Hossein Vafei has beaten defending China Open champion Judd Trump 5-3 in the quarter-finals to move into the last four and complete his best ever ranking event performance, and there could yet be more to come.
The win also moves Hossein into the top 64 on the provisional end of season rankings, meaning that he would stay on tour without having to go back to £0 and start afresh with a new two year card, if he can stay out. The Iranian made two centuries, one in frame four to lead 3-1 and the other in frame seven to re-take the lead at 4-3, after Trump had pegged him back.
Home favourite Ding Junhui was also shown the exit as Kyren Wilson took him apart 5-1. Wilson won four frames in a row from 1-1 to complete victory, with the key frame seemingly being the fifth following the interval. A very nice clearance from Wilson saw him steal it on the black, to stop Ding getting back to 2-3 and instead move 4-1 ahead, a massive difference over the best-of-9 frames.
Wilson will now take on the world champion Mark Selby, as he ended Stephen Maguire's hopes of returning to the top 16 and qualifying automatically for the world championships. Maguire needed to win the tournament, and a victory here would have been massive to achieving that but it was not to be for the Scot who did have his fair share of chances. Big chances in frame two and frame three came and went, and Maguire could and probably should have won both of them but having also lost the opener, found himself 3-0 adrift. Maguire just about managed to hang on and take the fourth to get on the board, but breaks of 76 and 72 after the break from Selby were enough to seal a 5-1 win.
The final man that can steal the 16th automatic Crucible qualification spot from Ryan Day is fellow Welshman Mark Williams. The two time world champion came back from 4-1 down yesterday against John Higgins to keep his hopes alive, and today he strengthened those hopes with a 5-1 win against Shaun Murphy. Murphy took the opener, and looked in control in the second until missing a relatively simple red. Despite it being early in the match that may have proved to be the turning point as Williams won that frame and then stole the next on the black. He took control by dominating the fourth to lead 3-1 at the break, and Murphy could not muster a comeback on this occasion as Williams controlled frame five and completed victory with the help of a 52 break in the sixth.
Semi-Finals Draw:
Mark Williams Vs Hossein Vafei
Mark Selby Vs Kyren Wilson
Hossein Vafei has been the surprise package of the week, getting to his first semi-final and beating Joe Perry and Judd Trump along the way. In the process he has climbed into the top 64 which is a great effort considering how unlikely that has looked at times for him. He has played very well and seems to score heavily every time I see him. By no means is this going to be an easy ride for Mark Williams over the best-of-11 frames, just because it is the Iranian's first major semi-final.
Mark Williams will be desperate to win the event now, having made it this far. Taking the title would mean he avoids having to go to Ponds Forge and would steal the sixteenth automatic Crucible seeding but that is still far from easy from here. The stats would show that he has still not been scoring heavily, in fact his highest break (and only break above 50) against Shaun Murphy was a 52 in the final frame. Hossein seemed unfazed playing on the TV against Trump and showed what it meant to beat him at the end with a big celebration. If he can come back down from that win then there is no reason why he could not add Williams to his list of scalps.
In the second semi-final, Kyren Wilson has gone relatively under the radar to this point, having only been on TV once but he has found his form at the right time. Convincing wins over Stuart Bingham and Ding Junhui in the last two rounds will certainly give him a lot of confidence to take on Selby. Wilson's only ranking title has come in China, while his only other ranking final was against Anthony McGill in India this season, so he clearly enjoys playing in Asia. The only time he and Selby have played since that breakthrough win in Shanghai, was at last years world championships in the quarter-finals, where Selby won 13-8. Selby got off to a flying start in that game, and to avoid defeat over a much shorter format by comparison, Wilson cannot let that happen again.
Mark Selby has gone about his business pretty well this week. Important steals against Maguire today made that a much easier afternoon than it might have been. He was able to scrap over the line against Andrew Higginson in the last 16 when he could not repeat the heavy scoring form of his first two or three matches against easier option. A top player is yet to stand up to him this week, it could have been Maguire today, but I am sure Wilson will give him a much closer game having showed the abundance of confidence and big match nerve that he has in the past 18 months or so.
It is very much an exciting end to the week with plenty of big stories, and one not to be missed.
Friday, 31 March 2017
Thursday, 30 March 2017
Judd Trump makes 147 break as his China Open defence continues
Judd Trump continued his incredible form today in Beijing, as he made a maximum 147 break on the way to a 5-3 win over Tian Pengfei, seeing him into the quarter-finals. The defending champions big moment in frame five after the mid-session interval on the way to a 4-1 lead, and after a mini revival from his Chinese opponent he was able to get over the line in frame eight for victory.
Meanwhile, the last remaining Chinese player in the tournament is the Chinese number 1 himself, Ding Junhui after he dug in against Mark Joyce. Joyce beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-4 yesterday, and started strongly in this match taking an early 2-0 lead. Ding pegged him back to all square at 2-2 going into the interval, but Joyce led again at 3-2. In the end though, breaks of 62, 64 and 73 in the final three frames saw Ding turn it around as he proved just too strong in this 5-3 triumph.
There was also trouble for the world number one Mark Selby as he had to fight hard for his quarter-final spot, overcoming Andrew Higginson 5-4. Like Joyce, Higginson led 2-0 with breaks of 61 and 63, only for Selby to pull the match back to 2-2 at the interval, after winning a close fourth frame that seemed key at the time. Selby went ahead for the first time at 3-2, only for Higginson to take the next two frames and move one away from victory at 4-3. Chances came and went for the Widnes man in the last two frames, and the frustration showed as the world champion picked up the pieces.
Mark Williams kept his faint hopes of automatic world championship qualification alive with a comeback win against John Higgins. Williams needs to win the tournament to climb back into the top 16 and he certainly looked down and out at one stage in this match. When the Scot took a tight fifth frame on the black, it extended his lead to 4-1 and he was in full control. From here though, he only scored another 27 points in the match as he squandered another big lead, following an exit in the Players Championship 5-4 to Ding in a match he had led 4-0. Impressive fighting spirit from the Welshman saw him pile on the misery for Higgins with breaks of 60, 66 and 79 in the final three frames to complete the revival.
Williams will now meet Shaun Murphy who continued on his untroubled way through the draw so far, having only dropped four frames in three matches thus far. Today's win came 5-1 against another Welshman in Michael White.
Stephen Maguire's similarly low chances of automatic Crucible qualification are still going as he eased past Daniel Wells 5-1. He is in the same boat as Mark Williams, needing a tournament win to regain his top 16 ranking.
Kyren Wilson completed a 5-2 victory against Stuart Bingham with a match high break of 85, while Hossein Vafei Ayouri is on another strong run, with a 5-3 marathon win against Rory McLeod clinching his place in the last eight.
Quarter-Final Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Shaun Murphy Vs Mark Williams
Ding Junhui Vs Kyren Wilson
Mark Selby Vs Stephen Maguire
Trump is playing so well, as his maximum today reiterated, and Hossein will probably not provide the opposition strong enough to beat him tomorrow. Also against the Iranian will be the fact that none of his matches have been on the TV, and his last couple have been lengthy affairs at that, while Trump has been on one of the two main tables for every game and it does make a difference at this level.
Shaun Murphy against Mark Williams could be a close contest. When they played recently in Gibraltar it went to a decider over the best-of-7 frames and I think it could go either way. Williams dug in well today against Higgins which will give him confidence, while Murphy has scored heavily this week so far and completed some easy enough victories. The form and scoring of this week and weeks previous may just favour Murphy on this occasion if he can keep it up.
Ding Junhui has been going really strongly this week, and in a similar vein to Trump and Ayouri, it is worth noting that Ding has had each of his four matches this week (with the hold over match) on the main table and Wilson has been on the outside for his three games. Wilson has been playing well though having defeated Bingham and coming through a quality contest against Xiao Guodong already. He knows what it takes to beat Ding on the big stage in China, having done so at this stage of the 2015 Shanghai Masters when he ran out the eventual winner. His form leading up to Beijing may not have been the best but that has not stopped him, though his biggest challenge here may be keeping up with Ding's heavy scoring if the home favourite is at his strongest.
Finally, there is the small matter of the world champion Mark Selby against the 2008 China Open winner Stephen Maguire. Maguire continued his fine form this week, backing the two centuries against Li Hang in the last 32 up with another against Daniel Wells in the last 16. Mark Selby was a lucky boy today because Higginson could, and probably should, have sent him home. The last couple of times these two have played on the big stage, it was Maguire who took the spoils and if his major strength of heavy scoring carries on, he may add another win to that list. His form in China, as I have repeated all week, has appeared stronger in China over recent times and he is not even playing as well as he did when he flew into the Shanghai Masters semi-finals in September.
These quarter-finals remain over the best-of-9 frames to set-up the line-up for the semi-finals when the tournament will get down to one table over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the last remaining Chinese player in the tournament is the Chinese number 1 himself, Ding Junhui after he dug in against Mark Joyce. Joyce beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-4 yesterday, and started strongly in this match taking an early 2-0 lead. Ding pegged him back to all square at 2-2 going into the interval, but Joyce led again at 3-2. In the end though, breaks of 62, 64 and 73 in the final three frames saw Ding turn it around as he proved just too strong in this 5-3 triumph.
There was also trouble for the world number one Mark Selby as he had to fight hard for his quarter-final spot, overcoming Andrew Higginson 5-4. Like Joyce, Higginson led 2-0 with breaks of 61 and 63, only for Selby to pull the match back to 2-2 at the interval, after winning a close fourth frame that seemed key at the time. Selby went ahead for the first time at 3-2, only for Higginson to take the next two frames and move one away from victory at 4-3. Chances came and went for the Widnes man in the last two frames, and the frustration showed as the world champion picked up the pieces.
Mark Williams kept his faint hopes of automatic world championship qualification alive with a comeback win against John Higgins. Williams needs to win the tournament to climb back into the top 16 and he certainly looked down and out at one stage in this match. When the Scot took a tight fifth frame on the black, it extended his lead to 4-1 and he was in full control. From here though, he only scored another 27 points in the match as he squandered another big lead, following an exit in the Players Championship 5-4 to Ding in a match he had led 4-0. Impressive fighting spirit from the Welshman saw him pile on the misery for Higgins with breaks of 60, 66 and 79 in the final three frames to complete the revival.
Williams will now meet Shaun Murphy who continued on his untroubled way through the draw so far, having only dropped four frames in three matches thus far. Today's win came 5-1 against another Welshman in Michael White.
Stephen Maguire's similarly low chances of automatic Crucible qualification are still going as he eased past Daniel Wells 5-1. He is in the same boat as Mark Williams, needing a tournament win to regain his top 16 ranking.
Kyren Wilson completed a 5-2 victory against Stuart Bingham with a match high break of 85, while Hossein Vafei Ayouri is on another strong run, with a 5-3 marathon win against Rory McLeod clinching his place in the last eight.
Quarter-Final Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Shaun Murphy Vs Mark Williams
Ding Junhui Vs Kyren Wilson
Mark Selby Vs Stephen Maguire
Trump is playing so well, as his maximum today reiterated, and Hossein will probably not provide the opposition strong enough to beat him tomorrow. Also against the Iranian will be the fact that none of his matches have been on the TV, and his last couple have been lengthy affairs at that, while Trump has been on one of the two main tables for every game and it does make a difference at this level.
Shaun Murphy against Mark Williams could be a close contest. When they played recently in Gibraltar it went to a decider over the best-of-7 frames and I think it could go either way. Williams dug in well today against Higgins which will give him confidence, while Murphy has scored heavily this week so far and completed some easy enough victories. The form and scoring of this week and weeks previous may just favour Murphy on this occasion if he can keep it up.
Ding Junhui has been going really strongly this week, and in a similar vein to Trump and Ayouri, it is worth noting that Ding has had each of his four matches this week (with the hold over match) on the main table and Wilson has been on the outside for his three games. Wilson has been playing well though having defeated Bingham and coming through a quality contest against Xiao Guodong already. He knows what it takes to beat Ding on the big stage in China, having done so at this stage of the 2015 Shanghai Masters when he ran out the eventual winner. His form leading up to Beijing may not have been the best but that has not stopped him, though his biggest challenge here may be keeping up with Ding's heavy scoring if the home favourite is at his strongest.
Finally, there is the small matter of the world champion Mark Selby against the 2008 China Open winner Stephen Maguire. Maguire continued his fine form this week, backing the two centuries against Li Hang in the last 32 up with another against Daniel Wells in the last 16. Mark Selby was a lucky boy today because Higginson could, and probably should, have sent him home. The last couple of times these two have played on the big stage, it was Maguire who took the spoils and if his major strength of heavy scoring carries on, he may add another win to that list. His form in China, as I have repeated all week, has appeared stronger in China over recent times and he is not even playing as well as he did when he flew into the Shanghai Masters semi-finals in September.
These quarter-finals remain over the best-of-9 frames to set-up the line-up for the semi-finals when the tournament will get down to one table over the weekend.
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Mark Joyce sends Ronnie O'Sullivan out of the China Open
Mark Joyce has beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 32 of the China Open, to send one of the favourites home for the biggest shock of day three. Once again though, defending champion Judd Trump and World Champion Mark Selby made it through with comfort.
Despite two centuries from O'Sullivan, Joyce scored heavily making a break of 137 to win the seventh frame and give him a 4-3 advantage before he eventually won the match in a tense decider.
Mark Selby made another century break on the way to a simple 5-1 win over Martin O'Donnell, putting the World Champion into the last 16. Judd Trump went one better as he overcame Eden Sharav 5-0, despite not repeating his heavy scoring from the first two days.
Home favourite Ding Junhui was also a 5-0 winner, beating fellow Chinese player Zhou Yuelong with two century breaks as he also continued his dominant start to the week. Shaun Murphy added another century to his three from the last 64 on the way to a 5-1 win against Gary Wilson, while John Higgins beat Mark Davis 5-2 and Mark Williams was also a 5-2 winner against Michael Holt.
There was an exit though for Ali Carter who lost out 5-3 Michael White in a closely fought encounter. As for qualifying for the World Championships, Martin Gould will now be heading to Ponds Forge for a potential three matches of qualifying after he fell 5-3 against Tian Pengfei. So will Ricky Walden, who needed to make the final this week to get back into the top 16, after he surrendered a 4-1 advantage to lose 5-4 against Andrew Higginson.
Last 32 Results:
Judd Trump 5-0 Eden Sharav
Tian Pengfei 5-3 Martin Gould
Rory McLeod 5-3 Mike Dunn
Hossein Vafei Ayouri 5-4 Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Gary Wilson
Michael White 5-3 Ali Carter
Mark Williams 5-2 Michael Holt
John Higgins 5-2 Mark Davis
Stuart Bingham 5-2 Noppon Saengkham
Kyren Wilson 5-2 Sanderson Lam
Mark Joyce 5-4 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ding Junhui 5-0 Zhou Yuelong
Daniel Wells 5-2 Matthew Stevens
Stephen Maguire 5-3 Li Hang
Andrew Higginson 5-4 Ricky Walden
Mark Selby 5-1 Martin O'Donnell
Last 16 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Tian Pengfei
Rory McLeod Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Shaun Murphy Vs Michael White
John Higgins Vs Mark Williams
Stuart Bingham Vs Kyren Wilson
Ding Junhui Vs Mark Joyce
Stephen Maguire Vs Daniel Wells
Mark Selby Vs Andrew Higginson
Judd Trump is still flying having only dropped one frame across three matches this week and I expect him to breeze through against Tian Pengfei tomorrow as well. Hossein Vafei Ayouri has had two impressive victories over Joe Perry and Ben Woollaston and seems to be in great form. His opponent Rory McLeod played well to beat Liang Wenbo in round one and is no easy opponent so that should still be a close encounter.
Shaun Murphy and Michael White could be similarly close with both players scoring very well. They each made three centuries in the last 64, while White has already seen off Ali Carter this week so he must be in good form. John Higgins has looked very strong in his two matches so far, and I think he will overcome Mark Williams who looks like having to go to World Championship qualifying after his slip down the rankings.
In the bottom half, Stuart Bingham has not had too many problems yet, while Kyren Wilson saw off a tricky Sanderson Lam in the last 32 - with Lam seeming to get in first in most of the frames I saw on live scores. That could be another close encounter. Ding Junhui has been scoring very heavily and how close this match becomes may come down to whether Joyce can come back up after the O'Sullivan win.
Stephen Maguire proved the point I continue to make about his form in China, as he made two centuries against Li Hang and he will be very tough for Daniel Wells to beat in the last 16. Wells beat Stevens 5-2 in a match where the highest break from either player was a 51 from Stevens (the only 50+ contribution of the game). Mark Selby has also been in great shape this week and he is certainly the favourite in this final quarter. He know plays escape artist Andrew Higginson who came from 4-1 behind against Ricky Walden, as well as being quite a few points behind in frame seven and 47 points adrift in the deciding frame.
Despite two centuries from O'Sullivan, Joyce scored heavily making a break of 137 to win the seventh frame and give him a 4-3 advantage before he eventually won the match in a tense decider.
Mark Selby made another century break on the way to a simple 5-1 win over Martin O'Donnell, putting the World Champion into the last 16. Judd Trump went one better as he overcame Eden Sharav 5-0, despite not repeating his heavy scoring from the first two days.
Home favourite Ding Junhui was also a 5-0 winner, beating fellow Chinese player Zhou Yuelong with two century breaks as he also continued his dominant start to the week. Shaun Murphy added another century to his three from the last 64 on the way to a 5-1 win against Gary Wilson, while John Higgins beat Mark Davis 5-2 and Mark Williams was also a 5-2 winner against Michael Holt.
There was an exit though for Ali Carter who lost out 5-3 Michael White in a closely fought encounter. As for qualifying for the World Championships, Martin Gould will now be heading to Ponds Forge for a potential three matches of qualifying after he fell 5-3 against Tian Pengfei. So will Ricky Walden, who needed to make the final this week to get back into the top 16, after he surrendered a 4-1 advantage to lose 5-4 against Andrew Higginson.
Last 32 Results:
Judd Trump 5-0 Eden Sharav
Tian Pengfei 5-3 Martin Gould
Rory McLeod 5-3 Mike Dunn
Hossein Vafei Ayouri 5-4 Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Gary Wilson
Michael White 5-3 Ali Carter
Mark Williams 5-2 Michael Holt
John Higgins 5-2 Mark Davis
Stuart Bingham 5-2 Noppon Saengkham
Kyren Wilson 5-2 Sanderson Lam
Mark Joyce 5-4 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ding Junhui 5-0 Zhou Yuelong
Daniel Wells 5-2 Matthew Stevens
Stephen Maguire 5-3 Li Hang
Andrew Higginson 5-4 Ricky Walden
Mark Selby 5-1 Martin O'Donnell
Last 16 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Tian Pengfei
Rory McLeod Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Shaun Murphy Vs Michael White
John Higgins Vs Mark Williams
Stuart Bingham Vs Kyren Wilson
Ding Junhui Vs Mark Joyce
Stephen Maguire Vs Daniel Wells
Mark Selby Vs Andrew Higginson
Judd Trump is still flying having only dropped one frame across three matches this week and I expect him to breeze through against Tian Pengfei tomorrow as well. Hossein Vafei Ayouri has had two impressive victories over Joe Perry and Ben Woollaston and seems to be in great form. His opponent Rory McLeod played well to beat Liang Wenbo in round one and is no easy opponent so that should still be a close encounter.
Shaun Murphy and Michael White could be similarly close with both players scoring very well. They each made three centuries in the last 64, while White has already seen off Ali Carter this week so he must be in good form. John Higgins has looked very strong in his two matches so far, and I think he will overcome Mark Williams who looks like having to go to World Championship qualifying after his slip down the rankings.
In the bottom half, Stuart Bingham has not had too many problems yet, while Kyren Wilson saw off a tricky Sanderson Lam in the last 32 - with Lam seeming to get in first in most of the frames I saw on live scores. That could be another close encounter. Ding Junhui has been scoring very heavily and how close this match becomes may come down to whether Joyce can come back up after the O'Sullivan win.
Stephen Maguire proved the point I continue to make about his form in China, as he made two centuries against Li Hang and he will be very tough for Daniel Wells to beat in the last 16. Wells beat Stevens 5-2 in a match where the highest break from either player was a 51 from Stevens (the only 50+ contribution of the game). Mark Selby has also been in great shape this week and he is certainly the favourite in this final quarter. He know plays escape artist Andrew Higginson who came from 4-1 behind against Ricky Walden, as well as being quite a few points behind in frame seven and 47 points adrift in the deciding frame.
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Selby, O'Sullivan, Trump and Ding amongst the Last 32 at the China Open
Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby and Ding Junhui all recorded whitewash wins in the Last 64 of the China Open in Beijing on Tuesday, while Judd Trump continued his form with a 5-1 win over Ashley Hugill.
There was drama for Selby and Ding in their heldover games on day one. Selby was 2-0 down to Adam Stefanow before coming through, while Ding Junhui was docked a frame for a logo dispute in his win over Sean O'Sullivan.
On day two, Gareth Allen received a thrashing from O'Sullivan, while Alfie Burden and Paul Davison were the respective victims for Selby and Ding. However, there was an exit for one of the other Chinese favourites as Liang Wenbo succumbed to Rory McLeod in the Last 64.
Xiao Guodong lost out 5-3 to Kyren Wilson, while Zhou Yuelong overcame Matt Selt to set up a Last 32 meeting with Ding on Wednesday. There are two other remaining home players in the Last 32 as Tian Pengfei upset the odds to beat Anthony McGill 5-2, and Li Hang came through despite a spirited fightback from Aditya Mehta.
The scoring over the course of the first two days has also been very heavy. Shaun Murphy made three century breaks on the way to victory in the very first session of the week against Allan Taylor. Michael White also made three in his win over Yu De Lu. Judd Trump made two centuries against Ashley Hugill to go with three more that he had made in his heldover match with Jason Weston.
Joining the century club with at least one in the Last 64 were: Rory McLeod, Ben Woollaston, Gary Wilson, Zhang Anda (with a break of 140 in the only frame he got on the scoreboard against Mark Williams), David Gilbert (also in a losing effort, Martin O'Donnell (with two centuries), Ricky Walden, both Kyren Wilson and Xiao Guodong (who were playing each other), as well as Rhys Clark, Mark Joyce, Aditya Mehta, Ding Jumhui and Mark Selby.
There was an end to the hopes of automatic World Championships qualification for Joe Perry, as he lost 5-2 to Hossein Vafei Ayouri. The defeat means Perry, who was 17th in the provisional seedings before the tournament, will have to win three matches to make the Crucible. Martin Gould kept his hopes alive but he still needs to make the semi-finals, while Ricky Walden must make the final and tournament wins are required for Stephen Maguire, Michael Holt and Mark Williams (with Williams and Holt meeting in the Last 32).
Last 64 Results:
Judd Trump 5-1 Ashley Hugill
Eden Sharav 5-0 Ross Muir
Tian Pengfei 5-2 Anthony McGill
Marin Gould 5-1 Fan Zhengyi
Mike Dunn 5-3 Andy Hicks
Rory McLeod 5-2 Liang Wenbo
Ben Woollaston 5-3 Kurt Maflin
Hossein Vafei Ayouri 5-2 Joe Perry
Shaun Murphy 5-2 Allan Taylor
Gary Wilson 5-3 Graeme Dott
Michael White 5-3 Yu De Lu
Ali Carter 5-0 Stuart Carrington
Mark Williams 5-1 Zhang Anda
Michael Holt 5-3 Jimmy White
Mark Davis 5-4 Rhys Clark
John Higgins 5-1 Ian Burns
Stuart Bingham 5-3 Scott Donaldson
Noppon Saengkham 5-3 Robert Milkins
Kyren Wilson 5-3 Xiao Guodong
Sanderson Lam 5-4 Mark King
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-0 Gareth Allen
Mark Joyce 5-4 Fraser Patrick
Zhou Yuelong 5-1 Matt Selt
Ding Junhui 5-0 Paul Davison
Daniel Wells 5-3 Jamie Cope
Matthew Stevens 5-1 Alan McManus
Li Hang 5-4 Aditya Mehta
Stephen Maguire 5-3 Fergal O'Brien
Ricky Walden 5-1 Niu Zhuang
Andrew Higginson 5-3 David Gilbert
Martin O'Donnell 5-0 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Selby 5-0 Alfie Burden
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Eden Sharav
Martin Gould Vs Tian Pengfei
Mike Dunn Vs Rory McLeod
Ben Woollaston Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Shaun Murphy Vs Gary Wilson
Ali Carter Vs Michael White
Mark Williams Vs Michael Holt
John Higgins Vs Mark Davis
Stuart Bingham Vs Noppon Saengkham
Kyren Wilson Vs Sanderson Lam
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mark Joyce
Ding Junhui Vs Zhou Yuelong
Matthew Stevens Vs Daniel Wells
Stephen Maguire Vs Li Hang
Ricky Walden Vs Andrew Higginson
Mark Selby Vs Martin O'Donnell
With the good standard set by some of the top players in round one I would expect that to continue in the Last 32. Judd Trump is in excellent form, while Selby and Ding are scoring very well, as is Shaun Murphy. Michael White played very well in round one and it was a tough call to go against him in the match with Carter, but for me Carter has the tactical edge. Kyren Wilson looked to play well against Xiao Guodong based on the breaks he made there against a tough opponent. Ricky Walden's lower back complaints are a worry for him, though he has said he is feeling a little better.
Andrew Higginson scored an impressive win against David Gilbert and is much better than his ranking would tell you, and I think he has a good chance against Walden. Based upon his posture it is no surprise that he gets lower back problems, though there was also mention of a shoulder injury from the the recent past in the interview he conducted for World Snooker after his match today. As someone who is similarly tall and has issues with posture, I frequently get lower back pains, though there may have been another issue for Walden. I personally had a fall a couple of years ago that resulted in a trapped nerve in the neck that produced back shoulder, neck and back pain at the time and this is still something I suffer with on and off, so I sympathise with Walden because putting the hours of practice can be very difficult with injuries that have a direct effect on your ability to get down on the shot freely. Not only that but stretching for certain shots can be a pain.
Enough about injuries though, and back to the snooker. Stephen Maguire's China form appears to be better than his form in the UK and Europe lately so again it would not surprise me if he had a good run. His match today against Fergal O'Brien was always going to be a tough one so he must have played well to come through. The all Welsh clash with Daniel Wells and Matthew Stevens is an intriguing one. Both have had pretty good seasons, with Stevens sitting 38th on the provisional one season list, and Wells 43rd which is above their current two year ranking in both cases.
This should be another good day of snooker and I expect the standard of scoring to continue, the matches are all the best-of-9 frames. The top half of the draw all play in the session taking place at 7am UK time, while the bottom half of the draw compete at 12.30pm UK time to set up Thursday's Last 16.
There was drama for Selby and Ding in their heldover games on day one. Selby was 2-0 down to Adam Stefanow before coming through, while Ding Junhui was docked a frame for a logo dispute in his win over Sean O'Sullivan.
On day two, Gareth Allen received a thrashing from O'Sullivan, while Alfie Burden and Paul Davison were the respective victims for Selby and Ding. However, there was an exit for one of the other Chinese favourites as Liang Wenbo succumbed to Rory McLeod in the Last 64.
Xiao Guodong lost out 5-3 to Kyren Wilson, while Zhou Yuelong overcame Matt Selt to set up a Last 32 meeting with Ding on Wednesday. There are two other remaining home players in the Last 32 as Tian Pengfei upset the odds to beat Anthony McGill 5-2, and Li Hang came through despite a spirited fightback from Aditya Mehta.
The scoring over the course of the first two days has also been very heavy. Shaun Murphy made three century breaks on the way to victory in the very first session of the week against Allan Taylor. Michael White also made three in his win over Yu De Lu. Judd Trump made two centuries against Ashley Hugill to go with three more that he had made in his heldover match with Jason Weston.
Joining the century club with at least one in the Last 64 were: Rory McLeod, Ben Woollaston, Gary Wilson, Zhang Anda (with a break of 140 in the only frame he got on the scoreboard against Mark Williams), David Gilbert (also in a losing effort, Martin O'Donnell (with two centuries), Ricky Walden, both Kyren Wilson and Xiao Guodong (who were playing each other), as well as Rhys Clark, Mark Joyce, Aditya Mehta, Ding Jumhui and Mark Selby.
There was an end to the hopes of automatic World Championships qualification for Joe Perry, as he lost 5-2 to Hossein Vafei Ayouri. The defeat means Perry, who was 17th in the provisional seedings before the tournament, will have to win three matches to make the Crucible. Martin Gould kept his hopes alive but he still needs to make the semi-finals, while Ricky Walden must make the final and tournament wins are required for Stephen Maguire, Michael Holt and Mark Williams (with Williams and Holt meeting in the Last 32).
Last 64 Results:
Judd Trump 5-1 Ashley Hugill
Eden Sharav 5-0 Ross Muir
Tian Pengfei 5-2 Anthony McGill
Marin Gould 5-1 Fan Zhengyi
Mike Dunn 5-3 Andy Hicks
Rory McLeod 5-2 Liang Wenbo
Ben Woollaston 5-3 Kurt Maflin
Hossein Vafei Ayouri 5-2 Joe Perry
Shaun Murphy 5-2 Allan Taylor
Gary Wilson 5-3 Graeme Dott
Michael White 5-3 Yu De Lu
Ali Carter 5-0 Stuart Carrington
Mark Williams 5-1 Zhang Anda
Michael Holt 5-3 Jimmy White
Mark Davis 5-4 Rhys Clark
John Higgins 5-1 Ian Burns
Stuart Bingham 5-3 Scott Donaldson
Noppon Saengkham 5-3 Robert Milkins
Kyren Wilson 5-3 Xiao Guodong
Sanderson Lam 5-4 Mark King
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-0 Gareth Allen
Mark Joyce 5-4 Fraser Patrick
Zhou Yuelong 5-1 Matt Selt
Ding Junhui 5-0 Paul Davison
Daniel Wells 5-3 Jamie Cope
Matthew Stevens 5-1 Alan McManus
Li Hang 5-4 Aditya Mehta
Stephen Maguire 5-3 Fergal O'Brien
Ricky Walden 5-1 Niu Zhuang
Andrew Higginson 5-3 David Gilbert
Martin O'Donnell 5-0 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Selby 5-0 Alfie Burden
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Eden Sharav
Martin Gould Vs Tian Pengfei
Mike Dunn Vs Rory McLeod
Ben Woollaston Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Shaun Murphy Vs Gary Wilson
Ali Carter Vs Michael White
Mark Williams Vs Michael Holt
John Higgins Vs Mark Davis
Stuart Bingham Vs Noppon Saengkham
Kyren Wilson Vs Sanderson Lam
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mark Joyce
Ding Junhui Vs Zhou Yuelong
Matthew Stevens Vs Daniel Wells
Stephen Maguire Vs Li Hang
Ricky Walden Vs Andrew Higginson
Mark Selby Vs Martin O'Donnell
With the good standard set by some of the top players in round one I would expect that to continue in the Last 32. Judd Trump is in excellent form, while Selby and Ding are scoring very well, as is Shaun Murphy. Michael White played very well in round one and it was a tough call to go against him in the match with Carter, but for me Carter has the tactical edge. Kyren Wilson looked to play well against Xiao Guodong based on the breaks he made there against a tough opponent. Ricky Walden's lower back complaints are a worry for him, though he has said he is feeling a little better.
Andrew Higginson scored an impressive win against David Gilbert and is much better than his ranking would tell you, and I think he has a good chance against Walden. Based upon his posture it is no surprise that he gets lower back problems, though there was also mention of a shoulder injury from the the recent past in the interview he conducted for World Snooker after his match today. As someone who is similarly tall and has issues with posture, I frequently get lower back pains, though there may have been another issue for Walden. I personally had a fall a couple of years ago that resulted in a trapped nerve in the neck that produced back shoulder, neck and back pain at the time and this is still something I suffer with on and off, so I sympathise with Walden because putting the hours of practice can be very difficult with injuries that have a direct effect on your ability to get down on the shot freely. Not only that but stretching for certain shots can be a pain.
Enough about injuries though, and back to the snooker. Stephen Maguire's China form appears to be better than his form in the UK and Europe lately so again it would not surprise me if he had a good run. His match today against Fergal O'Brien was always going to be a tough one so he must have played well to come through. The all Welsh clash with Daniel Wells and Matthew Stevens is an intriguing one. Both have had pretty good seasons, with Stevens sitting 38th on the provisional one season list, and Wells 43rd which is above their current two year ranking in both cases.
This should be another good day of snooker and I expect the standard of scoring to continue, the matches are all the best-of-9 frames. The top half of the draw all play in the session taking place at 7am UK time, while the bottom half of the draw compete at 12.30pm UK time to set up Thursday's Last 16.
Saturday, 25 March 2017
China Open Preview
After a two week break on the World Snooker circuit, attentions turn firmly to the race to the World Championships as the final qualifying event arrives, the China Open.
Judd Trump is the defending champion here in Beijing with him, Mark Selby and the top two Chinese players Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo having their Last 128 matches held over. They are the lucky four that did not have to pre qualify in Barnsley all the way back in January, but there are a much more unlucky triio who have been drawn to play wildcard players before they can get going in the Last 64. Those with the banana skin to avoid are Jimmy White, Li Hang and Alex Borg. Robbie Williams was also due to play a wildcard player, but he has withdrawn through illness and Fan Zhengyi will now go straight into the Last 64.
There are a few top players who get to have the extra time to prepare for the World Championships. Neil Robertson has decided to give the China Open a miss, while Mark Allen missed the entry deadline for qualifiers, something that his Twitter followers will certainly remember. Meanwhile, Marco Fu and Barry Hawkins both failed to qualify, though that may play into their hands with greater preparation time for Sheffield.
Ryan Day has also failed to qualify for the China Open which could prove hugely significant. He is currently 16th on the provisional seedings for the World Championships, meaning he is holding the last automatic qualifying spot. Everyone below him would have to play three qualifying matches to make the Crucible, but there are still plenty of players that can catch him.
Joe Perry - Must reach the semi-finals
Martin Gould - Must reach the semi-finals
David Gilbert - Must reach at least the final
Mark King - Must reach at least the final
Ricky Walden - Must reach at least the final
Michael Holt - Must win the tournament
Mark Williams - Must win the tournament
Alan McManus - Must win the tournament
Stephen Maguire - Must win the tournament
Martin Gould - Must reach the semi-finals
David Gilbert - Must reach at least the final
Mark King - Must reach at least the final
Ricky Walden - Must reach at least the final
Michael Holt - Must win the tournament
Mark Williams - Must win the tournament
Alan McManus - Must win the tournament
Stephen Maguire - Must win the tournament
There is also the pressing matter of those battling for tour survival, and there are plenty of players involved in that battle who have qualified for Beijing. Here are some of the guys who have qualified and where they stand on the Provisional end of season list:
60 - Li Hang - £53,575
64 - Daniel Wells - £51,512
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65 - Gary Wilson - £50,362
66 - Ross Muir - £47,150
68 - Noppon Saengkham - £41,550
73 - Jamie Cope - £39,125
60 - Li Hang - £53,575
64 - Daniel Wells - £51,512
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65 - Gary Wilson - £50,362
66 - Ross Muir - £47,150
68 - Noppon Saengkham - £41,550
73 - Jamie Cope - £39,125
Crucially, 63rd on the provisional end of season list is Scott Donaldson. Donaldson is on the first year of a two year tour card so will not drop off of the tour in the event that he finished in 65th or below, but if he finishes 64th or above as he is projected to it would essentially relegate an extra player, by taking that spot unexpectedly.
Also, the top 8 players on this seasons money list who are not in the top 64 at the end of season will get a fresh two year tour card. Here is that list as it stands (based on the provisional end of season list) with players in red that are not qualified for China.
1 - Gary Wilson - £30,887
2 - Akani Songsermsawad - £25,500
3 - Rhys Clark - £24,425
4 - Hossein Vafei Ayouri - £23,000
5 - Ross Muir - £23,000
6 - Nigel Bond - £21,500
7 - Allan Taylor - £20,237
8 - Rod Lawler - £19,712
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Jimmy White - £19,525
Noppon Saengkham - £18,050
Eden Sharav - £17,025
Andy Hicks - £16,050 (Hicks is not currently on tour but is still entitled to re-earn his tour card by this route.
Again there is a key note on this that Robin Hull (62nd on the provisional end of season list) who is not in Beijing, is above Gary Wilson and the other players on the provisional season rankings and would take one of these spots if he were to drop outside of the 64. The same applies to provisional 64th on the end of season list Daniel Wells.
Now that we know who to keep a keen eye on, here is how the draw shapes up for the coming week.
Quarter 1
Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump/Jason Weston Vs Ashley Hugill
Ross Muir Vs Eden Sharav
Anthony McGill Vs Tian Pengfei
Martin Gould Vs Fan Zhengyi
Mike Dunn Vs Andy Hicks
Liang Wenbo/Itaro Santos Vs Rory McLeod
Ben Woollaston Vs Kurt Maflin
Joe Perry Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Anthony McGill is certainly an interesting one to watch in this quarter. He had a solid start to the season, and will now be looking for some good preparation for another good run at the Crucible. Winning the Shoot-Out has secured his top 16 seeding for the World Championships, and this had had a big effect on certain others. Joe Perry is provisional 17th seed and he needs to win this quarter in order to make the World Championships without going to qualifiers. The draw is not the easiest for Perry to advance either, but if he can perform as he did at the start of the season in the World Open he has a good chance. Martin Gould is also chasing an automatic Crucible spot and also needing to win this quarter to do so. He starts off against a wildcard player, but has a possible Last 32 meeting with McGill and a potential Last 16 with Judd Trump so it will certainly be a tough route for him to secure this. Liang Wenbo is one of the home favourites and he has the extra match to play this week, not that this will be a problem against Itaro Santos. His form has not been the best after early exits in Cardiff and Gibraltar, but he could well have a strong run this week to take some positives to the Crucible.
My opening quarter choice then is Judd Trump, the two time China Open winner. Trump has been the star of the season and is certainly one of the favourites for the World Championship this year. Once again, the early rounds this week should be easy enough for Trump in the form he is in, and unless someone plays really well against him I cannot see him being beaten easily. A winner at the Players Championship, he also made the final of the Gibraltar Open and the Welsh Open, which is showing a great deal more consistency from Trump. His consistency over the season is one of the signs for me that he is taking his game to the next level. As for this week, he has particularly strong record in China having won the tournament twice in six years. For me he is by far the strongest player in this section, and I do not see him taking the foot off of the gas before the big one in April.
Quarter Choice: Judd Trump
Quarter 2
Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Allan Taylor
Graeme Dott Vs Gary Wilson
Michael White Vs Yu De Lu
Ali Carter Vs Stuart Carrington
Michael Holt Vs Jimmy White/Li Yuan
Mark Williams Vs Zhang Anda
Mark Davis Vs Rhys Clark
John Higgins Vs Ian Burns
Ali Carter is one of the hot contenders in this quarter, given his form this season with a recent semi-final at the Players Championship and a final at the German Masters. He seems to have struck the ball well for much of the season, which makes him a big contender for this week and a possible world championship contender. However, this week he has a very tough opening round tie with Stuart Carrington. Carrington impressed me with the statistics he displayed in my "Stat Attack" and he is someone who I think could breakthrough in the next year or two. His performances in Cardiff impressed me when I was watching him up close, and his scoring and manner amongst the reds was very impressive. Shaun Murphy has also found his form in recent weeks by winning the Gibraltar Open, and one thing that Murphy has never done is win one of the major Chinese titles in Beijing, Shanghai or at the International Championship. Having played well without getting the results in the first half of the season, winning in Gibraltar gives him something to show for the season. He would love to put that right this week, but again it is a very tough draw. He was very complimentary about Allan Taylor after their recent meeting in Gibraltar, while possible Last 32 matches with Graeme Dott, and a potential Last 16 tie with Carter (who beat him at the Players Championship) or Michael White show just one half of this quarter of death. Mark Williams is another top player in this quarter, though he needs a miracle to make it to the World Championships automatically. Only a tournament win here will do, and he has not looked like a tournament winner this season, and he has said similar in interviews and on social media.
That makes John Higgins the second quarter choice. Higgins was a winner at the China Championship back in November, and narrowly missed out in the International Championship quarter-finals. Last year in Beijing Higgins missed out in the semi-finals in a tight match with Ricky Walden and he will want to go one step further and regain his form ahead of the World Championships. In recent weeks he has had a few early exits, and disappointing losses. In the Players Championship he surrendered a 4-0 lead to lose 5-4 to Ding Junhui. In Gibraltar he exited in the Last 64 to Mark Allen and that followed first round exits in Cardiff and in the Grand Prix. However, he got some strong match practice as he won the Championship League, and he is too good to be kept down for a long period of time. After the brilliant form he showed before Christmas it is understandable that he has had a slight dip in the last couple of months, but now is the time of the season when he will want to step things back up again.
Quarter Choice: John Higgins
Quarter 3
Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Stuart Bingham Vs Scott Donaldson
Robert Milkins Vs Noppon Saengkham
Mark King Vs Sanderson Lam
Kyren Wilson Vs Xiao Guodong
Mark Joyce Vs Fraser Patrick
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Gareth Allen
Matt Selt Vs Zhou Yuelong
Ding Junhui/Sean O'Sullivan Vs Paul Davison
Stuart Bingham has impressed in China this season making the semi-finals of both the Shanghai Masters and International Championship as well as the China Championship final. His record in China is very impressive overall given the Asian Tour wins he collected over the years. As well as this his recent triumph at the Welsh Open will have removed a big weight, by getting a first big title since his 2015 World Championship win. Ronnie O'Sullivan will want to have a big run to take some positives to Sheffield for the World Championships, and given his general reluctance to go to China in recent years, I am surprised that he has entered this event. Early exits in Berlin and Cardiff since his Masters win have sent small alarm bells to his fans, given that he was a long way ahead in both matches that he lost to Mark King and Mark Davis.
Home favourite Ding Junhui therefore is the choice in this quarter. Ding Junhui always plays his best snooker in China, as a multiple winner of the Shanghai Masters, a title he won again this season, a multiple winner of this event and a former International champion. He also made the final of the international championship this season. He has had a very tough time personally in the new year that those in the snooker community will know about. There was a positive at the Players Championship when he turned his match against John Higgins around from 4-0 down and went on to make the semi-finals. The draw does not set up too badly for the Chinese number 1 and I feel that the 2014 champion will go very far this week and is a major contender to take the title once again here in Beijing, given his fantastic record on home soil, particularly in recent years.
Quarter Choice: Ding Junhui
Quarter 4
Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Daniel Wells Vs Jamie Cope
Alan McManus Vs Matthew Stevens
Stephen Maguire Vs Fergal O'Brien
Li Hang/Luo Honghao Vs Aditya Mehta
Ricky Walden Vs Alex Borg/Niu Zhuang
David Gilbert Vs Andrew Higginson
Jimmy Robertson Vs Martin O'Donnell
Mark Selby/Adam Stefanow Vs Alfie Burden
Mark Selby did not enter the China Open last year ahead of his second world title win, so he did not defend his Beijing triumph of 2015. Recently, he has lost relatively early in the Grand Prix, German Masters, Welsh Open and the Gibraltar Open which are not the best signs ahead of his defence given how well he played in the first half of tthe season. His draw is not bad this week and both Marco Fu and Barry Hawkins who were in this quarter lost in the qualifiers, so Selby is the only player currently in the top 16 that is in this quarter. Ricky Walden is a top 16 seed for this event due to the non-entries of Neil Robertson and Mark Allen, but he needs a huge run this week to actually get back into the top 16 and avoid going to Ponds Forge for World qualifying. Walden needs to make at least the final this week, though that is certainly doable, after making the final in Beijing a year ago. With all of his three ranking titles coming in China, Walden could easily grab another this week and get himself back into the top 16. David Gilbert is another player hoping to make the final this week and get into the top 16, and he would play Walden in the Last 32 if both win their opening round games so it is a tough route for both players. Gilbert has had some decent runs this season, but has not gotten close to a final, much like Walden, which makes it a tough task for both players.
However, my final quarter choice is slightly more outside the box in the shape of Stephen Maguire. Maguire has a very good record at the China Open. In the last two years he has managed to keep his top 16 place by getting the job done here in Beijing, and last year he had to make it all the way to the semi-finals to do so. This year he has the unlikely task of having to win the event but that is not an impossibility. Maguire is a former champion if you go back as far as 2008, and he was also a finalist in 2012 as he lost out narrowly to Peter Ebdon. His best performance of this season has come on Chinese soil as he made a 147, thrashed Shaun Murphy before beating Barry Hawkins and Michael White on the way to the Shanghai Masters semi-finals. Maguire is long overdue another big run and it is over four years since he last won a full ranking title which is far too long for someone of his quality.
Quarter Choice: Stephen Maguire
Winner Selection: Ding Junhui
That is all the information you need ahead of the China Open, but the big one is not too far away. The draw for the World Championships should be made on Monday April 3rd following the China Open final, with qualifiers getting underway at Ponds Forge on Wednesday April 5th.
Friday, 24 March 2017
STAT ATTACK: China Open
The China Open begins on Monday, so once again the Stat Attack returns to offer some general trends of the tournament in Beijing, head to head information on the known Last 64 matches, and of course my up to date "Player Performance: Key Indicator" stats.
- Judd Trump = 19.24
This weeks statistical analysis begins with the leaders in average frame aggregate, which is average points conceded per frame taken off the average points scored per frame of a player.
Therefore, it is no surprise to see the season's form man at the very top of the list. Judd Trump has won the Players Championship and made the finals of Gibraltar and the Welsh Open in the last month, which coupled with his form from October leaves his stats looking very healthy. O'Sullivan and Selby have been at the top end of this list all season long given some of their success, though poorer form recently has seen their numbers drop. Shaun Murphy has shot up the list after winning the Gibraltar Open. Maguire is one of the surprise men as he has slipped down the rankings at a rather rapid rate despite what his stats suggest. It is also a surprise to see someone in the "mid table" of the rankings like Stuart Carrington coming in as high as eighth spot. Runs to the Welsh Open quarter-finals and the Shanghai Masters Last 16 will be the main reason for this.
Bingham, Higgins and Ding meanwhile have sustained similar numbers for much of the season.
Once again Jason Weston is bottom here, and of course he is only in China because his Last 128 match with Judd Trump was heldover. He is nearly twice as bad for 50+ break frequency to the next worst this week who is Ross Muir, which is surprising as he has had some good results lately including a 4-0 defeat of Marco Fu in the Welsh Open. Mike Dunn has not had the best of seasons and his standing in the one season money list is evidence of this. Rory McLeod has also struggled this season, while the remainder of the bottom ten have been there for much of the season in this list.
The tactical genius of Mark Selby leads the way for the close frames statistic. Kurt Maflin is not far behind him, which may surprise some people given his attacking style of play. Liang Wenbo has been close to the top here for much of the season, while Alfie Burden is high up on another list. Spots 8, 9 and 10 though are of no shock with three hardened Scottish match players in Dott, Higgins and McManus making the list. This is to the credit of Dott and McManus who have not necessarily had the seasons that they would have hoped for.
The key here at the bottom is players that have struggled for results are struggling to get over the line in close frames. Jimmy Robertson has not lived up to expectations at times in the last year or so, though I am surprised to see Hossein Vafei this low because when he has played in tournaments he has been impressive. Jamie Cope and Rory McLeod have both struggled for results. Cope is a near certainty to fall off of the tour, while if you look at McLeod's rank on the one year list, he will have to play much better to avoid the same fate in a years time.
Tian Pengfei is also in the same boat as McLeod, with one or two events from last season saving them from being in a survival scrap, one of which will ironically be the 2015 Ruhr Open where they contested the final.
CHINA OPEN: GENERAL TRENDS
- Two of the last five China Open tournaments have seen a non-top 16 player make the final. Peter Ebdon was outside of the top 16 when he won back in 2012, while Gary Wilson made the final in 2015. Equally, Kurt Maflin made the semi-finals in 2015 and Mike Dunn got as far in 2014 with both being well outside of the top 16.
- Since the 2012 China Open final went the distance, the finale to the tournaments have been fairly one sided, with the closest being 10-6 between Selby and Robertson in 2013.
- At least one wildcard player has progressed in each of the last five China Opens, with the last three having four wildcard players in the tournament, down from the eight that were previously allowed. One has already progressed to the Last 64 due to the withdrawal of Robbie Williams, meaning only three wildcard matches will have to be played this year.
- As defending champion in 2014 Neil Robertson made it all the way to the final, while Ding Junhui made the semi-finals in 2015 as defending champion. A good recent record for defending champions in Beijing then, with Selby not entering in 2016 as defending champion, while Judd Trump will defend his title this week.
- The last maximum 147 break in the final stages of the China Open came all the way back in 2010, when Neil Robertson completed snooker perfection.
- Judd Trump leads the way for win percentage on the tour this year winning 79.49% of all matches he has played. Ronnie O'Sullivan is second on the list while John Higgins is third.
- Judd Trump also tops the century list with 63 centuries. John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan are the next best of those playing this week, both having made 42 centuries this week. Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby both have 40.
- Stuart Bingham and Judd Trump have lost to eventual tournament winners the most out of anyone this season. Both have suffered the fate on five occasions, though given the amount of finals and semi-finals they have made between them this is no surprise. Shaun Murphy and John Higgins have lost to the eventual winner of four ranking events this season, while Kyren Wilson is amongst those who have lost to the eventual winner of a ranking event on three occasions this season.
- Since the 2012 China Open final went the distance, the finale to the tournaments have been fairly one sided, with the closest being 10-6 between Selby and Robertson in 2013.
- At least one wildcard player has progressed in each of the last five China Opens, with the last three having four wildcard players in the tournament, down from the eight that were previously allowed. One has already progressed to the Last 64 due to the withdrawal of Robbie Williams, meaning only three wildcard matches will have to be played this year.
- As defending champion in 2014 Neil Robertson made it all the way to the final, while Ding Junhui made the semi-finals in 2015 as defending champion. A good recent record for defending champions in Beijing then, with Selby not entering in 2016 as defending champion, while Judd Trump will defend his title this week.
- The last maximum 147 break in the final stages of the China Open came all the way back in 2010, when Neil Robertson completed snooker perfection.
- Judd Trump leads the way for win percentage on the tour this year winning 79.49% of all matches he has played. Ronnie O'Sullivan is second on the list while John Higgins is third.
- Judd Trump also tops the century list with 63 centuries. John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan are the next best of those playing this week, both having made 42 centuries this week. Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby both have 40.
- Stuart Bingham and Judd Trump have lost to eventual tournament winners the most out of anyone this season. Both have suffered the fate on five occasions, though given the amount of finals and semi-finals they have made between them this is no surprise. Shaun Murphy and John Higgins have lost to the eventual winner of four ranking events this season, while Kyren Wilson is amongst those who have lost to the eventual winner of a ranking event on three occasions this season.
HEAD TO HEADS:
- When Tian Pengfei plays Shoot-Out winner Anthony McGill in round one he will go in having won three of their previous four meetings. Not something you would expect given the direction there careers have headed since their last meeting during the 2013 German Masters.
- Mike Dunn has the same three out of four going into his Last 64 clash with Andy Hicks, but they have not met since way back in 2010.
- Hossein Vafei Ayouri will be looking to get one back on Joe Perry when they meet in the Last 64. The pair have played twice so far this season and Perry has won both times, 4-0 in the Scottish Open and 5-3 in qualifying for the World Open.
- Rhys Clark and Mark Davis also met at this stage of last years China Open. Clark won the match 5-4, though Davis got his revenge in World Open qualifying by beating him 5-0.
- The last time Scott Donaldson met Stuart Bingham he was a 4-3 winner, back during qualifiers for the 2016 European Masters. However, in three meetings prior to that Donaldson only managed a single frame, losing 14 in the process.
- Going into the first round here, Kyren Wilson has won each of his last four games against Xiao Guodong, including two games this season in German Masters qualifying, and from 3-0 behind at the Indian Open.
- Mark Joyce has beaten Fraser Patrick in all four of their previous meetings, all of which were in Chinese tournaments, but never at the main venue with all of them being in qualifying stages.
- Ahead of their Last 64 meeting in China, Stephen Maguire has beaten Fergal O'Brien in all seven of their previous matches. Two of those were this season at the UK Championships and Scottish Open. One of these meetings came at the 2008 China Open, when Maguire went on to win the entire tournament.
- Andrew Higginson meanwhile, has won each of his last three meetings against David Gilbert coming into this tournament.
- Mike Dunn has the same three out of four going into his Last 64 clash with Andy Hicks, but they have not met since way back in 2010.
- Hossein Vafei Ayouri will be looking to get one back on Joe Perry when they meet in the Last 64. The pair have played twice so far this season and Perry has won both times, 4-0 in the Scottish Open and 5-3 in qualifying for the World Open.
- Rhys Clark and Mark Davis also met at this stage of last years China Open. Clark won the match 5-4, though Davis got his revenge in World Open qualifying by beating him 5-0.
- The last time Scott Donaldson met Stuart Bingham he was a 4-3 winner, back during qualifiers for the 2016 European Masters. However, in three meetings prior to that Donaldson only managed a single frame, losing 14 in the process.
- Going into the first round here, Kyren Wilson has won each of his last four games against Xiao Guodong, including two games this season in German Masters qualifying, and from 3-0 behind at the Indian Open.
- Mark Joyce has beaten Fraser Patrick in all four of their previous meetings, all of which were in Chinese tournaments, but never at the main venue with all of them being in qualifying stages.
- Ahead of their Last 64 meeting in China, Stephen Maguire has beaten Fergal O'Brien in all seven of their previous matches. Two of those were this season at the UK Championships and Scottish Open. One of these meetings came at the 2008 China Open, when Maguire went on to win the entire tournament.
- Andrew Higginson meanwhile, has won each of his last three meetings against David Gilbert coming into this tournament.
PLAYER PERFORMANCE: KEY INDICATORS:
(The following statistics exclude the Snooker Shoot-Out and the Championship League)
(The following statistics exclude the Snooker Shoot-Out and the Championship League)
Average frame aggregate:
This week's Top 10:
- Judd Trump = 19.24
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 16.59
- Mark Selby = 16.26
- Shaun Murphy = 14.4
- Stephen Maguire = 14.05
- John Higgins = 13.46
- David Gilbert = 12.16
- Stuart Carrington = 11.55
- Ding Junhui = 11.33
- Stuart Bingham = 11.17
This weeks statistical analysis begins with the leaders in average frame aggregate, which is average points conceded per frame taken off the average points scored per frame of a player.
Therefore, it is no surprise to see the season's form man at the very top of the list. Judd Trump has won the Players Championship and made the finals of Gibraltar and the Welsh Open in the last month, which coupled with his form from October leaves his stats looking very healthy. O'Sullivan and Selby have been at the top end of this list all season long given some of their success, though poorer form recently has seen their numbers drop. Shaun Murphy has shot up the list after winning the Gibraltar Open. Maguire is one of the surprise men as he has slipped down the rankings at a rather rapid rate despite what his stats suggest. It is also a surprise to see someone in the "mid table" of the rankings like Stuart Carrington coming in as high as eighth spot. Runs to the Welsh Open quarter-finals and the Shanghai Masters Last 16 will be the main reason for this.
Bingham, Higgins and Ding meanwhile have sustained similar numbers for much of the season.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Jason Weston = -25.99
- Paul Davison = -21.37
- Gareth Allen = -14.92
- Rhys Clark = -13.29
- Alex Borg = -11.84
- Allan Taylor = -11.11
- Fraser Patrick = -10.48
- Aditya Mehta = -9.64
- Eden Sharav = -8.5
- Sean O'Sullivan = -8.36
The bottom ten has much the same look as it has done all season. Jason Weston is rock bottom given all of his poor performances this season. Paul Davison is surprisingly low in my opinion, while Alex Borg has at least made a small climb in the second half of the season, as has Aditya Mehta following a slow start to this season.
The bottom ten has much the same look as it has done all season. Jason Weston is rock bottom given all of his poor performances this season. Paul Davison is surprisingly low in my opinion, while Alex Borg has at least made a small climb in the second half of the season, as has Aditya Mehta following a slow start to this season.
Average frames per 50+ break:
This week's Top 10:
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 2.22
- Judd Trump = 2.37
- Mark Selby = 2.41
- Ding Junhui = 2.48
- Shaun Murphy = 2.58
- John Higgins = 2.68
- Liang Wenbo = 2.77
- David Gilbert = 2.77
- Stuart Bingham = 2.82
- Stuart Carrington = 2.82
Ronnie O'Sullivan is still top of the shop for average frames per 50+ break which is no surprise from the heavy scoring king. I fully expect that he will retain that place at the end of the World Championships in May. Again, Judd Trump has climbed up on this list after the fantastic month of snooker he has had. Ding Junhui and Mark Selby retain their fairly high positions, while Murphy has also made a move following Gibraltar.
Once again though, Stuart Carrington is in the top ten which surprised me just as much as the average aggregate situation. However, I have said for a while how much of a heavy scorer he is, and I would say he is one of the best outside of the top 32 in this regard. David Gilbert is another heavy and frequent scorer who retains his place in the top ten here as he pushes to be seeded at the World Championships.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is still top of the shop for average frames per 50+ break which is no surprise from the heavy scoring king. I fully expect that he will retain that place at the end of the World Championships in May. Again, Judd Trump has climbed up on this list after the fantastic month of snooker he has had. Ding Junhui and Mark Selby retain their fairly high positions, while Murphy has also made a move following Gibraltar.
Once again though, Stuart Carrington is in the top ten which surprised me just as much as the average aggregate situation. However, I have said for a while how much of a heavy scorer he is, and I would say he is one of the best outside of the top 32 in this regard. David Gilbert is another heavy and frequent scorer who retains his place in the top ten here as he pushes to be seeded at the World Championships.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Jason Weston = 16.8
- Ross Muir = 9.31
- Mike Dunn = 7
- Allan Taylor = 6.7
- Alex Borg = 6.53
- Paul Davison = 6.4
- Fraser Patrick = 6
- Rory McLeod = 5.8
- Eden Sharav = 5.48
- Martin O'Donnell = 5.46
Once again Jason Weston is bottom here, and of course he is only in China because his Last 128 match with Judd Trump was heldover. He is nearly twice as bad for 50+ break frequency to the next worst this week who is Ross Muir, which is surprising as he has had some good results lately including a 4-0 defeat of Marco Fu in the Welsh Open. Mike Dunn has not had the best of seasons and his standing in the one season money list is evidence of this. Rory McLeod has also struggled this season, while the remainder of the bottom ten have been there for much of the season in this list.
Average break when above 50:
This week's Top 10:
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 81.53
- Judd Trump = 80.23
- Alfie Burden = 79.8
- John Higgins = 79.46
- Stuart Bingham = 79.38
- Shaun Murphy = 79.18
- Stephen Maguire = 79.17
- Liang Wenbo = 79.01
- Stuart Carrington = 78.83
- Joe Perry = 78.78
Once again O'Sullivan is top of the shop in the scoring weight as well as the the scoring frequency. Trump has made another climb after his month of brilliance on the baize. A run for Alfie Burden that got him to the quarter-finals of the Gibraltar Open has clearly helped his scoring weight stats as he climbs into the top three in this weeks field. Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham continue to look strong, as does Stephen Maguire who has been in a similar position ever since his Shanghai Masters run.
Once again, Stuart Carrington has impressed and is the only player outside of the top 16 to appear in the top ten in each of these three statistics. One to watch perhaps for this week, but certainly in World Championship qualifying.
Once again O'Sullivan is top of the shop in the scoring weight as well as the the scoring frequency. Trump has made another climb after his month of brilliance on the baize. A run for Alfie Burden that got him to the quarter-finals of the Gibraltar Open has clearly helped his scoring weight stats as he climbs into the top three in this weeks field. Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham continue to look strong, as does Stephen Maguire who has been in a similar position ever since his Shanghai Masters run.
Once again, Stuart Carrington has impressed and is the only player outside of the top 16 to appear in the top ten in each of these three statistics. One to watch perhaps for this week, but certainly in World Championship qualifying.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Paul Davison = 62.95
- Gareth Allen = 65.04
- Yu De Lu = 65.33
- Daniel Wells = 65.62
- Alex Borg = 65.76
- Ian Burns = 66.46
- Robert Milkins = 66.65
- Allan Taylor = 67.13
- Jamie Cope = 67.58
- Sanderson Lam = 68.24
Once again this list is looking very similar to how it has done for much of the season. Alex Borg seems to have made a slight climb, while Robert Milkins is still very low considering the heavy scoring that he is known for and a recent run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open. I would have expected to see Yu De Lu and Daniel Wells a lot higher too, considering that they have had decent seasons.
Once again this list is looking very similar to how it has done for much of the season. Alex Borg seems to have made a slight climb, while Robert Milkins is still very low considering the heavy scoring that he is known for and a recent run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open. I would have expected to see Yu De Lu and Daniel Wells a lot higher too, considering that they have had decent seasons.
Close frame win percentage:
This week's Top 10:
- Mark Selby = 66.15%
- Kurt Maflin = 64.1%
- Liang Wenbo = 61.7%
- Alfie Burden = 61.54%
- Ricky Walden = 60.47%
- Stuart Bingham = 60.38%
- Joe Perry = 60%
- Graeme Dott = 59.09%
- John Higgins = 58%
- Alan McManus = 57.69%
The tactical genius of Mark Selby leads the way for the close frames statistic. Kurt Maflin is not far behind him, which may surprise some people given his attacking style of play. Liang Wenbo has been close to the top here for much of the season, while Alfie Burden is high up on another list. Spots 8, 9 and 10 though are of no shock with three hardened Scottish match players in Dott, Higgins and McManus making the list. This is to the credit of Dott and McManus who have not necessarily had the seasons that they would have hoped for.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Alex Borg = 27.27%
- Jimmy Robertson = 31.03%
- Hossein Vafei Ayouri = 32%
- Jamie Cope = 35.29%
- Rory McLeod = 36%
- Ian Burns = 37.5%
- Tian Pengfei = 37.5%
- Noppon Saengkham = 38.89%
- Ben Woollaston = 39.02%
- Xiao Guodong = 39.13%
The key here at the bottom is players that have struggled for results are struggling to get over the line in close frames. Jimmy Robertson has not lived up to expectations at times in the last year or so, though I am surprised to see Hossein Vafei this low because when he has played in tournaments he has been impressive. Jamie Cope and Rory McLeod have both struggled for results. Cope is a near certainty to fall off of the tour, while if you look at McLeod's rank on the one year list, he will have to play much better to avoid the same fate in a years time.
Tian Pengfei is also in the same boat as McLeod, with one or two events from last season saving them from being in a survival scrap, one of which will ironically be the 2015 Ruhr Open where they contested the final.
Those are the big facts and figures ahead of the start in Beijing, and hopefully that has offered an insight into how things may go next week.
Still to come in my China Open preview work is my full tournament preview with my pick to win the tournament. My Tournament Top Ten blog is already out and can be viewed here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/tournament-top-ten-china-open.html
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/tournament-top-ten-china-open.html
TOURNAMENT TOP TEN: China Open
The Tournament Top Ten blog has returned as the generator has been fired up and told us who the best ten contenders should be for the upcoming China Open. Into the generator this week went the last five China Open's from 2012-2016, the last two Shanghai Masters tournaments (2015 and 2016) as well as this season's World Open, International Championship and China Championship.
This is along with my "Player Performance: Key Indicator" statistics that you will also find in my Stat Attack preview of this weeks tournament. These are the average frame aggregate, average frames per 50+ break, average break when above 50 and the close frames win percentage.
Let's start the countdown:
10 - Ricky Walden - Walden may not have had the best of season's, but with a few top players not entering or qualifying for this week he has crept into the top ten. What the list does not take into account are Walden's three ranking wins in China from years previous, but it does note that he was a runner-up at this event just 12 months ago, which is the main reason he makes the top ten. A quarter-final in 2014 also helps his cause, while statistically he is amongst the top five in this week's field for close frames win percentage.
9 - Shaun Murphy - Murphy's record in China over the years has been a bit hit and miss, which is why he could not climb higher than ninth on the list this week. He was a quarter-finalist in Beijing in 2015 and prior to that a semi-finalist in 2013, so one of the only things he has not done is win this tournament. If you look at his record in China this year he has had quarter-finals at the World Open and International Championships as well as making the semi-finals of the invitational China Championship. The numbers also give Murphy a small boost. He is fourth in this weeks field for average frame aggregate and fifth in the field for average frames per 50 break. Had he have gone on and made a Chinese event final this year he would surely be in the top half of this countdown.
8 - Stephen Maguire - Moving onto eighth spot and we find the man that saw off Murphy in the final of the 2008 China Open, Stephen Maguire. More recently in Beijing the Scotsman was a losing finalist in Peter Ebdon's famous 2012 triumph. As well as that he made the 2013 semi-finals and repeated that performance last year as well, to keep himself in the top 16 for the World Championships. One of the rare bright sparks of this season for Maguire came on Chinese soil as he romped to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters before Ding Junhui stopped him in his tracks. It feels very much like he should be even higher than eighth on the list, which shows the strength of the players ahead of him. As for his stats, the Scot is fifth in this weeks field for average frame aggregate, despite having a pretty poor season.
7 - Ali Carter - Next up is Ali Carter, a tournament winner in China this season stretching all the way back to last summer when he picked up the World Open. Carter has had a very impressive season that has also included a quarter-final at the Shanghai Masters, amongst other good runs that are not included in making the list. In the last five years of China Open play, he has made a semi-final going back to 2014, and better runs over the years could have seen him make at least the top five. On top of that, he surprisingly does not make it into the top five on any of the four statistics lists used to make up the top ten this week.
6 - Stuart Bingham - The 2015 World champion has impressed greatly this season in the Chinese tournaments. A former Shanghai Masters champion and winner of numerous Asian tour events has made the semi-finals in Shanghai and at the International Championships this season losing out on both occasions to Mark Selby. As well as that he narrowly lost out to John Higgins in the final of the China Championship. This event is arguably the only Chinese event where he has not impressed, with his last five trips to Beijing only yielding a couple of quarter-finals, though he did also withdraw in 2014. Numerically, Bingham impresses in the big breaks, sitting fifth in this weeks field for average break made when above 50.
5 - John Higgins - Entering the top five now and coming in at five is China Championship winner John Higgins. Higgins lost out very narrowly to Ricky Walden in the semi-finals last year in Beijing, though aside from that he has only reached one quarter-final in the previous four years. This season, along with his China Championship win, he has made quarter-finals at the World Open and International Championship which is just enough to put him ahead of Stuart Bingham. Another list where he leads Bingham, is the stats list for average break when above 50. Here, Higgins sits in fourth for this weeks field.
4 - Ronnie O'Sullivan - If ever there was a flaw with how this list is put together it is here. A points system is designed to give players points based on their stats and tournament performances, an average is then calculated based on the tournaments they have entered. Meanwhile, Ronnie O'Sullivan has not played in Beijing since 2012 when he was a beaten quarter-finalist. In China this season he did not enter the China Championship or the World Open and only made the Last 16 in Shanghai and the International. Therefore, his average is only calculated from the three events and the statistics. This is where he picks himself up, as the leader for frames per 50+ break and average break when above 50, whilst sitting in second for average frame aggregate.
3 - Judd Trump - Defending champion Judd Trump reaches the podium after the brilliant season he has had so far. His other title triumph in Beijing back in 2011 is just too far back to be included in the list, else he would probably be at the very top. Early exits in the China Open in 2013 and 2014 have held him back slightly, and the same applies to his first round exit in the China Championship and a Last 32 loss in the World Open from this season. However, his runners-up finish from the 2015 Shanghai Masters is included to the list and he did of course make the semi-finals at the International Championship at the end of October. The statistics certainly display that the left hander has been one of the shining stars of the season. He leads the field for average aggregate, and is just a step behind O'Sullivan for average frames per 50+ break and average break when above 50. Given his recent form in the UK and Europe he should be right up there again in Beijing.
2 - Ding Junhui - Home favourite Ding Junhui is the runner-up on this weeks Tournament Top Ten. In the last five years in Beijing he has been a champion once in 2014, whilst also reaching the semi-finals in 2012 and 2015. This season has been a successful one on home soil for Ding as he took the Shanghai Masters title beating Mark Selby in the final in September, before just falling short in the International Championship final a month later as Selby got his revenge. On the statistical front, Ding surprisingly only makes the top five in one category, sitting in fourth place for frames per 50+ break but as the above testifies, he is always a threat in Chinese tournaments.
1 - Mark Selby - The world number one is also our table topper ahead of the China Open this week. He may not have entered last year, but he was the number one man in Beijing back in 2015 which makes it feel like there are two defending champions this week. He was the runner-up to Neil Robertson in 2013, whilst losing in the quarter-finals in 2014. This year he has impressed in China as I mentioned in the last paragraph. Ding Junhui was the man to stop him taking home the Shanghai Masters, but Selby made sure it didn't happen again by beating him 10-1 in the International Championship final in what was a dominant first half of the season from the world champion. One area where Selby is ahead of the rest is tactically, which is why it is no surprise to find him at number one in the list for close frames win percentage amongst those who are playing this week. He is also in third place for average frame aggregate and frames per 50+ break, showing again why is top of the shop for this week.
These are the players that China specific results and the season statistics think will be the one's to watch this week, but my opinions will come into play later in the week in my full tournament preview. Before that will be my Stat Attack with more in-depth analysis of some of the statistics mentioned in this blog.
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Fantasy Snooker Update: Penultimate event: China Open
The fantasy snooker season is beginning to draw in now with just two events to go before we will know the winner. The first of those events starts on Monday when the players head off to Beijing for the China Open, so we better look at how the table shapes up coming into that.
The only players listed next to each participants name now are those that have been picked twice or those where all three of the permitted picks have been used (these players are highlighted in red). With two events to go of course those that have only been picked once are irrelevant.
The only players listed next to each participants name now are those that have been picked twice or those where all three of the permitted picks have been used (these players are highlighted in red). With two events to go of course those that have only been picked once are irrelevant.
1st:
Gary: Bingham x3, Murphy x3, Trump x2, Allen x3, Robertson x3, Higgins x2,
Selby x3, Fu x2, O’Sullivan x2, 834
2nd: Anthony: Selby x2, Ding x2, Hawkins x2,
O’Sullivan x2, Trump x2, Higgins x2, Allen x2, Bingham x3, Wenbo x2, Fu x2, 830
3rd: Isitan Bakar: Bingham
x3, Maguire x3, Allen x3, Trump x3, Higgins
x2, Robertson x2, Selby x3, O’Sullivan x2, Murphy x3, Fu x2 779
4th: FAM147: Bingham x3, Robertson x3, Allen x3,
Wilson x2, Walden x2, Trump x2, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x2, Hawkins x2 712
5th: M. Lowson: Murphy x3, Robertson x2, Selby
x2, Higgins x3, O’Sullivan x3, Allen x2, Trump x2, Wenbo x3, K. Wilson x2,
Hawkins x2 674
6th: Daniela Reich: Robertson x2, O’Sullivan x3,
Allen x2, Walden x2, Bingham x2, Murphy x2, Wenbo x2, Fu x2, Day x2 669
7th: Igor: Murphy x2, Selby x2, Trump x3, Higgins x3, Ding x3, Robertson x3, Bingham x3, McGill x2, O’Sullivan x2, Allen x2 665
8th: Andrew Walker: Allen x2, Trump x3, Robertson
x3, Selby x3, Bingham x2, Ding x3, O’Sullivan
x2, Fu x3, Higgins x2, Hawkins
x3, Perry x2 617
9th: Ezgi Ulutas: Robertson x3, Higgins x2, Fu
x2, Wenbo x3, Allen x2, Trump x2, O’Sullivan x2,
Selby x3 598
10th: Kellie: Selby x2, Trump x2, O’Sullivan x3,
Robertson x2, Bingham x2, McGill x2, Higgins x2, Gould x2, Allen x3 591
11th: TungstenDarts: Bingham x2, Trump x3,
Higgins x3, Wenbo x3, Holt x2, Selby x2 579
11th: SnookerFollower: Bingham x2, Ding x2, Allen
x2, Higgins x3, Maguire x2, Trump x3, O’Sullivan x2, Wenbo x3, Hawkins x2,
Selby x2 579
13th: John McBride: Selby x2, Trump x2, Robertson x3, Maguire x2, Higgins x2, Bingham x3, Allen x3,
Hawkins x2, McGill x2 568
14th: Couge: Murphy x3, Selby x2 Robertson x2,
Higgins x3, Trump x3, Ding x2, O’Sullivan x2, Bingham x3, Brecel x2, Wenbo x2
538
15th: P. Mudd: Trump x2, Holt x2, Higgins x2,
O’Sullivan x3, Murphy x2, Bingham x2, Allen x2 Perry x2, M. Williams x2, Selby
x2, Hawkins x2 535
16th: Gorkem: O’Sullivan x3, Selby x2, Hawkins
x2, Murphy x3, Robertson x3, Allen x2, Trump x2, Higgins x3 533
17th: LTD: Wilson x2, Selby x2, Hawkins x3, Allen
x2, Robertson x2, Murphy x2, Bingham x3, Perry x2, O’Sullivan x2, Higgins x2,
506
18th: Andrew Brooker: Maguire x2, Murphy x3,
Carter x2, Allen x3, Bingham x3, Trump x3, O’Sullivan x2, 504
19th: Kjetil: Wenbo x2, Bingham x3, Bingtao x2,
Allen x2, Trump x2, O’Sullivan x2, Hawkins x2, M. Williams x2, 493
20th: Mark Taylor: Robertson x2, Bingham x2, Holt
x2, O’Sullivan x2, Selby x3, Maguire x2, Trump x2, Murphy x2, Ding x2, Higgins
x2, Hawkins x2, McGill x2 490
21st: TYIO: Bingham x3, Carter x2, Higgins x3,
Trump x3, Ding x2, Murphy x3, Allen x3, Robertson x3, Fu x2 465
22nd: Munraj Pal: Ding x2, Trump x2, Murphy x3, Allen x2, Robertson
x3, McGill x2, Walden x2, Fu x2, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x2, K. Wilson x2,
Maguire x2 431
That is the updated table then, a lot of people with a lot of work to do in the final two events, but things have certainly heated up at the top of the table. The deadline for picks for the China Open is MONDAY 27TH MARCH AT 3AM UK TIME
Good luck everyone and happy picking.
Sunday, 5 March 2017
Players Championship Preview
Up this week on the world snooker tour, the best 16 players from this season so far take to Llandudno with £125,000 up for grabs. This comes straight off of the back of events in Gibraltar, though we knew the field after just a half of the draw had played their first three matches on Friday.
It is a fantastic line-up with World Champion Mark Selby fronting, and the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ding Junhui, Judd Trump in attendance. Of the top 16 in the two year rankings, three of those players have failed to make it in the shape of defending Players Champion (under the old format) Mark Allen, Joe Perry who desperately needed to qualify for this in order to aid his chances of making the World Championships without having to qualify, and Kyren Wilson who has not had the best second half of the season.
That means there are three guys from outside of the top 16 who will be hoping to make a climb into it by the end of the week. World Grand Prix runner-up Ryan Day is 16 in the provisional seedings so a good week here could secure him a spot in the draw for the Crucible automatically. Northern Irish Open champion Mark King needs a couple of big wins to put himself in the mix for automatic Crucible qualification, and German Masters champion Anthony Hamilton is crucially only on the first year of a fresh two year tour card.
As in the Grand Prix the draw is 1 Vs 16, 9 Vs 8 etc. which throws up some very interesting round one matches, when the tournament begins on Monday night. The format is the best-of-9 frames over two tables for the opening round, and then on just one table for the quarter-finals. The semi-finals are on Friday night and Saturday night over the best-of-11 frames (there is no play on Saturday afternoon because of ITV 4's Racing coverage commitments). All in all the players are playing for £125,000 which is certainly one of the bigger prizes on tour this season.
Now lets take a look at what we can expect this week.
Quarter 1
Last 16 Draw:
Mark Selby Vs Ryan Day - Mark Selby may be the number one seed, and as the UK and International Champion, no one was going to run him close for that right. However, in recent weeks I would say that Ryan Day is the man in form. He has been able to climb into the 16 from a position in the 20's coming into the Grand Prix. Playing brilliant snooker, he made the final of that tournament in Preston before losing to Barry Hawkins. Then over at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry he made the final of the Winners Group in Championship League, before flying straight to Gibraltar. Needing good results to make it into this event he went on to the semi-finals and seems to be full of confidence. A good week here would see him in a fantastic position to be seeded to at the World Championships which is massive. It is always hard to go against Selby but over best-of 7's and best-of 9's he is slightly more vulnerable as all top players are. Last 32 exits in Gibraltar, Cardiff and Preston line up with that and the fact that he has taken an expected dip after his Pre-Christmas exploits. No one can play well in every single game or tournament. For me I have to go with the man who is flying with confidence and recent results.
Prediction: Day to upset the top seed 5-3
Marco Fu Vs Anthony McGill - This will be a very interesting first round match for me. Fu was in good form at the Masters and at the Grand Prix after his Scottish Open win in December. He has also had a couple of weeks off after skipping the Shoot-Out and his Gibraltar Open defence following a Last 64 thumping against Ross Muir. I was at the venue and watched bits of that game, and he did not seem to be at the races at all. He will want to come back strong here in this match and I think it will be a closely fought one with McGill. The Scotsman obviously won the Shoot-Out recently, but either side of that win he had early exits in the Gibraltar Open, the Welsh Open and the German Masters. McGill also lost in the World Grand Prix to Fu 4-2, and the head to head generally is in favour of Fu who has won each of their previous matches.
Prediction: Fu to win a tight tussle 5-4.
Quarter Choice: Ryan Day
Quarter 2
Last 16 Draw:
Ding Junhui Vs John Higgins - Ding Junhui and John Higgins have played out some classic contests in the past, not least their most recent one in the Champion of Champions semi-finals. Ding made four centuries there and still ended up losing in a decider. On the whole though he has a very good head to head record against Higgins especially in more recent years, and I think Higgins is a player that gets the best out of Ding. He may have lost to David Gilbert in a tight one in Gibraltar in the Last 64 and fell at the first hurdle in Cardiff to Robin Hull, but he has been going through a tough time for reasons that all in the snooker world should know about. In the Grand Prix he was unlucky to lose to Shaun Murphy in the last 16 and if you go back to the autumn he was playing brilliant snooker. Higgins was in the same boat during the pre Christmas period playing some of the best stuff he has in his magnificent career. Since Christmas though he has fallen early in quite a few tournaments. He lost in the first round of the Masters, had not qualified for the German Masters, before further first round exits in the World Grand Prix and Welsh Open. With that all in mind I expect another tight match, but for me the Chinese player is a slight favourite here.
Prediction: Ding to win 5-3
Stuart Bingham Vs Anthony Hamilton - In this match we have two ranking event winners from February. First off, Anthony Hamilton was a surprise winner at the German Masters in early February and on the way to that win he beat some of the worlds very best. He looked every bit a ranking winner that week and deserved his long awaited triumph. Whether he can keep it going is another question though, and here he has an especially difficult outing. Stuart Bingham claimed his first ranking title since becoming World Champion in May 2015, by winning the Welsh Open a couple of weeks ago. It was great to see him get that title and it was almost as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders when he picked up the trophy. Having taken the Gibraltar week off he will fresh coming into Llandudno and full of confidence, and I think he will play with a great freedom after his victory in Cardiff. All in all I'll give Bingham the edge here, as someone in form who has played very well in Llandudno in previous years, while Hamilton has had a couple of earlier exits since winning in Berlin.
Prediction: Bingham to make it through a 5-2 winner.
Quarter Choice: Ding Junhui
Quarter 3
Last 16 Draw:
Barry Hawkins Vs Neil Robertson - This match between the two left handers may be the tie of round one. Barry Hawkins has been in superb form in the last couple of months. A winner at the Grand Prix at the start of February, it took a tight decider in the quarters of the Welsh Open to end his winning run. For me he is making the game look so easy, and he was doing so in Gibraltar last weekend until Shaun Murphy was potting long balls from everywhere against him in the Last 16. As for Neil Robertson he has been short on stunning results which may be down to a losing a little confidence after a poor run, but since the Masters I think he has been playing OK. The big breaks were coming back despite an early exit in Cardiff, and he was steam rolling opponents in Gibraltar before running into the in form Ryan Day. If both players are at their best I can't see this being anything but close, and it may just be the confidence of Hawkins that makes the difference in the end and how easy the game seems to be fair him amongst the reds currently.
Prediction: Hawkins to edge it 5-4.
Ali Carter Vs Shaun Murphy - This is another great match up between two players who get on very well but also serve up brilliantly tight matches when they play each other. Their 2012 UK Championship semi-final was a superb advert for snooker and something I still remember well over four years on. Murphy will be riding high after winning in Gibraltar, and very often after winning a tournament he gets on a roll and more great results follow on from it. His form in the spring of 2014 and 2015 is an example of that, and even last year when he won the Grand Prix in Llandudno and followed straight up by making the semi-finals of the Players Championship. Murphy had been looking decent for a while and things fell into place at the weekend for a top performance. It has to be said though that Carter has the edge on Murphy in the head to head and has won their last couple of meetings. The Captain himself has been playing well, as he showed in reaching the German Masters final, where he was striking the ball beautifully. His Last 16 loss in the Grand Prix was a very tight match with Mark King, while he lost to a man in Hossein Vafei Ayouri who finished with two centuries in their Last 32 match at the Welsh Open. Missing Gibraltar and the Shoot-Out has also given him two weeks off to get ready for this big week and come in fresh. That may have given him an advantage if this match was early in the week, given Murphy's short turnaround but this game is not until Wednesday afternoon giving him as much time as he could have had before having to play here. I certainly expect a tight tussle here and it is very tough to say who will have the edge.
Prediction: Murphy to win a close encounter 5-4.
Quarter Choice: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 4
Last 16 Draw:
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Liang Wenbo - After the previous meeting between O'Sullivan and Liang this will be a very interesting match. They have met twice this season and on both occasions, at the Masters and the Shanghai Masters, O'Sullivan won in deciders. At the Masters Liang missed match ball black to win 6-4 and he will have to put that out of his mind to win this time around. Meanwhile, in Shanghai Liang led 4-1 before losing 5-4. O'Sullivan seemed to be struggling a little in the Welsh Open and the Grand Prix after a heavy schedule, so the two weeks he has had off since then may help his chances of making a big challenge for the title this week and I think he'll be back on form this week. As for Liang, he made the semi-finals of the Grand Prix but suffered early exits in Cardiff and Gibraltar and while I think he will give O'Sullivan a good challenge, after their previous two meetings he will have to prove he can get over the line against him.
Prediction: O'Sullivan to win 5-3.
Judd Trump Vs Mark King - On paper and current form this could be a very one sided match. Trump is in top form having made the final in Gibraltar as well as narrowly losing out in the Welsh Open final against Stuart Bingham prior to that. He has been pretty consistent all year making at least the semi-finals in the three home nations events, whilst also making the International Championship semi finals and winning the European Masters. As for King he is in this thanks to the famous win in Northern Ireland, and he has had the odd result since. At the German Masters he overcame Ronnie O'Sullivan from 4-1 behind to make the Last 16. On top of that he made the Grand Prix quarter-finals with tight victories over Maguire and Carter. Early exits in Cardiff and Gibraltar are not quite up there with the big boys like Trump, and it is much more likely to be King that has an off day here in Llandudno based on current form. For me Trump is the man to watch this week, coming so close in Cardiff and Gibraltar suggest that big things are on the way for him and I see absolutely no reason why he cannot go home with the trophy. Shaun Murphy even went as far to say that he was the best in the world right now, following their Gibraltar Open final
Prediction: Trump to ease through 5-1
Quarter Choice: Judd Trump
Tournament Winner Selection: Judd Trump
As I mentioned earlier in the piece the tournament is covered on ITV4 and with 16 superb players involved it should be a real cracker and a great event to lead into a two week break from snooker that follows prior to the China Open.
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
Gibraltar Open Preview
This week we have the final event before the Players Championship cut off and the final European event of this season as the tour sets off to Gibraltar Open. As always there are amateur qualifiers on Wednesday and Thursday, with the professional stages starting on Friday morning with the Last 128.
It is the same set-up as all of the old European Tour events so there is your reference. There are a lot of non-entries from all stages of the rankings. Some of these players include: Stuart Bingham, the inaugural Gibraltar Open winner Marco Fu, Ali Carter, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Martin Gould, Graeme Dott, guys such as Robin Hull, Dechawat Poomjaeng and Rod Lawler who are battling for tour survival while there are a lot of Thai and Chinese players missing such as Li Hang, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Xiao Guodong,Yu DeLu, Cao Yupeng, Chen Zhe, Boonyarit Kaettikun, James Wattana and Akani Songsermsawad as well as the aforementioned Poomjaeng which may suggest visa issues for these players unless it is a pure coincidence.
In terms of the Players Championship there are very few changes that can take place now because of the low prize money this week. Everyone 15th above on the list is guaranteed a place in next weeks 16 man field. Ryan Day in 16th place is very much in control as Joe Perry needs to make at least the final this week, while if Day makes the Last 16 Perry will have to win the event. Mark Williams is the only other player who can do enough to qualify if he wins the event, but if Day makes the Last 16 this will become mathematically impossible also.
This is how the draw shapes up in all for this week, which will include 26 amateur qualifiers:
It is the same set-up as all of the old European Tour events so there is your reference. There are a lot of non-entries from all stages of the rankings. Some of these players include: Stuart Bingham, the inaugural Gibraltar Open winner Marco Fu, Ali Carter, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Martin Gould, Graeme Dott, guys such as Robin Hull, Dechawat Poomjaeng and Rod Lawler who are battling for tour survival while there are a lot of Thai and Chinese players missing such as Li Hang, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Xiao Guodong,Yu DeLu, Cao Yupeng, Chen Zhe, Boonyarit Kaettikun, James Wattana and Akani Songsermsawad as well as the aforementioned Poomjaeng which may suggest visa issues for these players unless it is a pure coincidence.
In terms of the Players Championship there are very few changes that can take place now because of the low prize money this week. Everyone 15th above on the list is guaranteed a place in next weeks 16 man field. Ryan Day in 16th place is very much in control as Joe Perry needs to make at least the final this week, while if Day makes the Last 16 Perry will have to win the event. Mark Williams is the only other player who can do enough to qualify if he wins the event, but if Day makes the Last 16 this will become mathematically impossible also.
This is how the draw shapes up in all for this week, which will include 26 amateur qualifiers:
Quarter 1:
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Michael White Vs Matthew Stevens
Kurt Maflin Vs Hamza Akbar
Oliver Lines Vs Amateur Qualifier
Barry Hawkins Vs Amateur Qualifier
Shaun Murphy Vs Ken Doherty
Sam Craigie Vs Amateur Qualifier
Allan Taylor Vs Amateur Qualifier
Elliot Slessor Vs Josh Boileau
Jimmy Robertson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Lee Walker Vs Paul Davison
Mark Davis Vs Mark Joyce
Robbie Williams Vs David John
Zhao Xintong Vs Amateur Qualifier
Joe Swail Vs Martin O'Donnell
Mark Williams Vs Amateur Qualifier
Andrew Higginson Vs Zhang Yong
You would expect Barry Hawkins to be one of the big players this week, though he does have a short turnaround from the Championship League winners group, and a tough draw along with that. Mark Davis is in the same boat with having to play the Winners Group but he too could do well in this section after narrowly missing out on the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open recently. Mark Williams will be looking for a big run to try and get into the Players Championship and have any chance of making the World Championships without going through qualifying, but his form right now is not the best. Meanwhile I could see Zhao Xintong being a dark horse for this week, he has showed the potential to have some of the big runs like Yan Bingtao has, and it would not surprise me at all if he made at least the Last 16.
My first quarter choice though is Shaun Murphy. Murphy has been unlucky this season in my view. He started to show form recently at the World Grand Prix, before then falling ill with bronchitis at the Welsh Open which did not allow him to keep on going in the right direction. With recent cue adjustments and contact lenses helping to improve any small weakness he was suffering with his eyesight and sighting shots up from distance his long potting has seen improvements. At the Shoot-Out and World Grand Prix he was knocking them in for fun. With this being such a big part of his game, when it is on you can expect Murphy to play very well. On top of that, he will be well prepared for the ball cleaner trial which will be used on the cue ball this week in Gibraltar. Murphy is certainly someone I would expect not to be caught out by that, as a big advocate of its use.
Quarter Choice: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Ian Burns Vs Alfie Burden
Anthony McGill Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mike Dunn Vs Michael Wild
Zhou Yuelong Vs James Cahill
Liang Wenbo Vs Ricky Walden
Yan Bingtao Vs Amateur Qualifier
Robert Milkins Vs Christopher Keogan
Mark Selby Vs Adam Duffy
Gary Wilson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Thor Chuan Leong Vs Amateur Qualifier
Fraser Patrick Vs Amateur Qualifier
Sydney Wilson Vs Igor Figueiredo
Darryl Hill Vs Amateur Qualifier
Nigel Bond Vs Aditya Mehta
Kyren Wilson Vs Daniel Wells
Fang Xiongman Vs Amateur Qualifier
It has to be said the first round draw between Liang Wenbo and Ricky Walden is the most brutal one in the opening round in my view. Walden could really do with a run having been in poor form this season and needing good results to avoid having to qualify for the World Championships. Liang made the semi-finals in the Grand Prix recently and will make it very tough for Walden to get anything out of this. World number one Mark Selby has not been in the greatest of form late having lost in the Last 32 of the Welsh Open and the Grand Prix but he always seems to do well in these European Tour events. Chinese duo Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao could be dark horses in the draw once again, whilst Igor Figueiredo may be able to bring something from making the Last 16 at the Welsh Open.
My choice to win this second quarter is Anthony McGill the recent Shoot-Out winner. McGill got on a roll at the start of the season when he had a decent run in the Riga Masters and the World Open, either side of his Indian Open win. Now that he has won the Shoot Out, and the World Championships looms large (a tournament where he has impressed in the last two years) he will be looking to stamp himself as a contender. There are not a huge number of top players in this section, and some of them are a little out of form recently. It would not surprise me, with that in mind, if McGill went far this week. It is a short turnaround for McGill as he is playing in the Championship League until Thursday night, but as he does not have to play until Saturday that should not really affect him too much. This is a section I believe he can do very well in.
Quarter Choice: Anthony McGill
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Mark Allen Vs Ross Muir
John Higgins Vs Dominic Dale
David Gilbert Vs Hossein Vafei Ayouri
Ding Junhui Vs Jason Weston
ANTHONY HAMILTON W/O Stuart Carrington
Tian Pengfei Vs Liam Highfield
Mark King Vs Amateur Qualifier
Jack Lisowski Vs Itaro Santos
Stephen Maguire Vs Amateur Qualifier
Matthew Selt Vs Rory McLeod
Judd Trump Vs Jamie Barrett
Craig Steadman Vs Amateur Qualifier
Tom Ford Vs Scott Donaldson
Peter Ebdon Vs Amateur Qualifier
Wang Yuchen Vs Sanderson Lam
Noppon Saengkham Vs Zhang Anda
The third quarter is the one in which all of the top 16 players present seem to be hiding. All in the same mini section we have Mark Allen, John Higgins and Ding Junhui with only one of them being able to make the Last 16. Allen has been searching for a big run all season and with a draw as tough as his it is hard to see that changing this week. Higgins has not been in the best form since Christmas, while Ding Junhui is going through a tough time away from the table following the passing of his mother. Anthony Hamilton has a bye into the Last 64 and has been in fantastic form since his German Masters win and I could see that carrying on this week. Stephen Maguire needs a miracle to qualify for the World Championships automatically and that starts with winning this title this week, such as the poor results he has had this season.
Judd Trump is my choice for this third quarter. There were a lot of top players to choose from in this section, but for me Trump is the big choice. The likes of Allen, Ding, Higgins and Hamilton will knock each other out in the upper half of this quarter, before they even reach Trump. After making it to the final of the Welsh Open he showed he was in good form, and he will be hoping to build his way up to the World Championships from here. He had a reasonably easy draw in Wales and had noo trouble making the quarter-finals. I expect similar in this section, with his area of the draw being filled with lower ranked players and guys that are not in too threatening form. The only worry is that he is in the Championship League Winners group which concludes on Thursday, and he is in the half of the draw that completes three rounds on Friday. A short turnaround, but with a reasonable draw he could ease himself in and if he makes the Last 16, he should be firing on all cylinders by Sunday.
Quarter Choice: Judd Trump
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Jamie Cope Vs Duane Jones
Luca Brecel Vs Amateur Qualifier
Michael Holt Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ryan Day Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ben Woollaston Vs Fergal O'Brien
Sam Baird Vs Eden Sharav
John Astley Vs Amateur Qualifier
Michael Georgiou Vs Amateur Qualifier
Rhys Clark Vs Sean O'Sullivan
David Grace Vs Mitchell Mann
Chris Wakelin Vs Gareth Allen
Neil Robertson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Jimmy White Vs Kurt Dunham
Joe Perry Vs Amateur Qualifier
Hammad Miah Vs Amateur Qualifier
Jamie Jones Vs Mei Xiwen
Ryan Day is the man in possession right now. On the provisional Players Championship list he is 16th and only Joe Perry and Mark Williams could overtake him and they both need to go very deep to stop him. Meanwhile he is also 16th in the provisional seedings for the Crucible meaning that he would qualify automatically but he needs to continue playing well to stay in possession, particularly as he has not qualified for the China Open. Joe Perry meanwhile is the man on the chase. 17th on the provisional players championship list he needs to make at least the final here to make Llandudno. If he fails to make Llandudno he may struggle to qualify for the World Championships automatically as he is 17th on that list also but only trailing Day by a small amount. If I had to pick a dark horse in this section there is plenty of choice including guys like Luca Brecel, Michael Holt and even Fergal O'Brien who had some good wins at the Shoot Out in a section with only a few of the top 16.
My final quarter selection goes to Neil Robertson. Robertson has really been out of form in the last four or five months. There have been glimpses since Christmas, with a few heavy scoring performances, first in the first round of the Masters and then against O'Sullivan in the World Grand Prix. Even at the Welsh Open he was making centuries for fun, but could somehow not manage to kills his match with Lee Walker off. Had he done, the possibilities were endless because the breaks were flying in from his cue. Given the run he has been on though, it is not a surprise that he may be struggling for a little bit of extra confidence that is required to finish off opponents. If he could find that again, he could romp to this title with even more ease than he did in Latvia way back at the seasons start. This section is not close to being one filled with top 16 opposition and if he focuses from the start, I sense a winning week is coming soon for the Australian.
Quarter Choice: Neil Robertson
Winner Selection: Neil Robertson
The event will be covered over the three days of play once the professional stages begin, on Eurosport and the Eurosport Player.
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