys like Walden and Carter aren't in the best of form at the moment, but if they soon re-discover something near their respective bests they too could make a challenge for the quarter win.


Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 3

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ding Junhui Vs John Astley/Yan Bingtao
Ken Doherty Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Michael White Vs Sam Baird/Zhao Xintong
John Higgins Vs Michael Wasley
Marco Fu Vs Li Hang
Aditya Mehta Vs Mark King
Kyren Wilson Vs Jamie O'Neill
Barry Hawkins Vs Fergal O'Brien


This quarter sees the 3 guys that all reached the latter stages of the Players Championship with John Higgins making the quarter-finals there, and at the World Open and Welsh Open recently, while Marco Fu was knocked out in the semi-finals at both Preston and in Haikou, while Barry Hawkins won the title last night. One thing that that does mean is that 4 times ranking winner of this season Ding Junhui does have a slight advantage in this quarter, having less of a short turnaround after being knocked out of the PC Grand Finals on Tuesday afternoon.


Ding's form has just dipped a fraction since the Welsh Open, only making the Last 16 of the World Open, and the Last 32 at the Guildhall last week, but that could well be a sign of him relaxing a bit ahead of the World Championships after a long season where he's already won 4 big events. However, I think he'll be slightly more focussed this week for one of his big home events, as he tries to entertain his home crowd, and more importantly, build up some more momentum going into the World Championships in less than 3 weeks time. Therefore, he is one of my favourites for the quarter.


Barry Hawkins and Marco Fu will both fancy their chances after good runs in the Players Championship, but it will be tough for the pair of them flying out today and then having to play everyday from Tuesday if they are to have a decent run in the event. Fu has reached the semi-finals of the last 2 events, but has also continued to show why he is such an inconsistent performer, having played so well in both events to reach the semi's but then perform so badly in both of those Last 4 ties and end up not offering much of a challenge. As for Hawkins, his Players Championship win will give him a much needed boost ahead of the World Championships, but also relax him a bit for this event - which is clearly not as important to him and many other players ahead of the big one. That kind of approach could lend itself to an early exit or a deep run, but if tiredness kicks in after a busy week or so, then it's more likely to be an early exit for both men.


One man that could be a dark horse in this quarter is John Higgins who seems to be improving slowly but surely ahead of The Crucible having made the quarter-finals of the last 3 events in a row, and played brilliantly in Haikou to defeat Judd Trump. If he can replicate that kind of form again this week there is no reason why he couldn't have a good run of his own this week, and begin to build his case for another possible World Title. Whether he still has the consistency for it is another question entirely.


Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui

Quarter 4

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Martin O'Donnell W/O Stuart Bingham
Michael Holt Vs Craig Steadman
Mike Dunn Vs Peter Lines
Tian Pengfei Vs Gary Wilson
David Morris Vs Jimmy White
Alfie Burden W/O Tony Drago
Nigel Bond Vs Barry Pinches
Mark Selby Vs Stuart Carrington


After certain results in the Last 128 round of this in Gloucester back in February, and Stuart Bingham pulling out due to a family funeral during the week, I can only see 2 plays that you'd really want to back to win the quarter and they are Mark Selby and Michael Holt, and even Michael is a long shot with his form not being great at the moment. However, there are a lot of matches in this quarter that can have a big effect on the end of season money list.


One Last 64 game of big importance is Mike Dunn Vs Peter Lines. While Peter should be safe now really in 59th place, Mike is in a significantly worse off position though sitting 69th on the money list and around £4,000 from safety, so he could do with a win or 2 this week. The winner of that match would then play the winner of Tian Pengfei Vs Gary Wilson. Importantly, Wilson is in the 64th position (despite this being the first year of his 2 year card) £100 ahead of Steve Davis who will be cheering on Tian Pengfei who is 67th position, and around £2,000 behind the 64th spot and tour safety. Another important clash here sees David Morris take on Jimmy White. Jimmy is in 62nd currently and around £1,000 clear, but if he were to lose here he could be pushed down into the "relegation zone" if other results went against him. If David Morris won a couple of matches this week though (despite being on the first year of his card) he could spell trouble for others as he is in 66th, and less than £2,000 behind Gary Wilson in 64th, but more importantly he's exactly £2,000 from Sam Baird in 63rd and if he were pushed back into the "relegation zone" that would have big implications on who qualifies via the European order of merit.


In terms of the winning of this quarter, it's hard to see past Mark Selby winning it (though stranger things have happened). He's reached the World Open final, Masters final and the UK Championship final this season but he has been lacking that major title, having not won a ranking event since December 2012, which is really too long a drought for someone with his ability. One thing being in the quarter could well allow him is a few easier games early on so that he doesn't use up a lot of mental and physical energy if he's playing well enough. He could also play himself into some good form, which would be important come the latter stages of the event as he really does need to start playing better if he has any plans of winning both this event, and then the World Championships.


Quarter Winner: Mark Selby


Tournament runner-up: Neil Robertson


Tournament Winner: Mark Selby


Whatever the outcome of the tournament, it should be a nice week of snooker as the top players look to either find some form or continue gathering valuable momentum for the big one starting at the Crucible on the 19th April, I don't think there will really be that much emphasis on the title this week as you would expect, with a much more valuable title at stake in the weeks to come. Therefore, a mixture of gaining momentum, building form and conserving energy will be the order of the day in Beijing.

Players Championship Grand Finals Preview

After a much needed week off from snooker for the players (and for the bloggers it has to be said) since the Haikou World Open, snooker is back with a bang this week as we return to the UK and the Guildhall at Preston for the Players Championship (PTC) Grand Finals. The Grand Finals were due to be in Thailand but after some unrest in the country they were moved back to the UK, which doesn't make things easy for the players in both this and the China Open, which kicks off in Beijing just 2 days after the semi-finals and final next Saturday in Preston. So, with the World Championships in mind, it wouldn't be the worst thing for some of the players if they had an early exit.


So lets have a look ahead at what to expect in this weeks best-of-7 frames PC Grand Finals:

Quarter 1

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Allen Vs Jamie Jones
Fergal O'Brien Vs Michael Holt
Sam Baird Vs Anthony Hamilton
Ricky Walden Vs Gerard Greene


At first glance, it could be said that this quarter looks a little bit bare in terms of the big names, in comparison to the other quarters of the draw, but there are still plenty of experienced names that could win the quarter, and even go on and win the event. The likes of Mark Allen and Ricky Walden will be the favourites to win this quarter, but Michael Holt, Fergal O'Brien and Anthony Hamilton all have the ability to have a great run in this event over the short format.


Mark Allen is my clear favourite to win this quarter as the top seed, having won 2 of the 8 European tour events during the season and coming into this event with decent form after making the semi-finals of the World Open. He's well overdue a tournament win and this could well be his week, especially as I feel he enjoys the UK tournaments more than the overseas events and enjoys the shorter formats as well, as he showed winning the ET5 and ET6 at the back end of 2013. Ricky Walden meanwhile is not in great form at the moment, but has been unlucky at times this year with some of his draws and he will certainly be a match for Allen having won a ET event of his won in the Uk this season, winning ET3 in Doncaster in August. From the rest, Holt and O'Brien certainly have abilities showing that with runner-up performances on either the European or Asian Tour this season, but I'm not sure either one has the form to challenge Allen for the quarter win, but that will certainly make for a brilliant Last 32 match.


Quarter Winner: Mark Allen

Quarter 2

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
John Higgins Vs Jimmy Robertson
Ding Junhui Vs Ben Woollaston
Marco Fu Vs Gary Wilson
Mark Williams Vs Lu Haotian


This quarter sees 2 ranking event winners from this season, with Australian Open champion Marco Fu and 4 times ranking winner of the season Ding Junhui, while we also have 2 Euro Tour winners from this season with John Higgins winning ET1 and Mark Williams winning ET2. Meanwhile, young Lu Haotian was the runner-up of AT3 and Gary Wilson could cause an upset having had a brilliant season so far.


Ding Junhui will be one of the favourites for the quarter and the event having won 4 ranking events this season, and he's as good in the short format (winning the Indian Open with that being best-of-7 until the best-of-9 final) as he is in any other format, and he's played brilliantly all season through in all conditions, and form like that will make him very hard to beat again this week. As for Marco Fu, he has been a little inconsistent at times this year with a Last 128 exit in the UK Championship and a Last 64 exit at the German Masters being spread out with his Australian Open win, International Championship final place, and a semi-final appearance in the recent Haikou World Open. He could be vulnerable in the opening round to Gary Wilson, but if he can get through that he will be a massive challenge to Ding Junhui in this quarter, as he was in the International final where he only just fell short. It would be very easy to underestimate John Higgins and Mark Williams in this quarter, with the feeling now certainly being that their best days are behind them, but John showed glimpses of his former self in victories at both the Welsh Open and World Open against Judd Trump, while Mark Williams highlighted how dangerous he can still be when he beat Neil Robertson in his home event. Both of those men could certainly win this quarter, but these days it is about consistency, which seems to be one of the things that these 2 have lost nowadays.


Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui

Quarter 3

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Scott Donaldson
Liang Wenbo Vs Yu DeLu
Stephen Maguire Vs Barry Hawkins
Stuart Bingham Vs Ryan Day


This quarter looks incredibly tasty with the likes of current World, Masters, Welsh Open and ET4 Paul Hunter Classic champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, AT3 winner Liang Wenbo, AT4 winner Stuart Bingham, AT4 semi-finalist Yu DeLu, Welsh Open semi-finalist Barry Hawkins, German Masters semi-finalist Ryan Day, Stephen Maguire and young prospect Scott Donaldson completing a section packed with potential quarter and event winners.


Ronnie O'Sullivan is always favourite by a mile for any tournament he enters these days and deservedly so as he is playing some of the best snooker of his life right now, with nobody being able to come close to him when he's on top form. The only chance there is of anyone beating him this week is that anything can happen in the shorter best-of-7 format, not that that has had much effect in the ET events he has entered this season, nor did it have an effect in the Welsh Open. Meanwhile, Liang Wenbo will fancy his chances of first beating DeLu and then beating Ronnie as he did at the International Championship, and Wenbo's game has seen particular improvements this season after he went off of the boil after the previous few seasons. He could be a dark horse in this section.


Stuart Bingham is another man coming back to form having won the AT4 event recently, and he's now into the top 4 in the rankings which shows how far he has come in the last 2 seasons, but he has a very tough draw here and with possible distractions away from snooker Ryan Day, who has been playing very well since the turn of the year, will definetly think he has a good chance of victory. Stephen Maguire and Barry Hawkins looks another spicy Last 32 encounter between 2 men who are very evenly matched and could easily go on and win the quarter. Maguire has been a little inconsistent this season, but I don't think that Hawkins enjoys the shorter format as much as Maguire after he only just made it here thanks to Bingham winning the AT4 spot and the extra spot on the European Order of merit going to Barry, however that could well spur him on, despite his own inconsistency and possible lack of motivation this season.


Quarter Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Quarter 4

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Neil Robertson
Judd Trump Vs Ju Reti
Joe Perry Vs Mark Davis
Mark Selby Vs David Gilbert


This quarter sees some incredibly big names, but also a lot of guys in form in what is certainly the quarter of death. We have recent Haikou World Open and Gdynia Open champion Shaun Murphy, UK Champion Neil Robertson, Asian Tour 1 winner Joe Perry, Antwerp Open winner, UK, Masters and World Open runner-up Mark Selby, AT2 winner and amateur Ju Reti, Mark Davis and David Gilbert.


Shaun Murphy has to be the form man coming into the event, but that really means nothing in a short best-of-7 format where he has Neil Robertson in the first round in what would be one of the matches over a longer format. Neil's recent record against Shaun is superb, but Murphy will have a lot of friends and family behind him in what is effectively his home tournament which could spur him on or add to the pressure. Either way that looks a very tough game.


Judd Trump should really beat Ju Reti in the opening round, but his Last 16 will be very tough so he'll want to not use up too much energy beating Ju if he can. His form has been decent in the second half of the season, but he just hasn't had the luck that you need sometimes to go and win the bigger events, but if that could turn around this week, his game is in a very good shape for him to have a good week. The short format is also good for Trump as it means that he can breeze through matches pretty quickly if he's playing at his very best, which he will need to do in order to win this section.


Mark Selby has had some good results recently without playing at his best all the time, and grinding out a lot of results, and I don't suspect that he can get away with such a thing in a quarter filled with top stars, if he has big aims for the week. However, I saw someone suggest during the World Open that Selby's so called "B Game" of grinding out results has actually become his "A Game" now because what used to be his best is shown so little that you could actually forget it exists, and that he is truly at his best when his safety game is on form and he is able to grind wins out.


Joe Perry's game with Mark Davis will be another interesting game, but one that I have a very clear favourite for on the seasons performances. Joe has improved so much this season, and it seems like he has re-discovered his best form again and is looking very confident. However, despite the start to the season Mark made and the improvements to his game in the last couple of years, he has had quite a poor few months on the table, losing games you would have expected him to win 12 months ago and not showing any kind of form. If Davis can't improve that this week, there is only one winner here.


Quarter Winner: Think Judd Trump can do the business in the short format.


Predicted runner-up: Ding Junhui


Predicted Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan




Whatever the outcome at the end of the week, it will be another quality week of snooker, with a lot of brilliant matches to look forward, just in the Last 32 alone, and a bottom half packed with great players lends itself to a thrilling and fast-paced event. I'm really looking forward to this one, and I'm sure the people of Preston are too on snookers return to the area.

Shaun Murphy is World Open Champion

It was Shaun Murphy today that ended his 3 year drought for a ranking title, by seeing off the battling challenge of Mark Selby who finished runner-up once more this season as he has done many times since his 2012 UK Championship win. It was a very good performance from Murphy and one that was well deserved.


Let's have a look at how Shaun got a magical win:


Shaun Murphy 10-6 Mark Selby - The final started off very well for Shaun after he gained the first chance of the match and made 64, before missing a tricky black with the rest with still 67 on, but after Selby missed an easier black the frame was Murphy's. The second frame was big in the context of the first mini session as Selby got in first and was on 46 with the reds open before he covered the red he wanted to play and had to play a red up to the baulk corner which he missed. Without a tough ball on the table Murphy made a superb clearance of 80 to punish Selby brilliantly and make it 2-0. Both players had chances in the third frame, and the frame eventually came down to a battle on the last red. Murphy won the battle though and a clearance of 32 from Murphy made it 3-0 with one frame left before the interval of the first session. It was an early break of 52 in the fourth that was eventually enough for Murphy after Selby battled for a long period for snookers on the last red, and The Magician led 4-0 at the first mid-session break.


Selby looked like he might start to dictate the pace of things after the break, breaking Murphy's rhythm by controlling a very scrappy fifth frame, where Mark controlled the safety exchange, needing several chances to score, but eventually he got his first frame on the board at 1-4. It did seem to upset Shaun's rhythm after he missed an awkward red on 13 in the sixth cueing over the black, and the man from Leicester was able to capitalise to close to just 2 frames behind at 2-4 with a run of 91. After that frame you thought that Mark was right back into it and he'd put Murphy right back under pressure again in this final. Shaun though had other ideas as he dominated an early safety exchange to put Selby consistently in a lot of trouble, and when he did get his opportunity he made the most of it as a break of 98 restored some of the 2005 World Champions comfort at 5-2. Shaun Murphy really teed off after that and didn't really miss a ball of any importance making consecutive centuries of 105 and 112 (missing the last black there for a possible 146) showing the great confidence and form which he has showed all week in taking a 7-2 lead after the first session, needing just 3 more frames to become the Haikou World Open champion.


The second session began with both players having early chances but missing early balls as the session started off in a very tense manner, but after a Murphy miss it was Selby that took the first frame of the evening session with a run of 77. Again both players had chances in the next frame, and it was Murphy that really should have won it, but a good clearance of 33 from Mark Selby closed the gap once more to 4-7 with Shaun feeling the pressure. The next frame again saw chances for Shaun Murphy, but he kept handing chances for Selby and he hadn't settled as quickly as he did in the opening session as contributions of 43 and 34 from Mark put the pressure on "The Magician" as his lead was cut to 5-7. The last frame before the interval was key for both players, with 7-6 being a big collapse from 7-2 for Murphy, while 8-5 would still be a very good lead. After a couple of early chances, Shaun soon had a very good opportunity and with a good run of 60 he'd secured an 8-5 interval advantage. Selby continued fighting though and he won the first frame after the interval, after Murphy went on a lengthy hunt for a snooker. The 15th frame was key though with Selby making an early 49 break, but a great pot from Murphy got him in for a big steal and a fantastic clearance of 78 not only punished Selby but put Shaun a frame from victory at 9-6. Murphy had a few early chances in the next frame but he kept breaking down after unsuccessful attempts to split the pack, but some uncharacteristically poor safety shots from Selby kept giving Murphy chances an eventually Selby needed 3 snookers on the last red. He got 2 of them, but a long battle soon began on the colours as Selby searched for the last snooker and Murphy tried to get the pot he needed to put the match beyond doubt. Eventually it came down to the pink, and Selby left Shaun a chance too many to pot it as Shaun Murphy secured a 10-6 win over Mark Selby to take the Haikou World Open title, and his first ranking win for 3 years.




Brilliant stuff from Shaun Murphy who was by far the best player of the week, scoring well looking confident and being positive throughout the week. His win shows that not only does hard work on and off the table, working hard at his game and his fitness, but also that the change to go back to his naturally attacking style has worked and that players should always try and play their natural game. It also is reward for a player that is an incredible ambassador for the game of snooker on and off of the table, and the perfect role model for the younger generations. Credit also needs to go to Mark Selby, who was an exemplary professional again this week, giving it his all once again however tough times got throughout the week, and if he can find his best form soon he will win another ranking event before you know it.


It's been a brilliant week of snooker in Haikou this week with a lot of exciting and tense matches with good quality snooker played throughout the week. My only complaint would be that the crowd numbers don't really support what is otherwise a very good event. Next up it's the PTC Grand Finals after an upcoming 8 days that are free from any snooker.

Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy to contest Haikou World Open final

Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy will play out tomorrow's best-of-19 Haikou World Open final after both men won tense semi-finals today. Mark Selby won the first semi-final, but he was far from his best in the match and ended up grinding out a win against a Marco Fu that didn't find his game until it really was a little too late. Selby's highest break of the match was a 74 in the opener, followed by 33 which he made twice in the second frame but he still went into the mid-session break 4-0 ahead of a badly out of sorts Fu. Fu made a 70 to get his first frame on the board, but Selby grinded out the sixth frame to go a frame from victory at 5-1. However, Marco then dominated the next 3 frames with breaks of 50 and 104 along the way as Selby continued to struggle and Fu started to find his form. Fu missed the last red to force the decider in the tenth and after a long safety battle, it was eventually Fu that left it on for Mark after a snooker and Selby duly cleared up to fall over the line a 6-4 winner.


Shaun Murphy found himself at 1-1 early with Mark Allen, after they shared the 2 opening tense frames. Murphy though took a boost from winning the second after a good pot on the last red, and he quickly went 3-1 up at the interval with breaks of 74 and 69. Murphy quickly got to 57 in the fifth frame and looked like going 4-1 up, but he missed a trickier black and a great 66 clearance from Allen got him back into the match at 2-3. However, a terrible safety from Allen in the next gifted Murphy a chance which he took this time to go 2 clear again at 4-2 with a run of 67. Allen controlled a very scrappy 7th frame to close again to 4-3, and he had a chance to level at 4-4 but he missed a tricky last pink to the middle, which Murphy then made a nice pot on to go 5-3 ahead and 1 frame from the final. Murphy had an early chance to win, but could only make a break of 22 before going in-off and Mark punished him with a 100 clearance to close once more to 4-5. The tenth frame was incredibly tense, but good pots on brown and a great long pot on the blue to get on the pink gave Murphy a 7 point lead with the black left. After a short battle it was Mark that potted it to force a re-spot and after 10 minutes or more of fantastic safety play from both players, it was Allen that made the costly error, going in-off on a missed double attempt to give the victory to Shaun Murphy in lucky (or unlucky for Allen) circumstances.


Semi-final results:


Shaun Murphy 6-4 Mark Allen
Mark Selby 6-4 Marco Fu




Final Preview:


Mark Selby Vs Shaun Murphy - Both of our two finalists have been playing really well at different points this week, and have dealt with the pressured situations well when they have come along. Still I think Mark Selby has really not been playing at his absolute best for the whole of the week, only showing some of his best off against Liang Wenbo, and he was very lucky that Marco Fu played as badly as he did in the semi-finals for him to get through to tomorrows final. However, this isn't too dissimilar to the 2012 UK Championship, where Selby was far from his best for the whole tournament but still managed to grind out a win in the final against Shaun Murphy. Murphy though has been scoring well this week, and I think his safety play is actually much improved from the start of the season and he has been attacking the balls well. Shaun has also said that he has started to learn from his mistakes that he kept repeating in the last few years. He has had a poor record against Selby in major matches, and one of the mistakes he has made is letting Selby take control of the game and let the game go scrappy. If Murphy can get off to a good start and attack, as he has done all week, I believe he has a brilliant chance of victory.


Prediction: 10-7 to Shaun Murphy




Whatever the outcome it will be a good final, to finish a decent work of snooker, that has seen some great matches and exciting finishes. But will we have one more tomorrow? Well I can't wait to find out.

Selby, Fu, Allen and Murphy make up World Open semi-finals.

Mark Selby, Marco Fu, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy were the victors on quarter-finals day at the Haikou World Open and will now make up a superb semi-final line-up tomorrow, with some thrilling semi-finals in store. Mark Selby came through what could've been a much closer match against Alan McManus, after Alan McManus missed frame ball brown in the fifth to close to 2-3 and Selby forced a re-spot, which he then won to make it 4-1, by which time McManus was dead and buried. He now plays Marco Fu who was made to work slightly harder for his win against Mark Joyce.


Meanwhile, Shaun Murphy beat Graeme Dott on the final black in the deciding frame with a quite extraordinary fluke which left the Gdynia Open champion quite embarrassed. Murphy had led 3-0 before Dotty fought back in his classic style to go 4-3 in front with some great snooker, before Shaun forced the decider which he then won on the amazing fluke. He'll now play Mark Allen who beat John Higgins for the second year running in Haikou to keep up his hopes of a Haikou Hat-trick.


Quarter-Final Results:


Mark Allen 5-3 John Higgins
Shaun Murphy 5-4 Graeme Dott
Marco Fu 5-3 Mark Joyce
Mark Selby 5-1 Alan McManus




Semi-Final Preview: (picks in bold)


Mark Selby Vs Marco Fu - Both of these 2 guys have been playing brilliantly this week, with Mark Selby playing better in the last couple of games against Liang Wenbo and Alan McManus to show why I predicted him as tournament winner before the event started. However, he will have to pick up his performance another notch and bring out his really best form to beat Fu tomorrow. Marco has been playing sublimely in his last 2 games against Neil Robertson and then Mark Joyce, scoring amazingly and that will be tough for Selby to contend with so he will have to take his chances and show is usual brilliance in the safety department to have any chance.


Shaun Murphy Vs Mark Allen - Again here we will have another very close match between 2 players that are very evenly matched and have both been playing equally well this week so far. Shaun has good victories and produced some good performances to see off Jimmy White, Mark King, Ding Junhui and Graeme Dott and with some good scoring in these matches his confidence will be very high ahead of a very important match for him here. As for Mark Allen, he has probably played slightly better so far and been slightly more clinical in beating the likes of Mark Williams, Ricky Walden and John Higgins, and he is probably the slight favourite here to beat Shaun Murphy. Mark Allen has the better record in the Haikou World Open, having never lost a match in the tournament (with this being it's 3rd staging) and coupled with Murphy's poor record in major semi-finals, I fancy that Allen will just edge what will be a very entertaining and tense match.




Whether my predictions for the weekend are right or not, we are in for a very entertaining and exciting weekend of snooker with 4 very evenly matched players that could all easily win the event if they produce there best snooker. I'm really looking forward to it.

Higgins, Fu and Murphy come through deciders in Haikou

John Higgins produced a superb display of snooker to beat Judd Trump 5-4 from 4-0 down in one of the matches of the season I should think, while Shaun Murphy broke Ding Junhui's record of decider wins this season, beating him 5-4 on his own turf, and Marco Fu made 3 centuries in beating century machine Neil Robertson 5-4 on a re-spotted black.


Meanwhile, Mark Selby cruised to an easy victory against Liang Wenbo making 2 centuries to win the match, and there were also easy wins for Alan McManus over Dominic Dale, Graeme Dott over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Mark Allen over Ricky Walden.


Last 16 results:


Mark Allen 5-2 Ricky Walden
John Higgins 5-4 Judd Trump
Graeme Dott 5-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Shaun Murphy 5-4 Ding Junhui
Mark Selby 5-1 Liang Wenbo
Alan McManus 5-1 Dominic Dale
Mark Joyce 5-3 Kurt Maflin
Marco Fu 5-4 Neil Robertson




Quarter-Final Preview: (Picks in bold)


Mark Selby Vs Alan McManus - Alan McManus has been brilliant this week, picking up some brilliant results against Martin Gould, Robert Milkins and Dominic Dale to get to this stage and his game is very similar to Mark Selby's which will make tomorrows game even more interesting. However, Mark Selby seemed to be nearing something like his best form today with consecutive centuries to finish his match with Liang Wenbo and he's gradually improving throughout the week, so I really fancy him for the job tomorrow.


Marco Fu Vs Mark Joyce - Mark may have pulled off some very good results and performances this week against the likes of Barry Hawkins and a Kurt Maflin who was in very good form, but he hasn't yet had to play on the TV tables which may take some early adjusting to. Marco Fu meanwhile was on fire today against Neil Robertson, with 3 century breaks and if he can find that relentless form again tomorrow it will be too much for Mark Joyce to handle, and many of the players remaining in the tournament.


Mark Allen Vs John Higgins - Mark Allen may be the twice defending champion in Haikou and in the quarter-finals again this week, but it doesn't seem as though he's playing great stuff this week, and I think he'll need to step up his performance if he's to beat John. John Higgins meanwhile played absolutely sublimely today in coming from 4-0 down to beat Judd Trump 5-4, making 2 centuries along the way and he'll be very tough to beat if he can find that form on a consistent basis for the rest of the week. However, with consistency being Higgins problem these days we are in for a very close and tense snooker match.


Shaun Murphy Vs Graeme Dott - Shaun Murphy has been playing brilliantly this week, and he had to again today to beat Ding Junhui, as he will have to again tomorrow to beat Graeme Dott, but with his confidence high he'll really fancy his own chances of winning both this match and the event as a whole. Graeme Dott meanwhile has been playing well again this week and has slightly gone under the radar to reach this stage, and Shaun will be well aware that this is going to be an incredibly tough match against a very gritty player like Dotty who has also been scoring well this week. Although the head to head heavily points in Shaun's favour after he beat Dott in last seasons UK Championships, German Masters and World Championships as well as this years Championship League, but the majority of those matches were very close, just as tomorrows contest will be.




Looking at the players we have left this week, and the form that they are in, we have a great 3 days of snooker ahead of us with some close, entertaining and very tense matches as we reach the climax of the World Open in Haikou.

Ding comes back to get into the Last 16, Hawkins and Bingham crash out.

Ding Junhui came from 4-2 down to beat Pankaj Advani 5-4 in the Last 32 of the Haikou World Open, while Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy all had easy victories and Judd Trump came from 4-3 down to beat Matthew Stevens 5-4. Barry Hawkins lost 5-4 to Mark Joyce from 4-2, and Stuart Bingham lost to Dominic Dale 5-4.


Meanwhile, John Higgins had a good win against Michael White, while defending champion Mark Allen had a nice win against Mark Williams and Liang Wenbo enjoyed a good victory against Mark Davis.


Today's Last 32 results:


Mark Allen 5-3 Mark Williams
John Higgins 5-0 Michael White
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-1 Andrew Higginson
Graeme Dott 5-2 Ryan Day
Alan McManus 5-3 Robert Milkins
Dominic Dale 5-4 Stuart Bingham
Ding Junhui 5-4 Pankaj Advani
Mark Selby 5-2 Noppon Saengkham
Liang Wenbo 5-3 Mark Davis
Mark Joyce 5-4 Barry Hawkins
Kurt Maflin 5-2 Ali Carter
Judd Trump 5-4 Matthew Stevens
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Mark King
Ricky Walden 5-1 Ken Doherty
Marco Fu 5-3 Michael Holt
Neil Robertson 5-1 Rory McLeod


Last 16 Preview:


Mark Selby Vs Liang Wenbo - This will be a good match with Mark Selby having done what he's had to do so far, without being pretty impressive and Liang Wenbo has been playing relatively well also. The thing with Mark Selby is that what he always seems to find a way to do, is find a way to win, and I just feel that that is what he will do a lot this week, whilst not showing his best that much. Certain to be a close contest.


Alan McManus Vs Dominic Dale - Dominic has not played particularly well this week, but has found a way to come through 2 deciders having been in a bit of trouble. Alan McManus has played the better of the 2 and had 2 very good wins against Martin Gould and Robert Milkins, so the Scot will be very confident coming into this match and I fancy his chances of winning it.


Mark Joyce Vs Kurt Maflin - Kurt Maflin has been brilliant this week, scoring 2 superb wins against Joe Perry and Ali Carter, playing some truly brilliant snooker given the fact he picked up neck and shoulder injuries in a car crash on Saturday, so fair play to him- he deserves everything he gets this week. Mark Joyce scored an equally good win today against Barry Hawkins, from 4-2 down, but I honestly don't think he will have enough to deal with Kurt Maflin's scoring with the mood he's in this week.


Neil Robertson Vs Marco Fu - Neil Robertson seems to be nearing his brilliant best again this week, after a slightly dull patch from him. He made 2 more centuries into todays Last 32, taking him up to 3 for the week and 91 for the season. Marco is always hard to beat though and he won't give Neil an easy game, as Neil has found out this season already. However, I think if Neil Robertson is back to his best again after a mini blip, he will edge this close game.


Mark Allen Vs Ricky Walden - I don't think either one of these players has been sparkling this week, and tomorrows contest could be quite scrappy. Walden is always a little inconsistent, and matches involving him always seem to go a little scrappy for one reason or another. Allen I think has the slight edge on this weeks form though and that could well see him through, though it will be very close, particularly if Walden can grind Mark down.


Ding Junhui Vs Shaun Murphy - I really think you could flip a coin on this match and still not find a winner. Both players are playing superbly and scoring brilliantly. If anything Ding Junhui has been slightly off at times, which is why he ended up 4-2 down to Advani today, but under pressure he's performing superbly. The head to head this season is even with 1 win apiece for the 2 players, with Ding's coming on Chinese soil which means that he has the slight (and only slight) upper hand.


Graeme Dott Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh- Both players have been playing fairly well this week, but I think Graeme will be able to grind Un-Nooh out with a lot of  safety play tomorrow, and if he can make frames go scrappy then he will be a big favourite. I think this match could well come down to Un-Nooh's temperament and how he deals with the match if it gets a bit dis-jointed, and he'll need to take his chances.


John Higgins Vs Judd Trump - John and Judd have played alright this week, Trump played a lot better in the Last 64 than he did against Stevens, though he did say it was a bit muggy and conditions were a little tougher. Higgins I don't think has scored as well as the score lines he's winning by would suggest, and he could be vulnerable to Judd, if Judd is scoring like he did in round 1 and the Championship League finals, and if John can't take his own chances.




Whatever happens here, I think that we have some brilliant matches here, including a big one for the "father of the blog" Shaun Murphy. Looking forward to it.

Favourites through in Haikou, Maguire and Perry suffer Last 64 exits.

The majority of the hot favourites and top 16 players made it into the Last 32 of the Haikou World Open, with stars like Neil Robertson, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy all having relatively easy wins, while Stephen Maguire fell in a decider to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Joe Perry was beaten by injured Kurt Maflin. The likes of Barry Hawkins and Ricky Walden meanwhile survived final frame deciders to book their Last 32 places.


Ding Junhui wasn't all that impressive, but he didn't need to be as he was let off of the hook several times by Li Yan, while the likes of Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy and then Judd Trump did put in impressive shifts, while twice defending champion Mark Allen was as good as he needed to be against Mike Dunn, and Selby's match with Hamilton was quite a scrappy affair.


Last 64 Results:


Mark Allen 5-2 Mike Dunn
Mark Williams 5-1 Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty 5-2 Barry Pinches
Ricky Walden 5-4 Alfie Burden
John Higgins 5-1 Alex Davies
Michael White 5-3 Aditya Mehta
Matthew Stevens 5-0 Yu De Lu
Judd Trump 5-0 Chen Zifan
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-4 Stephen Maguire
Andrew Higginson 5-2 Craig Steadman
Graeme Dott 5-2 Tian Pengfei
Ryan Day 5-4 Michael Wasley
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Jimmy White
Mark King 5-2 Cao Yupeng
Pankaj Advani 5-4 Xiao Guodong
Ding Junhui 5-1 Li Yan
Mark Selby 5-3 Anthony Hamilton
Noppon Saengkham 5-2 Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo 5-1 Scott Donaldson
Mark Davis 5-0 Adam Wicheard
Robert Milkins 5-2 Rod Lawler
Alan McManus 5-1 Martin Gould
Dominic Dale 5-4 Michael Leslie
Stuart Bingham 5-3 Steve Davis
Barry Hawkins 5-4 Matt Selt
Mark Joyce 5-2 David Morris
Ali Carter 5-3 David Gilbert
Kurt Maflin 5-1 Joe Perry
Marco Fu 5-3 Anthony McGill
Michael Holt 5-1 Nigel Bond
Rory McLeod 5-4 Tom Ford
Neil Robertson 5-1 Jamie Jones


Last 32 Preview:


Mark Allen Vs Mark Williams - This match sees the battle of the Mark's in the Last 32, and I think this will be a fairly even contest between 2 players that are only separated by a couple of places in the rankings these days. Allen seemed to start off more positively in the Last 64, and I think he'll be the firm favourite for this one, having good memories of Haikou and having never lost there to this day.


John Higgins Vs Michael White - This will be a very interesting game with both players coming through scrappier matches in the Last 64, but Higgins seemed to be coming back into something nearer his best form in the Welsh Open and in Championship League group 7 so I think he will have the edge in this one over the up and coming Michael White.


Andrew Higginson Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - This match could be decided on the flip of a coin, and could well go to a deciding frame. Higginson had a routine Last 64 win and his form seems to be improving over the last month or so. As for Un-Nooh, he had a brilliant win against Maguire in the Last 64 and he is so dangerous when at his best. With Thepchaiya needing the wins to hold on to his tour place, the extra pressure will be on him and that may increase Higginson's chances if Un-Nooh can't respond.


Graeme Dott Vs Ryan Day - This is sure to be another close match, between another 2 very evenly matched players. Ryan Day had to come from 4-1 down to beat Michael Wasley in the Last 64, which doesn't bode well for his chances of having a good run. Graeme meanwhile, had a much more routine win against Tian Pengfei, and you'd have put him as the slight favourite on paper anyway, and i'll think he'll just edge this one.


Robert Milkins Vs Alan McManus - This will be another interesting game, with Alan beating Martin Gould convincingly today and having a good season so far, while Milkins has had a pretty poor season since semi-final appearances at the Australian Open and Wuxi Classic. I think Alan is the kind of player that can grind Robert down, and when that happens Milkins can let things get to him pretty quickly. I fancy McManus to win this one.


Stuart Bingham Vs Dominic Dale - Stuart seems to be back into some good form, winning the Asian Tour event 4 last week, and playing well in his win against Steve Davis in the Last 64. Meanwhile, Dale had to scrape through from 4-2 down to beat Michael Leslie (who I've been less than convinced with in his 2 years on tour). If Stuart is playing well here, and is back to his Pre-Christmas self, I can't see Dale stopping him.


Ding Junhui Vs Pankaj Advani - Ding Junhui has been absolutely awesome all season, and showed again in his match today against Li Yan that he does what he needs to do on the day. He also says that he's relaxed playing in this tournament which will make it even tougher for anyone to beat him and make him a more dangerous animal. I simply can't see Advani having a chance of beating him here.


Mark Selby Vs Noppon Saengkham - This will be a tough game for Mark who came through a scrappy game against Hamilton in round 1 here, while Saengkham had a good (but expected) win against Gerard Greene. However, I did say Selby would win the tournament from the start, and as good a player as Noppon is, I don't see any reason to change that prediction just yet.


Mark Davis Vs Liang Wenbo - Liang Wenbo has been playing really well lately, and he showed this again in the opening round against Scott Donaldson, while Mark Davis came into the tournament in reasonably poor form, and didn't seem to be that impressive in a convincing win against amateur Adam Wicheard. I fancy that Liang is getting back to something like his best form, and when he does he really is a top top player.


Barry Hawkins Vs Mark Joyce - Mark Joyce played well today it seemed against David Morris, while Barry Hawkins Last 64 match saw him hold on, having let a 4-0 lead slip, to beat Matt Selt 5-4. That is not particularly convincing from Barry, but I don't think he'll repeat those mistakes again tomorrow against Mark.


Ali Carter Vs Kurt Maflin - This could be another case of beware the wounded beast as, despite shoulder injuries picked up in a car accident a few days ago, Kurt still got his scoring boots on again to beat Joe Perry 5-1 in the opening round. As for Ali, his start didn't seem convincing against David, but I still make him favourite to beat Kurt tomorrow, especially if his injuries catch up with him the further the week goes on. Will still be a very close match though.


Ricky Walden Vs Ken Doherty - Ken hasn't had the best season so far, struggling for large parts of it, and it's not getting any easier for him here against Walden. Having scrapped hard to beat Pinches I round 1 Ken now has to play a Ricky Walden who didn't have a great start, but still made a deciding frame century to beat Alfie Burden today, which could be a good measure of how he's playing this week.


Judd Trump Vs Matthew Stevens - Both players here had 5-0 wins in the Last 64, and will be pleased with how they've played in those games. Judd scored heavily in his win over Chen Zifan, and will be high in confidence after his Championship League tournament win last week, and I think he can run deep in this event. Matthew had a run to the final here a year ago, beating Trump along the way, but Trump was very much out of form at the time, and playing a lot worse than he is now, while Stevens will need to improve a fair bit if he is going to match his performances from 12 months ago.


Marco Fu Vs Michael Holt - Marco Fu had a good start today against Anthony McGill, seeing off the Scotsman's late charge to record a 5-3 win, while Michael Holt had a simple win and did what he had to do to beat Nigel Bond. I think Marco is in slightly better form coming into this, and Holty will need to raise his game a notch if he is to beat Fu here, but it should be a close game either way. If it goes scrappy though, there is only one winner in my mind.


Shaun Murphy Vs Mark King - Shaun was sublime today against Jimmy White, in what I thought was a very impressive performance, coming off the back of some good recent form. King meanwhile, did what he had to against Cao Yupeng, and will need to step it up quite a bit if he is to really trouble Shaun tomorrow and make it a close game.


Neil Robertson Vs Rory McLeod - These 2 met at the Welsh Open on the TV table a couple of weeks back and Rory really looked quite poor, while Robertson did enough to win the game quite comfortably in the end. I can't really see a lot changing here, with the match being on a TV table again tomorrow, and Robertson playing very well against Jamie Jones and looking hungry for more century breaks. McLeod seemed to be playing ok in the Wildcard round and the Last 64 on outside tables against easier opponents but he will be right up against it here.




It should be another good day of snooker though tomorrow with a lot of close matches in the Last 32, and a lot more thrilling snooker in prospect as the draw starts to thin out. I'll be back tomorrow to preview the Last 16 action and quickly look back at what happened in the Last 32.

Haikou World Open Preview

It's already been an eventful start to all things surrounding the Haikou World Open which starts on Monday with the Last 64 at the venue (and some wildcard matches) with the format of best-of-9 frames until the semi-finals which are the obligatory best-of-11 frames and the final next Sunday which is a best-of-19 affair. In the first 2 years of this event being staged there has been some controversy or problems of some kind as Mark Allen has won the event both years it has been held. Last year the story was that a lot of players cues and baggage and cues went missing, as Andrew Higginson lost to a wildcard without his cue, Ricky Walden had to borrow Stephen Maguire's cue and clothes (which were far too big), and Matthew Stevens saw off both David Gilbert and Shaun Murphy without his own cue, coming from behind in both games before eventually losing in the final once he'd got his cue back.


This year though the thing seems to be car crashes and dodgy taxi drivers who drive too fast and don't have seat belts in the back. Craig Steadman was the first to be involved in one, posting a photo on Twitter of a badly mashed up vehicle, but quickly reassuring snooker fans that he got out with just a few scratches, while Kurt Maflin now has a sore neck and shoulders having been involved in a car crash with some poor taxi driving at the centre again. I'm hoping World Snooker can find the players a safer way of getting around, having had 2 warnings already, a third could be fatal so I'm praying that we won't have to hear about any more of it.


Off table matters aside, let's have a look ahead to on table matters this week:

Quarter 1

Last 64 Draw: (picks in bold)


Mark Allen Vs Mike Dunn
Yuan Sijun Vs Mark Williams
Ken Doherty Vs Barry Pinches
Alfie Burden Vs Ricky Walden
John Higgins Vs Alex Davies
Aditya Mehta Vs Michael White
Matthew Stevens Vs Yu De Lu
Sanderson Lam/Chen Zifan Vs Judd Trump


In this quarter we have the twice defending and only Haikou World Open champion Mark Allen, this years UK Championship semi-finalist Ricky Walden, Championship League champion Judd Trump and John Higgins that are all well capable of winning the quarter this week as well as the title itself. The welsh pair of Matthew Stevens who was a runner-up in Haikou last year and Mark Williams both have outside chances of winning the quarter, but in one filled with such quality it will be tough for them unless they can re-find their best form.


In terms of tour survival at the end of the season, Mike Dunn could do with a win, but has to start up against Mark Allen, while Barry Pinches also needs a win or two this week, but could have easier matches, but also much tougher ones than his Last 64 opponent Ken Doherty.


In terms of winning the quarter, the only in form man in the entire quarter is Judd Trump who played very well last week to win the Championship League and he seemed to be continuing on from the German Masters where he re-discovered his best and reached the final. If he's at his best again here this week, I can't see anyone beating him from this quarter, though you can never right off John Higgins who beat Trump in the recent Welsh Open and Mark Allen who hasn't yet lost a match in Haikou, but hasn't been at his best in the big events this year so far.


Quarter Winner: Judd Trump

Quarter 2

Last 64 Draw: (picks in bold)
Stephen Maguire Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Craig Steadman Vs Andrew Higginson
Ryan Day Vs Michael Wasley
Tian Pengfei Vs Graeme Dott
Shaun Murphy Vs Jimmy White
Mark King Vs Cao Yupeng
Xiao Guodong Vs Pankaj Advani
Ding Junhui Vs Li Yan


This quarter sees the likes of 4 times ranking winner of the season so far Ding Junhui, Gdynia Open champion Shaun Murphy, Scottish duo Stephen Maguire and Graeme Dott as well as Shanghai Masters runner-up Xiao Guodong and German Masters semi-finalist Ryan Day. It looks like a very tight quarter and an incredibly tough call, particularly with 2 massive home favourites due to meet in the Last 32.


There are other matters to think about though, with a lot of players in this section looking for a win to boost their money ranking positions. Jimmy White is still in a good position in the top 64 for now, but a win against in-form Shaun Murphy wouldn't be sniffed at by him. Meanwhile, Tian Pengfei, Li Yan, Craig Steadman, Michael Wasley and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh are all in need of wins if they are to keep their tour places, but none of them seem to have easy draws at all.


In terms of winning the quarter, you have to favour Ding Junhui who has won 4 ranking events this season and made the final of the Welsh Open recently as well, and he has been far and away the most consistent player only really failing in the Masters of late when he was beaten in the first round by Shaun Murphy. Speaking of Shaun, he'll be looking forward to this event and he's in good form having made the semi-finals of the Championship League, only being denied by some Trump brilliance, and when he won the Gdynia Open he received a huge boost of confidence which could spur him on to winning a full ranker very soon. Maguire meanwhile will fancy his chances of making at least the quarter-finals and he's been lacking a title this season so this could well be his week if he can play well. However, seeing how good Ding is on a regular basis and how much better he is now than 99% of the players on tour, it is so tough to see past him winning every event.


Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui

Quarter 3

Last 64 Draw: (picks in bold)


Mark Selby Vs Anthony Hamilton
Noppon Saengkham Vs Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo Vs Scott Donaldson/Lin Shuai
Adam Wicheard Vs Mark Davis
Rod Lawler Vs Robert Milkins
Alan McManus Vs Martin Gould
Dominic Dale Vs Michael Leslie
Stuart Bingham Vs Steve Davis


This quarter sees the likes of UK and Masters runner-up Mark Selby, recent Asian Tour 4 winner Stuart Bingham, another Asian Tour Winner Liang Wenbo, shoot-out champion Dominic Dale, Mark Davis, Robert Milkins and Championship League runner-up Martin Gould.


For me though, only 2 of those players are in any kind of form to win this quarter and they are Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby. Mark Davis and Robert Milkins are both in very poor form at the moment and as good as they may be, I can't see either having significant runs this week. Mark Selby though has been playing ok of late without winning the big titles that he is after, and he will be desperate to get a win before the end of the season after a very lean year by his standards. Having made the UK and Masters finals, and more recently the Welsh Open quarter-finals, there are signs there that he could have a good week and return to some better form. Stuart Bingham meanwhile, having just won the Asian Tour event 4 yesterday, he will really fancy his chances of victory this week and it would be good to see him return to his best form after going missing for a few months snooker wise since making the UK semi-finals and the final of the Champion of Champions.


Quarter Winner: Mark Selby

Quarter 4

Last 64 Draw: (picks in bold)
Barry Hawkins Vs Matt Selt
Mark Joyce Vs David Morris
Ali Carter Vs David Gilbert
Kurt Maflin Vs Joe Perry
Marco Fu Vs Anthony McGill
Nigel Bond Vs Michael Holt
Tom Ford Vs Rory McLeod/Zhao Xintong
Neil Robertson Vs Jamie Jones


Again this quarter is packed with brilliant players, including UK Champion Neil Robertson, Australian Open champion Marco Fu, recent Welsh Open semi-finalists Joe Perry and Barry Hawkins, as well as Ali Carter. So some brilliant players in good form ahead of this one and it's going to be tough to call this quarter.


Neil Robertson has been in good form all season, but has just gone off of the boil in the last month or so, and the last week off may help him or it may not if he has just rested and not put enough practice in, which may be why he has struggled in the last month anyway. Barry Hawkins meanwhile, had had a very lean year since his world championship final last season, and it was good to see him play well again in Wales to make the semi-finals, and with some time off since then I think he'll be able to carry on his form into this event with no problem. Joe Perry played well in the Welsh Open to reach the semi-finals and give Ding a run for his money, but than he had to go straight from there to the Championship League finals where he struggled and finished bottom of the 7 man group, and with a short turnaround before this and a tough first round game, it will be interesting to see what form he is in. Marco Fu has been consistently inconsistent and unpredictable all season, following good performances up with poor ones, and poor ones up with brilliant ones. At the Welsh Open he made the quarter-finals with some good performances, but he has been knocked out in the opening round at the venue a couple of times already this season to players he should be beating in his sleep, so anything can happen with Marco.


As I say it's a tough call, but I think there's one man that's in slightly better form coming to Haikou than everyone else in this quarter.


Quarter Winner: Barry Hawkins


Tournament Runner-up: Ding Junhui


Tournament Winner: Mark Selby


Whatever happens, I hope it will be a very enjoyable week of snooker, without anymore classic Haikou off-table incidents to report and i'll be back throughout the week with daily updates on results and previews of the upcoming rounds.

Top Trump wins Championship League

Judd Trump scooped the Championship League title last night with some great performances especially on the 2nd day. On the day he beat Martin Gould 3-2 from 2-0 down and lost 3-2 to Shaun Murphy in his final 2 round robin games, to finish 4th in the group by 1 frame or Ricky Walden, and play Shaun Murphy again in the semi-finals, after Murphy topped the group having only lost his first round robin game on Wednesday.


The other semi-final saw Stephen Maguire, who finished 2nd in the group with 4 wins from 6, but losing a little momentum from losing his final group game 3-2 to Ricky Walden who finished 5th, take on Martin Gould who finished 3rd with 3 wins from 6 after wins against Walden and Perry on day 2 saw him into the semi-finals.


The semi-finals didn't go according to the round-robin form book though, as 3rd place finished Martin Gould thrashed 2nd placed Maguire 3-0 in the semi-finals to avenge his 3-2 defeat in the group stages. He then played Judd Trump in the final after he avenged his defeat from just a couple of hours before 3-2 against Shaun Murphy. Having led 2-0, Shaun battled back well to force the decider well, but Judd potted some amazing balls in the decider and Shaun Murphy didn't really have a chance, as Judd took the win.


Martin Gould was completely outplayed in the final as Judd started off with a break of 119 to take the opening frame, and then early breaks of 36 and 34 were enough to put Trump 2-0 in front and 1 frame from the title. It looked like Trump would get there in the 3rd, as a break of 64 put him 58 points ahead with 59 on, but a superb 59 clearance from Martin Gould kept him in the match at 1-2. However, Judd Trump won in style in the 4th frame as a break of 109 gave the 24 year old the Championship League top prize for the 2nd time in his career and a place in next seasons Champion of Champions.


Judd played very well on the last day, and played with maximum professionalism throughout the day, particularly in his final group game with Shaun Murphy, where both players have to be given credit for giving it 100% despite both players already being through. It seemed like he was back to his best, and if he can carry that through to China then he has every chance of victory in the Haikou World Open next week.


I'll be back to preview that tournament over the weekend and I'm looking forward to it already.

Championship League Winners Group: Day 1 round-up

The Championship League winners group is looking very tight after the first day, with 4 players locked on 2 points from their opening games, while Stephen Maguire has had a decent day, with 3 points from his first 4 games, while Joe Perry is in trouble with 0 wins from his first 3 games, while defending champion Martin Gould has had 1 win from 3 games, though given the amount of frames he's won he still has a great chance.


Let's have a look at today's results then:


Ricky Walden 3-1 Joe Perry
Stephen Maguire 3-2 Judd Trump
Martin Gould 3-2 Shaun Murphy
Ricky Walden 3-0 Ryan Day
Judd Trump 3-2 Joe Perry
Shaun Murphy 3-1 Stephen Maguire
Ryan Day 3-2 Martin Gould
Judd Trump 3-1 Ricky Walden
Stephen Maguire 3-1 Joe Perry
Shaun Murphy 3-0 Ryan Day
Ryan Day 3-0 Judd Trump
Stephen Maguire 3-2 Martin Gould


Just a reminder of tomorrow's remaining round-robin games:


Ricky Walden Vs Martin Gould
Joe Perry Vs Shaun Murphy
Stephen Maguire Vs Ryan Day
Judd Trump Vs Martin Gould
Joe Perry Vs Ryan Day
Ricky Walden Vs Shaun Murphy
Judd Trump Vs Shaun Murphy
Joe Perry Vs Martin Gould
Ricky Walden Vs Stephen Maguire




Now for the table after proceedings on Day 1:


Maguire: Played 4  Won 3  Frames won 10  Frames lost 8  Points 3
Murphy: Pld  3  Won 2  Frames won 8  Frames lost 4  Points 2
Trump: Pld 4  Won 2  Frames won 8  Frames lost 9  Points 2
Walden: Pld 3  Won 2  Frames won 7  Frames lost 4  Points 2
Day: Pld 4  Won 2  Frames won 6  Frames Lost 8  Points 2
Gould: Pld 3  Won 1  Frames won 7  Frames Lost 8  Points 1
Perry: Pld 3  Won 0  Frames won 4  Frames Lost 9  Points 0




It all looks very close and a touch confusing, and there isn't really any easy games for me to really rate who has the best chance of making the semi-finals. Normally in these circumstances you'd say that Maguire should be through, already having 3 points, which is usually enough, but with 4 players on 2 it could be a lot closer if he doesn't get another win tomorrow. Murphy and Walden obviously have slight advantages over Trump and Day who are all on 2 points, with Shaun and Ricky having an extra match tomorrow to get the 2 wins they'd need to be certain, with Murphy looking in the best situation if he could get 1 more win tomorrow and not lose too heavily in his other 2 matches, though he won't be looking at it like that. Martin Gould will need at least a couple of wins from his 3 remaining games and looking at how many frame wins he's got already, while Joe Perry really needs to win his remaining 3 group games and hope other results go his way.


As I've already stated it all looks incredibly close for tomorrow to see who gets into the semi-finals but once it's all sorted out, the likes of Maguire and Murphy (with 2 centuries today) looked to have been playing well today and I think they both have very good chances of winning, while there a few outsiders who can also go on and win it. Whatever happens it makes for a very exciting ending to Championship league snooker at Crondon Park in 2014.

Championship League Winners Group 2014 Preview

Today and Thursday see the culmination of what will be 16 days of snooker in total at Crondon Park in the Championship League. The event is broadcast on the internet only, on the World Snooker and usual betting streams, and the format has seen 7 groups of 7 players with the winner making up a 7 man strong winners group. The men involved in the winners group are: Ricky Walden, Joe Perry, Judd Trump, Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy, Martin Gould and Ryan Day.


Here are the fixtures for the round robin games:


Wednesday 5th March:


Ricky Walden Vs Joe Perry
Judd Trump Vs Stephen Maguire
Shaun Murphy Vs Martin Gould
Ryan Day Vs Ricky Walden
Joe Perry Vs Judd Trump
Stephen Maguire Vs Shaun Murphy
Martin Gould Vs Ryan Day
Ricky Walden Vs Judd Trump
Joe Perry Vs Stephen Maguire
Shaun Murphy Vs Ryan Day
Judd Trump Vs Ryan Day
Martin Gould Vs Stephen Maguire


Thursday 6th March:


Ricky Walden Vs Martin Gould
Joe Perry Vs Shaun Murphy
Stephen Maguire Vs Ryan Day
Judd Trump Vs Martin Gould
Joe Perry Vs Ryan Day
Ricky Walden Vs Shaun Murphy
Judd Trump Vs Shaun Murphy
Joe Perry Vs Martin Gould
Ricky Walden Vs Stephen Maguire


Semi- Finals:
Group Place 1st Vs Group Place 4th
Group Place 2nd Vs Group 3rd


The Final




Here's what I make of the chances of the 7 players battling out for the title of 2014 Championship League winner and a place in the 2014 Champion of Champions:


Ricky Walden: Ricky was the winner of the first group, playing some decent snooker, but nothing special and I did wonder at the time how he won the final against Judd Trump. His form has been nothing special since then with a quarter-final at the Masters and a Last 16 at the Welsh Open in the only 2 tournaments he's been in since. Looking at the other players in the group and some of the momentum they'll be bringing in with them, it's hard to see Ricky making the semi-finals, especially as he could be a touch short on match practice and will need a good start.
Predicted Finish: 6th in the group


Joe Perry: Joe was the winner of group 2 in a very impressive group performance only losing 1 group game, before getting a decent semi-final win and beating Trump 3-0 in 30 minutes in the group final. He's played very well all season and has backed that up recently by making the Welsh Open semi-finals and the German Masters quarter-finals, losing on both occasions to Ding Junhui. I think Perry is certainly a dark horse for the win this in the next couple of days, having been in good form all season and starting to beat some of the best players again.
Predicted Finish: Losing semi-finalist


Judd Trump: Judd was the winner of group 3, having also been in the finals of groups 1 and 2, and he's played some decent snooker in the last month or 2, and hasn't played particularly badly all year, but he seems to have been lacking a bit of the cutting edge he had around a year or two ago, and also lacking a large portion of luck this year. If the luck could just turn Judd's way for the next couple of days, it could kick start his season with 4 ranking events still to play, and if he could gain some confidence here, he could use it to go on and win a big one. He made the German Masters final at the start of February and had it not been for some Ding brilliance he could well have taken the title there. I think he'll go far this week.
Predicted Finish: Group Winner


Stephen Maguire: Stephen won group 4 of the Championship League at his first attempt, avoiding the same embarrassments of last year when he played on 6 groups only not to make the winners group. Maguire's been playing ok but not great recently, though he was suffering from back problems in Wales last week where he was knocked out in the last 16. If he has been able to recover enough to get some good practice in for this one then he has every chance of winning this, though things could crash and burn for him if he hasn't been able to shake off the pain of last week.
Predicted Finish: Group runner-up


Shaun Murphy: Shaun won group 5 of the Championship League about a month ago, just a couple of days after winning the Gdynia Open. Shaun is probably one of the form men of this group, though he hasn't made it past the Last 16 in a full ranking event this season, and after a surprising Last 32 defeat at the Welsh Open from 3-1 up, he will want to put all that behind him with a good performance. Shaun's been working hard ahead of the month of snooker, but he won't just be regarding this as match practice, he'll by trying 100% for the win. I'd be slightly surprised if he didn't make the group semi-finals.
Predicted Finish: Losing group semi-finalist


Martin Gould: Martin group 6 of the Championship League, and is the defending champion from last year so he clearly is a big fan of the short format at Crondon Park. However, I was pretty surprised when he won group 6 after playing pretty badly all season, and then he followed it up with a loss in the China Open qualifier and a Last 64 loss in the Welsh Open, so he is clearly struggling and with a winners group full of top players, he might not be able to turn things around in the next 2 days.
Predicted Finish: 7th in the group


Ryan Day: Ryan was the winner of group 7 just yesterday, and has played pretty well in the 4 groups he was involved in. Often the group 7 winner has been able to take some of their momentum into the winners group and have a good run, and I wouldn't be surprised if Day managed this as well, especially as he has been playing some decent stuff away from Crondon as well, making the German Masters semi-finals. I think he has a great chance of making the semi-finals, but unfortunately so does everyone else in the group, so it will be very tough for the Welshman.
Predicted Finish: 5th in the group




Anyway, whatever happens it will be a good couple of days of snooker at Crondon Park, and I'm looking forward to watching as much of it as I can unfold on the streams as the Championship League is one of my favourite little events for some strange reason.

Prince of Wales Ronnie O'Sullivan has broken the back of the snooker system

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Welsh Open title last night for the 3rd time beating 4 time ranking winner of the season so far Ding Junhui 9-3 in the final.


Ding was nowhere near his best in the opening session having several chances to win several of the frames, but he couldn't seem to take any of them, going from a position where he could have been at 4-4 had he taken his chances, to 1-7 down after the first session of 8 frames, and Ronnie (who'd made a couple of 90 breaks) only 2 frames from taking the title. The final session started off with Ding Junhui showing us how close the final could've been had he taken his first session chances making 2 centuries to close the gap to 3-7. He had another chance in the next to steal the frame from Ronnie, but he couldn't take it and O'Sullivan put himself a frame from victory at 3-8. Ronnie O'Sullivan then went on and won the match in only a way that Ronnie O'Sullivan could win a match and a tournament, with a maximum 147 break. It showed how sublimely Ronnie had been playing and brought the roof off of the Newport Centre, especially when he had to play the last red left handed, from the right side cushion in the top half of the table, and play a deep screw shot to get back on the black. Despite playing the black left-handed he played the shot to perfection, and better than 99% of tour players would have played it with their "stronger hands".


It showed the genius of the man that is Ronnie O'Sullivan, who many people now believe is currently the best British sportsman, which begs the question as to how this man (who is the best player by a country mile in his chosen sport) was not nominated for sports personality last year, and if he doesn't get nominated this year I think there will be an even bigger up roar than there was last year. However, Ronnie's performances in Wales this week also show how he has mastered the snooker system to his advantage, something that no other player on tour has been able to do. Ronnie does a fantastic job of picking and choosing his events to ensure that he is not only fresh when it matters, but so that he is happy in himself and able to find a balance between his snooker, his family and social lives. In fact you could see yesterday in the Welsh Open final that he was probably the happiest he has been playing snooker, and enjoying playing the game, more than he has done for many, many years. What Ronnie does is play some of the smaller PTC events in Europe, whilst making sure that he is fresh and ready for the big UK events like the UK Championship, Masters, Welsh Open and the World Championship. Meanwhile, while Ronnie has his feet up at home or is out for a nice relaxing run, the rest of the snooker players are slogging their guts out travelling here, there and everywhere to win a race that has this season become about coming 2nd place to either Ronnie, Ding or Neil Robertson. Are the very top players benefiting from playing every week? In most cases the answer is no! Only on a few occasions do you see players play themselves into good form, and that mostly still comes from their hard work and dedication off of the table. With players playing so much though, do they put in enough practice? In some cases the answer could again be no. Having won 3 ranking events prior to Christmas, Ding Junhui was so tired by the UK Championships, that after that he went home to China and had 2 weeks complete rest and came back for the Masters terribly unprepared and lost in the opening round. The same thing happened to Neil Robertson before last seasons World Championship, having won the China Open to not practice as much as he knows he should have and (you guessed it) lost in the opening round. So out of the top players in the world, there really is only one player that has it right and that is Masters, Welsh Open and Champion of Champions winner Ronnie O'Sullivan.




Just a final grumble from me on this event now. I'm starting to get a little bit sick and tired of watching every event and seeing a few things. Firstly, I'm sick and tired of seeing the same players play every game on the TV table, regardless of who they are playing, before they get knocked out. The Welsh Open personified this with only having 1 TV table from the Last 64 to the Final, with Barry Hawkins being able to get to the semi-finals without actually being on TV for 1 minute of his campaign. TV companies need to find some sort of rotation policy so that regular fans aren't stuck with seeing the same names day in day out on the Televised table(s). Another grumble, this time about table conditions. I'm sick and tired of seeing the same poor table conditions at every event, without anything seemingly being done by the governing body to get it sorted despite research being done left, right and centre to find the cause of kicks and bad bounces, and the BBC even showed a feature at The Masters with Shaun Murphy having done extensive research in to what causes kicks, yet still slow progress is being made. In fact the main table was even seen to have a slight roll on more than one occasion in the semi-finals which wasn't being caused by finger marks. Finally, to bring the rant to a close, I'm going to just say a few words on the format. It's shocking that a respected world ranking event in the UK has to be played over a best-of-7 frames format from the Last 128 to the Last 16 with the quarter-finals being best-of-9 frames. This is really only for one reason and that is to fit it all in, with 4 tables and a roll-on roll-off system also being deployed. To me, until the semi-finals it really did feel like we were watching a slightly higher market PTC event, and when the Welsh Open is moved to Cardiff next year I hope they have a serious think about the format and structure of the event.




Other than that I really enjoyed a good week of snooker, and I'm now looking forward to the next thing on the snookering agenda which is the Championship League winners group on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui set up "dream" Welsh Open final

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui were able to set-up a magnificent Welsh Open final, and the final I predicted before the tournament even started, with brilliant performances in their respective semi-final matches yesterday.


Barry Hawkins started off with a century in his semi-final against Ronnie yesterday, but then had to suffer as O'Sullivan won 2 frames on the black with sublime clearances and made 3 centuries as a helpless Barry Hawkins had very few chances and suffered a 6-2 defeat.


Ding Junhui was also in superb form though in his match with Joe Perry today, dominating the early stages of the match to go from 1-0 down to 1-3 ahead at the interval. Perry soon put Ding under pressure though with 2 good frames to level at 3-3, before Ding Junhui took control again with a 2 superb breaks of 55 and 88 to move 5-3 ahead, before a 69 from Perry made it 4-5. Then we saw one of the better breaks of the tournament as Ding pulled off several pots when many players would have played safe, to keep the break going as he went on to make a match winning total clearance of 118.


Yesterday's semi-final results:
Ding Junhui 6-4 Joe Perry
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 Barry Hawkins




Final Preview:


Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ding Junhui - Ding Junhui and Ronnie O'Sullivan have been a cut above every other player not only this week, but throughout the season as Ronnie has won the Masters and the Champion of Champions so far this season of the selected events that he has entered, while Ding Junhui has entered much more, and won 3 ranking events in a row earlier in the season taking the Shanghai Masters, Indian Open and International Championship titles, before winning his 4th of the season last month at the German Masters. Both have pulled out sublime snooker this week, that I believe only these 2 players can produce, which makes this final an even bigger prospect. Both have been brilliant when they needed to be, with Ding making 2 centuries to come from 4-2 down to beat Joel Walker 4-3 in the quarter-finals and going up another couple of gears from 3-3 in the semi-finals to win 6-4. As for Ronnie, he hadn't been at his sublime best all week, but hadn't needed to be until last night when he went up about 3 gears sensing the threat that Hawkins could produce, and ultimately leaving him helpless as O'Sullivan produced the snooker of the week. We all know the benefits that Ronnie has been able to reap by skipping events this year, but Ding has also been quite tactical, missing the Championship League events and the last Euro Tour event, making this his first event since he won the German Masters. Ronnie has been playing some of the best snooker of his career at the moment, and I think only  highly improved Ding Junhui both tactically and mentally can get anywhere near him, and if he can put O'Sullivan under pressure we will have a real game on, which Ronnie hasn't really had all week. I predicted this final at the events start, and then tipped Ding to win it back then, and I believe he could pull off what many would consider an upset today, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me.


Prediction: 9-7 to Ding Junhui


Whatever happens it will be a really entertaining final to end this good week of snooker from the Newport centre in Wales. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will.

Ronnie breazes past Higgins to make semi's, comeback Ding beats young Walker

Ronnie O'Sullivan thrashed a very below par John Higgins yesterday afternoon to ease his way into the Welsh Open semi-finals in Newport, where has set-up a repeat of the World Championship final with Barry Hawkins, who played some sublime snooker to whitewash the man that ended the last Welsh hopes - Marco Fu.


The first semi-final this afternoon though will see Joe Perry, who beat an under performing Mark Selby 5-1 yesterday evening whilst also playing pretty well himself. He'll be up against Ding Junhui, who is searching for his 5th ranking title of the season, after Ding came back from 4-2 down against impressive young Joel Walker, making consecutive centuries in frames 8 and the decider to win the match.


Quarter-Final results:


Ding Junhui 5-4 Joel Walker
Joe Perry 5-1 Mark Selby
Barry Hawkins 5-0 Marco Fu
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 John Higgins


Semi-finals Preview: (Picks in bold)


Ding Junhui Vs Joe Perry - Both players have played well and had some good victories this week, Perry has had the much tougher route so far beating Stevens and Bingham in deciders and thrashing a very below par Mark Selby who gave him lots of chances. One thing Perry won't get a lot of today is chances, just as many players have found out this season, including Joe in the German Masters quarter-finals. Ding has been scoring well all year, and again this week digging in when he's needed to and showing his class in times when things haven't looked so good. I fancied him to win the event before the start, and think he can go and finish it off now.
- I'm going for 6-3 to Ding Junhui as my correct score tip.


Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Barry Hawkins - Much like the 2013 World Championship final when these 2 met, I think this match will be a lot closer than everybody thinks it will be. Barry Hawkins has played really well in his last 3 matches, especially last evening when he made very light work of a tough opponent in Marco Fu, making 2 centuries along the way, and his good scoring has been a feature of his Newport week so far. Ronnie hasn't really needed to be at his best so far this week, but has still looked very good without being at his absolute best. Barry will offer O'Sullivan his biggest test so far by far, and I think this will be a high quality, entertaining and close match. 
- 6-4 to Ronnie O'Sullivan is my tip.




One thing you can guarantee is that whoever todays winners are, Sunday's best-of-17 final will be a very entertaining contest.