32 players will battle it out for a top prize of £56,250, and each of these 32 has come through two matches to qualify a few days ago at the Preston Guildhall and as a flat draw it means there are a few top players missing. Notable absentees include Shanghai Masters champion Ding Junhui (who had to withdraw before the qualifiers with visa issues), along with Stuart Bingham, Joe Perry, Kyren Wilson, Mark Williams, Stephen Maguire, Martin Gould and Michael White who all fell in the qualifying rounds.
Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan both had their Last 64 matches held over to increase their chances of making the venue, and this was presumably done at the sponsors request with no other reason seemingly given. On the whole I think that is good for the event and there are not too many top names missing which makes for an exciting lot of matches coming up.
The whole event will be covered on Eurosport once again, and the format for the week sees the Last 32 and Last 16 played over the best-of-7 frames and two tables in the arena, before we go down to a one table set-up for the quarter-finals which will still be best-of-7 frames, before the semi-finals over the best-of-11 frames and the final which is a best-of-17 frames affair.
Quarter 1
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Mark Selby or Fergal O'Brien Vs Dominic Dale
Barry Hawkins Vs Michael Wild
Yu De Lu Vs Alfie Burden
Ricky Walden Vs Yan Bingtao
There are quite a few non-top 32 players in this section with Yu De Lu, Alfie Burden, Yan Bingtao, Michael Wild and Dominic Dale all having qualified. That could mean we have a big outsider come through this section, and if I had to pick someone out it would be Yan Bingtao. Yan has had a brilliant start to his debut season beating plenty of players ranked higher than him and in just a handful of events he has climbed up provisionally to 80 in the world. Ricky Walden will obviously have something to say about that but he has not had the greatest start to the season not getting past the Last 32 in either the Indian Open, World Open, Paul Hunter Classic or Shanghai Masters. Barry Hawkins has also had a hit and miss start to the season having just failed to qualify for the International Championships. He has lost twice in the Last 16 at the Indian Open and Shanghai Masters to Stephen Maguire, as well as a Last 32 exit at the World Open.
That really only leaves me one man to pick for this quarter and that is Mark Selby. Selby has had his Last 64 match bought over to the venue, but having to play an extra match should make little difference to him and his incredible stamina. Selby is the one of the few men on tour who can get a result from anywhere no matter how he plays and this is the key to him winning so many events. He was not necessarily at his best in Shanghai but he still made it all the way to the final and a win at the Paul Hunter Classic should bring him into this week full of confidence. It is about time he started winning more events for the talent and determination that he possesses, and with more ranking events this season and greater incentives we could well start to see Selby get his rewards.
Quarter Choice: Mark Selby
Quarter 2
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
John Higgins Vs Michael Holt
Tom Ford Vs Robin Hull
Marco Fu Vs Andrew Higginson
Judd Trump Vs Ben Woollaston
The second quarter is packed with quality. There are a few non-top 32 players who could be outsiders this week with Tom Ford, Robin Hull and Andrew Higginson all qualifying. Higginson has a good record against Marco Fu, but you have to say that Ford and Hull have the best chance given that they're playing each other in the Last 32 and both will see it as an opportunity to go far in what could well be a very close match. Judd Trump was not at his best in qualifying for this event scraping past Aditya Mehta and Duane Jones, whilst also losing from 3-0 up in the Last 16 of the Shanghai Masters so it will be interesting to see how he progresses this week. He will feel comfortable playing Ben Woollaston in round one given that Woollaston lost to Trump 5-0 in Shanghai and has not been close to his best of late. Marco Fu has had very little form so far this season, while John Higgins best so far this season is the World Open quarter-finals be he too is not at his complete best and certainly has a tough outing in the Last 32 over this short format.
My choice in this quarter, which some of you may find surprising, is Michael Holt. Holt has been much improved over the last year or so with the help of Terry Griffiths, though all Griffiths is helping Holt do is get the results he has always had potential to. This season already he has made the Riga Open final and the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters, and there should be plenty more to come now that he has the confidence and belief to beat the top players consistently on the big stage. Last week in his two qualifiers for this event and his qualifier for the International Championship he recorded 4-1, 4-0 and 6-1 victories to brush aside his lower ranked opposition. Twice this year he has beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan, he was always in control when he beat Neil Robertson at the Crucible and with confidence like we have never seen from Holt great things should be on the horizon.
The second quarter is packed with quality. There are a few non-top 32 players who could be outsiders this week with Tom Ford, Robin Hull and Andrew Higginson all qualifying. Higginson has a good record against Marco Fu, but you have to say that Ford and Hull have the best chance given that they're playing each other in the Last 32 and both will see it as an opportunity to go far in what could well be a very close match. Judd Trump was not at his best in qualifying for this event scraping past Aditya Mehta and Duane Jones, whilst also losing from 3-0 up in the Last 16 of the Shanghai Masters so it will be interesting to see how he progresses this week. He will feel comfortable playing Ben Woollaston in round one given that Woollaston lost to Trump 5-0 in Shanghai and has not been close to his best of late. Marco Fu has had very little form so far this season, while John Higgins best so far this season is the World Open quarter-finals be he too is not at his complete best and certainly has a tough outing in the Last 32 over this short format.
My choice in this quarter, which some of you may find surprising, is Michael Holt. Holt has been much improved over the last year or so with the help of Terry Griffiths, though all Griffiths is helping Holt do is get the results he has always had potential to. This season already he has made the Riga Open final and the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters, and there should be plenty more to come now that he has the confidence and belief to beat the top players consistently on the big stage. Last week in his two qualifiers for this event and his qualifier for the International Championship he recorded 4-1, 4-0 and 6-1 victories to brush aside his lower ranked opposition. Twice this year he has beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan, he was always in control when he beat Neil Robertson at the Crucible and with confidence like we have never seen from Holt great things should be on the horizon.
Quarter Choice: Michael Holt
Quarter 3
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Mark Davis
Liang Wenbo Vs Zak Surety
Ronnie O'Sullivan or Daniel Wells Vs David Gilbert
Mark Allen Vs Daniel Wormsley
The third quarter sees the two non-tour players in Zak Surety and Daniel Wormsley who have qualified for this week. That does not by any means suggest that Mark Allen and Liang Wenbo will have easy rides in round one. Allen and Wenbo have not played all that much yet this season so this week offers an opportunity for them to get some momentum ahead of a big stretch, with the English Open next week and the International Championships closely following that. Ronnie O'Sullivan plays in his second tournament of the season. He looked a little rusty at the Shanghai Masters and has had his second qualifying round this week bought to the venue. David Gilbert has had a really good start to the season and with Last 16's in Shanghai and Riga and a quarter-final at the World Open and he is probably the most improved player of the last year. If O'Sullivan gets through his extra match the Last 32 contest between him and Gilbert could be a cracker.
My third quarter choice though is Shaun Murphy. Murphy impressed in the qualifiers making a 147 maximum break and he negotiated some tricky opposition well. He may have been thrashed 5-0 at the Shanghai Masters by Stephen Maguire, but Maguire was on fire there. In the earlier part of the season he made the semi-finals of the Indian Open and the quarters of the World Open. The 147 in the qualifiers came with his wife and newborn son in the crowd watching and the changes in his life, becoming a father for the first time, could be the inspiration he needs to kick on and add more titles to his collection.
The third quarter sees the two non-tour players in Zak Surety and Daniel Wormsley who have qualified for this week. That does not by any means suggest that Mark Allen and Liang Wenbo will have easy rides in round one. Allen and Wenbo have not played all that much yet this season so this week offers an opportunity for them to get some momentum ahead of a big stretch, with the English Open next week and the International Championships closely following that. Ronnie O'Sullivan plays in his second tournament of the season. He looked a little rusty at the Shanghai Masters and has had his second qualifying round this week bought to the venue. David Gilbert has had a really good start to the season and with Last 16's in Shanghai and Riga and a quarter-final at the World Open and he is probably the most improved player of the last year. If O'Sullivan gets through his extra match the Last 32 contest between him and Gilbert could be a cracker.
My third quarter choice though is Shaun Murphy. Murphy impressed in the qualifiers making a 147 maximum break and he negotiated some tricky opposition well. He may have been thrashed 5-0 at the Shanghai Masters by Stephen Maguire, but Maguire was on fire there. In the earlier part of the season he made the semi-finals of the Indian Open and the quarters of the World Open. The 147 in the qualifiers came with his wife and newborn son in the crowd watching and the changes in his life, becoming a father for the first time, could be the inspiration he needs to kick on and add more titles to his collection.
Quarter Choice: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 4
Last 32 Draw (Picks in Bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Graeme Dott
David Grace Vs Rhys Clark
Ali Carter Vs Anthony McGill
Luca Brecel Vs Scott Donaldson
Even when a number of top players lose in the early rounds of these events we do still get cracking matches and that is the case in the Last 32 with Ali Carter and Anthony McGill. Both are tournament winners already this season and over the best-of-7 frames it is very tough to pick a winner between the two, but whoever does come through that one they could go very far in Romania. This event does feel very similar to that of the German Masters and Graeme Dott and Luca Brecel did very well in Berlin in 2016 which could make them outsiders in this quarter. It would be good to see Brecel do well in continental Europe as he is the number one continental European player and his efforts may inspire many others on the continent. Neither he or Dott have had good starts to the season though so it is tough to see them as major contenders. Again, there are three non-top 32 players in this section with David Grace playing Rhys Clark in round one, while Scott Donaldson has again qualified after coming through four qualifying rounds to qualify for the Shanghai Masters. Clark has had a poor start to the season, after being one of the best rookie players a year ago. Grace has come on a lot in the last year since his big run at the UK Championships so he is probably the best of the outsiders.
My final quarter choice has to be Neil Robertson. Robertson has been in great form at the start of the year winning the Riga Masters and then reaching the semi-finals of the World Open. His draw for this week does not look too bad, compared to his draw where he lost in the Last 32 of the Shanghai Masters to Ryan Day. Robertson has always been in the group with Murphy and Selby for me that could all easily win multiple ranking titles a season, and that is something they all seem to be starting to do now - like in the Golf where Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day are dominant players that can win three big tournaments a year. Robertson is very much like McIlroy in that he may not be in great form all year round but when he is in form he's too hot for anyone to handle.
Even when a number of top players lose in the early rounds of these events we do still get cracking matches and that is the case in the Last 32 with Ali Carter and Anthony McGill. Both are tournament winners already this season and over the best-of-7 frames it is very tough to pick a winner between the two, but whoever does come through that one they could go very far in Romania. This event does feel very similar to that of the German Masters and Graeme Dott and Luca Brecel did very well in Berlin in 2016 which could make them outsiders in this quarter. It would be good to see Brecel do well in continental Europe as he is the number one continental European player and his efforts may inspire many others on the continent. Neither he or Dott have had good starts to the season though so it is tough to see them as major contenders. Again, there are three non-top 32 players in this section with David Grace playing Rhys Clark in round one, while Scott Donaldson has again qualified after coming through four qualifying rounds to qualify for the Shanghai Masters. Clark has had a poor start to the season, after being one of the best rookie players a year ago. Grace has come on a lot in the last year since his big run at the UK Championships so he is probably the best of the outsiders.
My final quarter choice has to be Neil Robertson. Robertson has been in great form at the start of the year winning the Riga Masters and then reaching the semi-finals of the World Open. His draw for this week does not look too bad, compared to his draw where he lost in the Last 32 of the Shanghai Masters to Ryan Day. Robertson has always been in the group with Murphy and Selby for me that could all easily win multiple ranking titles a season, and that is something they all seem to be starting to do now - like in the Golf where Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day are dominant players that can win three big tournaments a year. Robertson is very much like McIlroy in that he may not be in great form all year round but when he is in form he's too hot for anyone to handle.
Quarter Choice: Neil Robertson
Winner Selection: Shaun Murphy
That completes the analysis ahead of the European Masters next week, but if you have missed anything from earlier in the week it's not too late to take a look.
This was the "Tournament Top Ten" from Friday:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/european-masters-tournament-top-ten.html
Meanwhile, here is the "Stat Attack" from Saturday: http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/european-masters-stat-attack.html
Next up on the blog will be updates through the weeks snooker and build-up for the English Open in Manchester which directly follows next week after the action in Romania.
That completes the analysis ahead of the European Masters next week, but if you have missed anything from earlier in the week it's not too late to take a look.
This was the "Tournament Top Ten" from Friday:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/european-masters-tournament-top-ten.html
Meanwhile, here is the "Stat Attack" from Saturday: http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/european-masters-stat-attack.html
Next up on the blog will be updates through the weeks snooker and build-up for the English Open in Manchester which directly follows next week after the action in Romania.
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