McManus rolls back the years to make Crucible Semi's

A stunning display from Alan McManus has seen him get back into the semi-finals of the World Championships at the age of 45, as he came back from 11-9 down with four consecutive frames to beat fellow Scot and good friend John Higgins 13-11. Let's not forget that Angles came through has already beaten another Scot and friend Stephen Maguire in the Last 32 and came back from 9-7 to beat Ali Carter 13-11 in the Last 16. In qualifying he overcame Jimmy Robertson (who I heavily fancied to qualify) 10-2, David Morris 10-6 and Michael Wasley 10-5 so it has been an incredible run and the thing that is most impressive is the scoring. A certain publication that shall remain nameless talked about McManus before his quarter-final match with Higgins saying that he was "Back laying a sneaky snooker or two and cobbling together the odd unconvincing 30 break". I hope the writer of that one was watching his final session against Higgins lets just say that much.

He will now play another qualifier in Ding Junhui who came through his match with Mark Williams without anything close to a test, winning with a session to spare. Many people have tweeted me saying "Ding is not really a qualifier". I recognise that as a man who until this year had been in the top 16 or a long period of time and was world number one not too long ago, it is hard to see him as a qualifier. At the same time these people should recognise that Ding has had to come through three qualifying rounds the same as Alan McManus has done and the same as the other 14 players who qualified at Ponds Forge for their trip to the Crucible. It takes some doing, and it takes a lot of mental strength to deal with such a fall from grace. The wisdom of Terry Griffiths will certainly have helped but the Chinese player has really shown all of the determination that it requires to become a world champion.

In the other semi-final we have Mark Selby and Marco Fu. Firstly, Selby overcame another qualifier in Kyren Wilson 13-8, after leading 6-0 at one stage and in the end it could have been a lot closer in my opinion had Wilson capitalised more on a poor second session from the current world number one.

As for Marco Fu he played out one of the all-time Crucible classics against Barry Hawkins. Hawkins was not at the races after his victory against Ronnie O'Sullivan in round two and soon found himself in a seemingly hopeless position, 9-1 down to the man from Hong Kong. Hawkins came back to just trail 10-6 going into the final session and that deficit was soon reduced further to 10-9. Fu took a very important frame twenty before the final mid-session break to lead 11-9 and then went one away at 12-9. He missed opportunities in the next to seal a 13-9 victory and soon found himself just 12-11 up and almost certain to go to a decider at 60-0 down with just 75 points remaining. A remarkable clearance though saw him avoid any nervous final frames and book his place at the one table set-up in Sheffield for the first time since 2006.

Quarter-Final Results:

Alan McManus 13-11 John Higgins
Ding Junhui 13-3 Mark Williams
Marco Fu 13-11 Barry Hawkins
Mark Selby 13-8 Kyren Wilson

Semi-Final Draw:

Ding Junhui Vs Alan McManus - Prediction: 17-12 victory for Ding Junhui
Mark Selby Vs Marco Fu - Prediction: 17-14 to Mark Selby

I cannot quite get over the brilliant line-up that we have this year. Starting with the first semi-final many people thought that going through qualifying was the kick that Ding Junhui needed to really sort himself out and finally have a run at winning the World Championship. He will not have it all his own way against Alan McManus as we have already seen in this tournament. McManus has plenty of belief in himself and all the experience to undo Ding on the one-table situation at the Crucible. However, I also think there is a bit to be said for the day off that Ding has had compared to Alan's late night battle and whether that will have a bearing on the first session or two in this contest.

As for Selby and Fu that really is a tough one to call. Selby showed more signs of his best against Kyren Wilson and is getting better as each round goes along, as you need to do at the Crucible if you're going to win the coveted prize. Fu though has played well himself. Against Ebdon he was on fire and the final session against McGill in round two he found that same touch after a bit of a slow burner. After Hawkins started slowly Fu was able to put himself a long way ahead and kept his cool brilliantly with a couple of crucial clearances to go 11-9 ahead and then win the match at 13-11. Fu has not been to the one table set-up as often as he should have been for a man of his quality, and for the amount of time that he has been in the game on top of that. He certainly will not be a pushover for Selby. The one up that the 'Jester from Leicester' has on the rest of the field is that he has been world champion. He knows how to handle the 17 days in Sheffield and come out on top. His best asset of grinding out results in sessions and matches when he has not fired on all cylinders has been in full force during this tournament but now is certainly the time for him to step up.


It's going to be a really exciting conclusion to this years World Championship, and with all the twists and turns I would not like to pick the player out of these four who will lift the trophy on Monday evening. Enjoy everyone.

Hawkins defeats O'Sullivan in Crucible second round

Ronnie O'Sullivan is out of the 2016 World Snooker Championships after losing a thrilling deciding frame to Barry Hawkins.

 

Hawkins had led 5-3 after the opening session and 9-7 after the second session before then leading 12-9 in the final session prior to the Rocket's comeback with three on the spin.

 

Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui and Alan McManus are the three qualifiers in the quarter-finals. McManus overturned a 9-7 deficit winning the first four of the session against Ali Carter and sharing the rest to come through 13-11.

 

Wilson had what he described as the strangest match of his career against Mark Allen. Wilson led 7-0 and was dominating the Northern Irishman until 5 in a row clawed him back. Two unfortunate frames at the end of the second session left him 11-5 behind. Allen made a game of it by taking the first four of the final session to trail only 11-9. Wilson held on to win the next two and win 13-9.

Ding Junhui was not quite on top form but it was enough to see him beat Judd Trump. A year ago Trump had thrashed Ding in a best-of-25 quarter-final but a year on and a round earlier it was the Chinese who took his revenge holding off a Trump fight back from 12-7 to 12-10 to fall over the line 13-10.

 

Mark Selby will now be one of the hot favourites despite having to cling on against Sam Baird. Selby lost four in a row from 11-7 to 11-11 before winning the last two to win 13-11 in classic 'Master of brinkmanship fashion'.

 

John Higgins is another of the hot favourites after his 13-8 victory over China Open and Players Championship finalist Ricky Walden. Walden missed chances in the final session to put a lot more heat on the Scot in what you felt could easily have been closer if Walden was on top form.

 

 

He will now take on Mark Williams who overcame his good friend Michael Holt to end a good season for the Hitman. Holt had beaten Neil Robertson in round one and was off to a good start when he took an early 4-1 lead. It did not last as Williams ended the opening session level at 4-4 and then took a 6-4 lead before winning another four in a row from 6-6 to lead 10-6 at the end of session two. Holt missed a golden chance to go into the final mid-session break only 11-9 behind but at 12-8 it was game over as it proved in the frame after the break.

 

The first man through was Marco Fu who beat rising star Anthony McGill quite comfortably in the end. Neither player was at his best after good wins that they both had in round one, and the man from Hong Kong will certainly need to raise his game to beat Hawkins.

 

Last 16 Results:

 

Alan McManus 13-11 Ali Carter

John Higgins 13-8 Ricky Walden

Ding Junhui 13-10 Judd Trump

Mark Williams 13-8 Michael Holt

Marco Fu 13-8 Anthony McGill

Barry Hawkins 13-12 Ronnie O'Sullivan

Kyren Wilson 13-9 Mark Allen

Mark Selby 13-11 Sam Baird

 

Quarter-Final Draw:

John Higgins Vs Alan McManus - Prediction: 13-7 to Higgins

Mark Williams Vs Ding Junhui - Prediction: 13-9 to Ding Junhui

Barry Hawkins Vs Marco Fu - Prediction: Hawkins to win but not easily 13-9 or 13-10.

Mark Selby Vs Kyren Wilson - Prediction: Wilson to keep shining with a 13-12 win.

 

Those are my thoughts then on the next four matches we have to look forward to over the best-of-25 frames. The form that Higgins has shown makes me think that he will beat McManus easily enough, particularly as Carter's poor temperament cost him dearly and Higgins has one of the best temperaments in the game.

 

Ding and Williams should be close, but after Ding's two tight victories so far I think that he is battle hardened and Williams has had two slightly more comfortable games so far despite not playing for me at his complete best. There may be another gear in the Welshman for this contest.

 

Fu's best chance against Hawkins could be in the opening session to take an early lead if Barry shows any signs of a hangover after his win against O'Sullivan. The second session of this match could prove the key as this is the match where the second and third sessions are played almost consecutively in the 2.30pm and 7pm time slots on Wednesday.

 

Finally, Selby has had to grind his way through so far and Wilson has almost ended up doing a similar thing. Kyren very much reminds me of Selby in terms of his great temperament and battling qualities and his long potting so far has been superb in this tournament and that was the key to his commanding early lead against Mark Allen. As for Selby, he felt he was not match sharp early on in Sheffield after missing the tournaments in Manchester and Beijing coming into the World's. Having played himself in now he could be very dangerous but this match has the feel of a very close finish on Wednesday morning.

 

 

There you have it then. That is the line-up for the last 8 fully analysed and scrutinised by myself, though I have hardly been in top form in this tournament so far so let's hope that can change. Much more Crucible drama is coming your way so sit back and enjoy the final week of this years World Championships.

Seeds stumble in round one

The top names have stumbled in the first round of this years World Championships after defending champion Stuart Bingham, UK Champion Neil Robertson and last year's runner-up Shaun Murphy all fell at the first hurdle.

 

Bingham lost on the opening day in a thriller against fellow Essex player Ali Carter. The match went all the way to a decider after Carter had led at 8-5 and in the end it was the Captain that got over the line.

 

Shaun Murphy then fell in a very high quality match with Anthony McGill. In the 18 frames played between them 16 breaks of 50 or above were compiled with both players making two century breaks. In the end the damage was done as McGill won four in a row from 6-4 down to lead 8-6 and the last four frames were shared as the Scot ran through a 10-8 winner.

 

Neil Robertson was also outplayed in another contest that saw both players make two centuries each, against Michael Holt. Holt took an early 3-0 lead only to be pulled back to 3-3. From there though he won another three on the spin to lead 6-3 after their opening session. Coming back that evening the Hitman strolled into a 9-4 advantage and after the Australian got a couple of frames back Holt held himself together well to come through a 10-6 winner.

 

The other seeds to fall so far saw Stephen Maguire lose the all Scottish match with Alan McManus. Maguire took an early 3-1 lead in the match but then lost the next five to trail 6-3 after the opening session. McManus won the first on Sunday too edging 7-3 up but Maguire soon pegged him back to just one ahead. In the end though McManus pulled clear again and went on to win 10-7.

10-7 was also the scoreline when Michael White fell to Sam Baird who is now the lowest ranked player left in the competition.

 

There were wins though for Ricky Walden after he came from behind to beat Robbie Williams 10-8. He now plays John Higgins who had four centuries in thrashing Ryan Day 10-3.

Mark Allen was also a 10-3 winner against Debutant Mitchell Mann, while Mark Williams came through easier than expected against Graeme Dott. Marco Fu was mightily impressive in demolishing Peter Ebdon.

 

2014 champion Mark Selby has made it through as well despite a scare from Robert Milkins. Milkins was 7-2 behind after the opening session but won the first four on Tuesday morning to get back into it at 7-6. Selby though did what he had to and grinded out the remaining frames to win 10-6.

 

 

Judd Trump fought back from 7-3 down against Liang Wenbo to deny an all Chinese Last 16 clash at the Crucible after Ding Junhui came from 8-6 down winning the last four frames of his match with Martin Gould 10-8.

 

The final first round match went the distance in a thriller between Kyren Wilson and Joe Perry. Both players were superb on the night but it was Wilson that just held his nerve to get himself over the line in the final frame.

 

Last 32 Results:

Ali Carter 10-9 Stuart Bingham
Alan McManus 10-7 Stephen Maguire
Ricky Walden 10-8 Robbie Williams
John Higgins 10-3 Ryan Day
Judd Trump 10-8 Liang Wenbo
Ding Junhui 10-8 Martin Gould
Mark Williams 10-4 Graeme Dott
Michael Holt 10-6 Neil Robertson
Anthony McGill 10-8 Shaun Murphy
Marco Fu 10-2 Peter Ebdon
Barry Hawkins 10-5 Zhang Anda
Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-7 David Gilbert
Mark Allen 10-3 Mitchell Mann
Kyren Wilson 10-9 Joe Perry
Sam Baird 10-7 Michael White
Mark Selby 10-6 Robert Milkins

 

Last 16 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Ali Carter Vs Alan McManus
John Higgins Vs Ricky Walden
Ding Junhui Vs Judd Trump
Mark Williams Vs Michael Holt
Marco Fu Vs Anthony McGill
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Barry Hawkins
Mark Allen Vs Kyren Wilson
Mark Selby Vs Sam Baird

 

 

Well plenty of the favourites have bitten the dust so far and you have to wonder whether or not that will continue over the best-of 25 frames second round matches. We are already guaranteed one Qualifier in the quarter-finals with Carter and McManus playing each other and the way that the qualifiers played in round one could suggest that there's more success to come.

 

I was particularly impressed with Mark Allen and Marco Fu in round one as well as Michael Holt who is playing his best snooker in my opinion. John Higgins is one to watch in the top half after his performance against Ryan Day, though Ricky Walden has been in fine form reaching the Players Championship Final and the China Open final where he beat Higgins along the way.

 

It will be interesting to see how Ding continues as he looked really good mentally in his win over Martin Gould, and as that has been his missing link in previous years maybe now that the top half has opened up he could possibly have a run. Anthony McGill was impressive against Shaun Murphy and many will fancy him against Fu in what is sure to be a match that goes close. As I say though Fu played well against Ebdon in round one so he is not to be underestimated. Ronnie O'Sullivan may have had a little tantrum after his win against David Gilbert but Barry Hawkins will seriously have to up his performance from the Zhang Anda game if he is to have any say in the outcome there. Mark Selby looked a bit rusty in his first round win against Milkins after the time he took off but he should beat Sam Baird and then by the time the quarter-finals roll around he would be sharp and a serious contender once again for these championships.

THE BIG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

The qualifiers have been completed. The draw has been made. Now it's time for the action as the World Snooker Championships get underway on Saturday morning, and boy do we have some cracking first round matches.

When we get going on Saturday morning Stuart Bingham will begin the defence of his World Title against a man in Ali Carter that has been to two World Championship finals himself. Marco Fu will play on table two at the same time against 2002 champion Peter Ebdon.

For the second year running Stephen Maguire plays a Scotsman in round one in his good friend Alan McManus. Shaun Murphy faces a repeat of his quarter-final from last year against Anthony McGill. Judd Trump will play eighteenth seed Liang Wenbo, who came from behind to stun him at the UK Championships. Ding Junhui, the seventeenth seed that no-one wanted to draw will play Martin Gould. Ronnie O'Sullivan starts his quest for another world title against International Championship runner-up David Gilbert. Nineteenth seed and Shanghai Masters champion Kyren Wilson plays the man that he defeated in the Last 32 in Shanghai, Joe Perry.

Debutant Mitchell Mann plays Mark Allen, while Robbie Williams on his third consecutive Crucible appearance as a qualifier takes on recent Players Championship and China Open runner-up Ricky Walden. Fourth seed Neil Robertson starts his bid against Michael Holt, while world number one Mark Selby faces a tough test against Robert Milkins. Plenty of world championship experience sits before the cracking match between 2006 champion Graeme Dott and twice World champion Mark Williams.

All of that comes before we even get to my favourite matches, the best-of-25 last 16 and quarter-final ties. In my opinion this could be a World Championships like no other and I am thrilled to be at the Crucible once more for the first weekend now that we know the line-up.

Quarter 1

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Stuart Bingham Vs Ali Carter (Saturday 16th April 10am and 7pm UK time)
Stephen Maguire Vs Alan McManus (Saturday 16th April 2.30pm and 17th April 2.30pm)
Ricky Walden Vs Robbie Williams (Sunday 17th April 11am and 18th April 7pm)
John Higgins Vs Ryan Day (Monday 18th April 10am and 19th April 2.30pm)

Stuart Bingham could not have many tougher starts to his world title defence than someone of such quality and experience of Ali Carter. The season has always been building to this point for Bingham in my view. Last year he came to the Crucible as an underdog, but now the hunter has become the hunted and he'll be under the most extreme pressure to perform. Carter played well in qualifying other than the final session of his final qualifier against Dominic Dale when life was made quite a bit harder than it should have been. He knows what it takes to go the distance here in Sheffield having appeared in two finals. In fact, for many years, Carter would have been considered a better player than Bingham but health problems of course took him down the rankings but he is nearly back to the same quality that saw him reach the World final and UK semi's in 2012.

Day one will also see the beginning of this all Scottish tie between good friends Alan McManus and Stephen Maguire. The first thing to note here is that Maguire scrambled over the line in order to even qualify for the Championships, and this is the second year in a row he has done this, only to draw a Scottish player in round one. The last time that Maguire came through a first round match at the Crucible was on the way to the semi-finals in 2012. First round defeats in 2013 to Dechawat Poomjaeng, Ryan Day in 2014 and Anthony McGill will all be disappointing for the same reason. He lost them all in deciding frames. McManus meanwhile has qualified for the fourth season in a row. In 2013 and 2015 he lost in the opening round but the 2014 Championship is the one which sticks out. He beat John Higgins in round one that year before defeating Ken Doherty to make the quarter-finals where he lost to eventual champion Mark Selby. "Angles" has always been a solid player and his renaissance in recent years makes me think he can continue to trouble the seeded players like Maguire.

Ricky Walden will be excited to get going this year in the World Championships more than ever after the last month of play. It takes something really quite extraordinary to get two to ranking finals in two weeks when one tournament is in the UK and the next is in China. A poor season up to that point means that he will also be fresh and ready for the 17 day stint at the Crucible and his confidence will certainly be high. His draw against Robbie Williams in round one is one of only four qualifiers who are not in the top 32 so I am sure that deep down he would take that. Williams will have to score well if he is to trouble an in-form Walden over two sessions. He also now has that experience of appearing in two UK Championship semi-finals, a World semi-final and his first UK ranking event final, which must stand him good stead for the Crucible this year.

John Higgins against Ryan Day is another very tough match to pick. Day has found his form again this year and had quite a solid year, without really breaking through in any event. He has plenty of scoring power and the experience at the Crucible to give Higgins as good a challenge as any of the qualifiers, especially having beaten him in the World Championships previously. John Higgins though has probably had his best season for some time. A winner in Australia and at the International he also reached the UK quarter-finals and the semi-finals of the China Open to just give him an extra boost before Sheffield. If Higgins can really get his game going this year then he has a good chance of picking up another Crucible crown, as he has shown this season he still very much has what it takes. His safety play is probably the one thing that would set him apart from players like Day in what is always a nervy opening round, whoever you play.

Quarter Winner: Ricky Walden

Quarter 2

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Judd Trump Vs Liang Wenbo (Wednesday 20th April 2.30pm and 21st April 1pm)
Martin Gould Vs Ding Junhui (Wednesday 20th April 10am and 7pm)
Mark Williams Vs Graeme Dott (Sunday 17th April 7pm and 18th April 2.30pm)
Neil Robertson Vs Michael Holt (Tuesday 19th April 10am and 7pm)

I do not think that Judd Trump could have asked for a worse man to play in round one than Liang Wenbo. In the UK Championships he completely lost the plot in losing 6-4 a match that he was cruising at 4-1. It is always worth a mention that no-one that has ever won the China Open has gone on to win the World Championship, though Trump came closest when he reached the final as a qualifier in 2011. The only thing you would say that year is that he was still an underdog and riding high from his maiden success. I get the feeling from many of his interviews after matches (win or lose) this season that the 2015/2016 campaign has been a confidence bashing one for the left hander. The thing that will annoy him will be matches and spells of pure brilliance being followed by average play at best. The China Open may have done a lot to save face this season but Liang could well have his number. The thing for the Chinese player is that having gone through qualifying he more than most will benefit from playing later on in the week, due to the great intensity that he plays with. He earned a lot of crowd support in the UK, as well as all of the confidence he would have gained by reaching the final in York. In the quarter of death, the last thing you want is to have a tough player like Liang in round one.

Martin Gould is by far the unluckiest man in the draw. He has Ding Junhui. Ding showed by how he blitzed through qualifying that he should not really have been at Ponds Forge in the first place. Although his record at the Crucible has never been fantastic, maybe going through qualifying is the kick that he needed to move forward and finally do well in Sheffield. Gould comes here as a ranking winner after winning the German Masters in February but some of his more recent displays will disappoint him. A 5-0 loss to a 15-year old Chinese wildcard in the China Open is probably not the best result you want to take to Sheffield. When he was last seeded in 2012 he lost out in round one to David Gilbert in a match I for one always thought Gilbert would win. For me Martin has to win the first session to have any chance of victory, but as I say going through qualifying may be the kick Ding Junhui needed.

Another tough match comes up between the two former world champions Mark Williams and Graeme Dott. Williams is obviously the seed and the favourite to win this match but he has not had a good year at all. Early exits in many events will not leave his confidence as high as it would have been last year, though he went on to lose heavily to Matthew Stevens in round one. He will be fresh and determined to put right his performances in recent World Championships. As for Graeme he did not convince me with the way that he came through qualifying and I feel he may need to raise his game a little to beat Williams, and as a qualifier having played three matches to reach this stage that is a very tough thing to do.

Neil Robertson should rightly be the favourite to win this quarter and one of the favourites for the title. He may well have gone on to win the title last year had he not lost in a high quality final session in the last eight to Barry Hawkins in which the pair were making centuries for fun. Earlier on in the season he won the UK Championships, Champion of Champions and only lost in the Masters quarter-finals in a match where Judd Trump made four centuries. The Australian seems to have mastered peaking for these big events, just like the Golfers do for the majors, tailoring their games to win the biggest titles. He missed the Players Championship finals and tight early exits in Beijing and Llandudno will leave him fresh having only played a couple of times since his Welsh Open final loss in February. He will be raring to go when he takes on Michael Holt, and is one of the worst draws that Holt could have gotten given that in the last couple of years the 2010 world champion has come out of the blocks like a raging bull.  

Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson

Quarter 3

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Shaun Murphy Vs Anthony McGill (Saturday 16th April 2.30pm and 17th April 10am)
Marco Fu Vs Peter Ebdon (Saturday 16th April 10am and 7pm)
Barry Hawkins Vs Zhang Anda (Tuesday 19th April 7pm and 20th April 2.30pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs David Gilbert (Sunday 17th April 2.30pm and 18th April 10am)

Shaun Murphy is another one of the main contenders for the title this year. After coming so close last year, taking a while to get over the defeat and then coming back to his best he will be determined to go just that little bit better and lift the crown. Murphy is working as hard as ever and knows exactly how he has to play to win a title he won 11 long years ago. The win in Llandudno ended what had been a very poor spell and saw him play the snooker that he showed in last years Crucible campaign. He like Robertson is like a raging bull or a bulldozer when he gets on his form and in these long format matches you have to look at the players that can really get on a roll and reel frames off for fun and there are not that many out there. At last I feel like the Magician is comfortable not only with his game but with life in general. His first round opponent in Anthony McGill is one who he pulled away from in the latter stages of their quarter-final a year ago but over the best-of-19 it could be a tricky little test to get going.

Marco Fu and Peter Ebdon could contest an Crucible epic. Ebdon won his three matches to qualify after coming back from 9-3 down to beat Gerard Greene 10-9 at 2am in the second qualifying round before thrashing Ian Burns to finish. Ebdon's Vegan diet certainly gives him the energy and overall longevity to outlast anyone on the planet on the snooker table. Fu is always a tough player to beat but he will have to score well and put Ebdon under pressure early, because if he falls into Ebdon's trap then this could turn into a long scrappy match and that will rarely disfavour Ebdon.

For Barry Hawkins it is time to awake from his hibernation. Every year since making the final in 2013 he just seems to wake up and play some of his best snooker at the Crucible. It does not seem to matter how he plays for the rest of the season because he will still turn it on when he arrives at Sheffield in April. His season has seen a top quality performance, which came in January at the Ally Pally to reach the Masters final and for anyone underestimating Hawkins there is further evidence of why you should not. In the opening round he plays the second lowest ranked player remaining which is Zhang Anda. I was surprised to see Zhang qualify so fair play to him for that, and it will be interesting to see if he can raise his game for the occasion which he failed to against Joe Perry a year ago. If he rises to the occasion he could well give Hawkins a good game but I expect the Hawk to come through.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is once again many peoples pick for the world title as you would expect. In fact some people on Twitter have gone as far as giving him his place in the final already. It is incredibly foolish to assume that he will stroll through the draw, whether it turns out this way or not. He won the Masters, but no one put up a challenge that week. When he won the Welsh Open he was very close to his best and if he were to play like that for 17 days then that would be a different story altogether. The key factor here is whether Ronnie can keep his game at such a high level, and stay focussed and motivated mentally for the two and half weeks. David Gilbert in round one is not the easiest opponent he could ask for. He scores heavily and will come with as much support as Ronnie will have from the more vocal sections of his fan base.

Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 4

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Mark Allen Vs Mitchell Mann (Tuesday 19th April 2.30pm and 20th April 10am)
Joe Perry Vs Kyren Wilson (Wednesday 20th April 7pm and 21st April 7pm)
Michael White Vs Sam Baird (Sunday 17th April 7pm and 18th April 7pm)
Mark Selby Vs Robert Milkins (Monday 18th April 2.30pm and 19th April 10am)

Mark Allen is always an interesting character when it comes to the World Championships. In 2012 and 2013 he lost in the opening round to players that he should beat for a player of his class. In 2014 and 2015 he lost in a couple of tight affairs in the last 16 but this year there is evidence to say that he is playing better than ever. His win at the Players Championship Finals is one point beating Murphy in the semi-finals as he did in the first round of the Masters, historically a player he has struggled against. As well as this he had a semi-final in the Welsh Open where I thought he was fantastic, a semi-final in Shanghai and a final at the Champion of Champions as well as a win on the European Tour. By far his most prolific season. Missing out on the China Open means that he will be rested, prepared and raring to get out there for his first round match. In that match he takes on the only Crucible debutant for this year in Mitchell Mann. These matches against debutants can always go two ways. The player could rise to the occasion show some real quality and win, or he could freeze under the immense pressure and be beaten easily. Allen will be hoping to make it the latter and finish a great season in real style.

Joe Perry has landed one of the toughest draws out there in the confident Kyren Wilson. Wilson came through the qualifying competition fairly comfortably and he now has the time to rest and prepare for a real good slog at going far into this World Championships. He certainly has the belief in his high ability to not only beat Perry but march on far into the event. However, you can never underestimate a player with the experience and class that Perry possesses. Two years ago in the second round in Sheffield he had Ronnie on the ropes at 11-9 in the final session before O'Sullivan took the next four frames to secure victory. The gentleman also reached the semi-finals in both of the Welsh Open and Champion of Champions despite early exits in the UK and Masters this season. This is certainly another match that could go to the wire and there is no ruling the winner out of going on much further in the event too.

Michael White has had to work hard to earn his seeding for the World Championships. Last year he just missed out and then failed to come through the three qualifiers to make the Crucible. In 2013 he made the quarter-finals on debut and in 2014 he took the eventual champion Mark Selby to a first round decider. If he fires he could certainly get through a couple of matches but for me his temperament is still suspect in the sense that he is a very hot headed player and his safety game is still average and it will be difficult to do well here baring those two things in mind. In the opening round he takes on Sam Baird who will be hoping to do better second time around at the Crucible after a resounding first round lost on his debut in 2013. Baird is a heavy scorer and troubled top players in the past so there is no reason why he could not give the Welshman a run for his money here.

Mark Selby is almost a bit of enigma coming into this years World Championships. After a first round exit in the World Grand Prix he decided to withdraw from both of the Players Championship Finals and China Open for "personal reasons" that have remained unspecified. We all know how good a match player Selby is though, and this shone through in 2014 when he lifted this great title. This year he will need to be at his best right from the off when he takes on Robert Milkins. We all know how well Milkins can score and he will need to score heavily and take his chances against Selby who will surely attempt to grind him down in the safety department. Selby has been close with no cigar this season. Semi-finals in the UK and International Championships, quarter-finals in the Masters and Welsh Open all four of which resulted in defeats to the eventual winner. He has played pretty well with no reward for that.

Quarter Winner: Mark Allen

Predicted World Finalist: Neil Robertson

Predicted World Champion: Shaun Murphy


This is one of the most wide open World Championships ever in my opinion, a lot of people fancy Ronnie but it will not be that easy be any means. There are plenty of guys in the draw worth an each way bet that could provide some value and there are certainly going to be some value bets in round one based on how close some of these match-ups are.

Some people have criticised the BBC's coverage in previous years but there is still something special about the way that the World Championships is done by all involved. The punditry of Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and John Parrott will be class again I am sure. By the same token, I am sure that for viewers in Europe, Eurosport will do a good job of their coverage.

Now that you know who my tip is for the 2016 World Championships lets sit back, relax and enjoy 17 days of glorious snooker from the Crucible Theatre, whether you are in Sheffield to watch or viewing it from home. Of course there will be more from me as the tournament progresses with all the big news and my thoughts on the matches in upcoming rounds.

Fantasy Snooker League: The Final Furlong

Here we are then folks. The final event on this seasons Fantasy Snooker League is before us and it is the big one... the World Snooker Championships. There's plenty to play for over the next two and a half weeks as this event is part of the Triple Crown that are worth DOUBLE POINTS. That means that plenty are still in with a chance of winning the league.

Below is how the table currently looks, and next to each player in the table is the TOTAL MONEY AVAILABLE TO SPEND

1^st: Igor: 691 = 16 million

2^nd: Michael Coudray: 661 = 11.8 million

3^rd: Gorkem Kurt: 646 = 13 million

4^th: SnookerFollower: 623 = 15 million

5^th: Gary: 598 = 10.6 million

6^th: TungstenDarts: 587 = 16.6 million

7^th: Guillermo: 570 = 11 million

8^th: Chris Watts: 559 = 12.6 million

9^th: Anthony Ward: 558 = 8.5 million

10^th: Kjetil: 538 = 11.7 million

11^th: Josh Cooper: 465 = 13.1 million

12^th: Spanish Snooker Blog: 415 = 16 million

13^th: Ezgi Ulutas: 406 = 17.1 million

14^th: LTD: 404 = 18.3 million

15^th: Kai: 398 = 16.9 million

16^th: Andrew Brooker: 398 = 20.8 million

17^th: John McBride: 395 = 23.7 million

18^th: Kellie Barker: 361 = 11.6 million

19^th: Phil Mudd: 337 = 12.1 million

 

You can still only buy a MAXIMUM OF 2 PLAYERS with the money that is shown next to your name however much you might have there.

 

These are the all important players you can pick and how much they will cost you:

Stuart Bingham – 6 million

Mark Selby – 5.8 million

Shaun Murphy – 5.6 million

Neil Robertson – 5.5 million

Judd Trump – 5.4 million

Ronnie O'Sullivan – 5.3 million

Mark Allen – 5.2 million

John Higgins – 5 million

Ricky Walden – 4.9 million

Joe Perry – 4.8 million

Barry Hawkins – 4.6 million

Martin Gould – 4.5 million

Mark Williams – 4.3 million

Marco Fu – 4.2 million

Michael White – 4.1 million

Stephen Maguire – 4 million

 

Ding Junhui – 4 million

Liang Wenbo – 3.8 million

Kyren Wilson – 3.6 million

Ryan Day - 3.5 million

Robert Milkins – 3.5 million

David Gilbert  – 3.5 million

Graeme Dott  - 3.5 million

Michael Holt – 3.5 million

Alan McManus – 3.5 million

Anthony McGill – 3.5 million

Ali Carter – 3.5 million

Peter Ebdon - 3.5 million

Robbie Williams – 2.5 million

Sam Baird – 2.5 million

Zhang Anda – 2 million

Mitchell Mann – 2 million

 

 

Right then, have fun, good luck and most of all happy tipping!!!

World Championship Final Qualifying Round Preview

After two rounds of World Championship qualifying at Ponds Forge in Sheffield we are now just one more round and 16 games away from completing the line-up that will compete just down the road at the Crucible theatre.

In the second qualifying round we have seen some huge results. There was a big comeback from Liam Highfield against Luca Brecel, as the Belgian lost five consecutive frames from 8-5 to fall 10-8 and keep alive Highfield's hopes of somehow getting back into the top 64 at the end of the season. Meanwhile, Sam Baird held off a late charge from Tom Ford to win that one 10-7 and he will now play Highfield.

Peter Lines has now officially dropped off of the tour and will have to go to Qualifying School to regain his professional status after losing out to Michael Holt. David Morris has also fallen to the same fate after his defeat to Alan McManus. McManus will now play Jimmy Robertson who has been flying in qualifying so far and showed that against Stuart Carrington who could now drop off of the tour himself if results go against him. 

Gerard Greene was knocked off tour in dramatic circumstances as Peter Ebdon came from 9-3 behind to win the final seven frames and the match. 

There has been talk earlier in this season about Nigel Bond possibly calling it a day as a snooker player before too long but he has shown glimpses of his old form after a first round victory against Andrew Higginson has been joined by a win over Gary Wilson to make the final qualifying round.

Anthony Hamilton is also turning back the clock after turning around a deficit to beat Chris Wakelin 10-9 and he will now play Robbie Williams who is eyeing a third consecutive year of qualifying for the Crucible.

Matthew Stevens thrashed Zhang Yong to make it through to the final qualifying round, while Graeme Dott held off a fight back from Noppon Saengkham to run through a 10-8 winner. Mark Davis though will not be qualifying after being soundly beaten by Zhang Anda.

The second qualifying round did not see the end of Ryan Day who came back from 9-5 down to beat Alfie Burden 10-9 while Craig Steadman only just missed out on doing the same against Anthony McGill.

Second Qualifying Round Results:

Ding Junhui 10-1 Ross Muir
Nigel Bond 10-6 Gary Wilson
Ian Burns 10-3 Hamza Akbar
Peter Ebdon 10-9 Gerard Greene 
Anthony Hamilton 10-9 Chris Wakelin
Robbie Williams 10-4 Mark Joyce
Mike Dunn 10-9 Li Hang 
Graeme Dott 10-8 Noppon Saengkham
Robert Milkins 10-8 Scott Donaldson
Kurt Maflin 10-8 Zhao Xintong
Mark King 10-7 David Grace 
Michael Holt 10-7 Peter Lines
Alan McManus 10-6 David Morris
Jimmy Robertson 10-5 Stuart Carrington
Ryan Day 10-9 Alfie Burden
Ken Doherty 10-7 Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens 10-3 Zhang Yong
Anthony McGill 10-9 Craig Steadman
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-7 Paul Davison
Liam Highfield 10-8 Luca Brecel
Sam Baird 10-7 Tom Ford
Jack Lisowski 10-5 Rory McLeod
David Gilbert 10-2 Lee Walker
Mitchell Mann 10-9 Matt Selt
Dechawat Poomjaeng 10-5 Robin Hull
Zhou Yuelong 10-6 Fergal O'Brien
Zhang Anda 10-5 Mark Davis
Ali Carter 10-8 Cao Yupeng
Dominic Dale 10-6 Oliver Lines
Xiao Guodong 10-8 Jamie Clarke
Liang Wenbo 10-5 Jamie Cope

Final Qualifying Round Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Ding Junhui Vs Nigel Bond
Peter Ebdon Vs Ian Burns
Robbie Williams Vs Anthony Hamilton
Graeme Dott Vs Mike Dunn
Robert Milkins Vs Kurt Maflin
Michael Holt Vs Mark King
Alan McManus Vs Jimmy Robertson
Ryan Day Vs Ken Doherty
Kyren Wilson Vs Matthew Stevens
Anthony McGill Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Sam Baird Vs Liam Highfield
David Gilbert Vs Jack Lisowski

Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Mitchell Mann
Zhou Yuelong Vs Zhang Anda
Ali Carter Vs Dominic Dale
Liang Wenbo Vs Xiao Guodong


We'll have at least two Chinese players coming through qualifying, and Nigel Bond will have the say on whether that becomes three or not. Out of the two remaining Thai players I fancy one if not both to make it through. Jimmy Robertson and Ali Carter have been impressive so far, while David Gilbert has really started playing well in the last couple of weeks. Milkins and Maflin both qualified last year in deciding frames and have had some close matches this week already so do not be surprised if that goes all the way. Plenty of guys that I picked out to qualify in my earlier preview are still going so it will be interesting to see how that all goes. From the 32 players remaining, only five are yet to make their Crucible debuts so this year will see a nice mixture of players that will challenge the top seeds when the main event starts in a few days time.


The big note of course is that these matches will be split in half, with half playing their first sessions on Tuesday at 11am and their final sessions on Wednesday at 11am, while the other half play their sessions at 5pm on both of those days. Both days are set to be covered on the YouTube channel with Neal Foulds and Rob Walker working on that which should be good fun I think and give a better insight into those all important final qualifying rounds with the stakes as high as the tension. The draw is then done on Thursday morning, also live on the YouTube channel and my main tournament preview will follow on the same day.

World Championship Qualifiiers: Round 2 Preview

After the first round of qualifying for the World Championships there have been a few surprises and some interesting moves for players trying to save their places on the tour for next season.

One surprise was the loss of Yu De Lu to Paul Davison, after Davison has had a struggle this season since regaining his tour place a year ago. Ben Woollaston who I thoroughly expected to qualify was beaten by Chris Wakelin in a deciding frame, while Tian Pengfei who I also expected to have a good run at qualifying lost out 10-7 to the equally talented Hossein Vafei Ayouri.

The biggest surprise was the 10-5 defeat of Jamie Jones to Pakistan's Hamza Akbar who recorded his first win as a professional. Jimmy White's qualifying campaign fell at the first hurdle after three successive frames from 9-7 down saw Gerard Greene keep his tour survival hopes alive with a 10-9 victory.

Zhao Xintong showed once again what a threat he is to the pro's with a 10-9 win over Rod Lawler, after being 6-2 at one stage in the opening session. Zhang Yong saw off Joe Swail 10-7 to record another surprise victory, while Nigel Bond overcame Andrew Higginson in another deciding frame. Jamie Clarke overcame Jamie Burnett as I expected him to in a deciding frame, ending what has been a poor season for Burnett and will not help his seemingly fading enthusiasm for the game. 

There were easy wins for the likes of Ali Carter, Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui and Ryan Day, though Michael Holt had life harder than expected after leading Michael Wild 9-0 at the end of the first session. Wild won the first six in the next session before Holt secured a 10-6 win.

In terms of the race for the top 64, as well as the win for Greene, there was a comeback win for Stuart Carrington who would have been knocked off tour with defeat to Hammad Miah who led 9-7 before Carrington came back to win 10-9. Ian Burns also came through a tight match with Duane Jones 10-8. Craig Steadman, David Morris, Cao Yupeng, Zhang Anda, Liam Highfield, Peter Lines and Anthony Hamilton all kept their slimmer chances afloat with easy round one victories.

Defeats for Michael Georgiou, Joel Walker, Zak Surety, Michael Wasley, Chris Melling, Michael Leslie, Steven Hallworth, Lu Chenwei, Ian Glover, Lu Ning, Barry Pinches and Tony Drago mean that they will have to go through Qualifying School in order to regain their professional status for next season.

First Qualifying Round Results:

Ding Junhui 10-4 Greg Casey
Ross Muir 10-5 Sean O'Sullivan
Nigel Bond 10-9 Andrew Higginson
Gary Wilson 10-4 Leo Fernandez
Hamza Akbar 10-5 Jamie Jones
Ian Burns 10-8 Duane Jones
Gerard Greene 10-9 Jimmy White
Peter Ebdon 10-6 James Wattana
Chris Wakelin 10-9 Ben Woollaston
Anthony Hamilton 10-3 Sydney Wilson
Robbie Williams 10-7 Gareth Allen
Mark Joyce 10-7 Zak Surety
Mike Dunn 10-7 James Cahill 
Li Hang 10-8 Lu Chenwei
Noppon Saengkham 10-6 Michael Georgiou
Graeme Dott 10-8 Brandon Sargeant
Robert Milkins 10-3 Ka Wai Cheung
Scott Donaldson 10-6 Joel Walker
Kurt Maflin 10-8 Sanderson Lam
Zhao Xintong 10-9 Rod Lawler
Mark King 10-3 Fraser Patrick
David Grace 10-5 Brendan O'Donoghue
Peter Lines 10-1 Ng On Yee
Michael Holt 10-6 Michael Wild
Alan McManus 10-5 Michael Wasley
David Morris 10-5 Chris Melling
Stuart Carrington 10-9 Hammad Miah
Jimmy Robertson 10-0 Tyler Rees
Hossein Vafei Ayouri 10-7 Tian Pengfei
Ken Doherty 10-6 Andy Hicks
Alfie Burden 10-7 Tony Drago
Ryan Day 10-2 Daniel Wells
Kyren Wilson 10-3 Jason Weston
Martin O'Donnell 10-8 Kuldesh Johal
Zhang Yong 10-7 Joe Swail
Matthew Stevens 10-2 Josh Boileau
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-9 Akani Songsermsawad
Paul Davison 10-9 Yu De Lu
Craig Steadman 10-3 Michael Leslie
Anthony McGill 10-1 Hatem Yassin
Luca Brecel 10-8 Steven Hallworth
Liam Highfield 10-2 Luke Simmonds
Sam Baird 10-8 Thor Chua Leong
Tom Ford 10-2 Darryl Hill
Jack Lisowski 10-2 Alex Taubman
Rory McLeod 10-7 Lukas Kleckers
Lee Walker 10-0 Conor McCormack
David Gilbert 10-5 Rhys Clark
Matt Selt 10-2 Igor Figueredo
Mitchell Mann 10-7 Kishan Hirani
Dechawat Poomjaeng 10-4 Eden Sharav
Robin Hull 10-7 Barry Pinches
Fergal O'Brien 10-4 Steve Davis
Zhou Yuelong 10-3 Dylan Craig
Zhang Anda 10-2 Bratislev Krustev
Mark Davis 10-7 Adam Duffy
Ali Carter 10-2 Mateusz Baranowski
Cao Yupeng 10-0 Rodion Judin
Oliver Lines 10-5 Lu Ning
Dominic Dale 10-6 Ian Glover
Xiao Guodong 10-6 Allan Taylor
Jamie Clarke 10-9 Jamie Burnett
Jamie Cope 10-4 Ashley Hugill
Liang Wenbo 10-2 Joe O'Connor

Second Qualifying Round Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Ding Junhui Vs Ross Muir
Gary Wilson Vs Nigel Bond
Ian Burns Vs Hamza Akbar
Peter Ebdon Vs Gerard Greene
Anthony Hamilton Vs Chris Wakelin
Mark Joyce Vs Robbie Williams
Mike Dunn Vs Li Hang
Graeme Dott Vs Noppon Saengkham
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson
Kurt Maflin Vs Zhao Xintong
Mark King Vs David Grace
Michael Holt Vs Peter Lines
Alan McManus Vs David Morris
Stuart Carrington Vs Jimmy Robertson
Ken Doherty Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Ryan Day Vs Alfie Burden
Kyren Wilson Vs Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens Vs Zhang Yong
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Paul Davison
Anthony McGill Vs Craig Steadman
Luca Brecel Vs Liam Highfield
Tom Ford Vs Sam Baird
Jack Lisowski Vs Rory McLeod
David Gilbert Vs Lee Walker
Matt Selt Vs Mitchell Mann
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Robin Hull
Fergal O'Brien Vs Zhou Yuelong
Mark Davis Vs Zhang Anda
Ali Carter Vs Cao Yupeng
Dominic Dale Vs Oliver Lines
Xiao Guodong Vs Jamie Clarke
Liang Wenbo Vs Jamie Cope


With the way some of these guys played in round one and the way certain players had to grind through for their victories, while others scored much more fluently and heavily I like the look of the majority of these picks for round two.


So then, after some very one sided matches in round one of World Championship qualifying, the second round should see some closer ties across Sunday and Monday ahead of the final qualifying round on Tuesday and Wednesday and the start of a very busy week in the lead up to the World Championships proper starting at the Crucible. There's still a lot of guys in contention to make their Crucible debuts too, which is always something to look out for going into the final round or two. 

World Championship Qualifiers Preview

It's that time of the year folks. The World Snooker Championships. Starting on Wednesday and running to the following Wednesday the three qualifying rounds will be played to whittle 128 players down to the 16 that will join the top 16 ranked players in the world for the first round proper at the Crucible Theatre when the main event starts on Saturday April 16th.

The big stories in qualifying is that every single player from world number 17 to the invitees that are not currently tour card holders have to play three best-of-19 frame qualifiers if they are to reach the holy grail of snooker, so you can certainly say that they have earned it. Ding Junhui is the surprise man that has to go through qualifying having been knocked out of the top 16, and as the number 17 seed from last year Michael White will tell you, winning the three matches for Ding is by no means something we can take for granted.

Despite the masses of Chinese players that are on the tour, none of them this year have automatically qualified despite Liang Wenbo also having had the chance to get into the elite 16. People will all have their favourites in qualifying including the all-time greats of Jimmy White and Steve Davis, who has entered the qualifiers this year in tribute to his father Bill who has sadly passed away.

Coming into the qualifiers there is little form to go on, because these are the longest matches the majority of the players will have played in professional competition since last years qualifiers. I'm sure there will be the usual balance of seasoned professionals and Crucible debutants that make it through the gruelling qualifying schedule, one that many players disagree with, but none more vocal than former world champion Peter Ebdon.

It's not all about qualifying for the Crucible though as players around the 64 mark will be battling to stay on the world snooker tour as players outside of the top 64 that do not have the security of being one year into a two year tour card at the end of this season, will be relegated from the tour and forced to go through qualifying school in May if they are to return.

What I am going to attempt to do is not only predict the winners of the 64 first qualifying round matches, but also the players that I think will come through the 16 qualifying sections, so here's a look at the draw in full:

Qualifying Section 1

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Ding Junhui Vs Greg Casey
Ross Muir Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Andrew Higginson Vs Nigel Bond
Gary Wilson Vs Leo Fernandez

Ding Junhui is obviously the big name in this section and all the talk is whether he can win the three matches required to qualify. Looking at his first round draw you would expect him to come through easily but then it gets tougher. Either Ross Muir or Sean O'Sullivan would prove tricky opposition and I expect that opening round match to be a close encounter which could prove beneficial to Ding if he comes through easily. I'm not sure how far the likes of Gary Wilson or Andrew Higginson could go in this section either. Higginson is inconsistent as a player nowadays though he did only miss out on the Crucible last year in a deciding frame to Robert Milkins, though his round one opponent this year is no pushover in Nigel Bond. Gary Wilson has had a very poor season indeed with no impressive results to speak of, though it would not be the biggest surprise if he did qualify as we have seen in the past he has the talent.

Predicted Qualifier: Ding Junhui

Qualifying Section 2

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Jamie Jones Vs Hamza Akbar
Ian Burns Vs Duane Jones
Gerard Greene Vs Jimmy White
Peter Ebdon Vs James Wattana

This section probably has greater importance on the top 64 battle than any other. The pressure will be on both of Ian Burns who is 64th and Gerard Greene in 65th to get first round victories. Greene has been out of form all year and his ranking is probably a fair reflection of that and I think the pressure could prove too much against Jimmy White who is certainly still good enough to do a job on someone like Greene. Ian Burns faces Duane Jones who has not exactly entered everything since earning his tour card through Q School and Burns will be buoyed by the fact that he overcame Peter Ebdon 5-0 in China to get inside the top 64 but he still needs at least one win to stay there and possibly two depending on other results. Jamie Jones is the favourite to qualify from this section I would say as Peter Ebdon has been very hit and miss in the last year or two and three qualifying matches may prove too much for him, but someone like Burns has the quality to win the three matches and certainly the extra incentive too.

Predicted Qualifier: Ian Burns

Qualifying Section 3

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Ben Woollaston Vs Chris Wakelin
Anthony Hamilton Vs Sydney Wilson
Robbie Williams Vs Gareth Allen
Mark Joyce Vs Zak Surety

Anthony Hamilton is in the tour survival battle too but he is not in the firing line as much. He would regain a fresh two year tour card through the European Order of Merit, though the form he showed whenever I watched him at the Welsh Open demonstrated that he could still qualify for the Crucible though that would still not prove enough to get him into the top 64. Robbie Williams is an interesting name in this section. He has qualified for the Crucible in both of the last two years but has done very little of any note this season and a tough draw stands between him and making that three on the trot. Ben Woollaston is probably the favourite after a season that has seen further improvement in his game and some very solid results in the last couple of months. I would be a little surprised if he did not appear at the Crucible this year.

Predicted Qualifier: Ben Woollaston

Qualifying Section 4

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Mike Dunn Vs James Cahill
Li Hang Vs Lu Chenwei
Michael Georgiou Vs Noppon Saengkham
Graeme Dott Vs Brandon Sargeant

This is another interesting section and has been made more interesting by recent events in the China Open. Noppon Saengkham appears to have found a great deal of form there in making the quarter-finals by beating notable players such as Neil Robertson and someone who is in this section in Graeme Dott. You would still expect a player of Dott's match play quality to have a good go at qualifying and it is worth pointing out that he made the Last 16 at the Crucible last year after failing to qualify in 2014. Mike Dunn could be a contender after a pretty solid season that saw him recently reach only his second ranking quarter-final at the Players Championship. I have looked even further outside of the box though in the shape of Li Hang. Last year he fell just a deciding frame shy of qualification against Stuart Carrington and whenever I watch him I am impressed by his play and scoring power in particular, and I think he could be a good shout to qualify for the Crucible based on that.

Predicted Qualifier: Li Hang

Qualifying Section 5

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Robert Milkins Vs Ka Wai Cheung
Joel Walker Vs Scott Donaldson
Kurt Maflin Vs Sanderson Lam
Rod Lawler Vs Zhao Xintong

This is one of the most interesting sections in the draw. Only a few places separate Scott Donaldson and Joel Walker in the rankings but I cannot really think of many good results that Walker has had this season whereas Donaldson seems like more of a quality match player. Robert Milkins should not slip up against the world under 18 champion but you never know and he is probably the favourite to qualify from this section overall with his experience of doing so on several occasions. Kurt Maflin has had a shocking season given the way he finished last year, with the China Open semi-final and then nearly beating defending world champion Mark Selby on the first day at the Crucible. Zhao Xintong meanwhile may have only just turned 19 but he is a huge nuisance in this draw and Rod Lawler is the unlucky player to have drawn him in round one. Xintong is a huge talent and some of his scoring power could prove a greater factor over the longer distance, but the sloppy mistakes he makes may also cost him dearly. 

Predicted Qualifier: Robert Milkins

Qualifying Section 6

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Mark King Vs Fraser Patrick
David Grace Vs Brendan O'Donoghue
Peter Lines Vs Ng On Yee
Michael Holt Vs Michael Wild

Plenty more solid players in this section and not one that stands out in particular. Peter Lines has the ladies world champion in round one, which is not a nice draw to have when you need to qualify for the Crucible to save your tour place essentially. David Grace showed what he was about in the UK Championships and if he could bring that out in Ponds Forge I would not be surprised to see him at the Crucible. Michael Holt and Mark King have had solid seasons though for players of their respective rankings and after the pair both missed out in the final qualifying round last year they will be determined to put that right. King has been in particularly good form on the European Tour but also made it into the China Open quarter-finals with some great wins before narrowly losing out to eventual winner Judd Trump and I think he will come to Ponds Forge this year with a lot more confidence, and we all know how good he can be at his best.

Predicted Qualifier: Mark King

Qualifying Section 7

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Alan McManus Vs Michael Wasley
David Morris Vs Chris Melling
Stuart Carrington Vs Hammad Miah
Jimmy Robertson Vs Tyler Rees

This section is another important one for the likes of Stuart Carrington and David Morris who are battling for their tour places. First up with Carrington, he was forced to pull out of the China Open with what was reported to be a back problem so hopefully for his sake (as he is 63rd on the provisional seedings and needs at least one win, and possibly two to stay on tour) that issue has cleared up and he can give this his best go. Hammad Miah proves a more than tricky opponent in round one as he appears to have improved a great deal since dropping off of the tour. Perhaps that was the wake up call he needed. Morris meanwhile takes on Chris Melling, who in last years World Championship qualifiers lost out 10-1 to Li Hang. Melling is almost certain to drop off of the tour and is not the worst opponent that Morris could have. The Irishman needs to win at least his match with Melling, but more than likely will need to make it to the final qualifying round to have any chance of breaking into the top 64. I do rate Morris highly though and think he has the quality to survive one way or another. Alan McManus is always a big name in the qualifying draw so Michael Wasley will not enjoy having drawn such a solid player in round one. My pick from this section though is Jimmy Robertson who was another player who qualified last season and is someone who continues to impress me. His heavy scoring is a big factor in matches and on the whole I think he is improving nicely into someone who should soon break into the top 32.

Predicted Qualifier: Jimmy Robertson

Qualifying Section 8

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Tian Pengfei Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Ken Doherty Vs Andy Hicks
Alfie Burden Vs Tony Drago
Ryan Day Vs Daniel Wells

This section is another very interesting one to have to pick a winner from. Ryan Day is the favourite but I wonder if he may struggle after a couple of bad performances when he still had the chance to go deep into an event and qualify for the Crucible automatically. His draw is by no means easy with Daniel Wells who I think has showed some good improvements since his previous time on the tour and he can score just as well as Day on his...day. Alfie Burden showed what he could do in Beijing by beating Joe Perry 5-0 and making the quarter-finals and someone of his quality and experience could easily win the three best-of-19 matches required to get through. Ken Doherty has struggled this year while Andy Hicks has given plenty of players a tough time and I think that will be the same again here. Arguably the tie of the entire round is Tian Pengfei against Hossein Vafei Ayouri as the qualifier could well come from this match. Hossein has recently had a couple of maximums in practice, and at the start of the season he impressed by qualifying for the Australian Open with four wins. Little has happened for him since while Tian Pengfei has been in fantastic form this season. A finalist on the European Tour he also had runs in the International Championship and more recently the China Open when he was beaten in a Last 16 decider by eventual runner-up Ricky Walden. The Chinese player is certainly the form man in this section.

Predicted Qualifier: Tian Pengfei

Qualifying Section 9

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Kyren Wilson Vs Jason Weston
Martin O'Donnell Vs Kuldesh Johal
Joe Swail Vs Zhang Yong
Matthew Stevens Vs Josh Boileau

This section for me is all about Kyren Wilson. He has been easily the most improved player of the season and one of the best players in 2015/2016 overall, it would be a real shame if he did not come through the three matches needed to make the Crucible. His draw could be a lot worse, though Martin O'Donnell has upset the odds in a lot of matches he's played in the last couple of months and you have to wonder if he could the same again here. Matthew Stevens qualified last year but has struggled again this season with his best snooker in my view coming in the Welsh Open. Joe Swail is still capable of getting done also and after reaching the UK Championship Last 16 amongst other results this year he will be hoping to finish the year well.

Predicted Qualifier: Kyren Wilson

Qualifying Section 10

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Akani Sondsermsawad
Yu De Lu Vs Paul Davison
Craig Steadman Vs Michael Leslie
Anthony McGill Vs Hatem Yassin

This is a tricky little section to call. First up we have Craig Steadman who qualified last year for the Crucible but since then has struggled. Now at 66 on the provisional seedings he has work on his hands to even stay on the tour for next year and probably needs to get two wins to have any chance. Anthony McGill also qualified last year but has not reached anywhere near the same heights of his World Championship Quarter-final again this season which will disappoint him. His first round draw is one of the easiest going you would think so that could help him on his way. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh has had a brilliant season reaching the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix and the semi-finals of the International Championships and proved very entertaining to watch as well as a quality player once more. He has a fellow Thai in round one who has not played a match since earning his tour card at the start of this season so that should help Thepchaiya and I could see him going from strength to strength if he is close to his best. Yu De Lu could also prove a threat, as I do not feel we have seen the best of him this year, after being beaten in three full ranking tournaments at the Last 64 against Marco Fu. Not the best draw you could ask for. For me either Un-Nooh or De Lu will come out on top in this section.

Predicted Qualifier: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Qualifying Section 11

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Luca Brecel Vs Steven Hallworth
Liam Highfield Vs Luke Simmonds
Sam Baird Vs Thor Chuan Leong
Tom Ford Vs Darryl Hill

In my opinion this could be the most entertaining qualifying section out of all 16. In the seeded players of Brecel, Highfield, Baird and Ford we have four very fluent, heavy scoring and entertaining players to watch. At the top of their game any one of them could go on to qualify for the Crucible which also makes it a tight call to make. Luca Brecel is someone who continues to impress me. Making the German Masters final feels like it will be a big step forward in his career as he now has now got the taste of what success could be like. I witnessed close up a win against Shaun Murphy in the Welsh Open when the young Belgian was not even at his best which was a great result. Liam Highfield has plenty of grit and determination as he showed in the Gdynia Open to beat Robin Hull 4-3 from 3-0 down and give himself half a chance of getting a new tour card via the European order of merit, should he not finish the next week inside of the top 64. Sam Baird has had another good year by qualifying for the Players Championship finals and I still think he could get a lot higher in the rankings in years to come. Tom Ford has also improved a lot this year by making the Last 16 in the Grand Prix and the UK Championships as well as making a European Tour event final and the last time he qualified for the Crucible in 2014 he beat Brecel 10-3 in one of his qualifying victories so he too is more than capable.

Predicted Qualifier: Luca Brecel

Qualifying Section 12

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Jack Lisowski Vs Alex Taubman
Rory McLeod Vs Lukas Kleckers
Lee Walker Vs Conor McCormack
David Gilbert Vs Rhys Clark

A case could be made for plenty too in this section. Jack Lisowski has been working with Terry Griffiths this season and showed small signs of improvement in his results but this will be the big test for him. Crucible qualification would show that this work is really paying off. Rory McLeod has had a much more solid season winning a European Tour and most recently getting into the China Open last 16. Over two sessions, McLeod is the type of player that can really test your mental strength as he can break many a player with his playing style. I think David Gilbert and Rhys Clark could be a big match in this section. Gilbert has been much improved this year making the International final and the Last 16 of the China Open (losing in both to John Higgins) as well as some decent showings on the European Tour. I remember one of his most impressive career displays came in 2012 when he made the World Championship Last 16 after winning plenty of matches to qualify, showing what he can do under the longer format. Rhys Clark has had some great results since coming through Q School at the start of the season. He seems to be a very heavy scorer as he showed in the recent China Open when he lost 5-4 to Alfie Burden in the Last 32 despite four 50+ contributions. In 2014 he thrashed Mike Dunn 10-3 as an amateur and he could prove more than a match for Gilbert in round one here.

Predicted Qualifier: Rory McLeod

Qualifying Section 13

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Matt Selt Vs Igor Figueredo
Mitchell Mann Vs Kishan Hirani
Robin Hull Vs Barry Pinches
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Eden Sharav

This is another very keenly contested section of the draw. Two of the eight players reached the final qualifying round last year, two of the eight qualified and another appeared in the Last 16 as recently as 2013. Starting with Mitchell Mann I fully expected him to do well in qualifying last season after having a good first season on tour and he did not disappoint by reaching the final qualifying round before losing to Alan McManus. He has found a bit more form recently with a good run in Gdynia as well as beating Mark Allen to qualify for China and falling just short of a victory against Shaun Murphy in Cardiff. He could well go one step further this week. Robin Hull meanwhile has qualified for the Crucible in both of the last two years winning four matches in the first of those two years, but if you look back at the score lines he did not scrape through any of his qualifying matches in either campaign. In fact he battered his opponents. Hull is a much better player than his ranking suggests and as long as he has fully recovered from the illness that kept him from travelling to the China Open then he is a major contender to qualify. At his best his power scoring is too much for a lot of players to compete with. Igor Figueredo is one of the players that was on the receiving end of that a year ago, when he lost to Hull in the final qualifying round. The Brazilian does not prove an easy opponent for Matt Selt after winning a couple of matches in qualifying in both of the last two years after not competing much in tournaments in either season. Selt though is much improved over the last couple of years and will be a tough player to beat in these qualifiers, but by no means unbeatable. Dechawat Poomjaeng will also be a tough player to beat. Behind all of the shenanigans and antics he brings to a match is a quality snooker player who can score heavily and is a top match player. I have often been guilty of under rating Dechawat but it clicked with me when I watched him live at the Welsh Open really how good he is. His run to the Last 16 in 2013 would not have been achieved otherwise.

Predicted Qualifier: Dechawat Poomjaeng

Qualifying Section 14

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Fergal O'Brien Vs Steve Davis
Zhou Yuelong Vs Dylan Craig
Zhang Anda Vs Bratislev Krustev
Mark Davis Vs Adam Duffy

The stand out match in this qualifying section is the six times world champion and legend that is Steve Davis against another top quality player in Fergal O'Brien. Davis no longer competes on the tour as much, and has not played a competitive match this season but has chosen to enter this as a tribute to his father who was a massive part of developing one of the best players that has ever picked up a cue. In Fergal he faces someone that has missed out on qualifying for the World Championship final stages in both 2014 and 2015 in final qualifying round deciding frames. He'll be more determined than ever to qualify this year for that very reason. Zhang Anda did qualify last year in a deciding frame over Liang Wenbo, but has been a bit hit and miss again since. The return of the longer format could do him good though. Mark Davis has started to drop down the rankings this year, and after qualifying for last years World Championship he surrendered a decent lead in round one at the Crucible to Ding Junhui. He will need to be at the top of his game against Adam Duffy who indeed beat Ding Junhui in the UK Championships and won two matches as an amateur in last years World Championship qualifying including one against Martin Gould who is well inside the top 16 a year on. Duffy narrowly missed out on getting back on the tour through Q School and not only do I think that he will earn his tour card for next season, but I think he is going to prove why I think that against Davis. The player I fancy most in this section though is young Zhou Yuelong. He has the heavy scoring to batter opponents over a longer format when he will get plenty of chances, and he can take a lot from being beaten by some top players in good form in big events this year. After just two years on tour he is breezed into the top 64 and could be in the 50 with a good run in qualifying this year. I predicted him to qualify last year but he has improved even more a year on.

Predicted Qualifier: Zhou Yuelong

Qualifying Section 15

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Ali Carter Vs Mateuz Baranowski
Cao Yupeng Vs Rodion Judin
Oliver Lines Vs Lu Ning
Dominic Dale Vs Ian Glover

This section is all about the four seeded players for me. Ali Carter as a twice former world finalist is the obvious favourite to qualify and rightly so as he is a quality player, particularly over the longer format where he should outclass some of the opposition that he faces here. Cao Yupeng is under pressure needing to most likely qualify to save his tour card, and though he qualified in 2012 he has not showed anything like that form in the last year. Dominic Dale got as far as the quarter-finals in 2014 and he is probably the biggest threat to Carter qualifying as he should ease past Glover in round one and has been in good form over the last month. Based upon that form I would think he would beat Oli Lines too who still has improvements to make in my view before he qualifies for the World Championship, but as such a young player he has plenty of time to make them too.

Predicted Qualifier: Ali Carter

Qualifying Section 16

First Qualifying Round: (Picks in Bold)

Xiao Guodong Vs Allan Taylor
Jamie Burnett Vs Jamie Clarke
Jamie Cope Vs Ashley Hugill
Liang Wenbo Vs Joe O'Connor

Finally, we come to a section that I believe UK Championship runner-up Liang Wenbo will dominate. Xiao Guodong has had a woeful season this season and looked frighteningly incapable of winning when I saw him at the Welsh Open (losing 4-1 in the Last 128 to James Cahill) and on the one year money list he is well down in the 70's. A shadow of a man who two seasons ago reached the Shanghai Masters final and qualified for the Crucible narrowly losing in round one to Ali Carter. Jamie Burnett has had a similar year but for a surprise run to the UK Championship Last 16. At times the Scot simply looks like he cannot be bothered. Jamie Clarke will prove a very tough first round opponent for him in round one as Clarke could twice have earned his tour card in the last year, losing out narrowly in the finals of big amateur events. Jamie Cope had a good start to the year when he won the four matches to qualify for the Shanghai Masters and then reached the last 16, but since then his results have been similar to that of last seasons, when he finished out of the top 64 and got back on tour through the European Order of Merit. Ashley Hugill is his opponent and a top amateur player who has beaten Neil Robertson this season and will be more than a match for Cope if he continues to play the way he has in professional competition this year. For me it has to be Liang Wenbo despite two first round exits in the Players Championship and China Open which you would say denied him an automatic Crucible berth, but he is no stranger to qualifying and has a pretty nice section of the draw here so long as he plays to a decent standard.

Predicted Qualifier: Liang Wenbo


I will be keeping the blog updated throughout the qualifiers, with previews of the second and third qualifying rounds along with any notable news from the matches in rounds previously. Selected matches will be streamed by World Snooker's streaming service and will also appear on the betting sites that usually stream snooker events I would imagine.

Walden and Trump set for Beijing battle

Ricky Walden and Judd Trump will contest the final of the China Open on Sunday after coming through today's semi-finals, with varying degrees of difficulty.

First up, it was Walden who overcame John Higgins in a deciding frame of a match he was always the better player in. Breaks of 66, 82 and 113 helped put the Players Championship runner-up 3-2 in front man. In the sixth Higgins was first in, but Walden had the chance to steal until a big bounce on the green left him out of position on the brown, which he missed and left Higgins to level. He soon recovered from that and a fantastic 96 put him 5-3 ahead and one away from victory. Higgins stayed in it with a 99 and forced a decider after Walden went in-off in a safety battle on the final black. John Higgins had a shot at a long red in the decider but missed and left one for Walden who knocked it in and made a superb 131 break to win the match 6-5.

The second semi-final was much more clear cut as a frustrated Stephen Maguire found himself unable to get into the match. In the end, despite his opponent having several chances to avoid it, Judd Trump whitewashed Stephen Maguire 6-0, helped by breaks of 100 in the opener and a 90 in frame four but also a large amount of luck and some errors from Maguire.

Final Preview:

Judd Trump Vs Ricky Walden - The final two this week, in the final ranking event before the World Championships sees Judd Trump and Ricky Walden lock horns. Walden has been brilliant over the last couple of weeks and I cannot stress enough how big his achievements have been. To get into one ranking final is hard enough but to get into two in the space of two weeks, on opposite sides of the world is phenomenal. After a poor season he is now back to his very best and scoring for fun to see of brilliant opponents like Higgins and Pengfei in a decider sandwiching a comfortable victory against the world champion, while three frames on the spin from 3-2 down saw him beat Ryan Day in the Last 32 after a Last 64 walkover.

Trump also had a walkover in the Last 64, so neither has an advantage despite playing a game less than they were scheduled to. Trump was brilliant at the start of the week against Jimmy Robertson and Marco Fu but since then he has come through a couple of matches where he has offered chances to his opponents in Mark King and Stephen Maguire and neither were able to capitalise. This is also his second ranking final, though his first was all the way back in September when he lost 10-9 to Kyren Wilson in Shanghai. Both players are more than capable in the changeable Chinese playing conditions, with all of Walden's three ranking titles coming in China though if he were to win this one it would almost complete the set of Chinese majors. Trump was the winner in 2011 when he hit the big time. I think Walden has a little bit of an edge here though, his scoring this week in Beijing and last week in Manchester has been magnificent and these runs have left him full of confidence, and today against Higgins he seemed to have the Scots number in the safety exchanges and not many players do that to him. Judd Trump will certainly need to be at his best to win this one.

Prediction: Walden to win 10-8


There is of course a quick footnote to be made regarding the World Championship Qualifiers. The draw for that after a good week in Beijing will be made live on the World Snooker YouTube channel at 11am UK time as was confirmed today on the World Snooker Twitter page. That is the next stop for us all and I will have my preview out for that after I have analysed Monday's draw.

Maguire books Crucible spot by reaching Beijing semi's

Stephen Maguire booked his place in the top 16 as a seeded player for the World Championships after making it through to the last four of the China Open. He knew coming into his quarter final match with Alfie Burden, who was in his first ranking event quarter final, that he needed to win this match to leapfrog Ding Junhui and send the Chinaman into World Championship qualifiers at Ponds Forge. Today was nonetheless Ding's birthday, probably the worst one he's had.

 

With the pressure now off Maguire can relax in his semi-final with Judd Trump who had to battle hard in his match with Mark King. King took advantage of missed chances from Trump to take a 3-2 but could not keep taking advantage as Trump then went 4-3 ahead and managed a tight frame eight on the blue to clinch victory.

 

Earlier on in the day the opening semi-final was decided as Ricky Walden thrashed World Champion Stuart Bingham 5-1 to make it into consecutive ranking event semi's.

 

Meanwhile John Higgins kept up his quest for a third ranking event of the season by eventually coming through his match with Thailand's Noppon Saengkham. Noppon had his chances in three of the opening four frames but found himself 4-0 behind at the interval. Noppon then won the next three frames with some good breaks and had a chance to steal the eighth frame but missed a green with all of the balls open and Higgins did the rest to complete a 5-3 win.

 

Quarter-Final Results:

 

Stephen Maguire 5-1 Alfie Burden
Judd Trump 5-3 Mark King
John Higgins 5-3 Noppon Saengkham
Ricky Walden 5-1 Stuart Bingham

 

Semi-final Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Judd Trump Vs Stephen Maguire
John Higgins Vs Ricky Walden

 

Stephen Maguire has the pressure off of him a little bit now having done what he has had to, in order to make it to the World Championships as a seed and his record with Judd Trump is a decent one, and the pair always seem to have close matches against each other. Trump will have to find the form he showed earlier on in the week to win this one.

 

Meanwhile, Ricky Walden seems to have continued his form on from the Players Championship finals and will be relishing the chance to win yet another ranking event in China and win the only long standing Chinese event that is missing from his CV. Higgins meanwhile is after his third ranking title of the season, and second of the season in China though he has not yet had to play a top 16 player this week, despite having big challenges from Gilbert and Noppon in the last couple of rounds. I think this match may come down to Walden keeping up his heavy scoring form.

 

A couple of brilliant semi-finals in store then as the tournament moves on to the best-of 11 frames for the Last 4 and then the best-of 19 frames for Sunday's finale. Now of course we know of all of the players that will have to go to Ponds Forge for the World Championship qualifiers after Stephen Maguire's victory today. The draw for qualifying will be completed on Monday and should be live streamed according to a tweet from World Snooker today. I will then of course attempt to predict the outcome of every first round qualifying match and the 16 players that will get through to the Crucible in my Qualifying preview ahead of Wednesday's start.