Snooker World Cup Preview

This week it is time for something different on the snooker tour as the bi-annual World Cup returns with 24 nations represented by their best players, all with dreams of making their country proud.

Anything is possible in this event as the China B pairing of Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong showed two years ago when they stormed to the title despite their combined age being less than half of the individuals playing in the event.

As you would expect with certain nations only having one professional on the tour there are a total of 15 amateur players out of the 48 that are involved.

As for the rules and format, each match in the group stages is best of five frames played over two initial singles, an alternate shot doubles frame and then the two reverse singles frames. All frames in the group stages must be played as points in the group standings are awarded for frames won.

In the knockout stages, matches are best-of-7 frames with two singles frames, an alternate shot doubles frame, the two reverse singles and then a second alternate shot doubles frame. If the match goes to a seventh and deciding frame, this will be played as a "sudden death" frame with the players being nominated by the captain beforehand.

With the top two in each group going through to the quarter-finals, these games will be played as Winner of Group A Vs Runner-up Group B etc.

Monday 3 July to Friday 7 July will see each individual round of group matches being played before the quarter-finals are played on Saturday and the semi-finals and final are both played on Sunday. So, these are the nations and pairings that will be battling for the right to call themselves World Cup winners.

Group A: 

China B: Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao (Seed 1) 

Wales: Mark Williams and Ryan Day (Seed 8)
Norway: Kurt Maflin and Christopher Watts
Finland: Robin Hull and Heikki Niva
Malaysia: Thor Chuan Leong and Moh Keen Ho
Brazil: Igor Figueiredo and Itaro Santos

In this group we start with the defending champions China B who are made up of the same winning players in Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong. The win was by no means a fluke as both players have individual success on the tour since. In 2015 they topped the group of death with England, Thailand and the Republic of Ireland so certainly had to do it the hard way. However, this year there is more pressure and expectation as there opponents will all want to claim the scalps of the successful duo.

Eighth seeds Wales have a new partnership that will be full of confidence following the recent Riga Masters. Ryan Day outranks Michael White for Wales this time around and will therefore partner Mark Williams. Day has just captured his first title at the Riga Masters where he beat Williams 5-4 in the semi-finals. They're both in good form and should be able to form a good partnership as well. Williams and White reached the semi-finals in 2015 and topped their group, and I expect them to at least reach those same heights again.

Then on to the unseeded nations, and we have a newbie as Finland join the World Cup. Their lone tour player Robin Hull is partnered by Heikki Niva. Long time readers of my blog or Twitter feed will know of my support for Hull as I recognise exactly what he can do and achieve. If Hull is on form, Finland could be one of the dark horses in this group. At the end of the day, his heavy scoring his good enough to win any frame against any opponent which could see them pick up plenty of vital points. Heikki Niva is not someone I know a great deal about. I actually thought that Finnish amateur champion Patrik Tiihonen would get the gig here, while Niva was only a quarter-finalist in the 2017 national championships. Niva did enter this year's Q School without a huge amount of success along with entering the European amateur where he lost in the Last 64.

Kurt Maflin and Norway have a new partner for this year as Anita Maflin has made way for Norwegian amateur champion Christopher Watts. Maflin, in the same vein as Hull, is someone who can win any frame against any player with his heavy scoring and can therefore cause a lot of problems for players in this event. Watts should be a solid partner for Maflin and I think they will finish better than 2015 when, as a seeded team, Mr and Mrs Maflin ended up fifth in the group.

Malaysia come into the 2015 world cup with a new partner for Thor Chuan Leong who with his previous, finished bottom of their group two years ago. I think they could be the weak links again this year and end up bottom of this group too with little success.

Meanwhile, Brazil are back with the same partnership that they had in 2015, although both players are now off of the tour. They came fourth in their group two years ago behind the likes of Scotland, Hong Kong and Belgium, so there is no reason why they could not do well this time around. Figueiredo is the stronger of the two and if he is not on good form they could flop to the bottom of this table rather quickly.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: Wales
2nd: China B
3rd: Finland
4th: Norway
5th: Brazil
6th: Malaysia 

Group B: 

China A: Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo (Seed 4) 

Hong Kong: Marco Fu and Au Chi Wai (Seed 5)
Republic of Ireland: Fergal O'Brien and Ken Doherty
Belgium: Luca Brecel and Jeff Jacobs
Germany: Lukas Kleckers and Simon Lichtenberg
Egypt: Hatem Yassen and Basem Eltahhan

The top seeds in this group are the China A team where, on this occasion, Liang Wenbo outranks Xiao Guodong to make the team. Two years ago they topped their group before losing to runners-up Scotland in the quarter-finals, while the Ding and Liang partnership is a tried and tested one that had the ultimate success in 2011 when they won that World Cup. On home soil they should thrive with a lot of support and for me they should be the clear favourites to capture this title as such a strong pairing.

Marco Fu and Hong Kong have the same partner for this year in 47 year-old Au Chi Wai. The pair finished third in their group in 2015 and in a very strong group again this time, Fu will need to be on top form if they are to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals. My gut says that Au Chi Wai will struggle against the pro players with greater experience on the big stage and that could be the thing to let their side down.

It is also the same partnership for Republic of Ireland though both men will be higher on confidence this time around. They finished fourth in the group in 2015 but were in the group containing China B, England and Thailand which you have to say is more difficult than what they face this year. The pair also played in the 2011 edition, making the quarter-finals before losing to China. Ken Doherty will be high on confidence after playing well to reach the semi-finals of the Riga Masters last week. Fergal O'Brien has also been playing solid snooker, qualifying for the Crucible in April and beating Barry Hawkins in the 2016 UK Championships with that unforgettable five century performance. For me this pair are one of two major dark horses to keep an eye on.

Belgium have a new partner for Luca Brecel this year as young Jeff Jacobs replaces Tomasz Skalski despite Skalski helping Brecel to top their group in 2015 ahead of Scotland and Hong Kong. They eventually lost in the quarter-finals to India but this all helps to further the career of Brecel in my opinion. Invaluable experience playing in Asia for Brecel will help him later in his career, but for this week he will have to be on top form you feel if Belgium are to progress beyond the group stages in a very difficult group.

Germany also have new partner for new pro Lukas Kleckers as Simon Litchenberg replaces Felix Frede. Frede and Kleckers finished fifth in the group of death in 2015 and Kleckers will have to be on top form with Litchenberg in order for them to break into the top four of this group, while the the top and qualification for the quarter-finals is probably beyond their reach. Still, Kleckers will have confidence having made the last 32 in Riga last week after defeating defending champion Neil Robertson on the way.

Egypt is a new team for the 2017 event with recently relegated Hatem Yassen who failed to make any impact as a professional and new pro Basem Eltahhan who won the African Championships in the late spring. In a very competitive group they are going to have their work cut out for them, and you would have to make them favourites to pick up the Group B wooden spoon.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: China A
2nd: Republic of Ireland
3rd: Belgium
4th: Hong Kong
5th: Germany
6th: Egypt 

Group C: 

England: Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins (Seed 3)
Australia: Neil Robertson and Kurt Dunham (Seed 6)
Iran: Hossein Vafei and Soheil Vahedi
Switzerland: Alexander Ursenbacher and Darren Paris
Malta: Alex Borg and Duncan Bezzina
Pakistan: Hamza Akbar and Shahram Changezi

Group C is led by a completely new World Cup partnership for England. Selby and Bingham were the two representatives for 2015 though they missed out on the quarter-finals on head to head to Thailand. This year Selby has chosen not to take his place and instead England will be led by Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins. The left handed duo look chalk and cheese in their approaches with Trump's ultra-aggressive style while Hawkins is very solid and on any kind of form makes very few mistakes. As a completely new pairing it is tough to tell how they will go though for me I think they could be vulnerable if some of the dark horses of this group find form. The bookies make them tournament favourites but I would put them second or third in the betting behind China A and Wales perhaps.

Neil Robertson has a new partner as Kurt Dunham replaces Vinnie Calabrese from 2015 for Australia. Robertson just about carried Calabrese into the quarter-finals in 2015 before losing to China B in the quarter-finals and you feel that Robertson may have to be on top form if they are to get any further this time around. As practice partners and two guys that seem to get on well, Dunham and Robertson should forge a decent doubles partnership which may help them into the quarter-finals.

Hossein Vafei has a new partner for this year's World Cup and he will also have endlessly more confidence after last seasons escapades. A run of fine results helped him climb the rankings and show that he could be a force for the future, and there's no reason after his run to the China Open semi-finals that he could have similar success on Chinese soil this week. Soheil Vahedi is new to the tour after winning the World Amateur Championship and is actually staying with Hossein Vafei to base himself in the UK now he's on the tour. The pair have known each other since their childhood days which will make for a great partnership for the doubles and they will be able to take confidence from each other, and know what to say to get the best out of each other. For me they are the big dark horses for this event and I think they could do very well.

Switzerland are a new team for 2017 with the re-emerging pro Alexander Ursenbacher leading for them. Ursenbacher made the final round of World qualifying in April and showed some form before a last 32 exit in Latvia last week in a stunning last 64 win over Elliot Slessor where Slessor only scored four points. However, I'm not sure how far he and Darren Paris can go as a partnership but the top four is definitely a possibility, though the quarter-finals is probably a bridge too far.

There is also a new partnership for Malta as Tony Drago will not join Alex Borg, which makes them a quite weak pairing for this season in my view. The pair had played well in previous World Cup's but it is unlikely Borg will be able to find the same magic without Drago and they are unlikely to challenge for a place in the top two.

Hamza Akbar has a new partner for the Pakistan team this year, despite a strong previous partnership had seen them finish third in their 2015 group and only a frame from qualifying for the quarter-finals ahead of Australia. In a particular highlight they were able to beat the Northern Irish pairing of Swail and Greene 4-1 as well as beating Australia 3-2. If Akbar can create the same magic with his new partner they could break into the top four, although the top two is probably just out of reach once again.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: England
2nd: Iran
3rd: Australia
4th: Switzerland
5th: Pakistan
6th: Malta

Group D: 

Scotland: John Higgins and Anthony McGill (Seed 2)
Northern Ireland: Mark Allen and Joe Swail (Seed 6)
Thailand: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Noppon Saengkham
India: Aditya Mehta and Brijesh Damani
Cyprus: Michael Georgiou and Antonis Poullos
Israel: Eden Sharav and Shachar Ruberg

Scotland have a new pairing from when they finished as runner-up in 2015. John Higgins remains the front man for the Scottish team but this time he plays alongside Anthony McGill instead of previous 2011 and 2015 partner Stephen Maguire. McGill reached the quarter-finals in Riga but ironically Maguire made the final. The gap in rankings between McGill and Maguire was a lot bigger prior to Riga and while McGill is still ahead it is only now by one spot. It is going to be very difficult for McGill and Higgins to share the same chemistry that Higgins and Maguire did having been so close for a number of years, but the Scottish players all seem to be very close which stands them in good stead.

Good friends Mark Allen and Joe Swail form another new pairing for Northern Ireland. Allen did not play in 2015 as Swail and Greene did not make it out of the group stages falling just short after the 4-1 defeat to Pakistan. When Allen did appear back in 2011 he made it all the way to the final with Gerard Greene and with someone he is very close to he should form a good doubles partnership and the pair should be able to spur each other on. You will notice that throughout the preview I have referred to pairings and good partnerships being the key rather than individuals being able to do it on their own, and for me this is one of the strongest partnerships in the draw.

Thailand too have a new partnership as Noppon Saengkham joins Thepchaiya Un-Nooh for this year in replacement for Dechawat Poomjaeng who has dropped off tour since the 2015 edition. Thailand will again hope to upset the odds as they did two years ago when they made it to the quarter-finals ahead of an England team that was made up of the two highest ranked players in the world. However, two very streaky players such as Thepchaiya and Noppon could either did incredibly well or fall down the table rapidly and is difficult to tell which will happen ahead of time. For me though in a pretty strong group I think they will end up in the mid-table, just short of the quarter-finals.

The India team for 2017 has suffered a huge blow in that Pankaj Advani will not be teaming up with Aditya Mehta again. The 2015 semi-finalists played brilliantly to finish just behind China A in their group that year before beating Belgium and narrowly losing out to Scotland. However, I now expect them to struggle a little more in Pankaj's absence as him and Aditya Mehta had a partnership that will be tough to replicate.

Cyrprus is a new team for the 2017 World Cup. Michael Georgiou leads the team here having decided to represent Cyprus as his "sporting country" in 2016 having previous been a representative of England. Georgiou scored a nice win against Kyren Wilson in the China Championship last 128 and can beat anyone over one frame which could mean they could cause a surprise along the way. His partner is not someone I have heard a lot about and that potentially means most of the points will come from Georgiou's cue during the group stages.

In a similar vein Israel is a new team for 2017 with Eden Sharav being the front man for them. Sharav had previously been a representative for Scotland as his "sporting country". However, Sharav was born in Israel and will be keen to do his home country proud. His partner Shachar Ruberg has slightly more experience in tournament play I would say, having been a fixture in Q School over the years and appearing in the Six Reds tournaments where he has played well in the past. Sharav himself has had improved results in the last few months and can do some damage over one frame against other professionals. The top four is certainly on and they may be very big outsiders to make it into the quarter-finals.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: Northern Ireland
2nd: Scotland
3rd: Thailand
4th: Israel
5th: Cyprus
6th: India

Tournament Runner-Up: China A
Tournament Winner: Northern Ireland


This tournament is all set to be broadcast in full on Eurosport TV and the Eurosport Player for those with subscriptions to that service. Events like this that differ from the norm are exciting and I am looking forward to how it all unfolds over the next week.

Ryan's ranker in Riga

Ryan Day has beaten Stephen Maguire in the final of the Riga Masters to claim his first ever ranking title. Ten years on from his first two ranking event finals, the Welshman also overcame Barry Hawkins (who denied him victory in the World Grand Prix final), Robert Milkins, Kyren Wilson, Joe Perry and his soon to be World Cup partner Mark Williams on the way to the final.

Day has been knocking on the door of winning a ranking event for some time with fine form in 2017 so far. A spell of play in February and March saw Day reach the German Masters quarter-finals, Gibraltar Open semi-finals and the aforementioned World Grand Prix final.

With the pressure of winning a ranking event finally unloaded from the 37 year-old it would now be no surprise if he soared and collected even bigger titles as well as making it back somewhere close to his highest career ranking of 6, after victory in Latvia has positioned him at 15 in the current rankings and 13 in the early provisional end-of-season list.

In the final, Day surged into an early lead and put Maguire on the back foot very early on. After an error from the Scot in the opener, Day made a break of 59 to take the 1-0 advantage. Maguire then had several chances to win the second frame after a couple of misses and safety mistakes from the Welshman, but after errors himself with three reds remaining and then a miss on the green shortly after, Day was able to win the battle on the green and clear to double his lead.

Day then seized his opportunity in the third with a good pot into the middle giving him the first chance, and he made it count as a break of 77 saw him take the frame in one visit to move 3-0 ahead in little over 40 minutes of playing time. At this stage Maguire was looking very shaky and becoming frustrated by his lack of form in the final. This time he missed a sitter of a red when in with a golden opening to get his first frame on the board. After following that up with critical safety errors, Day was able to clear the last red and colours with a marvellous pot on the brown along the way to stretching his lead to four and positioning himself within a frame of the title.

However, he then had a short mid-session interval to think about what he was about to achieve and naturally some pressure started to come back onto his shoulders. He very narrowly missed a red early in the fifth and left the opportunity for Maguire, who this time was able to grab it with both hands as he waded in with a run of 119 (the highest of the final) to get his first frame on the board. The four times ranking runner-up was made to wait even longer as critical safety mistakes left chances for Maguire who dominated the sixth frame and got another one back at 2-4.

The pressure would now be mounting on Day, while Maguire would have been aware that getting a third frame back may forge a collapse from his opponent and fully open the door for a comeback victory. Although, the former UK Champion took a big risk early in frame seven as he made Day play from where the cue ball had finished, following a foul from the Welshman. A pot was on for Day along the cushion with the spider that, while difficult enough for Maguire to refuse it, was still very much one you would give Day a good chance of potting. That is exactly what he did and soon, in the frame needed for victory, Day had put together a break of 58 before failing with a cannon into reds just a few pots from taking the title. He would soon be feeling it once again as Maguire took on a long red and fluked it into the adjacent corner and gifting him an opening to get right back into the frame.

The last two reds proved illusive in their position on the cushion, but Maguire's safety was not up to scratch as he left a red over the corner which Day potted along with the pink to leave his opponent requiring a snooker to stay in the match. A long battle ensued as the Scot put Day in some very difficult snookers, but after eventually potting yellow and green the 5-2 victory and title of Riga Masters champion was in the bag.

"Fair play to Ryan, I'm glad that he's won a tournament because he should have won one years ago." Maguire stated after expressing the disappointment of not being able to bring his best game to the big occasion. The 36 year-old will continue to wait for his sixth ranking title, four and a half years after winning the 2013 Welsh Open - which is also his only full ranking event win since 2008 when he lifted the China Open. A return of one full ranking event in nine years is not even close to fulfilment of potential for the former world number two.

"I was lucky, Stephen did not play his best in the final, but this means a lot to me. It has been a long time coming, so it is nice to get a trophy". Day meanwhile portrayed his relief as well as sheer delight at the Trophy presentation, as he finally gets his hands on some major silverware.

"It's pretty cool (to win) I played pretty well all weekend and the final was probably the worst I played, but I could not care less."

After several first time ranking winners in the last 12 months, Day was widely regarded as the best not to have put his name up there alongside the other full ranking event winners. The debate now rumbles on to who is now the leader of that list but the Welshman will not care one bit as he goes home with £50,000 in his back pocket and a trophy by his side.

He will now join Mark Williams to represent Wales in the Snooker World Cup that starts next Monday, July 3 in China, as China B of Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong defend the title they won two years ago.


Special mention is also needed for Ken Doherty who, after dropping off tour at the end of last season and now playing as an invitational tour card holder, made it all the way to the semi-finals in Latvia and a blog with further details on his Riga rise will follow later in the week.

Riga Masters Preview

The first full snooker event of the 2017/2018 arrives on Friday in Latvia as 66 players battle it out for the Riga Masters title.

Neil Robertson is the defending champion after beating Michael Holt in the final a year ago, and as such his Last 128 tie with Daniel Ward has been held over to the 'Arena Riga'. World Champion Mark Selby's Last 128 tie with Alex Borg had also been saved for the venue, but Selby has since withdrawn after breaking his big toe by dropping glass onto it. Alex Borg therefore goes into the Last 64.

Along with this, there are two further held over matches to take care of on Friday morning with the two Latvia wildcards. Tatjana Vasiljeva will take on Anthony McGill while Rodion Judin faces Chen Zhe.

There are a few top players that chose not to enter this event as the first of the season, while a couple of others did not come through the last 128 stage that was held in Preston three weeks ago. Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ali Carter and Liang Wenbo were all non-entries while Shaun Murphy lost out to Luca Brecel at the Guildhall while Mark Allen fell to Jack Lisowski.

Last year's runner-up Holt did not make it through either, though he had a rather tough draw against Barry Hawkins. Young Chinese Yan Bingtao and former German Masters champion Martin Gould did not make it either, while Ricky Walden was whitewashed in both last 128 ties he played that week.

With so many players missing and a draw that was completely unseeded for the event it offers big opportunities for guys down the rankings to have a good week, collect some much needed prize money and a first-time ranking winner is also a big possibility.

Quarter 1 

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Michael Georgiou 

Anthony McGill or Tatjana Vasiljeva Vs Stuart Carrington

Kurt Maflin Vs Alan McManus 

Eden Sharav Vs Jimmy White 

Gary Wilson Vs Ken Doherty

Robin Hull Vs Chen Zhe or Rodion Judin

Zhang Anda Vs Alex Borg

Tom Ford Vs Hammad Miah 

This is clearly the most open quarter of the draw, especially now that Mark Selby has withdrawn. Anthony McGill has the advantage of getting some match practice in and getting to know the conditions in Riga before the main stages. He has a decent record in this event as well making the semi-finals in 2014 and the quarter-finals last year. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is certainly a contender every time he brings his best game, but his inconsistency is often the issue, and it showed last season as he finished 67th on the one season money list despite making two semi-finals. I think he could find trouble against Michael Georgiou who scored a big victory against Kyren Wilson in the China Championship last 128 round. Zhang Anda is another name that could come through the draw, but he seems to struggle for consistency in his game. A heavy scorer on his day, but often he cannot back up big breaks, as he showed by making the highest break of the China Championship last 128 round but losing 5-2 to Shaun Murphy.

I have picked out two European players in this section though that could certainly get on a good run this week and make the semi-finals. The first is a firm favourite of the blog in Robin Hull. Watching Hull in the China Championship up close he did very little wrong in defeat to an increasingly solid Anthony Hamilton. I think this could be a very good tournament and start off a good season for the Finnish potter, with two new sponsors on board and offering support that should see him enter as many events as possible. Starting from £0 on the ranking list is easier than it would have been two or three years ago before events like this and the home nations along with other events that are largely unseeded. It shows that, as long as players have a certain quality, they can come through quickly as the likes of Anthony Hamilton, Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson demonstrated by shooting up the rankings last season. Hull certainly has the quality to do the same.

Kurt Maflin is the other who often performs well in making the last 16 or quarter-finals of events without kicking on and fulfilling his potential as someone who could become a ranking winner. A tough draw against Alan McManus in round one is not necessarily what you would want, but McManus struggled last season and is certainly not unbeatable. I would expect him to make the last 16 if he beats McManus and if he plays well he could certainly go a long way beyond that too.

My opening quarter choice though is Tom Ford. Ford was a runner-up here in 2015 to Barry Hawkins and early on last season he took advantage of top player absentees by performing well to make the final of the Paul Hunter Classic. Ford certainly has the talent to win a ranking title, and these results show that he is perhaps edging closer to making that a reality. At times his demeanour at the table when things are not going well allows opponents to take full advantage, rather than knuckling down and grinding out the result. If he is on top scoring though, he is certainly a contender for the title, just as he was two years ago.

Best of the Rest: Robin Hull and Kurt Maflin

Quarter Choice: Tom Ford 

Quarter 2

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Jimmy Robertson Vs John Astley

Andrew Higginson Vs Jamie Barrett 

Stuart Bingham Vs Mark Davis

Jamie Jones Vs Sam Craigie

Jack Lisowski Vs Matthew Stevens 

Neil Robertson or Daniel Ward Vs Lukas Kleckers

Oli Lines Vs Christopher Keogan 

Stephen Maguire Vs Gerard Greene

This quarter is also filled with quality starting with 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham. Bingham has a tough first task against Mark Davis, but if he gets through that he could well get on a big run this week, as he strikes me as one of the players who will be prepared to his the ground running. Jack Lisowski overcame Mark Allen to make it to Riga and he needs these positive results to continue after finishing 75th on the one season money list after the 2017 World Championships. However, despite these promising signs against Allen he could not back it up against Allan Taylor in the China Championship last 128 round shortly after. Matthew Stevens is now with a new cue after the one he used for his entire professional career to this point was stolen in the off season. How he adapts to the new cue will be key to how things go in the new season. It could offer the Welshman a fresh start and improved results, or it could take him some time to adapt such was his lengthy relationship with the former cue. Stephen Maguire meanwhile will be wanting to build on a quarter-final at the World Championships to close out a season that was largely disappointing and saw him drift down the ranking list and well outside of the top 16. Maguire is long overdue a ranking success and this may be the week that things turn in his favour.

My dark horse of the second quarter is Jimmy Robertson. Robertson made three centuries in nine frames won at the Preston qualifiers as he made it through to Latvia as well as the China Championship final stages. Robertson did make it to the last 16 of this tournament 12 months ago, before going to have a hit and miss season. However, it did end with a little success as he qualified for the Crucible once again. His heavy scoring best can make him a match for most, and the draw has offered him a route to the last 16 that does not involve playing any of the world's top stars, and I think he has the tools to take advantage and maybe go on further and challenge for the title, as a former European Tour semi-finalist.

Another Robertson is my second quarter choice, defending Riga Masters champion Neil Robertson. The Australian having his last 128 round match held over could again offer an advantage to him. You would certainly not expect him to lose that match, so it should offer extra match practice and a chance to adapt to the playing conditions that the players will face over the weekend. From there I think Stephen Maguire will be his main challenger for the quarter, and after a season that did not necessarily pan out the way he would have liked after the early season victory in Latvia, Robertson will be prepared and determined to kick things off in style, just as he did a year ago. 

Best of the Rest: Jimmy Robertson

Quarter Choice: Neil Robertson

Quarter 3

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Mark King Vs Hossein Vafei

Zhou Yuelong Vs Paul Davison

Joe Perry Vs David Gilbert

Tian Pengfei Vs Ben Jones

Robert Milkins W/O Wang Yuchen 

Barry Hawkins Vs Ryan Day

Craig Steadman Vs Chen Zifan 

Kyren Wilson Vs Ben Woollaston 

As we move into the bottom half of the draw, this is the quarter that looks to have the most quality players. Robert Milkins is the beneficiary of a walkover that means he will not have to play until the last 32 on Saturday. Milkins should arrive in Riga with some confidence having won the Pink Ribbon pro-am event a couple of weeks ago, after a poor end to last season that saw him fall in the first round of world qualifying. Mark King faces Hossein Vafei in a repeat of the Northern Irish open quarter-final from last season. That one was an interesting affair to say the least and Hossein has come on in strides since then. A good end to last season for the Iranian will give him a lot of confidence and I could see him being a serious title contender by the end of this campaign. Joe Perry will be looking to get back into the top 16 after failing to reach the Crucible in April. Perry faces a tough last 64 draw against David Gilbert who himself has been edging closer to the 16 and the winner of that match could easily be the quarter winner. Ryan Day also has a tasty tie against Barry Hawkins who we will come to later on. That one is a repeat of the World Grand Prix final where Day came close again to breaking his ranking title duck, and if we get two or three first time ranking winners this season, I would expect him to finally get on that list.

The outsider I have my eye on here though is Chinese Zhou Yuelong. Zhou finished 24th on the one year money list last season after qualifying for the Crucible and making the Welsh Open quarter-finals. That remains his best finish in a ranking event, and after a few years on tour now I think he will kick on and potentially make a semi-final or final. The close relationship that some of the young Chinese players have, thanks as well to being looked after by the Victoria Snooker Academy, is helping all of them grow and I can only see their steady progression continuing along with this.

My next quarter choice though is another former winner of this title in 2015 champion Barry Hawkins. Hawkins continues to quietly go about his business and impress in a number of tournaments. Last season he was the fifth best money earner and only £12,000 behind third place John Higgins who he fell to in the World Championship semi-finals. He added to his ranking title tally in February in what was a pretty dominant display at the World Grand Prix and one of the most impressive performances of the whole season in my view. Add to that one more final, three semi-finals including the World's and two further quarter-finals and Hawkins is displaying that he is much more than simply the solid player that he is seen as. In a venue where he has reached the semi-finals and won the tournament on his only two visits I expect him to start this season as he means to go on and challenge for the silverware. 

Best of the Rest: Zhou Yuelong

Quarter Choice: Barry Hawkins

Quarter 4 

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Nigel Bond Vs Jackson Page 

Xiao Guodong Vs Mark Joyce

Noppon Saengkham Vs Cao Yupeng

Michael White Vs Sam Baird

Elliot Slessor Vs Alexander Ursenbacher

Robbie Williams Vs Ashley Carty

Mark Williams Vs Peter Ebdon 

Luca Brecel Vs Lee Walker

Finally, the concluding quarter of the draw is again a little light on top stars. Mark Williams is the biggest name of the 16 here by far and he will be hoping to back up April's China Open final with a solid start here in Latvia, where he made the semi-finals last season. Williams has made the switch to SightRight coaching techniques, possibly after persuasion from practice partner Lee Walker (who could meet Williams in the last 32) and will be keen to make a telling start to the season with this in mind. Fellow Welshman Michael White is the second highest ranked player in this quarter but faces a dodgy opener against Sam Baird in Riga. Baird has won the last three meetings between the pair, all of which came in 2016 and included wins at the World and International Championships. White has not quite kicked on as many would have expected him to after he won the Indian Open in 2015, and perhaps this season will be one where he can put some much more consistently impressive results together. Thai Noppon Saengkham qualified for the Crucible in April to avoid slipping through the tours trap door, and he has a reasonable draw that could see the former China Open quarter-finalist pick up a few wins this week. It is also worth giving a special mention to Jackson Page who won his last 128 match against a fellow Q-School top-up and will learn a lot from these experiences this season. Whatever the result, he will probably be able to pick up something playing an experienced pro in Nigel Bond, and it would not be a surprise to see him come through.

The best of the rest for this section is Xiao Guodong. The Chinese player had a resurgence last year as he made the last 16 of the World Championships in April and finished last season at 25th on the one year money list. Xiao also started the season by making the quarter-finals last season in Riga before losing out to Darren Morgan and that set him on the way. Xiao also made the Shoot-Out final for the second time, having never recovering from the manner in which he lost the first in 2015. Say what you like about the tournament, but defeat in 2015's dying seconds saw him go on a downturn of form that saw him finish some 45 places lower on the one year money list in 2015/2016 than he did last season.

Someone else who I expect to learn a lot from disappointment and move forward to better things is Luca Brecel. Defeat from 7-1 up in the last 32 of the World Championship could be a potentially big learning curve and career changing moment for Brecel. From such a turnaround I think he'll be able to identify much more easily the improvements that are needed to become a better player and close out these big matches in the best tournaments against the top players. He has recovered at the start of this season by scoring another win against Shaun Murphy to make the last 64 here and coming through comfortably in the last 128 of the China Championship a couple of days afterwards. Brecel is also someone who has not quite kicked on from making the German Masters and Shoot-Out finals of 2016, but defeat at the Crucible may be the wake-up call he needs to kick on and continue climbing the rankings. The Belgian finished outside of the top 40 in last years money list despite Crucible qualification and a run to the UK Championship quarter-finals for the second time. Therefore, this year is going to be one where he needs to find greater consistency in order to stay in the world's top 32. Good early signs in Preston three weeks ago suggest no reason why he cannot have a deep run in the draw in Latvia.

Best of the Rest: Xiao Guodong
Quarter Choice: Luca Brecel

Tournament Winner Selection: Barry Hawkins


Coverage of this event on Eurosport TV is a little hit and miss but it will be on Eurosport Player throughout the three days. Matches are played over the best-of-7 frames up until the semi-finals and final which are the best-of-9 as the players ease themselves into the 2017/2018 snooker campaign.