This week Murphy and Gould are both back amongst the field of players hungry for a good weekend in the event that, as always, runs from Friday to Sunday for the professionals and will be shown on Eurosport. One of my highlights of this event from last year was a little bit of off table fun I had, by accidentally phoning the eventual champion Murphy from my pocket between his Last 128 and Last 64 matches, and after picking up he clearly didn't realise it was an accident or was clearly having fun listening to my day, by keeping me on the line for a full 7 minutes before I eventually realised and hung up myself and later texting to apologise.
Back to the event and it's always one that is well held in Bulgaria as they always are on the European Tour and the top seed for this week on the European Order of Merit is... Rory McLeod. Something I never expected to see. This comes after non-entries from the other tour event winners Barry Hawkins and Ali Carter of this season so far, while guys like Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui continue to skip the European Tour, while Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and Marco Fu are also amongst the non-entries. Meanwhile, Judd Trump is present after not qualifying for the International Championship and losing in round one of the Ruhr Open on top of that so he has a point to prove this week.
Plenty to play for as always then as we enter the final three events on the European Tour and the race for places in the Players Championship finals heats up. This is how the draw looks for this week:
Quarter 1:
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Rory McLeod Vs Sam Baird
Zhang Anda Vs Amateur Qualifier
Chris Wakelin Vs Chris Melling
Ian Burns Vs Paul Davison
Jimmy Robertson Vs Allan Taylor
Michael Leslie Vs Amateur Qualifier
Rod Lawler Vs Liam Highfield
Matt Selt Vs Hamza Akbar
Judd Trump Vs Amateur Qualifier
Gerard Greene Vs Gareth Allen
Rhys Clark Vs Amateur Qualifier
Andrew Higginson Vs Craig Steadman
Peter Ebdon Vs Amateur Qualifier
Fergal O'Brien Vs Michael Georgiou
Anthony McGill Vs Barry Pinches
Mark King Vs Amateur Qualifier
Of the top 16 the top quarter of the draw only features Judd Trump but of the rest, Mark King has gone well in the European Tour events this season while Rory McLeod was the winner of ET3. Matt Selt is also a big threat on these weekends, and Jimmy Robertson is also a player that is improving rapidly with the help of the smaller tour events so they are certainly men to watch out for.
Jimmy Robertson has been going along quite nicely this year. He featured in the semi-finals of the recent Asian Tour event and in spring's Gdynia Open. The International Championship saw him reach a full ranking event Last 16 for the first time beating Barry Hawkins on the way to that and I've been impressed with how Jimmy is going over the last season or so. I have earmarked Jimmy as one to watch in terms of the next player who could breakthrough the pack and become a surprise winner or finalist. With the absence of loads of top players in this section someone like Jimmy doesn't have the most difficult looking draw to progress on and he could quite easily reach Sunday's Last 16 and even the quarter-finals and from their who knows what could happen.
Matt Selt is another player who has a good record in these European tour events. Over the last season or so he has reached a final, which was in Lisbon last December, and already this season he has reached a quarter-final which was in Riga and he continues to progress. His recent trip to China could've gone better though. He failed to win a match in the main stages of either the Asian Tour or International Championship and perhaps after a large period of improving and being in very good form, he is going to go through a small intermission of some poorer results, which every player has and needs in a sense if they are to continue improving. If he is to go on this week and get a decent run going he'll certainly need to improve on recent fortunes.
Judd Trump is the main man in this section to feature. He is the only player inside the top 16 present in quarter 1 and after quite a break since his most recent action and the dreadful results he had in that period, he should be back fresh and raring to put all of that right. The results I alluded to there were his first round exit in Mulheim to amateur Hammad Miah, while in the International Championship Qualifying (Last 128 round) he lost 6-0 to the much lower ranked Michael Wild. Although, after reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters in September that is all surely just a blip for Judd who has both the tools and a section that (with no offence to any of the guys making up the draw) he could breeze through comfortably if he plays well. In fact if he does come back rejuvenated from the break after those poor results, then I think we will see Judd feature in Sunday evenings final.
Quarter Winner: Judd Trump
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Alan McManus Vs Amateur Qualifier
Jack Lisowski Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mitchell Mann Vs Tony Drago
Dominic Dale Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Selby Vs Sydney Wilson
Alfie Burden Vs Anthony Hamilton
Jamie Cope Vs Eden Sharav
Luca Brecel Vs Lu Ning
Ryan Day Vs Amateur Qualifier
Joel Walker Vs Hatem Yassin
Kurt Maflin Vs Steven Hallworth
Kyren Wilson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Scott Donaldson Vs Mark Joyce
Martin O'Donnell Vs Amateur Qualifier
James Cahill Vs Zak Surety
Tom Ford Vs Michael Wasley
Again the remainder of the top half of this weekends draw looks pretty bare as far as top players go, only Mark Selby featuring from the top 16. Kyren Wilson is obviously dangerous after his Shanghai win in September, while Tom Ford made the final in Riga. The likes of Ryan Day and Alan McManus can also do damage over these weekend events so watch out for them in this section additionally.
Kyren Wilson is one of the players who has risen through the pack in the last few months after his win at the Shanghai Masters and with this he now has to deal with all of the expectation for him to continue moving forward. It would not surprise me to see Wilson struggle a little bit as he comes to terms with the huge recent developments in his career, and that will naturally effect the results he is able to produce in the next few months as he deals with this. His draw isn't necessarily the easiest this week but there is still a good chance of progression with no top 16 ranked player standing between him and a possible quarter-final place, so if he can relax and play the snooker he showed in Shanghai then he has a great chance of being in contention on Sunday.
Mark Selby is naturally the player that your eyes are drawn to in this section as the world number one, but also the only one of the world's elite to feature in this entire quarter so you would expect him to go well. He has showed some decent form recently ahead of a big and busy period between now and Christmas, starting with a decent showing in Mulheim which was so close to being so much better, while in Daqing he was a semi-finalist beating Neil Robertson and Michael White along the way and he should be very happy with what he exhibited there. This week for Mark may be seen as a bit of a warm up for the Champion of Champions and UK Championship, but he is still there to win and he is a massive contender to do so.
Ryan Day is a player I expect to go well this weekend in Sofia. He beat Ding Junhui on the way to the Last 16 of the International Championship but I think he left something behind there and could've gone on so much further. At the Shanghai Masters he also reached the Last 16 so he is certainly going along pretty well this season so far, and the quarter-final run in Riga is further evidence to that effect. We all know that the Welshman has the talent to work his way through the draw and again it could be a much harder route to travel for him from round one to the quarter-finals and if he is on form I expect him to get at least that far, and the potential to go on further will then be there. I always feel that if you can get to the Sunday of a European Tour event it's a different game and the cream quickly rises up. The Ruhr Open showed that anything can happen and that looking outside of the main few guys to pick someone to go on isn't a bad idea and perhaps Ryan is that man.
Quarter Winner: Ryan Day
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Tian Pengfei Vs Amateur Qualifier
Sanderson Lam Vs Nigel Bond
Stuart Bingham Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Allen Vs Ross Muir
Sean O'Sullivan Vs Joe Swail
Joe Perry Vs Amateur Qualifier
Martin Gould Vs Amateur Qualifier
Michael Holt Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mike Dunn Vs Amateur Qualifier
Aditya Mehta Vs Amateur Qualifier
Robert Milkins Vs Amateur Qualifier
Liang Wenbo Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Thor Chuan Leong Vs Amateur Qualifier
Gary Wilson Vs David Grace
Daniel Wells Vs Ian Glover
Ben Woollaston Vs Xiao Guodong
Quarter No.3 features plenty of big guns. World champion Stuart Bingham features in this section along with fellow top 16 players Mark Allen and Joe Perry. There are also a number of players in the top 32 looking to progress like Michael Holt, Martin Gould, Robert Milkins, Liang Wenbo and Ben Woollaston, each of whom have shown the dangers they represent over these 3 day sprints. Tian Pengfei was the runner-up at the Ruhr Open so he's another player in form, as is Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who is yet to feature on the Euro Tour but did reach the recent International semi-finals.
Stuart Bingham has showed very little since becoming world champion in May. An early exit has haunted him in every tournament except for the Shanghai Masters where he reached the semi-finals. The only explanation is that he hasn't come to terms with being world champion and all of the attention and expectation that comes with that and until he goes on and wins an event or gets to the Crucible in April things probably won't become any easier. He's been particularly bad on the European Tour with two Last 128 exits, meaning he could face Mark Allen in the Last 64 this week and that is far from easy. With the Champion of Champions and UK Championships on their way, this would be the perfect time for Stuart to make a move in the right direction because we all know what he can do, but amongst the new pressures he is under it certainly isn't easy.
Ben Woollaston is usually a man to watch in these European Tour weekends. Once again this season he has gone along relatively well reaching the Last 16 of the International Championship last week and the quarter-finals of the Riga Open. After his run to the Welsh Open final he did struggle a little bit as that was a major breakthrough for him, but he now looks to be back playing like himself again. His first round match with Xiao Guodong will not be an easy one, but I still fancy him to get through and if he can he doesn't have a tougher opponent standing between him and a spot in Sunday's Last 16 where as I say, anything can happen.
Joe Perry looked to have found some form for the first time this season, at the International Championship in Daqing. He reached the quarter-finals before running into a steam train that was John Higgins, and with an easier draw he may have gone on much further. Joe should certainly get through the first couple of rounds this week playing like that again, but trouble may lie in the Last 32 against Gould or Holt before he can have any thoughts of Sunday's Last 16. Joe is due a good run on the European Tour if he is to get through to defend his Players Championship title won in March and perhaps this weekend could be the one.
Mark Allen also looks to be warming up for big things in recent times. A semi-final at the Shanghai Masters along with quarter-finals at the International Championship. Match that with Last 16 appearances in two of the three ET events so far and you cannot say he's playing badly at all. A possible Last 64 meeting with Bingham is one he would be sight favourite for on current form and that is certainly the main stumbling block between him and Sunday's Last 16. If he makes it as far as Sunday then as always it is a new ball game, but Allen has been there and done it so many times on the European Tour that he should always be viewed as a huge threat every single time that one of these events comes around.
Quarter Winner: Mark Allen
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Mark Williams Vs Amateur Qualifier
Jamie Jones Vs Noppon Saengkham
Ken Doherty W/O Jimmy White
Oli Lines Vs Amateur Qualifier
Lee Walker Vs Amateur Qualifier
Lu Chenwei Vs Zhou Yuelong
John Higgins Vs Amateur Qualifier
David Gilbert W/O Jamie Burnett
Stuart Carrington Vs Amateur Qualifier
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ricky Walden Vs Fraser Patrick
Michael White Vs Amateur Qualifier
Robbie Williams Vs Amateur Qualifier
Peter Lines Vs Darryl Hill
Jason Weston Vs Amateur Qualifier
Shaun Murphy Vs Amateur Qualifier
The final section of the draw stars both the winner and runner-up of the recent International Championship, with Higgins and Gilbert who could meet in the Last 64 this weekend. Paul Hunter Classic runner-up Shaun Murphy will be looking for another big weekend, while Mark Williams has been very consistent on the European Tour so far. Ricky Walden and Michael White are two guys in this quarter who will look to get their seasons going and the pair could meet in the Last 64 also.
Ricky Walden's season thus far continues to be a mixed bag. Despite being runner-up in the Asian Tour a couple of weeks ago he's under performed otherwise. That could be put down to the new pressures at home of having his first child with his wife and like Selby last year there may be a small reaction to that in terms of working in new routines with practice to spend more time at home or the general amount of sleep he is getting, which is something mentioned a lot with Selby. As I say his performances have been far from horrendous and I think he'll fancy his chances of making the Last 16 on Sunday, but in a very tough section i'm not sure he can go all the way.
Shaun Murphy as I always seems to say loves going around Europe in these tour events relishing the opportunity to put on a good show and as defending champion he'll want to do that again here. He's already been a runner-up in the Paul Hunter Classic and reaching the Last 16 in the other two tour events has guaranteed his qualification for the Players Championship finals so there is no pressure on that front. Last 16 exits in Daqing and Shanghai suggest there is plenty more to come from Shaun and with the Champion of Champions and UK Championship to come and the signs being that he's cueing well as usual, a big title is not far from his grasp. This weekend on the other hand could be seen as a bit of a warm up in the main, but Murphy is always here to win and he'll be disappointed not to make at least Sunday's Last 16.
John Higgins comes into this event fresh from his International Championship win in Daqing and has been on the road for some time after participating in the Asian Tour event the week before. That certainly hinders his challenge this weekend after a short turnaround of only 5 full days between winning in China to playing his first match in Sofia on Saturday. With all that happening he is perfectly entitled to feel tired and all snookered out, and with the much bigger money Champion of Champions event starting on only Tuesday I must say I thought Higgins would withdraw and get some time at home before heading to Coventry, although as I am writing this on the Wednesday afternoon there is still time for him to do just that. If he does show up and continue his incredible form he is a huge contender but it all depends on how motivated he is for such a minor event sandwiched between two more major ones, and how much he actually has left in the tank following the long trip back.
Mark Williams meanwhile has been there or thereabouts in all of these European Tour events so far this season, despite a couple of the early one's coming very soon after his shoulder operation. One last 16 exit and two quarter-finals means he is going along nicely and should be present at the Players Championship finals at the back end of the season without too much stress. An early exit at the International Championship to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh was unlucky and he also made the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters so he has been pretty consistent on that front. For me there's no reason why he shouldn't get to the Sunday for the Last 16 and from there he would have to be classed as a contender for the title once more, and with the carrot of last minute Champion of Champions qualification there if he could snatch the title there is plenty of incentive for Williams to bring the best out of himself this weekend.
Quarter Winner: Mark Williams
Predicted Tournament Runner-Up: Mark Allen
Predicted Tournament Winner: Judd Trump
That's what we have to look forward to this weekend then, and following straight after this is the Champion of Champions event in Coventry starting on Tuesday, which the winner of this event will make his way into if he hasn't already qualified, otherwise Ding Junhui will take the final spot through his recent Asian Tour win. I'll be back with my preview of the Champions event straight after the conclusion in Sofia on Sunday.
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