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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