What if Snooker had it's own Ryder Cup?

Following on from Alan McManus's Ryder Cup Golf Preview earlier this week, the next instalment of my Snooker Does the Ryder Cup series has me asking: What if Snooker had it's own Ryder Cup style tournament that was played as part of the full tour with all of the World's best players involved.


The first thing to debate here is, how would the teams work? Who would it be between? What would be the qualification process to be in the team? and most importantly of all... how would the host venue be decided and what type of venues would be suitable?


In terms of teams and who it would be between a few thoughts come to mind. One event that has previously tried this and I will be making reference to it throughout this piece is the Snooker Legends Cup event that is run by Jason Francis and takes an England Vs The Rest of the World format with 4 players on each team from snooker's past and present with the likes of Dennis Taylor, Jimmy White, Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan having appeared for England in the past. For me though if it were to make it into a proper tour event I'd like to see it as a direct competition as either England Vs China or Great Britain Vs China either way. At the end of the day England is the home of snooker, but with the rise of snooker in China right now, they are clearly beginning to compete for that mantle, so a direct contest between the 2 snookering nations would be great to watch, especially to see the same amounts of passion you'll get from the 24 guys competing at Gleneagles in the Ryder Cup this weekend. For me the qualification process would be quite simple. I'd have 6 players to a team which seems pretty sufficient as that would be half the amount of players in the Golf version. Therefore, I think this makes the qualification process nice and easy too. For me, I'd have the top 6 English players and the top 6 Chinese snooker players on the current 2 year money list between contests. (If the same bi-annual format for the competition was adopted as in the Golfing equivalent).


Where would things stand right now then if this competition were to start tomorrow? Well these would be the 12 players involved:


England: Mark Selby, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Barry Hawkins, Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham.


China: Ding Junhui, Xiao Guodong, Liang Wenbo, Cao Yupeng, Yu De Lu and Li Hang.




Who wouldn't want to watch that? It would surely be a tight contest between 2 sides that are reasonably evenly matched but the conditions would surely weigh into the result a lot more as they do in Golf's Ryder Cup. That's why it would be important to have the Snooker Ryder Cup as the Golf Ryder Cup is held with each event being every 2 years overall, each 4 years in England and each 4 years in China in this scenario. The cup could then be spread around the great snookering venues in both England in China if licensed so we could have a snooker Ryder Cup in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuxi, Chengdu or any other part of such a large nation, or The Crucible, The Preston Guildhall or The Ally Pally down South in London.




This brings me nicely on to my next thought:  Would World Snooker ever give a licence for such an event to take place as part of the snooker tour? Could it ever take off with top class TV coverage around the World? Would people flock to the venues to see it?


In my opinion, right at this very moment in time space on the calendar is very hard to come by, even if it was only for a 3 day event such as this, the only current space on the calendar is during the Summer and putting this event here wouldn't be favourable for 2 reasons. Less people would want to go and watch it either at the venue (especially in China where crowds are low for big ranking events at the best of times) and on TV in the target areas. The 2nd reason being that (until the event is well established) a lot of the players may take more of a summer break if it was a summer event in favour of playing in an event where prize money may not be all too high and in an event that may have little exposure until well and truly off of the ground.


Such an event I would imagine would also be tough for World Snooker to licence as a full tour event due to sponsor interest, venue interest, TV interest and at the risk of it being seen as another gimmick by the snooker and sporting community, especially if it was a complete copy of the Ryder Cup.


One man that does have a big opinion on the subject of a snooker Ryder Cup is the man behind the current Snooker Legends Cup version, Jason Francis and he gave me his thoughts on the matter earlier in the week:

"I’ve always been a fan of the Ryder Cup and attended the Belfry and K Club Events – it was always something I thought could work in snooker and I had enjoyed the nations cup of snooker that used to be staged which was perhaps the nearest world snooker had got.

 

I make no apologies for basing my Legends Cup format on the Ryder Cup. It's two teams representing their ‘countries’ going head to head in a series of doubles and singles with a point for each match and the team reaching 18 points, in my case, victorious.

 

We’ve staged 3 of these events so far and at Christmas we have England V Ireland in Goffs, the most famous snooker venue in Ireland. Its staged over 4 sessions, the same as the Ryder cup, with the first 3 being doubles and singles and the last session being purely singles.

 

I have had many offers to use my format overseas, especially in China, but they all carry the caveat of needing TV broadcast to finance them which can be tricky as I need a world snooker sanction for the contracted players. The event we did show on Eurosport achieved 12.3 million viewers, which exceeded the average viewing figures for all PTC events on Eurosport in 2012 – that alone shows me the appetite for the competition.

 

Of course I am fortunate that the very biggest names in the game are loyal to me and play in these events and you get to see them in all 4 sessions. We always put a little bit of prize money on it, and indeed a high break prize so it is competitive too.

 

Obviously for me I would only welcome the event being staged in the calendar if it was a collaboration between Barry Hearn and myself, sadly it seems as if there isn’t the appetite to make that happen"

Some interesting thoughts there from Jason who has certainly embraced the Ryder Cup and seems to fully admit that the connection between his Legends cup and the Ryder Cup itself is fair from loose. He also thinks the TV audiences for such an event would be there, but like me, seems to think that the chances of it making the calendar are incredibly slim. Especially as team events don't appear to be popular with World Snooker in the modern era after the failed World Cup of Snooker event a few years back.

So is mine and Jason's dream of seeing a Snooker version of the amazing Ryder Cup week unachievable? Well, to find the true answer to that you'd have to ask the players, World Snooker and most importantly of all Barry Hearn.

Personally, I hope that one day it could come onto main tour and I hope you've all enjoyed reading my thoughts on it, as well as those kindly provided for me by Snooker Legends founder Jason Francis and I also hope that you'll be looking forward to more "Snooker does the Ryder Cup" features throughout the week.

Snooker Does The Ryder Cup Week: Alan McManus Ryder Cup Preview

As some of you may know, as well as being a massive snooker fan and of course a snooker blogger, I'm an enormous fan of Golf and this upcoming week is of course the greatest event in Golf: The Ryder Cup. So to mark this week I've got a lot of features lined up for the next few days and the first of those is a Ryder Cup Preview, but this is no ordinary Ryder Cup Preview. This Ryder Cup Preview has been kindly written for me by snooker's very own Alan McManus who is surging back up the world snooker rankings at present and I'm incredibly grateful that he (as a massive Golf fan and proud Scotsman with the event being hosted in Scotland) has been able to take the time out of his busy schedule to write this for me so I have to thank him very much for that. I hope you're looking forward to so more snooker themed Golf pieces throughout the week and if you are a Golf fan, the Ryder Cup over the course of Friday to Sunday this week.


On with the show then and these are Alan McManus's incredibly interesting, in-depth thoughts ahead of the 2014 Ryder Cup looking at the key players, the captains, the course and everything else that the event will bring with it:




Hi to all you golf and snooker fans out there. As we all know, it's almost that time again to sit back and take in one of not just golf's, but the whole of the sporting world's great sporting occasions - The Ryder Cup.



Here's my own take, and hopefully some helpful info on what's sure to be a colossal encounter over the coming days:


Of course, being an extremely proud Scotsman I'm more excited than normal to have what I'd say is the greatest team event on earth just 40 minutes or so from my home town of Glasgow. This year's Ryder Cup will take place at the fabulous PGA Centenary course alongside the magnificent grandeur of The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.



Firstly, I'd like to give you a small flavour of the history of Gleneagles and it's rich golfing heritage. As far as golf courses go, there were originally two courses built on the famous grounds. The King's and The Queen's courses were in fact designed by James Braid, a somewhat local lad from Earlsferry in neighbouring Fife who, having won The Open Championship five times between 1901 and 1910 was one of the great champions of his time. Although it would be until the summer of 1924 hotel opened it's doors for the first time, golf is thought to have first been played at Gleneagles some time around 1918. Some years later, the aptly named 'Wee Course" was added to the grounds. There would be striking similarities as to how this year's Ryder Cup layout came to be. The PGA Centenary course was in fact designed by another, and probably the greatest of all Open champions in the great Jack Nicklaus, and opened for play in 1990. The golf course itself was originally named The Monarch's, changing to The PGA course in early 2001.

Being a somewhat local lad myself, I've been fortunate to have the chance to play all three main golf courses many times down the years. The first thing I'd say is that there's one common denominator whichever course you play at Gleneagles - the incredible scenery. Having played quite a bit of golf all over the world, I can't think of any golfing destination that affords such stunning and natural beauty than the rolling hills surrounding the estate. Any first time visitors over the next week or two are sure to be in for a real treat on that score.

If snooker is my first sporting love - then there's no doubt that golf comes a close second. In fact, I've been hitting balls from the green fairways (sometimes) way before I ever got involved on the green baize. But no, I didn't change to the indoor stuff Because it's always raining in Scotland. Don't believe a word of what you hear on the Scottish weather front - it's all made up....honest.

That brings us nicely along to my only slight fear for the Ryder Cup matches. Yes, you've guessed it...the weather. With the Ryder Cup being played over the last weekend in September, there's always going to be a threat of heavy rain which can cause disruption. However, I've heard a recent interview with the head greenkeeper of Gleneagles, and he assures us that every precaution has been taken in terms of keeping the golfers out on the course should any abnormal amount of rain sweep in. There have recently been around 40 miles of new drainage pipes installed, added to a sub air system underneath the greens which he tells us can cope with a normal amount of rain without any problems.
Touch wood - but with not long to go now - there's been almost no rain to speak of during the last couple of months, so here's hoping.

Now to the most important part - the golf itself. And who do I think will win I hear you ask? Well, let's look at the recent history of the event. I don't think it's breaking news to any golf fan that Europe have dominated the American's in recent years, winning 7 of the last 9 Ryder Cup's. Much has been said about the team spirit aspect of these matches, and in certain team sports, these analogies can be overplayed for me - but not in a Ryder Cup. We can look back to those halcyon days of the early 1980's when the Tony Jacklin and Seve Ballesteros era was just getting into full swing, where I think it's fair to say that they pretty much fostered between them the indomitable spirit that has since been par for the course in the European ranks.



You only have to think of Medinah two years ago when Europe trailed 10 - 4 late on Saturday afternoon, before Ian Poulter produced well, a 'Poulter' I suppose, in birdieing the last five holes of his fourball match to snatch an unlikely point alongside playing partner Rory McIlroy, who was pretty much a spectator as his compatriot almost single handedly turned over the American duo of Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner. The rest as they say is history, and 24 hours later when Martin Kaymer holed that famous 6 foot putt on the 18th green against Steve Stricker, it gave the Europeans the 14 points required to ensure that the famous gold trophy would return to Europe once again. One could recite similar tales of heroic victories by the boys in blue down the years - there's plenty to choose from after all.



For me, there's not a lot to choose between the teams in terms of talent and ability. After all, both teams are to a man, world class. Two key ingredients in a Ryder Cup - team spirit, and maybe just about wanting it that wee bit more, is what I think will sweep Europe to a 17 - 11 victory over the coming days. Of course, for sheer excitement purposes i think we'd all like to see it coming down to the last putt, of the last match, on the last green. Whether the nerve ends could take it though, is another matter altogether.


A word about the golf course itself. Having seen numerous pictures of the PGA course during the build up, I know that the course is looking magnificent. There hasn't been a shot struck on it for the whole of September. The fairly wide sweeping fairways have been sculpted beautifully as you would imagine. The greens will be like snooker tables (sorry), and a few areas around some of the green aprons have been changed to introduce those little run off areas that will collect any errant approach shots, which in turn will make chipping around the greens of huge importance. This in my opinion is where the European captain Paul McGinley has been clever. We can't be sure as to the extent of his input into these crucial details, but as the home captain, it's his prerogative to set up certain areas of the golf course in any way he thinks will be of advantage to his team. The reason I say he's being clever here, is that I'm sure (and I agree with him) he thinks that his charges possess superior short game skills than their opponents around the greens. I'm thinking of guys like Rory, Sergio, G Mac, J Rose and M Kaymer to name a few. I know it's obvious to say, but the 18th on the PGA course will be absolutely crucial in terms of the outcome. I'm highlighting it as it has possibly been changed more than any other hole on the golf course. It is a longish uphill dog leg to the right par 5. The tee shot will be pretty much the same as always, a drive up the right half of the fairway gives the shortest and best line to attack with the second shot, although it's up on and around the green that has seen big changes to the layout. It used to be that the pros would rip a drive and have something between a 4 iron and 3 wood to reach the green. In the past it was almost a case of hit the second shot anywhere up there, and more often than not, a birdie would follow. Not any more - For sure, the longer hitters like Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson will go at it all guns blazing. But even then, there are lots of little humps and hollows surrounding the green that will be 'no go areas' depending on the pin position each day. Just being up around the green somewhere won't be an automatic birdie chance for the longer hitters. The completely new green is also very undulating, which again, will put accuracy at a premium.  I'm sure we will see plenty of birdie 4's made up the last by players laying up to the 90 / 100 yard mark and controlling the fairly straightforward approach shot. Zach Johnson, a short to mid distance hitter would be one to fall into that category.



The final point on the changes to the finishing hole is the natural amphitheatre that's been created for spectators and players alike. It's sure to provide a raucous atmosphere for the players as they walk up the hill to the potential glory or failure that inevitably awaits. All in all, a terrific finishing hole where any score ranging from a 3 to a 6 will be on the cards.

Knowing how much us sports fans love a good old stat, here's one for you on the importance of the 18th hole at The Ryder Cup. - In the 2004 matches at Oakland Hills CC in Detroit, 11 of 28 matches went to the last hole. The European captain that year, Bernhard Langer's men won 8 and halved 3 of those matches finishing on the 18th. In the end, Europe ran out winners by a record margin of 18.5 to 9.5. More of the same wouldn't go amiss with most of you I'm sure. This brings sharply into focus, the finest of margins between success and failure under the most trying of circumstance.

The Captains

Let's have a look firstly at Team USA captain, the great Tom Watson:



I think it's been a shrewd appointment by The PGA of America in naming the 8 time major champion and golfing legend as skipper for Gleneagles. He still plays to a remarkable standard, and of course was just an 8 foot putt away from lifting the claret jug itself at Turnberry in 2009 at the grand old age of 59.



I've always been a huge fan of his, as I'm sure each and every one of his Ryder Cup team will be. He commands great respect on and off the golf course. I know myself from growing up in Scotland, and attending many of the Open Championship's down the years, that Mr Watson is almost regarded as one of our own up here, having lifted 4 of his 5 Open Champoinships on Scottish links land. All on different golf courses too - Namely Carnoustie, Turnberry, Muirfield and Royal Troon.



I guess any golf event of such magnitude as the Ryder Cup will inevitably give column inches to the Tiger Woods situation. Unfortunately for us all, his ongoing injury problems meant he had to withdraw his name a number of weeks ago as a possible wild card pick for the US team at Gleneagles.As to whether the enforced absence of Tiger will have any negative impact on his team this week remains to be seen. For what it's worth, here's three reasons why I reckon the opposite may just prove to be the case:



For a kick off, considering his unheralded dominance in the sport down the years, he doesn't exactly have the most inspiring of Ryder Cup records for a man of his freakish talent. His record of (W13 - L14 - H2) being in negative equity, if I can put it that way.Also, the last American victory, coming in 2008 at Valhalla GC in Kentucky, under the considerable guile of captain Paul Azinger, was achieved while Tiger was sat at home watching on tv. There's no doubt for me when thinking back on that encounter, it was by far the closest I've seen the American's as a team since the Battle of Brookline nine year earlier. Finally, there's a strong case that having Tiger in the team has hindered the various captains he's played under down the years. Both in terms of finding him a playing partner he's truly comfortable with, and perhaps even more crucially, who to avoid pairing him alongside.
It may just be that Tiger's absence is the best thing that could happen for Tom Watson's team. I wouldn't bet against it having a galvanising effect as it clearly did for captain Azinger six years ago.


I don't think it's entirely wide of the mark to venture that Team Europe captain, the redoubtable Paul McGinley, wouldn't have been the non golfers first pick to lead his team into battle this week at Gleneagles.



Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the man. He's the sort of guy who could go for a wander down Buchanan St in Glasgow next week, and not too many people would recognise him. There's no question from what I've seen and heard, that Mr McGinley is a thoroughly nice bloke, always well mannered, and naturally congenial with those around him. Being the golf fan that I am, the European Tour could scarcely have chosen a better man for the job in my opinion. Some will be surprised to learn that as a player in the Ryder Cup, he boasts three consecutive appearances as a player, in 2002, 2004 and 2006, finishing on the victorious side on all three occasions. A personal tally of 4.5 points from a possible 9 stacks up well enough too. He has also served as a captain's assistant at the last two Ryder Cup's, to Monty in 2010 at Celtic Manor, and to Olly in 2012 at Medinah. There can't be many, if at all, that can boast involvement in five of these contests, without suffering the bitter taste of defeat.



Although that my friends, is where the niceties end. There's no doubt that underneath that placid and affable exterior beats the heart of a true competitor. For me, it's in the relative quiet of the European team room where McGinley will come into his own. Obviously, he will have final say on his foursome and fourball pairings, but he'll be savvy enough to consult his players on who's comfortable playing with who. The chemistry of each pairing, as we've seen time and again down the years, isn't something that can be underestimated. One thinks of past duo's.......Seve & Olly - Faldo & Woosnam - Clarke & Westwood etc. There are one or two obvious partnerships that spring to mind. Poulter & Rose is one, Rory & G-Mac is another, both pairings having dovetailed beautifully at Medinah two years ago. The one double act I'd personally like to see is Rory McIlroy & Sergio Garcia. It just seems to me that they get on well, and had an absolute blast this summer going head to head down the stretch in the final group of a couple of major championships. Both are at the peak of their powers, and would any of the American pairings genuinely relish taking on such a potent force?




Finally, I'd like to take a look at the prospects of three players from each team, some of which aren't quite as familiar perhaps as some of the names already mentioned.

Jimmy Walker - Team USA - Ryder Cup record - Debut.



Before this season, Jimmy Walker more than any golfer on either team, would have fitted the profile of 'journeyman pro'. But an explosive start to the 2014 season, which produced 3 wins in just 8 starts on the PGA Tour, lay the foundation for the 35 year old from San Antonio, Texas to stake an early claim in the race for an automatic spot on the US team. Although the last of his three wins came back in early February at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am, his form in the major's this year has been almost as eye catching - high finishes of T8th, T9th, T26th and T7th in those tell us that the sparkling early season form has never really been far away. The 6ft 2in American possesses a golf swing that's easy on the eye, has an exquisite touch around the greens, and I expect him to play a big part over the first two days in foursomes and fourballs.


Jordan Spieth - Team USA - Ryder Cup record - Debut.



Billed by many as the next superstar of golf, the 21 year old Spieth has been a virtual shoe-in for the US team throughout the qualifying process. In the early to mid season tournaments on the PGA Tour, it seemed that his name was on the first page of the leaderboard every time you looked. Twice a winner of the US Junior Amateur (matched only by a certain Tiger Woods), this youngster from Dallas, Texas, became the first teenage winner on the PGA Tour in 82 years, when winning the 2013 John Deere Classic. The only surprise is that this remains his solitary win in the paid ranks. Since that early season consistency, his form has tailed off in recent months. It will be interesting to see how many times he is given the nod by captain Watson come friday and saturday.

Rickie Fowler - Team USA - Ryder Cup record - (W0 - L1 - H2) 2nd appearance.



Since working alongside his swing coach Butch Harmon, the 25 yr old California kid has elevated his game to new heights over the last 18 months. Top 5 finishes in all four of this year's major championships goes a long way to proving just how far his game has come this year. Like Spieth, it's surprising that the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship remains his only victory on the PGA Tour, but the way he's improved his all round game and golf swing, I'd be shocked if he wasn't back in the winners circle sooner rather than later. Though he may still be just 25, I'm sure Tom Watson will place a lot of responsibility on his shoulders at Gleneagles. I expect him to play in at least three matches, and possibly all four on friday / saturday.




Victor Dubuisson - Team Europe - Ryder Cup record - Debut.



Hailing from Cannes on the French Riviera, the stylish 24 year old enters the fray at Gleneagles as a bit of an unknown quantity. Good showings in the fairly recent last two majors this year however - T9th at The Open, and T7th at the USPGA would suggest he's in good enough form. From what I've seen, it's the short game department where he excels. He possesses the touch of a surgeon around the greens, and is rock solid with the short stick in hand, which in matchplay is obviously a huge asset.
He's also sneaky long off the tee, wayward at times, but averaging over 300 yds this year. If he can turn up with his 'A' Game this week, rather like Nicolas Colsaerts two years ago, he could be Europe's secret weapon.

Sergio Garcia - Team Europe - Ryder Cup record - (W16 - L8 - H4) 7th appearance.



If there's one player, Ian Poulter aside, who embraces the Ryder Cup more than any other, then surely it's the enigmatic Spaniard. Still only 34, this will be his seventh appearance since his debut in '99.
With a partner in tow, his formidable record in foursomes and fourballs, 14 wins, with just 4 defeats, stacks up with the the very best of them. This ridiculously talented golfer from Castellon hasn't had his troubles to seek at times, both on and off the golf course. Temper tantrums, shoe kicking, and saying the wrong thing on occasion, have meant the wrong kind of headlines all too often for Garcia.
For me though, he's grown enormously as a player and a person in 2014. Gone are the negative statements of recent years, and a new found consistency to his game has seen him contend more often than not. Famously, the one thing missing from his CV, is that elusive major championship triumph. Ten top 5 finishes, including four runner up berths have kept 'El Nino' frustrated at the major's.
At only 34 however, you'd think there'll still be plenty of chances to make that particular breakthrough. As I mentioned earlier, I'd like to see Sergio and Rory let loose as a partnership this week. Captain McGinley will have done his homework for sure, and given Sergio's record, I expect him to feature in every session at Gleneagles. I for one, can't wait to see who he's partnered with this week. We'll know soon enough.

Stephen Gallacher - Team Europe - Ryder Cup record - Debut.



I couldn't sign off without a word for my fellow Scotsman. The 39 year old resident of Linlithgow, just 20 or so miles from Gleneagles has fought long and hard for his place in golf's premier team event. And being the nephew of former captain Bernard Gallacher, he comes from rich golfing stock.
When announced as one of the three wild cards a few weeks ago, few would've argued with his inclusion. Indeed, the way he performed in the last counting event in Italy tells us all we need to know about his determination to make the team under the utmost pressure. To finish outside of an automatic pick by just a solitary shot, from at one stage being 14 shots behind midway through his second round, was an incredible effort given the circumstances. At 6 ft 2in, he's plenty long enough off the tee, and for a big man, has a very tidy golf swing. Having watched a lot of him this year, it's his short iron approach play from 150 to 100 yds in that's impressed me most of all. Being the home town boy, he's also sure to have the crowd right behind him. Like Garcia, I'm interested to see who McGinley pairs him up with once we're underway.



With the waiting almost over, the captain, players and caddies alike, will be keen to get this week's gala dinner, opening ceremony, and other formalities out of the way. Then it's down to the serious business on early friday morning, in what promises to be a red hot atmosphere. Like all of us this side of the pond, I'm hoping there's not too much red on the board come sunday evening.

Selby, Ding, Allen and Bingham make up Shanghai Semi's

Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Mark Allen and Stuart Bingham all won today to be the 4 players who make up the semi-final line-up at the Shanghai Masters after they saw off Fergal O'Brien, Graeme Dott, Michael White and Alan McManus respectively. Mark Allen survived a big scare as Michael White wiped out Allen's 4-1 lead to force a decider but luckily for the Northern Irishman he was able to win it and book his last 4 place. Elsewhere in the opening session Mark Selby had to scrap hard at times but after some lengthy safety battles in certain frames he whitewashed Fergal O'Brien 5-0. In the Shanghai evening Stuart Bingham eased past Alan McManus 5-1 while home favourite Ding Junhui was the victor in the only all-top 16 clash in the quarter-finals by beating Shaun Murphy's victor Graeme Dott 5-2 to continue his title defence.


Quarter-Final Results:


Ding Junhui 5-2 Graeme Dott
Stuart Bingham 5-1 Alan McManus
Mark Allen 5-4 Michael White
Mark Selby 5-0 Fergal O'Brien

Semi-Final Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Ding Junhui Vs Stuart Bingham - Ding Junhui has been gradually improving as the weeks gone on this week and has also been gradually improving as games go on which is of even more importance now that we've reached the best of 11 frames semi-finals. At 3-2 up against Graeme Dott the game was in the balance but from their the Chinaman made breaks of 101 and 56 as Dott only managed another 15 points in the match showing how Ding always comes to the fore at the key stages of a match, which is the making of a true champion. Stuart has been playing quite fluently this week looking at the breaks he's been making, although as you'd expect things didn't seem to be as fluent for him today against Alan McManus. Although from 1-1 against Alan, Stuart won all of the next 4 frames as the Scot only scored 27 points in the first 3 of those showing how Bingham was able to dominate things against a player that is very tough to dominate. Both of these guys are in good form and I expect this to go close, but often when things go close it comes down to that factor of who's able to come good at the right time and that player is often Ding Junhui when he's in any kind of form.


Mark Selby Vs Mark Allen - These 2 guys had quarter-finals of varying difficulty levels today as Mark Selby whitewashed Fergal O'Brien while Mark Allen's match with Michael White went the full distance. These 2 last met as recently as the Riga Open final which Selby won 4-3 from 3-0 down which sums up once more the type of player he is. Mark Allen is in great form though as he showed in bouncing straight back to win the next ET event, and I'm often impressed by Allen's own strength of character which was needed again today as he watched his 3 frame lead disappear in an instant. Having had breaks of 83,74 and 55 to lead 4-1 he then had to watch as Michael White made breaks of 85, 83 and 76 to force a deciding frame. Mark held it together though to win a scrappy decider and take the match. Selby's match may not seem close by the score line but it was only the first and last frames where Selby was dominant with breaks of 75 and 76 but the 3 frames in between went down to safety and were very close. If it comes down to tactical play tomorrow Selby has the obvious strength but both players are in the mood to take their chances when they get them and that will be the really key factor. Their matches are always close and although it seems like Selby has an edge I expect Allen to edge this one as he's in great form and has something to prove and learn from after their last meeting.




With the 4 players we have left in the Shanghai Masters we can guarantee another top 16 ranking event winner with 2 of the top 3 in the world left in the tournament and we know that it will certainly be a good standard of snooker needed to win the title on Sunday.

Seeds hit back as Shanghai Masters reaches the quarter-final stage

The top seeds struck back on day 4 of the Shanghai Masters, although there were a couple of mild surprises, as the likes of Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Mark Allen and Stuart Bingham roll on into the last 8 while Graeme Dott is also there after overcoming Shaun Murphy and he's joined by Fergal O'Brien, who ended the run of wildcard Zhao Xintong, Alan McManus who thrashed fellow Scotsman Stephen Maguire and Michael White who was on fire in defeating Ryan Day.


Full Last 16 Results:


Ding Junhui 5-3 Martin Gould
Graeme Dott 5-3 Shaun Murphy
Stuart Bingham 5-1 Dominic Dale
Alan McManus 5-1 Stephen Maguire
Michael White 5-2 Ryan Day
Mark Allen 5-1 Mark Williams
Fergal O'Brien 5-3 Zhao Xintong
Mark Selby 5-3 Michael Holt

Quarter-Final Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Ding Junhui Vs Graeme Dott - Both of these players were in fine form today against Gould and Murphy respectively today and this should be a really exciting close match. Graeme looked very confident from the start today against Shaun and if he can take that into the game tomorrow, score well and at a good tempo that he played with (along with taking some of the handy luck he had today too) then he has a brilliant chance of victory. Ding is steadily improving as matches go on and he also improved today on his Last 32 match which is what he'll like to see. Having lost the first 2 frames today against Gould he took the next 4 in a row with 3 good convincing breaks in there. If he continues that improvement on to the quarter-finals the home favourite and defending champion is the big favourite here for victory.


Stuart Bingham Vs Alan McManus - Both of these guys had very comfortable victories today against their respective players but both guys completed those victories in differing styles. Stuart's was very clear cut with big breaks including 2 centuries and 2 breaks of 70 odd showing that for a great deal of the match Stuart was killing frames off in one visit, which is something Alan hasn't been doing as much this week. Alan is one of the best match-players in the game and he's showed it this week because in beating Maguire and O'Sullivan this week as he hasn't been making the big breaks like Stuart has by any means but his safety play is impeccable and he knows exactly what he has to do to win matches against the best. Stuart will get chances though and if he takes them like he has so far this week he should win this match but I expect it to be very tense which will play more into the hands of the Scot.


Mark Allen Vs Michael White - Michael White played some incredible snooker today against Ryan Day and quite simply there was very little he could've done about it and if he plays like that against Mark Allen tomorrow he'll win the match. However, to repeat a performance like his one today that included breaks of 104, 78, 128, 62, 71 and 55 is incredibly tough and he will no doubt be feeling the pressure to do so again to achieve his career best ranking event finish of the semi-finals at least. Mark Allen though has been playing incredibly well so far this season and I think he has a brilliant chance to win this title on Sunday, but he has to start by continuing this tomorrow and not giving young Michael too many chances because he's shown this week that he will take them and is capable of the big victories. However, a quarter-final means high stakes something Mark is used to a lot more than Michael and that could be the difference tomorrow.


Mark Selby Vs Fergal O'Brien - One thing you don't need to be told about this match is that it will surely be incredibly hard fought between 2 players that will put everything into the match, leaving nothing in the tank and they'll have to be scraped off of the table. Both guys are in great form at the moment but they're very much at different stages of their careers and that's what's the difference between the 2 guys. Mark is very much at the peak of his career and I have to say that he seems to find a way of winning a match from any position whether he has to come back from a long way behind or whether he has to dig in when a player's coming back at him like Michael Holt did brilliantly today, Mark knows how to get out of every situation and that quite simply is the sign of a true champion.


In my view there is plenty of potential for more "surprises" tomorrow but we're getting to the stage of the tournament where the big seeds start to play their best snooker so it will be very interesting to see how it all plays out.

Seeds topple as Shanghai Masters reaches Last 16 stage

It's hardly been a week for the seeds so far in Shanghai as only 7 of the 16 seeded players made it through to the Last 16 of the Shanghai Masters. UK Champion and more recently Wuxi Classic champion Neil Robertson fell in a deciding frame to Welshman Michael White who came back from 3-0 down in that match while fellow countryman Ryan Day reeled off all of the last 3 frames to beat John Higgins 5-4. The 2 qualifiers I predicted to win their opening round games both did so as Alan McManus overcame Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams beat Barry Hawkins while wildcard Zhao Xintong showed off his extreme potential once more beating Matt Selt in the wildcard round before seeing off my tournament tip Marco Fu in a yet another deciding frame. Joe Perry, Ricky Walden, Judd Trump and Robert Milkins were the other seeds knocked out in the opening round as Martin Gould, Michael Holt, Dominic Dale and Fergal O'Brien were the guys to make it through there.


The remaining guys flying the flag of the seeds are Shaun Murphy who had to win a decider against Joe Swail, defending champion Ding Junhui, world champion Mark Selby, recent 6 reds champion Stephen Maguire, recent Paul Hunter Classic winner Mark Allen, Stuart Bingham and finally Graeme Dott.


Full Last 32 Results:


Ding Junhui 5-1 Jack Lisowski
Martin Gould 5-4 Joe Perry
Graeme Dott 5-2 Yan Bingtao
Shaun Murphy 5-4 Joe Swail
Stuart Bingham 5-3 Li Hang
Dominic Dale 5-2 Judd Trump
Alan McManus 5-3 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Stephen Maguire 5-1 Jimmy Robertson
Michael White 5-4 Neil Robertson
Ryan Day 5-4 John Higgins
Mark Williams 5-4 Barry Hawkins
Mark Allen 5-3 Andrew Higginson
Zhao Xintong 5-4 Marco Fu
Fergal O'Brien 5-1 Robert Milkins
Michael Holt 5-2 Ricky Walden
Mark Selby 5-2 Ken Doherty

Last 16 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Ding Junhui Vs Martin Gould - Ding Junhui may be the defending champion here and in my view the best player of last season by miles of anyone else. However, having been out of competitive snooker since June ahead of this week his rustiness certainly showed at the beginning of his match against Jack Lisowski and had his opponent been playing anywhere near his potential he'd have probably beaten the home favourite or at least made it close. Martin Gould though is playing well at the moment and starting to find some form again after a tough couple of years on tour where he has fallen down the rankings quite badly, and I expect Martin to give Ding much more of a test than Lisowski did on Tuesday. However, that opening game did see Ding improve after the interval and possibly after getting that game under his belt he's worked away the cobwebs of his time out of the game since the Yixing Open and could possibly move through the gears this week to an overall tournament victory.


Shaun Murphy Vs Graeme Dott - Graeme and Shaun seem to be drawn together a lot, and are often drawn together at big tournaments so there's plenty of games to go in terms of head to head. When it comes to recent meetings Shaun Murphy has won all of the last 5 including a World Open quarter-final, a UK Championship Last 16 tie and a World Championship last 16 encounter so all very important games. Shaun played incredibly well to beat Joe Swail who would've beaten most players in the draw with the performance he gave in that match. That was a good early test for Shaun who is confident and striking the ball well and he'll be confident tomorrow but he also knows he's in for an incredibly tough game. Graeme never rolls over easily and leaves everything out on the table after every game. He was under pressure today against Yan Bingtao when 3-0 became 3-2 but Graeme held on very nicely. The Scot's form isn't great right now but there's no reason why he couldn't beat Shaun tomorrow, but deep down I think that Murphy will just get the job done in a very hard fought match.


Stuart Bingham Vs Dominic Dale - This match is one of the matches I've picked out to go the distance tomorrow simply because of how they've both played in the first round. Dominic Dale finished off with consecutive centuries to see off Judd Trump who was very much in fine form coming into the tournament and Dale brushed him aside easily showing what superb touch he's in right now. Stuart meanwhile had to watch for a great deal of the start of his match against Li hang who was making big breaks to move 3-1 up before Bingham improved to win all of the last 4 but it did show that he's vulnerable to defeat against Dominic who has been very steady in 2014 so far ever since he won the Shoot-out in January which seems to have really boosted his confidence and he's had a lot of good runs since then in events. For me this will be another good victory for Dale as he continues to climb back up the rankings.


Stephen Maguire Vs Alan McManus - I'm going to start off here by talking about Alan McManus who is in very fine form at the moment and has climbed back well inside the top 32 of the rankings after some impressive 2014 form that he's shown, much like Dominic Dale. Alan reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship with plenty of good wins in qualifying and at the Crucible. Over the last year Alan has been very impressive and has shown he can still beat anyone on his day including Stephen Maguire in this match who will have a very tough time on his hands. Stephen's been having a moan this week about the tables and conditions and coming off of the back of a win at the 6 Reds I suddenly thought that he always seems to play his best when he's angry because it keeps him pumped up for a fight and is a sign that he really means business. Sometimes I think if you're a Maguire fan and you can see him starting to get angry it can be as good a sign as it is bad because it means he's up for the fight and knows he can play so much better and wants to play so much better than he is. So maybe is Stephen gets a bee in his bonnet this week it could perhaps work in his favour.


Ryan Day Vs Michael White - Both of these 2 players recorded very impressive deciding frame wins in the Last 32 having to come from behind and reel off a series of frames. Ryan Day played incredibly well against John Higgins showing how his form has turned around in the last year once more and that he is still a very dangerous customer who belongs in the top 16. John had control at 4-2 but Ryan put together 3 very good breaks in the last 3 frames to steal the match. Meanwhile, I wouldn't say that Michael White's form has been great since his 2013 World Championship quarter-final and perhaps the pressure to succeed is a burden on his shoulders but he does have a very good trait of being able to hang on in games without necessarily playing very good snooker. On days like he had today you can get away without playing great for a whole match as long as you hold on at the key points which is what he did in the end but unlike today when he went 3-0 down in good time, he will need to sharpen up on his safety and play well from the very first shot against Ryan because his fellow Welshman is playing good snooker once again.


Mark Allen Vs Mark Williams - This 2nd round clash should be another very tight match between 2 left handers that are pretty evenly matched when they're both on their game. Mark Williams has been working very hard in recent months both on the table with a new cue and off of the table on his health and fitness and I think it will all have a positive effect on his game as he looks to get back into the top 16. These are the types of games he knows he'll have to win to do it though and make his hard work pay off and I think he has a brilliant chance. Mark Allen is coming off of a few good results in Euro Tour events and he'll be desperate to convert that to a big ranking event and with the draw opening up as it is this could certainly be his week.


Zhao Xintong Vs Fergal O'Brien - A lot of people will look at this match and see one thing that will sway their minds to picking a winner and that is an incredible young Chinese player with bags of potential and a host of big wins already under his belt after so few matches competing with the best and at such a young age too. What they may miss is that his opponent Fergal O'Brien is one of the hardest players to beat and with form under his belt too not only will he upset a players rhythm he can keep a player in his seat for very long periods of a match and make him go cold. Fergal in my view these days is very underrated just because of his age and people don't always see the threat that he poses. Making the Gdynia Open final in February was no fluke and neither was picking up convincing victories over Mark Allen at the Australian Open and Robert Milkins on Tuesday in the Last 32. O'Brien is very solid and pretty consistent still which with all his experience added to that should make him the hot favourite for this encounter.


Mark Selby Vs Michael Holt - I think the destination of this match and how the match goes depends really on how Michael Holt can play. If he isn't at his best the likelihood is that he'll get beaten against a Mark Selby who's riding high on the crest of a wave right now, but if Michael can play at his best he can beat anyone including the World Champion who wasn't necessarily at his best today and was ill last week and could start to feel fatigued the further this week goes on if he hasn't recovered 100%. Michael has a very good chance of victory here if he plays well and I expect him to at least make this a close match with good memories of Shanghai from last year in his mind. In my view though Mark just finds a way of winning these types of games however well his opponent is playing, especially with the kind of high he is on at the moment.




To me this looks like an incredibly strong Last 16 line-up even though 9 of the 16 seeds are already which shows how much strength there is outside of the top 16 on the current tour and how many quality players there are that can give the top top players a very good game. I'm incredibly excited to see how the rest of the week pans out because right now I couldn't call a winner of the tournament because I think it's that wide open.

Shanghai Masters Preview

After a long break since the Australian Open in terms of full ranking event action that has seen a 1 month summer break and since then 2 European Tour events which were won by Mark Selby in Riga and of course Mark Allen winning the Paul Hunter Classic. Last week was the annual invitation event of the 6 Reds World Championship in Thailand which saw Stephen Maguire pick up the winners cheque beating Ricky Walden in a deciding frame in that final. With this event being played on the old style, tiered structure for ranking events like the Australian Open was the qualifiers for this event were back in early August and it is disappointing to see that 8 of those players who worked hard to qualify have been paired up in wildcard matches which is really a shame but not really up for debate again in my mind, as I'd simply be wasting my breath. The big stories from qualifying were that Joe Swail and Li Hang came through 4 qualifying matches to get to the venue in Shanghai (despite the first of Hang's being a walkover). Meanwhile all of Jack Lisowski, Jimmy Robertson, Ken Doherty and Matt Selt won 3 qualifying games to make it to the Last 32 stage which is where we start of on Monday.


It should be an incredibly good event with all of the games top stars lining up in Shanghai including Ronnie O'Sullivan who of course picks and chooses his events these days, Ding Junhui who missed both of the European Tour events and the Australian Open, while Mark Selby pulled out of the 6 Reds through illness so it's good to see that he's well enough to compete. The Shanghai Masters for me signifies a key point in the calendar where the events start to come thick and fast between now and through the early stages of autumn and winter right up until the UK Championships.


Now it's time for me to look ahead at the draw and the guys that I think will come through it to reach the latter stages:

Quarter 1

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ding Junhui Vs Jack Lisowski
Joe Perry Vs Martin Gould
Graeme Dott Vs Liang Wenbo/Yan Bingtao
Shaun Murphy Vs Joe Swail


For me this quarter is all about the big gun players of Ding Junhui, Shaun Murphy and Joe Perry in terms of finding our player who will make the last 4. Firstly, Ding Junhui hasn't played any snooker of any kind on the tour since his win at the Yixing Open AT1 which (to put things in perspective) ended with him winning the title on 21st June nearly 3 months ago. Having missed out on qualification for the Wuxi Classic he then didn't enter or participate in any of the Australian Open, or both ET's in Latvia and Germany as well as last weeks 6 Reds in Thailand. He may be defending champion and he may have had a very long rest at home presumably with his family but it's incredibly tough to tell how he'll play after such a long break from snooker and how much of that time would've been spent practising after his statement prior to the Masters earlier in the year that he'd put in next to no practice over the Christmas break and you have to wonder whether he's learnt from that here or not.


Shaun Murphy on the other hand seems to play in every event, simply because he loves the game and loves all of the travelling that comes with being a snooker player in the modern age. His recent displays have been mixed not making it past the Last 32 in either of the ET events and exiting Australia at the Last 16 stage as well which of course, was only his 2nd match. However, his record in Asia this season has been decent making the quarter-finals in Wuxi and more recently last week at the 6 Reds. Shaun always seems to be striking the ball well, and his confidence has been high since he won a couple of titles earlier in 2014. He won't mind me saying (on second thoughts he might but as we're here) that he has a niggling neck problem at the moment which he is working hard to try and get under control right now and things are improving with it which I think makes him more of a contender than I made him for the Paul Hunter Classic, because Shaun is never very far away from his best and it all depends on how things go on the week with Murphy.


Joe Perry also has to be a contender if he finds his form which he hasn't been able to do since making the final of the Wuxi Classic and losing out in a decider to his good friend Neil Robertson. I wondered at the time how long Perry would need to get over that and find his best again and it's proving to be a reasonable amount of time and he has quite a tough draw in this quarter to get through again this week if he's not quite at his very best.


Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 2

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Judd Trump Vs Dominic Dale
Stuart Bingham Vs Li Hang/Chen Zifan
Stephen Maguire Vs Jimmy Robertson
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Alan McManus


This quarter is another immensely tough one to call with all of Judd Trump, Stuart Bingham, Stephen Maguire and Ronnie O'Sullivan being well capable of taking the title next Sunday but only one of them can go on and make the last 4. Starting with Judd Trump, he has yet another tough first round game against Dominic Dale (who he always seems to be drawn against) but Trump really has rediscovered his game in recent times matching a win in Australia with a an appearance in the final of the Paul Hunter Classic, playing some very good stuff there up until the final and when he's on top form Judd's a very daunting player to come up against and someone incredibly tough to stop and it will take someone very good to stop Trump from winning both the quarter and the whole event again this coming week.


Stephen Maguire is a very strong contender for this quarter. It may have only been the 6 Reds but that shouldn't de-value the fact that Maguire did play well last week and unlike players that seem to play consistently well across a season without always being totally sparkling, when Maguire's on form he's a hot prospect on the table and someone who plays with a very easy style and can make breaks with ease. He was also playing well going back to the Paul Hunter Classic and was unlucky to run into Judd Trump in the Last 16 but he has a very good record against Judd and wouldn't be too surprised if he gets his revenge out in Shanghai given the opportunity.


Ronnie O'Sullivan made his first appearance of the season in Furth last month, but this is his first appearance in China to play an event since last November and I'm still of the opinion that he doesn't enjoy travelling to China to play competitive events regardless of what he says. He quite possibly has the toughest of the first round draws against Alan McManus who really has been playing some excellent snooker over the last year and has steadily been climbing back up the rankings boosted by good runs in a lot of events. There's no doubt in my mind that Alan has a very good chance of beating Ronnie and I have a gut feeling that he will do.


Quarter Winner: Stephen Maguire

Quarter 3

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Michael White/ Niu Zhuang
John Higgins Vs Ryan Day/ Xu Si
Mark Allen Vs Andrew Higginson
Barry Hawkins Vs Mark Williams/Zhang Yong


The focus of this quarter in my opinion is all about Neil Robertson and Mark Allen as Barry Hawkins early season form has been mixed and doesn't really convince me that he'll have a strong run this week either, while John Higgins is becoming ever more unpredictable and his form this season hasn't been much better than his form of last year which was also inconsistent and really quite poor throughout with the odd flourish.


Neil's form this season has been very impressive of course winning the Wuxi Classic and making the final of his home tournament the Australian Open although his best in the Euro Tour events so far this season is only a Last 16 which is a little more uncharacteristic of Robertson who has been very consistent now for a few seasons. With such consistency you almost expect Robertson to make the latter stages of events even when he's not at his best, but in the last year (as he showed by making a century of centuries last season) he has always been very close to his best and never very far away from his next fantastic run whether it be to the quarter's of an event or beyond to another possible tournament victory. Neil has certainly become the complete player now.


Mark Allen meanwhile is playing well at the moment in smaller events as he showed in winning the Paul Hunter Classic, which is his 3rd Euro Tour event in around a year which is impressive going. Slightly more disappointingly though his form in the ranking events just doesn't seem to match. He has won 2 ranking titles which were both in China and both the Haikou World Open but in my opinion he doesn't challenge enough for these big ranking titles and I'd love him to prove me wrong and win another big title this week out in Shanghai but for some reason he can't recreate the magic of the ET's over a full week in the full ranking events as much as he should do, but that's just my view on things.


Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson

Quarter 4

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Marco Fu Vs Matt Selt/ Zhao Xintong
Robert Milkins Vs Fergal O'Brien
Ricky Walden Vs Michael Holt/ Yuan Sijun
Mark Selby Vs Ken Doherty/ Huang Jiahao


Finally, the bottom quarter of the draw features World Champion and world number 1 Mark Selby who is riding high on the crest of a wave at the moment, while Ricky Walden's record in Asia always makes him a better contender here than in the UK and he can contend for the quarter win this week showing form like he did to become the runner-up of the 6 Reds last week. Marco Fu will also be a big time contender for the title and the quarter this week as his record in Asia is also a lot better than in the UK and over the last year or so he has been working very hard to become a much more consistent snooker player.


Starting with Ricky Walden, he did play well to get to the final of the 6 reds last week but that's not quite got the same feel to it of a full ranking event which is where he needs to step up again to have a chance of contending for a spot in the last 4. Ricky is in good form at the moment having made the semi-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic and the quarter-finals before the summer break in the Australian Open where on both occasions it took a very much in form Judd Trump to stop him. He did overcome Mark Selby in the quarter-finals in Furth last month and given the chance this week there's no reason why he couldn't do the same again to make the quarter-finals in Shanghai.


Moving on to Mark Selby, he has been in incredible form since winning the World Championship in May and there's really a simple reason for that. Winning the World Championships is every snooker players lifelong dream, so to achieve it puts you on top of the world (literally) and that takes a lot of pressure off of a player to finally prove that they are at the top level of their sport and with Mark that has filled him with confidence and plenty of self-belief to go on and win a lot more titles. The thing for Mark this week will be how fully he has recovered from the illness that stopped him travelling to Thailand last week, because it's tough to go and play in an event in China when you're health is not 100% as Neil Robertson found out when he pulled off a miracle with a bad virus to make the China open final in April, but stuff like that really is rare but Selby is that kind of guy who always battles on.


Marco Fu however has been reasonably consistent with his start to the season without really drawing much attention to his performances or producing anything special which is why I get the feeling that he's due something fairly big this week in Shanghai. Marco did make the quarter-finals in Riga and was unlucky not to go on further there and he's become a much more consistent player who like Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan and to a certain extent at the start of this season Mark Selby, is picking when and where he plays more wisely. To take 2 examples he missed both the Australian Open and last weeks 6 Reds and I think that is simply to make more of an effort to peak for the bigger events at the business periods of the season.


Quarter Winner: Marco Fu


Tournament Runner-Up: Shaun Murphy


Tournament Winner: Marco Fu


It should be another very good week of snooker this week and I am really looking forward to seeing how it all shapes up as it's a very tough tournament to call in my opinion as the draw does shape up incredibly well and there are a lot of big names who are in title winning form this week so it will be something special that goes on to win the title next Sunday. I'll be back when I can throughout the week for updates on how the tournament is going.