Part of the reason I personally fell in love with this event was the opportunity to watch it in it's entirety after I was ill during the 2012 and 2013 editions. In 2012 I was suffering from an ear infection, while in 2013 it was a chest infection and the one match that always stands out to me is the superb Ronnie O'Sullivan comeback in the first round in 2012 where he beat Andrew Higginson who missed match ball for a 5-1 victory. Ronnie went on to win the event after a tricky period that had seen him fall into a battle to stay in the top 16 for the World Championships, which after securing his seeding with a great period from February onwards, he of course went on to win.
In the two rounds of qualifying held in Wigan, 10 of the worlds top 22 players were knocked out of the competition. That means that UK Champion Neil Robertson, Masters Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, International Champion John Higgins along with Joe Perry, Ricky Walden, Ding Junhui, Michael White, Robert Milkins and David Gilbert all will not be present while Matt Selt failed to even enter originally.
What we do have in Berlin is the world number 1 and defending champion Mark Selby, world champion Stuart Bingham and the last couple of German Masters runners-up Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump and Masters runner-up Barry Hawkins.
We also have one non-tour player this year with Zhao Xintong qualifying and he will play Luca Brecel in a match that most likely won't be on the TV table, but I think it would be a fantastic advert for the future of snooker.
Time to get into the meat of things then with my analysis of the draw and predictions for the event.
Quarter 1
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Mark Selby Vs Steven Hallworth
Stephen Maguire Vs Ken Doherty
Graeme Dott Vs Tian Pengfei
Barry Hawkins Vs Alan McManus
The top quarter sees our defending champion Mark Selby, Championship League group 3 winner from earlier in the week in Stephen Maguire as well as Masters runner-up Barry Hawkins.
Barry Hawkins is of course in great form after reaching the final of the Masters before being thrashed 10-1 in that final by Ronnie O'Sullivan Hawkins looked to be striking the ball very nicely in that tournament and he'll be looking forward to getting out at the Tempodrome where he has previously reached the semi-finals and felt the buzz of playing on the one table set-up. Other than the Masters, Hawkins main successes of the year have come early in the season on the European Tour so that bodes well for another trip to mainland Europe and I would expect Hawkins to reach at least the quarter-finals this week.
Stephen Maguire won the third group of the Championship League this week, only losing one game in the process of that achievement and it will be very interesting to see if he can keep striking the ball well and playing in the same way out in Germany. Maguire has not had the best season to be fair, with plenty of early exits being mixed in there, but he may have turned a corner coming into the new year as it's very odd to see a player like Stephen playing poorly for a whole season. He was a semi-finalist at the Tempodrome before meeting eventual champion Mark Selby, and that is a test that he will have to face in the Last 16 if both men in question win their opening games on Wednesday.
Mark Selby is of course the defending champion in Berlin and the most successful player in the events history, showing how much he just loves coming to Germany. Last year he came into the event having failed to win a major title as World champion, and he has yet to win a major title in the 2015/2016 so far also. What can be said for Selby is that he has lost to the eventual champion of the Masters (Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-3 in the quarters), UK Championship (6-0 to Robertson in the semi's) and the International Championship (9-4 to John Higgins in the semi-finals). He was also the runner-up in both groups of the Championship League this week, and since the new year he has been striking the ball with a great deal of crispness and confidence, the sort of combination that will make him a major threat once again in Berlin this week.
Quarter Winner: Mark Selby
Quarter 2
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Judd Trump Vs Ali Carter
Zhang Anda Vs Alfie Burden
Mark Williams Vs Martin Gould
Shaun Murphy Vs Ben Woollaston
There are some slight surprise names in the second quarter but we still have previous winner and Championship League group 4 winner from this week in Mark Williams, along with 2015 runner-up in Berlin Shaun Murphy and 2014 finalist Judd Trump.
Judd Trump has had an interesting season so far since the disappointment of losing out in the semi-final of the World Championships. He made the semi-finals of the Masters recently with a fantastic performance against Neil Robertson but then he couldn't re-create the same form against Barry Hawkins. That is the sort of form that has defined Judd's season after capitulating in the UK Championships and failing to qualify for the International Championship. He could easily get to the final this week just as he did two years ago, but I think he could fall foul of a very difficult Last 32 against Ali Carter. Ali has a good record in Germany being a previous winner of both this event in 2013 and the Paul Hunter Classic in Furth earlier in the season, and he has a good record in previous meetings with Trump so I feel like Carter could edge that match 5-3 or 5-4.
Mark Williams had an interesting week at the Championship League this week after just managing to survive after a poor Monday but then going on to win the fourth group on the Wednesday and Thursday. He seemed to be striking the ball very well and that sort of match practice will be building Williams up nicely for a busy period. At the time of writing he still has the World Seniors to play over the weekend before turning up in Berlin, making it a busy period for him. He has a tough draw in the first round against Martin Gould where Martin is more than capable of beating him over the best-of-9 frames format. Equally, if Williams carries on striking the ball nicely and playing like he did in the Championship League then he is a contender to go far in the competition.
Shaun Murphy has had a while off since he lost on the first afternoon of the Masters three weeks ago. Since then he will have been working hard on the practice table at his house to get ready for this event and improve on a season that, compared to last season, has disappointed. He's been a regular in the last 16 of events, losing at that stage in two of the four European Tour events he has entered and then failing to get past that stage at the UK and International Championships, Champion of Champion, Australian Open, Shanghai Masters and of course the Masters. However, he does enjoy playing in Germany and has won the most prize money in the German Masters of anyone not to have already taken the title. He made the final of the Paul Hunter Classic in Furth in August and only narrowly lost out in last years Tempodrome finale to Mark Selby just three months after winning the Ruhr Open in Mulheim. He also has a good record against his first round opponent in Ben Woollaston which is important as he is well aware of the threat Ben poses and the talented player that he is. With events coming thick and fast after this for the Magician, he'll want to make sure there are no more early exits and long breaks between play starting this week.
Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 3
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Luca Brecel Vs Zhao Xintong
Marco Fu Vs Kurt Maflin
Mark Allen Vs Mark Joyce
Mark King Vs Stuart Carrington
This is a very exciting section with the young guns match up between Luca Brecel and Zhao Xintong while Gibraltar Open champion Marco Fu takes on big hitting Kurt Maflin and Champion of Champions finalist Mark Allen also features.
Marco Fu has had a quiet start to 2016 with a 6-0 loss to Neil Robertson at the Masters where he had come down with a virus that left him unable to play to his usual standards and in the end he was fed up and taking a lash at anything in sight. At the Championship League this week he was relegated from group 3 after only one win from six round robin matches and forfeiting his match with Joe Perry after eventually losing all three frames for not arriving in time. His first round opponent this week is Kurt Maflin and I fancy Kurt to win this match if Marco's poor start to the year continues. Whether he is still struggling to see off the virus is unknown but also unlikely as this was now over a couple of weeks ago, but we all know that Maflin is a very heavy scorer on his day and after a quiet season so far, it's about the time of the year that Kurt springs into action and has a couple of profitable tournaments.
Luca Brecel could well be a big threat this week in Berlin. The young man faces a player even younger than himself in Zhao Xintong who has been terrorising some of the established players whenever he competes in pro events. Brecel though is starting to display some more consistency this season in my opinion. A last 16 appearance at the UK Championships is good news for Luca and some good results on the European Tour mean that he is well and truly in the mix for another appearance at the Players Championship finals. A video came up on my Twitter timeline this week which showed Luca making a 147 in practice, but the twist was he was wearing a camera on his head filming the break from his point of view. There's no doubt about his potting ability and break building qualities, and in my view he is a few improvements in concentration and safety play away from making the next big step. With a draw this week that could offer a chance of a deep run I am intrigued to see how far he can go.
Mark Allen is the favourite to win this quarter of the draw and make it into the last four of the competition. His first round draw against Mark Joyce won't be too much of a challenge if he continues his good form and with a possible last 16 game with either Mark King or Stuart Carrington, if he can knuckle down this week, stay focussed and carry on some of the good form that he has shown he has a very nice opportunity for a great run in this event. A winner in Bulgaria this season and at the Paul Hunter Classic in 2014 and a back to back winner on the European tour in 2013, Allen usually goes well in mainland Europe and the only thing missing from that record is a strong run in Berlin. His win at the Masters against Shaun Murphy showed that he was starting the year in a similar fashion to how it finished with that Champion of Champions final in November, and despite disappointing in the quarter-finals against Barry Hawkins he is still going along nicely and a big threat for this week.
Quarter Winner: Mark Allen
Quarter 4
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Michael Holt Vs Ian Burns
Kyren Wilson Vs Rory McLeod
Liang Wenbo Vs Ryan Day
Stuart Bingham Vs Fergal O'Brien
The final section of the draw features world champion Stuart Bingham, UK runner-up Liang Wenbo and Shanghai Masters winner Kyren Wilson as well as a semi-finalist in the Paul Hunter Classic from back in August Michael Holt, who's record in Germany is fairly good and with his draw could make him a good shout as an outsider for this week.
Kyren Wilson has certainly carried on from his breakthrough event in Shanghai this season after reaching the semi-finals in the Champion of Champions and now this week in Berlin he has a chance for another good pay cheque. In the first round he takes on Rory McLeod who, despite winning the Ruhr Open, has been very hit and miss and will not pose much threat to Kyren if Wilson's scoring form is up to scratch. Then in the Last 16 he could face either Michael Holt, who he beat in the last 16 of his Shanghai Masters winning run or Ian Burns. The chance is there if he plays well enough to reach at least the quarter's and from there he could do exactly what he did last September so may be worth a look at an outside bet for the week.
Liang Wenbo was a semi-finalist in this event a year ago, and came close to the final before Shaun Murphy won the last three frames against him. Since then he has been in the UK final, which got him into his first ever Masters, while an appearance in the semi-finals of the Gibraltar Open means that he is in a solid position to qualify for the Players Championship finals. His first round opponent this week is Ryan Day who also has a good record in this event over the last couple of years. A year ago he reached the quarter-finals before losing to Wenbo and in 2014 it was the semi-finals when he lost to Ding Junhui the eventual winner in a deciding frame. For me though, Day is still failing to kick on and get that big victory that will get him back where his talent suggests that he belongs, and that is in the top 16. In fact, Wenbo's run to the UK final which earned him his top 16 and Masters spot almost feels like he has overtaken Ryan Day in a sense that they were two very similar players in the way that their respective careers had panned out to that point. Liang now has the belief that he can play well on the big stage and he could soon overtake Ding Junhui as China's Number 1 snooker star. If he can get past a tough first round opponent in Day on Thursday then he has every chance of being in the latter stages of this event with the way he has been playing recently.
Finally, World champion Stuart Bingham will be hoping to make it third time lucky against Fergal O'Brien this season, having lost to Fergal from two up with three to play on two occasions already in the 2015/2016 campaign. The recent signs have been good for Bingham as he ended 2015 with a semi-final on the European Tour and two good wins to qualify for the Tempodrome. Then 2016 has begun with two nice wins at the Masters before losing to eventual winner O'Sullivan in the semi's. He has obviously struggled as a first time winner of the World Championships, to carry that tag around without feeling the pressure, but as I suggested in my Masters preview the Christmas break may have helped him to come to terms with his achievements and move on. It wasn't until the German Masters a year ago that Mark Selby began to show any form as world champion, so that may give Stuart a little bit more confidence this week, and make him a genuine threat for the title.
Quarter Winner: Stuart Bingham
Tournament Runner-Up: Stuart Bingham
Tournament Winner: Mark Selby
The tournament will be covered in it's whole on Eurosport as usual and the format is best-of-9 frames matches up to the semi-finals which are best-of-11 before the final over best-of-17 frames. On Wednesday we have eight first round games from the top half of the draw, while the eight from the bottom half are played on Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening sees the Last 16 matches from the top half of the draw, with the Last 16 matches from the bottom half being played on Friday afternoon before the quarter-finals on Friday evening. Both semi-finals are then on Saturday when we reach the one table set-up and of course the final is over two sessions on the Sunday.
I will be back for updates throughout the competition as I will preview the first half of the last 16 after the opening days play, and the second half of the last 16 after Thursdays play.
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