The defending champion Neil Robertson has chosen not to enter this week and that also means that he will not be in the Players Championship finals, suffering a first round exit in the only European Tour event he played this season. Ronnie O'Sullivan is another non-entry so he will also not be in Manchester at Easter time for the tour finals.
Mark Allen, Ricky Walden and Ali Carter are the other notable non-entries for Gdynia though all of them have already done enough from one route or another to get through to the Players Championship finals. Walden however, has not even come close to qualifying for the World Grand Prix after poor performances in the main ranking events this season.
The big things to note are that, while the top 24 qualify from the European order of merit, the other places go to Ding Junhui and Ricky Walden for making the final of the only Asian Tour event this season, so the other six places go to the top six not already from the European order of merit on a combined list with the money from the Asian Tour event. As it stands 24th place is jointly held between Luca Brecel and Andrew Higginson who are both on £5,775, but with £525 for a first round win, and £900 for making the Last 32 with a couple of wins, guys as low down as Oliver Lines in 33rd are within touching distance.
Those figures are also of importance for the tour card race, particularly when one of the eight is provisionally being held by Hammad Miah who is not on the tour and has to come through amateur qualifying just to add anything to his total, though with a gap in hand he'll be hoping that whatever happens, his space for next year is guaranteed.
It's all go and as usual the event will be covered on Eurosport throughout the weekend as it is very much to play for. Time to look at the draw and who needs to do what in their respective battles.
Quarter 1
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Barry Hawkins Vs Yu De Lu
Jimmy Robertson Vs Michael Wasley
Joe Perry Vs Amateur Qualifier
Oliver Lines Vs Amateur Qualifier
Stuart Bingham Vs Fraser Patrick
Daniel Wells Vs Ross Muir
Zhou Yuelong W/O Itaro Santos
Judd Trump Vs Amateur Qualifier
Michael Holt Vs Ian Glover
Martin O'Donnell Vs Amateur Qualifier
Robert Milkins Vs Peter Lines
Kyren Wilson Vs Duane Jones
Thor Chuan Leong Vs Amateur Qualifier
Kurt Maflin Vs Amateur Qualifier
Gareth Allen W/O Aditya Mehta
Mark Williams Vs Ding Junhui
Plenty to talk about in this section with tour cards and players finals spots to be decided and that is aside from the fact that there is also a quarter to be won, where the main contenders will be Barry Hawkins (who is looking to top the order of merit, currently holding that first place position on the list), while the likes of Judd Trump will be hoping to add some consistency to his season, while Ding Junhui and Mark Williams face off in round one in a massive match.
Thor Chuan Leong is the first man we come to on the tour card race. He currently has £4,200 to his name and is top of the tour card holders list, over £2,000 clear of the three players in joint eight. There is a half chance of him actually making the players championship finals as he is 34th on the order of merit, but the likelihood is that he would need to reach the quarter-finals, especially as he has no help from money earned on the Asian Tour to add to a combined list.
Aditya Mehta is not actually in the tournament this week after withdrawing from the event, and after not entering the China Open qualifiers or Welsh Open some questions have been raised about him. He sits in fourth place on the tour card holders list, £1,050 clear of those in joint eighth and in 71st on the provisional end of season (EOS) list he certainly needs this place. Having said all of that it would certainly take a big turn around to see him lose the place.
Peter Lines does not have the cosy positions of the likes of Thor or Mehta and is in fact £1,050 behind joint eighth place on the tour card holders list. 75th on the provisional EOS list he has plenty of ground to cover so could use any penny he is able to lay his hands on this weekend. A first round clash with Robert Milkins does not look easy but he is more than capable of victory, while a run to the last 16 would certainly put him in the hunt.
Oliver Lines has his own battle this week and a much more upbeat one to be mentioning as he seeks his place in the Players Championship finals. Currently Lines junior is in 33rd position on the order of merit £900 behind 24th place, while on the combined list he would be £600 behind 30th place which is effectively 28th on the European list with only Jimmy Robertson and Robert Milkins having significant money to add on that would put them in the top 30 currently. More on that in a bit as it is quite complex. What it means is that Oliver needs at least two wins this week, starting off in the first round against an amateur qualifier, but with the likelihood of playing Joe Perry in the second round things look very tough for him to make it to Event City.
Stuart Bingham may be inside of the current top 24 on the order of merit but he still has a little bit of looking over his shoulder to do. He is in 23rd position just £150 better off than Higginson and Brecel in joint 24th so he could do with a win in round one to secure his place, with extra places on the combined list to fall back on. He takes on Fraser Patrick in round one and it was the Scot who took Neil Robertson to a decider at the Welsh Open, and it would certainly sum Stuart's season up if he lost in round one here and results conspired that he missed out on the Tour finals. Having said all that I think he'll beat Fraser and to be honest he could well be fine regardless.
Kyren Wilson is in joint 29th on the European order of merit with a chance of making the top 24 or getting into the Tour finals with the extra spaces on a combined list. He is currently £375 behind the joint 24th place and plays Duane Jones in round one with a possible Last 64 match with Robert Milkins or Peter Lines. Given that draw you would fancy him to get through round one and he could well run deep in the event to earn that place in Manchester. It would be a big disappointment for Kyren if he were to miss out after the season that he has had.
Jimmy Robertson does not look like he is in the best position on the order of merit in 37th position, but on a combined list he has £3,500 to add on from making the semi-finals of the Asian Tour event which puts him up to 20th place on the list and means that he is almost certain to qualify for the Tour finals in Manchester regardless of how he does this weekend.
Robert Milkins was the other losing semi-finalist in the Asian Tour event back in October last year and that £3,500 propels him from 51st on the European order of merit to what would be 24th position on a combined list. He could probably still do with a win against Peter Lines in round one to guarantee his tour finals spot, but he may well be ok without that.
Ding Junhui and Mark Williams face off in the first round this week and the winner of that match could be a big contender to win the quarter. Williams has gone well on the European tour this season and has already booked his place in the Players Championship finals, while Ding booked his by winning the sole Asian Tour event. Ding however needs wins and plenty of them to avoid having to go through three rounds of qualifying to reach the Crucible this year. Despite a run to the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open he is still sat in 19th position in the provisional seedings, £17,000 behind Stephen Maguire in 16th. Some of Ding's play in Wales did suggest that he could not be too far from a return to form so this week may be his week.
Joe Perry meanwhile was a semi-finalist at the recent Welsh Open playing well in a 6-3 loss to eventual winner Ronnie O'Sullivan. On the European tour this season he has struggled and unless he can pull something out of the fire this weekend then he will not defend his Players Championship title won last March. He is currently around £3,000 short of the top 24 and therefore would probably need to win this quarter to have any chance of making it through which may not look likely in a very tough section but if he plays like he did at times in Cardiff then he has every chance.
Quarter Winner: Joe Perry
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Ryan Day Vs Mark Joyce
Michael Leslie Vs Amateur Qualifier
Scott Donaldson Vs Sydney Wilson
David Gilbert W/O Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Ben Woollaston Vs Amateur Qualifier
Lee Walker Vs Amateur Qualifier
Li Hang Vs Paul Davison
Mike Dunn Vs Darryl Hill
Liang Wenbo Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ian Burns Vs Robin Hull
Anthony McGill Vs Liam Highfield
Stuart Carrington Vs Amateur Qualifier
Dominic Dale Vs Allan Taylor
Robbie Williams Vs Martin Gould
Jamie Jones Vs Amateur Qualifier
Shaun Murphy Vs Amateur Qualifier
In this section we have eyes on the race for tour cards, order of merit, as well as someone looking to make it into the World Grand Prix. That is of course on top of the fact there is a quarter here to be won where Martin Gould will be one of the main contenders, and he is in the same mini section as former Gdynia Open champion Shaun Murphy who could use a run this week to give himself a boost ahead of the final stretch of this season, following a lean spell of results.
Mark Joyce is fighting for a place in the World Grand Prix this weekend. After Ronnie O'Sullivan's Welsh Open win Joyce was knocked down from 32nd on the list and holding the last spot, down to 33rd and needing to make up ground. Fortunately, he is only £125 behind Stephen Maguire in 32nd so he would effectively have to go a round further into the tournament than Maguire to take the place. The unfortunate thing for Joyce is that he has a tough first round tie with Ryan Day in which he is certainly an underdog, and if he were to lose that match his hopes of making the world grand prix would go with it.
Michael Leslie is right in the heat of the battle for a tour card place on the order of merit this weekend. Currently he sits in joint eighth on the tour card holders list on £1,950 with a win in round one potentially putting him above both seventh and sixth positions if they lose in round one. Leslie has an amateur qualifier in round one so will be hopeful of securing victory, but he may still need a win in round two depending on other results and with a potential tie with either Ryan Day or Mark Joyce that could be a much tougher prospect.
Scott Donaldson is also in at the business end of the tour card holders list. He sits in sixth on £2,250 only £300 clear of the three guys in joint eighth. That simply means that he needs to win his round one match. He takes on Sydney Wilson in round one and that is a very tricky match, given that Wilson has played reasonable snooker in recent times and by comparison Donaldson is struggling. The pressure is very much on given his desperate position, way outside of the top 64 on the EOS list making this his only hope of avoiding a trip to Q School in May.
Lee Walker has the lovely position of being safe as houses on the tour card holders list. He is currently in third place on £3,225 miles clear of the chasing pack so he does not really have to do anything this week.
Ian Burns is second on the tour card holders list, miles clear of the chasing pack so he has that little bit of security on that front. However, he may not need that fresh card as he sits in 65th position on the EOS list just £310 behind Gerard Greene in 64th. If he could go well here this week (facing a tough first round match with Robin Hull in round one) or in China which he has qualified for, before everyone has a go at qualifying for the World Championships.
Stuart Carrington has his eyes on the players tour championship finals this weekend. Currently sitting in 31st on the European order of merit he is £525 behind joint 24th place on the list so there is still a chance for him, particularly with the extra places given through a combined list. He has an amateur qualifier in round one, for the right to play Anthony McGill or Liam Highfield in round two so again he has more than a chance if he plays like he has in previous tour events.
Martin Gould meanwhile has become a major title contender after winning the German Masters earlier this month. He has a lot of confidence now and will be looking to build from here. In terms of the European order of merit he is way short of the top 24 and would probably need to make at least the final just to get to the Players Championship finals. With that as motivation though, do not be surprised if he comes through the draw once again.
Quarter Winner: Martin Gould
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Marco Fu Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Rod Lawler Vs David Morris
Zhang Anda Vs Barry Pinches
Matt Selt Vs Amateur Qualifier
Graeme Dott Vs Rhys Clark
Mitchell Mann Vs Sanderson Lam
Jack Lisowski Vs Cao Yupeng
Alan McManus Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Mark Selby Vs Amateur Qualifier
John Higgins W/O James Wattana
David Grace Vs Steven Hallworth
Luca Brecel Vs Joe Swail
Sam Baird Vs Amateur Qualifier
Chris Wakelin Vs Amateur Qualifier
Gary Wilson Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Michael White Vs Amateur Qualifier
Once again we have a keen eye here on the battle for tour cards via the order of merit and for players that are still hopeful of staying in the top 64. On top of that there are players vying for places in the Players Championship finals spots on top of the quarter that is here to be won. The main contenders on that score will be recent Championship League group five winner Mark Selby who could play John Higgins as early as the Last 64. Michael White was a finalist in Gibraltar so will be hopeful of continuing that form, while Marco Fu at the very top of this quarter was of course the winner on that occasion.
David Morris may not be anywhere in terms of saving his place on tour via the European order of merit, but he is still in there and fighting to stay inside of the top 64 so every win helps at this stage of the season. This is realistically his last chance to earn any money before the World Championship qualifiers, and he is presently 67th on the provisional EOS list, over £3,400 behind 64th place Greene. No first round match is easy, but Rod Lawler is definitely a man you want to face.
Cao Yupeng is an even perilous position. Like Morris he is not really anywhere in terms of saving his tour place via the European order of merit and currently sits in 70th place on the provisional EOS list, £7,000 behind 64th, with his first round match in the China Open held over to the venue though you would not expect him to win. His Last 128 match this week is against Jack Lisowski and he has a half chance of victory, though with the way he played in the Welsh Open I cannot really see it happening.
Zhang Anda is in the position where he is currently safe having secured a fresh two year tour card via the Asian order of merit, where he is higher than on the European order of merit (where he would also have earned a tour card) but he may not yet need that if he can play himself into the top 64. He is 69th on the provisional EOS list £6,500 behind 64th place. A good weekend here for here could set him going ahead of one last push at the World Championship qualifiers where there will be no pressure on him.
Mitchell Mann is right in the thick of things in terms of a tour card place. This is his main hope of staying on tour for next season and he is with the group on joint eighth in the race for a tour card. His first round opponent this week is a tough one in Sanderson Lam, but Mitchell has showed good recent form to beat Mark Allen in China Open qualifying and then beat Zhou Yuelong in the Welsh Open before narrowly losing out to Shaun Murphy. I fancy his chances of getting the job done here.
Matt Selt is looking for a weekend in Gdynia like the one he had two years ago where he lost out in the semi-finals. Presently, Selt is in 32nd place on the European order of merit £675 behind joint 24th position and even with the extra places via a combined list he needs to make it to at least the Last 32, if not Sunday's last 16. He has an amateur qualifier in round one so it will be interesting to see who comes through there on Thursday, and if he comes through that he takes on either Zhang Anda or Barry Pinches in round two and he would certainly fancy his chances there too, so there is every chance that Matt will still make it to the Players Championship finals in Manchester.
Luca Brecel is right on the border sitting in joint 24th position on the order of merit, but even with the extra places that a combined list has to offer it still means that he could use a win or two this weekend. His first round match is a very tricky one against Joe Swail but with the good form that he has shown he will be hopeful of getting the job done.
Sam Baird is also in position that with some good results this weekend he could make it into the players championship finals. He is currently 27th on the order of merit, which would be 29th on the combined list as it stands, and he is only £225 behind joint 24th. In round one he faces an amateur qualifier and will be expecting to win that and set up a second round tie with either Chris Wakelin or another amateur qualifier. You have to like Baird's chances here as much as anyone around that 24 mark.
John Higgins still has a chance of qualifying for the Players Championship finals via the combined list. Having earned £1,300 in the only Asian Tour event that boosts him up to just above Oliver Lines after receiving a first round walkover this week against James Wattana. The key match will be against Mark Selby in the last 64 assuming that Selby gets past the amateur qualifier he will play in round one.
Mark Selby comes to Gdynia after winning group five of the Championship League this week and losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan in another quarter-final as Ronnie went on to win the event. That is yet another occasion when it has taken the eventual tournament winner to see off Selby who is so tough to beat, as I got the joy of witnessing at past midnight in his Last 64 Welsh Open match against Peter Lines. If those granite like qualities are joined once again by his top class scoring (after making his 400th century at Crondon Park this week) then he once again is a major contender.
Quarter Winner: Mark Selby
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)Tom Ford Vs Noppon Saengkham
Sean O'Sullivan Vs Michael Georgiou
Stephen Maguire Vs Matthew Stevens
Alfie Burden Vs Amateur Qualifier
Andrew Higginson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Gerard Greene Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ken Doherty Vs Amateur Qualifier
Tian Pengfei Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark King Vs Michael Wild
Zak Surety Vs Eden Sharav
Joel Walker Vs Anthony Hamilton
Peter Ebdon Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Davis Vs Hamza Akbar
Fergal O'Brien Vs Amateur Qualifier
Craig Steadman W/O Jason Weston
Rory McLeod Vs Chris Melling
This final quarter is probably the biggest looking in terms of tour spots via staying in the top 64 at the end of the season or getting a fresh card from the European order of merit list. On top of that plenty of players in this section are still playing for places in the Players Championship finals and the World Grand Prix that are upcoming, on top of the fact that there is a quarter to be won, and a quarter that you have to say is very much wide open.
Gerard Greene is the first man to come to here in terms of the battle to stay on tour. He is currently 64th on the provisional EOS list but just a few hundred pounds clear of Ian Burns in 65th so anything could happen between now and the end of the season for Gerard. He would love to give himself the insurance policy of a fresh tour card on the European order of merit if he did drop out of the 64 but that is not yet certain. If you place him on that list he would be in joint eighth with Mann, Surety and Leslie on £1,950. In the opening round this week he has an amateur qualifier, but that may not be an easy match depending on who comes through there and he can use all the wins he can get for his different battles.
Zak Surety has all his eggs in one basket so to speak, with poor odds of making it into the top 64 by the end of the season. That means he needs to secure a tour card via the European order of merit and he is in the group on joint eighth on that list. Therefore, he needs at least one win this week with two to make sure but his first round opponent could have been easier than Eden Sharav.
Joel Walker is the man in seventh place on the tour card holders list, but only being £150 clear he will need at least one win this week, if not two. With very little chance of making the top 64 unless he qualifies for the Crucible at a bare minimum, then he will need to secure things this week. His first round opponent could be easier though.
Anthony Hamilton is the man that Walker will play in round one. Hamilton has £1,425 to his name on the European tour so he could still secure a fresh tour card via this route. However, he will need to beat Joel and then win his second round tie at the very least. He will be buoyed by the fact that he managed a couple of wins in the Welsh Open (one of which was against the world champion), so he certainly has every chance.
Chris Melling is also in this quarter and is in the same boat as Hamilton, on the same money and needing two wins to have chance of securing a tour card. His first round opponent this week is Rory McLeod so he has half a chance there and if he were to win that he would face Craig Steadman so there could be two harder games to have to get the job done. The form book though says that Melling's chances are quite slim as he has not really adapted to the snooker tour that well.
Craig Steadman has been aided this week by a round one walkover after Jason Weston pulled out. Steadman needs all of the money he can get in his battle to stay in the top 64, currently positioned in 66th on the provisional EOS list, around £2,000 behind since his money for the walkover has already been added.
Sean O'Sullivan may be down in 38th on the European order of merit but he still has half a chance of qualifying for the players tour finals on the combined list. £800 earned in the Asian Tour event puts him up to just behind Oliver Lines, so still with plenty of work to do but if he could make the last 16 he would be in with a shout. If he plays good stuff this weekend, the draw is as such that he could get on a run that would see him qualify, so who knows.
Alfie Burden has a much more realistic chance of qualification as he sits in 28th position on the European order of merit which would put him in 30th on a combined order of merit and the final qualifier for the players tour finals in that way. In round one this week he plays an amateur qualifier and if he comes through that, then either Stephen Maguire or Matthew Stevens will await and that could end up being the key match for Londoner's chances of making it to Event City.
Andrew Higginson is the other player that joins Luca Brecel in joint 24th place on the European order or merit, so his chances of qualifying for the players championship finals are obviously good. He does still need a win or maybe two to ensure his place and that may not be easy as it sounds. His opponent in round one will be an amateur qualifier, which if you look back at the draw could be Hammad Miah who has caused plenty of problems for pro's this season including Judd Trump, so Higginson may have his work cut out there. If he were to get through he would face either Gerard Greene or another amateur qualifier in round two.
Peter Ebdon is also well in contention for a place in the players championship finals. Currently the "Vegan Power" sits in joint 29th on the order of merit and still within touching distance of the top 24 so with it all to play for. A couple of wins at least would be necessary, and he faces an amateur qualifier in round one for the right to play either Joel Walker or Anthony Hamilton in a potential second round match that would have implications on both parties for multiple reasons. Ebdon is also in 31st place on the World Grand Prix list and with players like Stephen Maguire and Mark Davis (both in this quarter) capable of making a march on him he still needs a win or two to be safe on that score.
Stephen Maguire cannot afford a slip up this week. His first round opponent is Matthew Stevens and that is a match he could do with winning to boost his hopes of making it into the World Grand Prix. His first round exit in the Welsh Open has thrust him into some trouble as he now sits in 32nd place just £125 clear of Mark Joyce. Matthew is more than capable of beating Maguire so the Scot will need to be on his game. His place in the Tour finals looks even less likely with a minimum of the quarter-finals needed to have any chance though the likelihood is he would have to win this quarter. Not great signs for Maguire given that he is 16th on the provisional seedings, only £3,000 clear of Liang Wenbo who is already guaranteed a place in the Grand Prix and Tour finals as they both seek automatic Crucible qualification.
Mark Davis is currently 26th on the European order of merit so is just another player on what seems to be an endless list of those in contention to swoop in and grab a place in the Players Championship finals. On top of this he still has a half chance of World Grand Prix qualification. Positioned in 34th on that list he trails 32nd place Maguire by £2,725. He looked in very good form at the Welsh Open before a strange Last 32 loss from 2-0 up against Barry Hawkins but in the section of the draw he finds himself in he is more than capable of a big run that could define his year more than his World 'Seniors' Championship win, if it did prove enough for him to qualify for the tour finals and Grand Prix too.
Quarter Winner: Mark Davis
Tournament Runner-Up: Mark Davis
Tournament Winner: Joe Perry
Well, there was more to digest there than at your local Carvery (especially if they let you go back up for seconds). One man to follow this weekend is Matt @ProSnookerBlog on Twitter who is at the venue and will have all of the provisional lists updated as the results come in, but I will also be keeping my Twitter updated with the results that matter throughout the three days of the event.
As soon as the event is over I will also have a blog up with the key news on who has secured the tour cards, what the seedings for the Players Championship Finals will be as well as the World Grand Prix.
No comments:
Post a Comment