Allen, Williams, Walden and Milkins to contest International semi-finals

The semi-finals of the International Championships will be contested by Mark Allen, Mark Williams, Ricky Walden and Robert Milkins after they all had some fantastic victories into todays quarter-finals. Mark Allen won 5 frames in a row after the mid-session break against Michael White to come from 3-1 down and beat the young Welshman 6-3. Mark Williams is now the man left flying the flag for the Welsh after he got his first ranking event victory against Ronnie O'Sullivan for 12 years winning 5 frames in a row from 3-0 down against the Rocket before winning a nervy decider. Things were much more clear cut for Ricky Walden who played superb snooker in thrashing Jamie Burnett 6-1, with 3 centuries in that match. He'll now play Robert Milkins who was involved in a very close match from start to finish against Marco Fu, with their never being more than one frame in it as Robert beating the man from Hong Kong in a deciding frame.

Quarter-Final Results:

Mark Allen 6-3 Michael White
Mark Williams 6-5 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ricky Walden 6-1 Jamie Burnett
Robert Milkins 6-5 Marco Fu

Now that we're into the semi-finals the stakes are of course very high and to match that the format is up to the best of 17 frames with the first semi-final between Ricky Walden and Robert Milkins being played across two sessions tomorrow, while the semi-final between Mark Allen and Mark Williams will be played across two sessions on Saturday before Sunday's final. With the four players we have left I think it's all very even and I wouldn't want to pick a winner from here.

Semi-Final Draw: (Picks in bold)

Ricky Walden Vs Robert Milkins (Friday) - Both Robert Milkins and Ricky Walden are evenly matched players that are actually quite similar in a number of different ways. They both have smooth, rhythmic styles around the table and look at total ease when amongst the balls and good form, as both of these guys have been this week. When they're in form they're incredibly dangerous players, but they can also be very inconsistent across a full season mixing brilliant performances with very poor ones. The last time these 2 met in a major tournament was back in the 2013 World Championship last 16, and on that occasion Ricky Walden ran out the 13-11 winner. So far this week, the general standard of player Robert Milkins has had to beat has probably been slightly tougher than Ricky Walden with Walden beating Morris, Yuelong, Swail and Burnett while Milkins has beaten Pinches, in-form Shaun Murphy, Xiao Guodong and Marco Fu. They've both played very well though and Walden had 3 centuries today against Burnett and another 2 in the Last 64 against David Morris so he's had his best scoring boots on in Chengdu. Milkins has also played incredibly well and kept his opponents under huge pressure round after round but in the last two rounds he's had to work very hard physically and mentally in 2 very tough games to get the victories. Over two sessions I just fancy that Ricky Walden has more left in the tank than Robert Milkins and that could decide this one.


Mark Allen Vs Mark Williams (Saturday) - The battle of the Mark's on Saturday is sure to be a very tense one and a very close one. Both guys have beaten some very good opponents and some very good wins, scoring well and looking confident. Allen so far this week has had victories against Nigel Bond, Martin Gould, Stuart Bingham and Michael White having to work very hard in the last 3 of those games, having to come from multiple frames behind in 2 of those. Mark Williams meanwhile has had comfortable wins against Oli Brown and Barry Hawkins to start the week, while having to work a lot harder against Sam Baird coming from 2-0 and 4-3 down to win 6-4, while he came from 3-0 down to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan today. Coming into this tournament Mark Allen was in great form winning the Paul Hunter Classic and reaching another ET Final as well as the Shanghai Masters and he's continued that this week, although he has gotten off to some slow starts this week in Chengdu. Mark Williams has also had some poor starts in the last 2 games but he's soon sharpened up and he's played some fantastic snooker at times this week, having come into this event with absolutely no form at all. In fact, the two centuries he's made this week are the only two he's had all season which tells it's own story. Allen also has the best of the recent head to head, but as we saw with Williams today, that doesn't always mean you'll win. I think Mark Williams is going to be very tough to stop. Certain things this week, including the chance to stop the rot against Ronnie, have made the Welshman very determined to do well and he's showed this throughout the week, but especially today against O'Sullivan and you could see out there from his frustrations at times that winning that match and going far in this event means absolutely loads to him. At this stage of an event you are always inclined to look at who wants it more, and there's nobody left in this tournament that will want the victory more than Mark Williams such is the determination he's showed and the hard work he's been putting over the last few months on and off the table are testament to the fact that he still thinks he's capable of being back at the top of the rankings.


It looks like a very exciting climax to this tournament and I do have a great likeness for the best-of-17 frame, two session semi-finals that have produced some amazing matches over the years in the UK Championships and I have no doubt that we're going to be in for a couple of cracking encounters over the next two days. So it's time to sit back, relax and enjoy the closing stages of this event.

Favourites claw it back in Chengdu.

The Last 16 of the International Championships in China was certainly more of a day for the favourites with no really massive shocks on day 4 in Chengdu. Ronnie O'Sullivan had a routine win against Li Hang, while Ricky Walden and Marco Fu came through slightly tougher tests 6-4 in their respective matches. Mark Williams also came through 6-4 against Sam Baird while fellow Welshman made consecutive ranking event quarter-finals with victory over Ian Burns. In the closely matches ties Robert Milkins overcame Xiao Guodong, while Mark Allen got his revenge for the Shanghai Masters final by beating Stuart Bingham. The only slight surprise of the day came as Jamie Burnett thrashed Peter Ebdon who had been in very good form.

Last 16 Results:

Michael White 6-2 Ian Burns
Mark Allen 6-4 Stuart Bingham
Mark Williams 6-4 Sam Baird
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-1 Li Hang
Ricky Walden 6-4 Joe Swail
Jamie Burnett 6-2 Peter Ebdon
Robert Milkins 6-4 Xiao Guodong
Marco Fu 6-4 Rod Lawler

With todays results the quarter-final draw looks very strong with a number of top players into the last 8 despite all of the early week upsets. In terms of the Champion of Champions spots, Michael White, Mark Williams, Jamie Burnett and Robert Milkins are the only guys left in the International Championship that haven't yet qualified which is good news for Ali Carter who is the next highest ranked to have not yet qualified.

Quarter-Final Draw: (Picks in bold)

Mark Allen Vs Michael White - Mark Allen is in brilliant form so far this season and I said ahead of this tournament that he was due a win in one of the games biggest tournaments and these days the International Championship is probably the biggest outside of the Triple Crown events. With 2 centuries today to get his revenge on Bingham he's showed that he's still in fine form and I expect him to continue that way for the rest of the week.  The win at the Paul Hunter Classic with finals at the Riga Open and Shanghai Masters he'll also be full of confidence. He won't get an easy ride tomorrow against Michael White though. Michael is in top form as well after a quarter-final at the Shanghai Masters and another quarter-final here as well as his semi-final in Bulgaria he'll be flying with his belief. However, without the same experience as Allen I'm not quite sure if he's ready to go one better and beat the best players in form to get into ranking finals and win ranking events for this season at least.

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mark Williams - As he tweeted today in comical style, Ronnie O'Sullivan has been the thorn in Mark Williams side now for the last 12 years and it's about time Mark got his revenge. Mark Williams seems like he's well up for it this week, scoring well and winning tough matches by coming through with flying colours. He was really up against it today at 4-3 down and 61 points behind in the 8th frame so to win 6-4 from there shows the strength and determination that Mark has this week and nothing will make him more determined than being able to finally get one back on one of his old rivals in Ronnie O'Sullivan. Ronnie has been giving players chances this week, but when they've not punished him he's been sure to jump all over their mistakes. He's looked in mean mood, scoring well and winning matches convincingly. His victory against Li Hang today again showed he was on top form, and he said afterwards he wants an adrenaline rush. Well if he can't get an adrenaline rush and be determined tomorrow to beat one of his old rivals then, he's simply doing something wrong and Mark will be there to punish him, because nothing pumps you up more in sport than playing one of your biggest opponents, and a chance for revenge.

Ricky Walden Vs Jamie Burnett - All credit firstly has to go to Jamie Burnett for his performances this week to beat three very tough opponents in Matthew Stevens, Judd Trump and Peter Ebdon and that will offer him a big boost having said he wasn't enjoying his snooker after last seasons World Championships. However, such big performances and big matches against top players takes a lot out of you and every match in these tournaments becomes harder and harder, and having not been in these positions for a while I don't know how Burnett will perform tomorrow, and this unpredictability doesn't make him a good tip for tomorrow. When Ricky Walden gets to these stages of events he always seems to be playing some solid snooker and producing some solid performances, even if he hasn't had the tough opponents he may have expected at the start of the week. Victories over David Morris, Zhou Yuelong and Joe Swail have seen Ricky having to battle hard as always and at times he's got a little bogged down in matches, although in separate patches it seems as though he's been fluent and making good breaks which is an indicator as to how far Walden can go this week. It will be a tough match for both players and it is sure to be hard fought but I have to think that Ricky will come through.

Marco Fu Vs Robert Milkins - Finally, this match looks to be the closest and toughest call of all of the matches for me. Robert has been very fluent so far this week with wins against Barry Pinches, Shaun Murphy and Xiao Guodong and he's scored pretty well in all of those matches and kept his opponents under pressure from the early stages in order to force plenty of openings. Neither Robert or Marco has been very consistent through the season with their performances, but for the winner tomorrow this event will surely be a turning point to better things to come in the second half of the season. This week has actually been a struggle for Marco Fu, having to battle incredibly hard and give a pint of blood for all of his victories against Liam Highfield, David Gilbert and Rod Lawler. While he's played well in patches he's had to fight incredibly hard at others, and when you get to this stage of a tournament, you need to have plenty of fight in you, but I'm not quite sure how much Marco really has left in him, while Milkins has had a slightly easier ride so far putting him at a mental advantage.


The quarter-final line-up really is looking like a strong one and I'd say that at least 3 of those 4 games have potential to go the full distance tomorrow as the players battle away for places in the best-of-17 frame semi-finals and I'm sure it'll make for very entertaining snooker over the next 4 days.

Day of the underdog as Murphy, Robertson, Trump and Hawkins all crash out

It was a bad day for the seeds at the International Championship as the likes of Neil Robertson, Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump, Mark Davis and Joe Perry were all knocked out on a day that has opened up the draw massively. Marco Fu and Ricky Walden did managed to scrape through in deciders while Mark Allen came back from 3-0 down to beat Martin Gould 6-4, while things were more comfortable for Stuart Bingham and Ronnie O'Sullivan on a day where 6 of the 16 matches went the full 11 frames.

Last 32 Results:

Michael White 6-4 Mitchell Mann
Ian Burns 6-3 Craig Steadman
Stuart Bingham 6-3 Ryan Day
Mark Allen 6-4 Martin Gould
Mark Williams 6-2 Barry Hawkins
Sam Baird 6-5 Mark Davis
Li Hang 6-1 Zhao Xintong
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-1 Anthony McGill
Joe Swail 6-5 Neil Robertson
Ricky Walden 6-5 Zhou Yuelong
Peter Ebdon 6-1 Joe Perry
Jamie Burnett 6-5 Judd Trump
Robert Milkins 6-1 Shaun Murphy
Xiao Guodong 6-5 Noppon Saengkham
Marco Fu 6-5 David Gilbert
Rod Lawler 6-1 Fergal O'Brien

I thought the draw was open after the Last 64, but todays results have really opened it up and left the tournament anyone's for the taking if someone steps up and finds top form for the rest of the week.

Here's how things look for the Last 16 then, with my thoughts on how the matches could go as always.

Last 16 Draw: (Picks in bold)

Michael White Vs Ian Burns - Both of these two players seem to be in really good form this week with them both having two very good wins and scoring well. Today Ian overcame Craig Steadman with plenty of breaks over 50 to throw into the mix and he'll be full of confidence coming into this game. Michael White meanwhile is on a very good run and looking for a win here to make it consecutive quarter-finals in Asian ranking events with that run to the Bulgarian Open semi-finals wedged nicely in between. When you get to the latter stages of tournaments and you're involved in tight matches which this one may well be, it's all about who has the extra gear and that extra bit of quality to get over the line and I'm certain that based on both talent and current form Michael White is that man, and I expect him to make it into Thursday's quarter-finals with a win here.

Mark Allen Vs Stuart Bingham - In a repeat of the Shanghai Masters final we have two men that are still very much in the good form that got them to that occasion just over a month ago. Mark Allen had to fight harder today than he did in the first round, coming back from 3-0 down to get over the line with a 6-4 victory against a player in Martin Gould who really didn't have to do much wrong, and that's the sign of a man in really good form. Stuart meanwhile is still in the form that saw him thump Allen that day 10-3 and win the Haining Open Asian Tour event last week. Today he beat another in form man Ryan Day quite comfortably 6-3 and he's full of confidence after all of the wins and big performances he's had in China in the last couple of months. We've the form Stuart's in, especially in China at the moment and the confidence he'll have that he can go really far this week I have to make Stuart the slight favourite here.

Mark Williams Vs Sam Baird - I've been impressed with how Mark Williams has played so far this week in only losing 3 frames in 2 matches against Oli Brown and Barry Hawkins, playing with a very good rhythm when making breaks and looking determined to do well this week, and with the scoring he's shown so far there is no doubt he's a massive favourite to make the quarter-finals and a dark horse to go well beyond that. Sam Baird had a very impressive win in the early session today against Mark Davis winning that one 6-5 in a match Mark really should've killed off. Williams will not have the same problem killing the match off when he gets in position as he displayed against Hawkins and his determination is not just there for show. If Mark continues in that vain, I can only see one outcome of this match.

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Li Hang - After a slow start against Ben Woollaston it seems that Ronnie O'Sullivan has clicked into gear nicely and scoring at his exceptional best, and with players going out and Ronnie close to his best he is the new firm tournament favourite. His 6-1 win today against Anthony McGill was superb with 3 centuries in there and he certainly punished McGill if he didn't take the slim chances that he left for the Scot. Li Hang has started the week well with a very good display in beating John Higgins 6-1, before beating Zhao Xintong 6-1 today, although without the same size of breaks. The key for Hang tomorrow will be winning frames in one visit and trying to heap as much pressure on Ronnie as he can do. Without any disrespect to Li, with Ronnie playing how he did today, anything close to a repeat of that will be sending the Chinaman packing.

Ricky Walden Vs Joe Swail - These two fellas both came through deciding frames against two players at either end of the rankings. Starting with Ricky, he had to battle hard again in order to see off Zhou Yuelong and he certainly didn't have things easy and that could play a big part tomorrow as he played in the later session. Joe meanwhile will be riding on the crest of a wave having won 2 matches at the venue, including a win today against Neil Robertson (who at the time was the highest remaining seed) from 3-0 and 5-3 down. Swail is one of the hardest battlers on tour and he will make life incredibly tough for every single player in the draw if he can execute his skills, something he has been doing this week so far. I was impressed with how well he was striking the ball today and his long potting particularly was of a top standard. Coupled with the new care-free attitude he says he's playing with Joe Swail is a tough man for any player to face.

Peter Ebdon Vs Jamie Burnett - Peter Ebdon was my tip to be a big dark horse in this event, and with Neil Robertson and Judd Trump, his main threats in this quarter, on their way home Peter is my new favourite for this quarter. He's in incredibly good form as he showed again with another 6-1 victory against Joe Perry this time around and recent record in China is one that always makes him dangerous out there as he will be this week. If he's looking at the draw the same way I am, I'm pretty certain he'll be spotting a big opportunity to progress and that will make him determined to take that opportunity, and when Peter's determined that's when he's at his best and most dangerous. Jamie Burnett however may have beaten Judd Trump today, but that match was a big slog late into the evening in Chengdu while Peter Ebdon used up very little energy in the a comfortable match in the afternoon session which gives him a big advantage there too. Jamie didn't look at all comfortable at times today and it seemed like every pot was becoming a big battle at the end of the match, and it was becoming painful to watch at times, while Peter Ebdon is a slow player but also a very fluent one within his own cue action, especially when he's in the brilliant form he is at the moment. Can only see one outcome in this match as well.

Robert Milkins Vs Xiao Guodong - Robert Milkins produced a fine display of snooker today in beating Shaun Murphy 6-1, with some good breaks in taking a 3-0 lead, and some good steals in the fifth and sixth frames after Shaun kept throwing him lifelines in frames it seems. Robert will be the first to admit that he's not had the best 2014 on tour, but this win will be a big confidence boost going into the rest of this tournament starting in tomorrow's last 16 but also for the rest of the season. Xiao Guodong though is a very dangerous player to play against and although he hasn't had the most fluent start to the week here his scoring has still been good and the tough matches he's had will sharpen him up nicely for the business end of the tournament and I think he'll be able to match Robert in the scoring department. This game could simply depend on who gets in first in frames and who gets the most chances. It could depend a lot on Robert who is a very attacking player, when that comes off he'll win a lot more than he loses, but if it doesn't he's going to leave Xiao a lot more chances than he can afford to.

Marco Fu Vs Rod Lawler - Finally, we have Marco Fu who seems to be playing himself in to some form having made 4 centuries in 2 matches so far, despite both of those matches against Liam Highfield and David Gilbert running close. Marco takes on Rod Lawler who seems to be having one of his weeks where everything comes together and he puts together some very impressive results, as he has done against in form Oli Lines and consistent Fergal O'Brien. Noticeably from the frame scores Rod has been scoring really well which is a very good indicator of how far he can push Fu tomorrow, because Lawler can't rely on being able to grind results out against the best players, but it doesn't look like he's had to thus far. However, if Fu has found his form he's a tough man to beat and I don't think that Rod will be able to get over the line in this one, though I do expect it to be very close.

As I say the draw has well and truly opened up for an underdog to come through if one can really step up to the plate and I think we could have a winner come from outside of the top 16. With all of the shocks and surprise results we've seen this week so far it's going to be a very entertaining Last 16 in store tomorrow and I don't think things will go as I've predicted by any means.

Down to the Last 32 in Chengdu

After 2 days of tasty action at the International Championship in Chengdu the Last 64 has been completed and tomorrow sees all of the Last 32 games across the 3 sessions. The main casualties of the opening round were Graeme Dott, Dominic Dale, John Higgins, Kurt Maflin, Matthew Stevens and Stephen Maguire. Meanwhile the usual suspects in Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy got through comfortably while Judd Trump came through a decider against Jimmy Robertson and Ronnie O'Sullivan turned over a 3-1 deficit to beat Ben Woollaston 6-4. Marco Fu and Joe Perry also overturned sizeable deficits to win their games against Liam Highfield and Mike Dunn respectively.

Here are the Last 64 results in full so you can see how your favourites went:

Last 64 Results:

Mitchell Mann 6-5 Wang Zepeng
Michael White 6-0 Aditya Mehta
Ian Burns 6-5 Dominic Dale
Craig Steadman 6-1 Graeme Dott
Stuart Bingham 6-4 Robbie Williams
Ryan Day 6-5 Mark Joyce
Martin Gould 6-4 Joel Walker
Mark Allen 6-0 Nigel Bond
Barry Hawkins 6-4 Jimmy White
Mark Williams 6-1 Oli Brown
Sam Baird 6-2 Kyren Wilson
Mark Davis 6-2 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Li Hang 6-1 John Higgins
Zhao Xintong 6-3 Kurt Maflin
Anthony McGill 6-4 Alan McManus
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-4 Ben Woollaston
Neil Robertson 6-3 Matt Selt
Joe Swail 6-2 Andrew Higginson
Zhou Yuelong 6-1 Chris Melling
Ricky Walden 6-3 David Morris
Joe Perry 6-3 Mike Dunn
Peter Ebdon 6-1 Andrew Pagett
Jamie Burnett 6-1 Matthew Stevens
Judd Trump 6-5 Jimmy Robertson
Shaun Murphy 6-1 Yu De Lu
Robert Milkins 6-2 Barry Pinches
Xiao Guodong 6-2 Eden Sharav
Noppon Saengkham 6-5 Stephen Maguire
Marco Fu 6-4 Liam Highfield
David Gilbert 6-4 Zak Surety
Fergal O'Brien 6-5 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Rod Lawler 6-3 Oli Lines

So, a few results in there have opened the draw up a little bit ahead of the Last 32 with a few top players falling in qualifying and in the Last 64 there are chances now for guys down the rankings to go a long way in this event.

Now it's time for me to take a look at the Last 32 draw and have my thoughts on what I think some of the outcomes could be of tomorrow's games.

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)

Michael White Vs Mitchell Mann - To start off the Last 32 we have 2 very good young players that are both climbing up the rankings at the different stages of their career. Mann had to come through a wildcard before making a 142 on the way to beating Wang Zepeng in today's Last 64. Mitchell is a top class young player from what I've seen and heard but he doesn't necessarily have much tour experience yet having only been on tour half a season which puts him at a slight disadvantage, especially in Chinese conditions. Michael White however is in cracking form having beaten Mehta 6-0 to start the week and he did have a very good run in Shanghai to the quarter-finals in September as well as making the semi-finals in Bulgaria earlier this month. If White continues like that there's only one winner here.

Ian Burns Vs Craig Steadman - Ian Burns and Craig Steadman are very evenly matched in my opinion and this is a match that could quite easily go either way tomorrow and could be decided by one decisive frame at a key point of the match. Craig Steadman I would say has been the marginally better of the two in the last 12 months and his win in round one proved that, not to just beat former world champion Graeme Dott, but to batter him 6-1. Ian also had a good victory against Dominic Dale on Sunday but it doesn't seem as though he played perhaps as well as Steadman did, and I'd say that Steadman is probably the better of the two players in Chinese conditions, which will play as big a part this week as any other Chinese ranking event.

Stuart Bingham Vs Ryan Day - I'm not always one for predicting correct scores particularly well (or even outcomes for that matter) but I certainly believe that this match is going to go a fair distance, being won 6-4 or 6-5 either way. Both guys are playing well at the moment with Ryan having a 147 on the way to the Asian Tour quarters last week, and he's certainly got his big scoring boots back on of late as he showed again in his 6-5 win over Mark Joyce on Sunday. Ryan is consistently putting in good performances in now, and wins in matches like this are ones that will soon have him back in the top 16 of the rankings. After the last couple of months for Stuart with wins at the Shanghai Masters and the AT2 event last week, those 2 titles added to his account have put him in a good place for another good run this week if he continues playing as he is. He started slow against Robbie Williams, coming from 4-3 down to win 6-4 but he does seem to start slower in the Chinese ranking events, improving as the week goes on if he can stay in the event. It's going to be tight, but I have a feeling that Stuart will come from behind and move into the Last 16.

Mark Allen Vs Martin Gould - Another very close match is in prospect here as Mark Allen, winner of the Paul Hunter Classic and runner-up at the Shanghai Masters this season, takes on Martin Gould who is climbing back up the rankings thanks to a good run in Wuxi and a run to the final of the Bulgarian Open. Mark started his week off in a very convincing style with a 6-0 win over Nigel Bond, while Martin Gould had a slightly tougher time against Joel Walker, taking the final 2 frames there to win 6-4. Over a longer format though I just fancy Martin Gould slightly less because his record in shorter format events like PTC's is much better than full ranking events, whereas Mark Allen is a proving ranking event winner and has potential to win one of the games very biggest events very soon, and that just gives him an edge in games like this which is all either player will want in a game like this.

Barry Hawkins Vs Mark Williams - This is a repeat of a recent Last 32 match at the Shanghai Masters last month, which saw Mark Williams win 5-4 in a match that certainly went right down to the wire. Mark Williams has been playing a little better just lately and I think that could be testament to the fact that he has been working hard on and off the table, with a new cue in hand for this season and the absence of a few pounds after some work on his fitness, which a lot of players have been doing recently and in most cases it's led to improvements in their form. (Not to try and put 2 and 2 together). Barry Hawkins though seems to be suffering a little bit from early season blues that troubled him at the beginning of last season. He's hardly in terrible form but his form is also not to the standard we've seen in the second half of the last couple of seasons with his good runs in the last 2 World Championships being his main source of ranking money. Like their Shanghai match I think this is going down to the wire, but i'll give the Welshman the edge that will be needed to win.

Mark Davis Vs Sam Baird - Mark Davis is in some ways twice the player in Asia that he is in the UK and I think with the conditions being a lot poorer in China this week for playing snooker, that will suit Davis more than Baird who relies heavily on getting into a good rhythm. Sam did have a good win 6-2 over Kyren Wilson and he played very well in that match too looking at the breaks. Davis had a good 6-2 win also against Poomjaeng and his extra experience could tell in a match that I think Sam will push close if he plays as he did in the Last 64. Either way though, I fully expect Mark to come through this one.

Li Hang Vs Zhao Xintong - This match should be a very good match between 2 very classy young Chinamen who have had some very good wins to progress to this stage. Li Hang's 6-1 win over John Higgins is a result that massively stands out from the Last 64 and I had a feeling that he would win that one, and I'm disappointed not to have made that call. Zhao Xintong is a young man that has a very bright future ahead of him. With the results he's had as a wildcard in the last year, I've gotten to the stage now I'm ignoring the fact that he has won. This week Jamie Jones and Kurt Maflin have been the 2 men unfortunate enough to come up against him and get the Xintong treatment and as a pro playing an amateur that's always hard to take and because of the nature of the game, Zhao's opponents will be putting themselves under a lot of pressure to win before the game has even begun. He is a classy player though and results at last years International brought that to the attention of everyone in Snooker and it would be very good for him to repeat that performance with a victory tomorrow.

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Anthony McGill - Ronnie O'Sullivan struggled a lot in the early stages of his match against Ben Woollaston. I think he was a little bit too relaxed and came across to many watching as care free throughout the match, and although he started to make some big breaks in the second half of that 6-4 win, he needs to change his mentality in order to raise his game ready for what will be another strong test tomorrow against McGill. Anthony played very well looking at the breaks in order to overcome in form Alan McManus to get into the Last 32. These two players met at this event in the Last 64 last season and Ronnie won quite convincingly on that occasion but only because the Scot failed to take his chances. If McGill gets as many chances as he did that day and as Ronnie gave to Ben on Sunday, he certainly has a very good chance, but I expect Ronnie to sharpen up now he's got past that dodgy opening round fixture.

Neil Robertson Vs Joe Swail - As we enter the bottom half of the draw we have the world number 2 taking on Northern Irishman Joe Swail in what will be another tricky contest for the big Australian. Neil had a tough match today against Matt Selt who was very well in making keeping him to 3-3 having lost the first 2 frames to Robertson. However, Neil found that extra gear that sets him apart from the majority and that powered him on to a 6-3 win. Joe is a very dangerous player and he'll be full of confidence after beating Andrew Higginson 6-2 earlier on today but if he does push Neil Robertson close, I expect Neil to find that extra gear again that will get him into the Last 16.

Ricky Walden Vs Zhou Yuelong - Ricky Walden had to dig in earlier after going 2-0 down to David Morris in the Last 64, but he seemed to find his form from there and he made 2 centuries on the way to winning 6 of the next 7 frames to power into the Last 32. He certainly has the wood on Zhou Yuelong in terms of experience and that could play the vital part in this match. Zhou may have had a convincing win against Chris Melling today 6-1 but I can't see past Ricky for the win here.

Joe Perry Vs Peter Ebdon - This has all the makings of a very tense and close match (and with Ebdon a lengthy one too). Joe today overcame Mike Dunn who played well to lead that match 3-0 early doors, but Joe soon found his form and won all of the next 6 frames to win that one 6-3. Peter Ebdon though is in very good form after his showings in the last European and Asian Tour events to reach the semi and quarter-finals of those 2 respectively and he had a very easy match in the morning session over Andrew Pagett taking that one 6-1 and I fully expect Peter to have a very good run this week out in Chengdu after his runs in the last 2 years. Joe is a very tough player to beat, but they don't come much tougher to beat than Peter Ebdon. That may have changed a bit in recent years but when Ebdon is on his game as he is at the moment I wouldn't want to face him.

Judd Trump Vs Jamie Burnett - At first glance I can only see this game going one way and that is comfortably the way of Judd Trump. However, having looked back at todays results Jamie's 6-1 win against Matthew Stevens is a very convincing one against a fairly solid player (even if Matt has hit a downwards turn in the last year or 2). Judd on the other hand had a tough time of things against Jimmy Robertson, losing 3 frames from 2-0 up to trail 3-2, at which stage he was becoming increasingly frustrated, before winning the next 3 to go 5-3 in front only for Jimmy to force a decider, but those efforts were in vain as Judd took the match 6-5. It's tough for me to see past Judd in this encounter though.

Shaun Murphy Vs Robert Milkins - Shaun Murphy is in incredible form at the moment having won 3 titles in 2014, one of which was this month as well as reaching the final of the invitational General Cup. He continued this form today against Yu De Lu, who may have made a few mistakes, but Murphy continued his renaissance of the attacking snooker he was known for in his early career and had some very good breaks in there. Robert Milkins also had a good win against Barry Pinches 6-2 in what have been tough conditions this week at times with the atmospherics not being great for snooker playing. Robert and Shaun always have good games, and while the head to head may favour Shaun a touch, their games are always close and I'm sure this one will be too. With the form he's in though, I'd find it hard to tip against Murphy against most players.

Xiao Guodong Vs Noppon Saengkham - In this encounter, Xiao Guodong will be a clear favourite with his continued progress in the rankings as he becomes a more consistent player. His win today against Eden Sharav 6-2 came from a position of 2-2 at the interval and shows just what the Chinaman is capable of in reeling off a series of frames in quick succession and that is the big danger for Noppon Saengkham tomorrow. Noppon was very lucky to get through today against Stephen Maguire and Stephen will be wondering how exactly he lost that match. Stephen made all of the big contributions in the match and Noppon was just able to hang in there and take advantage when his chance came right at the very end. I don't think though that if Xiao gets in front in frames and in the match as a whole tomorrow that he'll leave the door open for Noppon, such is his clinical nature shown today.

Marco Fu Vs David Gilbert - This match is quite a tough one to call tomorrow with neither player playing particularly well today as both players could've been on their way home at this point. Marco trailed Liam Highfield 4-2 at one stage having led 2-0 before coming back to win 6-4 but in the latter parts of the game he seemed frustrated sat in the chair and his body language didn't look great with his shoulders slumped at times like a man that had given up. Against a more experienced pro he'd have been beaten. The same goes for Gilbert who seemed to struggle early on against Surety before winning 6-4. Neither player has had a particularly good season to this point, with both struggling for the ability they have, but the winner tomorrow could see this moment as the one where they kick start their season. Marco is certainly the most likely candidate on that front.

Fergal O'Brien Vs Rod Lawler - The place to start with this match is not by pointing out the obvious (how long the match could be) but by going back 12 months to when these 2 played each other at the same stage of this very event. On that day Fergal O'Brien took the spoils 6-4. Fergal played well today against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh to come back from 3-1 and 5-4 down to win 6-5 with a century in the tenth frame and another very good break in the decider. Rod did what he always seems to do today and find a way of winning games that on paper you think are close but don't expect him to come through beating Oli Lines 6-3 and a performance of a similar level tomorrow will see him take this match very close. Fergal in my mind is a big favourite with the way he's been playing in the last few months, ever since his appearance in the Gdynia Open final. I fully expect the Irishman to take the same spoils that he did 12 months ago.


There looks like some very good games there for tomorrow and it should make for some very good watching on the TV or streams wherever you are. I'm sure there will be more big performances from some of these youngsters, while the top players will try and keep warming up to peak at the vital times in this tournament.

International Championship Preview

This Sunday sees the beginning of the main stages of what is now China's biggest ranking event, the International Championships in Chengdu. Having played from 128 down to 64 in Barnsley (appropriately enough!!) which saw some relatively big name casualties. The biggest of those were the top 2 seeds in Ding Junhui and Mark Selby which already throws the draw open a lot more at either end. Other notable qualifier losers were Michael Holt, Liang Wenbo and Mark King and once again there are a large amount of promising young players that have made it to the venue including recent Asian Tour 2 runner-up and the man that knocked out Selby, Oliver Lines, Mitchell Mann who saw off Oli's dad Peter and amateurs Eden Sharav and Oli Brown. Of course there are still a large number of big names in the draw as well including recent winners on the European and Asian Tour Shaun Murphy, who was the winner in Bulgaria and the runner-up to Ali Carter in the Hong Kong General Cup, and Stuart Bingham who comes into this with a win in Asian Tour 2 to go with his Shanghai Masters victory from September. As well as this we have the big guns of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump to go with last years runner-up Marco Fu so I'm expecting a brilliant standard of snooker this week.

As we enter the big period of winter snooker now we've also entered the longer format events starting here with the games being best-of-11 frames from the Last 64 up to and including the quarter-finals, with the semi-finals being best-of-17 frames (which is something I'd like to see a lot more of in ranking events) and the usual best-of-19 frames final. Hopefully the longer format will set up some more classic matches to come this week, and looking at the draw there are certainly a few candidates for possible classics.

Now of course it's time for me to take a look at the draw, as always focussing on each quarter and trying (usually unsuccessfully) to pick out some quarter winners before deciding on an overall tournament tip:

Quarter 1

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Wang Zepeng Vs Mitchell Mann/Niu Zhuang
Michael White Vs Aditya Mehta
Dominic Dale Vs Ian Burns
Graeme Dott Vs Craig Steadman
Stuart Bingham Vs Robbie Williams
Ryan Day Vs Mark Joyce
Martin Gould Vs Joel Walker
Mark Allen Vs Nigel Bond

The top quarter of the draw is honestly packed with big names that could all go on and win make the semi-finals this week and, in many cases go a couple better than that by winning the title. The likes of Paul Hunter Classic champion Mark Allen, Shanghai Masters and Asian Tour 2 champion Stuart Bingham, Bulgarian Open runner-up Martin Gould, AT2 147 man Ryan Day, Graeme Dott, Dominic Dale and Michael White are all capable of winning this quarter this coming week.

Ryan Day made a maximum this week at the Asian Tour event before losing out in the quarter-finals to Oli Lines, showing that he's clearly in very good form coming into this event. He also made the semi-finals of the first Asian Tour event of the season and his form has really picked up in 2014 with runs to the Last 16 of the Shanghai Masters, Wuxi Classic and the World Championships as well as a German Masters semi-final in February. Ryan belongs in the top 16 and he's not very far away from that right now in his current position of 20th in the World and I fully expect him to be a Top 16 payer again before the 2015 World Championships. If Ryan can get a couple of early wins and keep working hard this week, he has as good a chance as anyone of making it into the last 4.

Mark Allen has made an incredibly good start to this season and his form coming into this event is simply stunning. After a first round exit in Australia (his first event of the season) Mark has gone on to make the Riga Open Final where he lost out to a Mark Selby comeback, win the Paul Hunter Classic beating Judd Trump in the final, and reach the final of the Shanghai Masters where he was thrashed by Stuart Bingham. All the evidence is there that Mark could win this title, especially with his 2 ranking wins coming in China, and with a ranking final in China to his name already this season I feel like a big big ranking event title can't be far away for the Northern-Irishman and it could well be this week. This quarter is a tough one for him to get out of, but if he can do that then he'd certainly have the confidence to go all the way.

However, a big presence in this quarter who will want to stop Mark doing that is Stuart Bingham. Stuart is on a really good run of form out in China with his first full ranking title out there coming last month at the Shanghai Masters while he won yet another Asian Tour event last week beating Oli Lines in the final, and that is his 4th Asian Tour title of all time which is huge going considering how long the Asian Tour has actually been running. While he may have been struggling a little in the European Tour events, Bingham has become a very consistent player with dips in form only being occasional nowadays and his run to the UK Championship semi-finals last season in my view was his best ever performance, proving that he could compete in these very big events. With his game in such good shape right now, Stuart has to be a title contender this week.

Quarter Winner: Stuart Bingham

Quarter 2

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Barry Hawkins Vs Jimmy White
Mark Williams Vs Oli Brown
Kyren Wilson Vs Sam Baird
Mark Davis Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
John Higgins Vs Li Hang
Kurt Maflin Vs Jamie Jones/Zhao Xintong
Alan McManus Vs Anthony McGill
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ben Woollaston

The 2nd section of the draw is also stacked full of talent with Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan of course being the biggest name, while Barry Hawkins, Mark Williams, Mark Davis, John Higgins and Alan McManus all well capable of winning the quarter and the event but not all of these players are in top form right now.

John Higgins has been struggling a lot once again at the start of this season after his poor form during the second half of last season particularly. He's only managed one last 16 appearance in either a ranking event or a European Tour event, which came at the Australian Open. This week, John is just as likely to be beaten in the first round with a tough game against Li Hang to start things off, as he is to make it to even the quarter-finals. You can never write off John Higgins, but my view is that he has the game to win another ranking event or 2 before his career reaches a full decline, but at the end of the day at the age of 39 with a family, his days at the top of the snooker rankings are behind him and he probably doesn't have the consistency to ever make it back near the top 8 in the world again. A big run from the Scot this week is therefore not impossible, but becoming more and more unlikely as the clock continues to tick.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is always a big contender for any tournament he enters such is the nature of his ability to breeze through a draw on any given week, without anyone being able to push him close at all. Form never comes into things with Ronnie, especially in the last couple of years, winning the 2013 World Championship having entered nothing for the rest of that 2012/2013 season. He's been playing a lot more than that since, but only entering the biggest events unlike the very top players who enter the large majority of tournaments. This season so far has seen Ronnie enter the Paul Hunter Classic where he lost out in the Last 16 and a first round exit at the Shanghai Masters to in-form Alan McManus who he could face in the Last 32 and if that draw came off I think Alan has every chance of winning, just as Ben Woollaston does in the Last 64. The only real evidence that Ronnie could win the title this week is his very presence in the draw. His record in China hasn't been brilliant in recent years which was outlined by a Last 32 exit here last year to Liang Wenbo and a Last 32 exit in last months Shanghai Masters. Generally I don't think Ronnie plays enough competitive snooker in China, compared to the rest of the top pros who are well acclimatised to Asian conditions, and this is the simple difference between his record when picking and choosing events in the UK compared to China, and why he can't simply come over for this event and be a favourite. My gut feeling is that Ronnie will have his work cut out for him this week.

Mark Davis is a player that was described to me the other week by someone I won't name as an "Asian specialist" because of the way he's played in Asia over recent years compared to the UK. I think that is a fair enough view to have of him and he has proved that in recent years. Just a week ago he made the semi-finals of the General Cup, a tournament he won the year before. His record in the 6 Reds Championship in Thailand has been impeccable, but in ranking events in China he hasn't quite stepped up yet, but given his form this week could be that big breakthrough. After a very poor end to last season, Mark has started off much better this year with 1 ranking event semi-final already under his belt in Australia along with a quarter-final appearance in the recent ET in Bulgaria so he'll be keen to add to that with another good run here, and I think the draw could well open up for him to do so.

Quarter Winner: Mark Davis

Quarter 3

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Matt Selt
Andrew Higginson Vs Joe Swail/Yan Bingtao
Chris Melling Vs Zhou Yuelong
Ricky Walden Vs David Morris
Joe Perry Vs Mike Dunn
Peter Ebdon Vs Andrew Pagett
Matthew Stevens Vs Jamie Burnett
Judd Trump Vs Jimmy Robertson

The first section of the bottom half of the draw has another load of top players all capable of making good runs in this event. Neil Roberson made the final 2 years ago so he could use another big run this week with money to defend. Peter Ebdon also has some money to defend having made the semi-finals 2 years ago, and with his recent form he could do so again this week. Judd Trump, Joe Perry, Ricky Walden and Matthew Stevens are the other top names in this section and in my view this section is the most likely to produce our tournament winner.

The vegan power of Peter Ebdon could well be back on the menu this week in Chengdu with the 44 year old re-discovering some of his best form again in the last month with very strong runs at both the Bulgarian Open where he lost a close semi-final to Martin Gould, before losing out in the quarter-finals at the recent Asian Tour 2 in a decider to Matt Selt. We all know that Peter Ebdon enjoys playing in China with his record both at the China Open which he has won on a couple of occasions, along with this event reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals in the 2 years it's been staged losing out to the eventual winner on both occasions. If you want an outside bet to win this quarter or the tournament as a whole, Peter Ebdon is probably your man and I hope he can have a good run this week, especially with the long format.

Judd Trump has an incredibly good start to this season with strong showings in a host of events big and small. Things really started to turn for Judd in Australia where he overcame home favourite Neil Robertson to win his first ranking title since winning this event back in 2012, which for a guy of Judd's talent and class is a very long gap between full ranking titles. It's hard to say that Judd was low on confidence prior to that Australia win but as tournaments went by and he wasn't quite having the runs he wanted you could see his confidence slowly dropping a little. A run to the final of February's German Masters helped pick him up a bit, but that didn't seem to last as long as he'd like and it still took him a full 5 months from that so called "boost" for him to win that title. Since July though Judd's reached the final of the Paul Hunter Classic, the quarter-finals of the Riga Open and the Last 16 of the Bulgarian Open which pretty much guarantees him his Players Championship Finals berth. He had a temporary blip in Shanghai where he lost in the first round to an inspired Dominic Dale and it is these occasional blips that has made him a hard man to predict over the last 2 years. However, if he does have his game together and get past a couple of tricky early games I could see him ripping through the field and walking away with the title.

Finally in this quarter, Neil Robertson will be a huge contender for both the quarter and the title this week. Neil will see this as a big opportunity in the rankings with Selby and Ding his ranking neighbours failing to qualify and he'll be gutted not to take advantage. Having won the Wuxi Classic earlier in the season to continue his brilliance in these Chinese ranking events (it's hard to believe he struggled in China as little as 2 years ago in his book) and making the final of the Australian Open he had a very solid start to the season. Since then he has struggled slightly, with finishes of the Last 64, Last 16 and the Last 64 in the 3 European Tour events and a first round exit in the Shanghai Masters. His first round match is a tough one against Matt Selt who is both a good friend of Neil's and a man that made the semi-finals of the recent AT2. The thing with Neil though is that he always seems to bring his best for the really big events and the events that he's really motivated and prepared to do well in and you can guarantee that this event will be one that he wants to win having been a runner-up 2 years ago. It would be a very brave man to say that Neil is not a very big contender for the title this coming week.

Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson

Quarter 4

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Yu De Lu
Robert Milkins Vs Barry Pinches
Xiao Guodong Vs Eden Sharav
Stephen Maguire Vs Noppon Saengkham
Marco Fu Vs Liam Highfield
David Gilbert Vs Zak Surety
Fergal O'Brien Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Rod Lawler Vs Oli Lines/Huang Jiahao

The final quarter of the draw has some very big names in it with recent Bulgarian Open champion Shaun Murphy heading the field in this section, with 6 Reds champion Stephen Maguire following along with last years runner-up Marco Fu a big threat. Young Oli Lines could also cause some damage again in this weeks draw having just reached the final of the Asian Tour event in the last week losing out to Bingham.

Starting with Maguire, other than that win in the 6 Reds (which really counts for very little) he's not had much of a run in any ranking or European Tour events yet other than at the very start of the season where he reached the quarter-finals of the Wuxi Classic. All in all, 2014 has been a pretty inconsistent year for Maguire and there's really been no sign of it turning around at any stage. Any tip for him to do well this week really would be taking a punt.

Marco Fu's season so far has been a similar tale of inconsistency that Stephen Maguire has shown. Other than a run to the quarter-finals in both Wuxi and ET1 in Latvia, Marco has struggled, particularly with first round exits in Shanghai and Bulgaria most recently, while at last weeks General Cup he failed to win any of his 3 group games. For a time last season it looked like Marco had settled his problems with inconsistency and a lot of hard work has been going into that for Marco, but with results in 2014 to go by it seems like he may be back to square one a little in the sense that he's become a terribly unpredictable player again this season. It would take a big turnaround in his fortunes for him to have a big run of form this week, but I wouldn't rule it out.

Shaun Murphy though, seems to be one of the main men in form at the moment on the snooker tour and he'll be coming into this tournament full of confidence and belief that he can have a good run and pick up some more big ranking money. Murphy has been one of the best players of 2014 as a calendar year and his turnaround in fortunes from January to now is quite remarkable looking back on it. In January Shaun won't mind me saying that his confidence was shot and he was struggling badly, to the point in a Post-Masters semi-final interview he hinted that snooker wasn't quite as enjoyable as it was. Those comments were of course heat of the moment and he cleared things up nicely by winning in Gdynia in February followed by a full ranking win at March's World Open. Quarter-finals in the World Championship and the season starting Wuxi Classic were good performances that could've been better and after a slight blip at the back end of the summer, Murphy was back to winning ways a few weeks ago by blitzing through the field to win the Bulgarian Open title. Last week he went out to Hong Kong for the General Cup losing out in the final to Carter in a decider after another solid week. Shaun looks forward to playing in these big events as much as any other player on tour, matched with his newly regained confidence and form of 2014, he's an incredibly dangerous animal and one of the favourites for the title this week.

Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy


Tournament Runner-Up: Stuart Bingham

Tournament Winner: Neil Robertson


I've been looking forward to this event for a long time as it really kick starts the season with the tournaments coming thick and fast from here really right up until the end of the season with a pretty hectic second half of the season coming in. With it's format as well I'm sure we'll see plenty of quality matches this week in a tournament that seems to be right up there with the UK Championships. I have to say it's going to be a very enjoyable week and i'll be bringing you updates throughout so be sure to stick around for those.