His million pound dream was ended by Mark King who made his own dreams come true in Northern Ireland by winning his first full ranking title, while Marco Fu was victorious in Scotland in December before Stuart Bingham concluded the series by lifting the Ray Reardon trophy in Cardiff in February.
Plenty more big stories are ahead of us in this years home nations, with the £1 million jackpot still up for grabs in the unlikely event that someone wins all four of these events, but as we know in snooker and all of sport - anything is possible.
With the carrot dangling, all of the top stars are heading for Barnsley including Ronnie O'Sullivan and world champion Mark Selby as well as Judd Trump who showed brilliant form in the home nations series last season. Despite not winning any of the events, he made two finals and a semi-final in the three events he played in.
While the million will still be a long way off for the winner this week, whoever does come out on top will head home with the Steve Davis trophy, £70,000 and receive a lot of attention in Belfast in November.
Quarter 1
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Liang Wenbo Vs Duane Jones
Tom Ford Vs Xu Si
Jamie Jones Vs Basem Eltahhan
Yan Bingtao Vs Noppon Saengkham
Anthony McGill Vs Michael Holt
Allan Taylor or David Lilley Vs Lu Haotian
Akani Songsermsawad Vs Matthew Bolton
Joe Swail Vs Chris Totten
Jimmy Robertson Vs Adam Duffy
Gary Wilson Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Li Hang Vs Chris Wakelin
Neil Robertson Vs Billy Castle
Mei Xiwen Vs Ian Preece
Aditya Mehta Vs Sam Craigie
Chen Zifan Vs Sanderson Lam
Barry Hawkins Vs Peter Lines
The top quarter is where we find last year's ecstatic winner Liang Wenbo although this season so far has been a different story for the Chinese number 2. So far he has only competed in two ranking events, losing his heldover last 128 tie at the China Championship before then losing in the last 64 a month later at the World Open. Other than that we have not seen much of Liang and he may be coming into this week quite rusty. In the home nations we will see a number of big ties from round one with only the top 16 being seeded and the remaining players drawn at random. A prime example of that is the match between Anthony McGill and Michael Holt where the winner could go on to do very well in this tournament especially as there is not really one name that stands out in this section as the man to beat.
An in-form Neil Robertson would certainly receive the "man to beat" label but his form continues to disappoint, having just lost 5-2 in Shanghai Masters qualifying to give Chris Totten his first win as a tour pro. Robertson now has four events left to get back in the top 16 on the provisional Masters seedings list, meaning there is now serious danger that the former Masters champion will not be heading back to the Ally Pally in January. His first round opponent Billy Castle showed form recently by making the last 16 of the European Masters beating Martin Gould along the way and it would not surprise me at all if he pulled off another surprise win.
Beyond that there are two young Asian players who could be dark horses for a big run this week. The first is Yan Bingtao who had a fantastic first season on tour, and given the way that these young Chinese players all appear to be thriving on the big stage, he could well back that up in his second season. His best so far this season was a last 32 at the China Championship but there's every chance he could top that here this week. Meanwhile, Thailand's Akani Songsermsawad who could get a run this week, especially as he has been handed a draw where he will be the favourite of the four guys in his mini section to make the last 32. Akani's season kicked into gear in India just as it did in 2016. Wins there against Maguire and Dale saw him into the last 16, one round short of his performance from the year beforehand. He soon backed that up by winning the final four frames of his 6-4 victory against Marco Fu in International Championship qualifying and he has also qualified for Shanghai by defeating Andrew Higginson this week. If he keeps that form up he could certainly reach the latter stages in Barnsley.
My first overall quarter choice is someone who operated with consistency in last year's home nations and that is Barry Hawkins. In the four home nations events last season his worst finish was a narrow last 16 defeat to Liang Wenbo in Scotland, while he made the quarter-finals in Cardiff, the semi-finals of this event in Manchester and lost out to Mark King in the Northern Irish Open final. Hawkins has not had the greatest ever start to the season but that is not all that uncommon for him and not a reason to worry. The biggest aspect of this choice was the fact that the draw has worked out in such a way that he would not have to play a anyone ranked in the world's top 64 to make it to the last 16, so if he plays well enough and keeps his head down he should be able to build up some form and confidence ahead of the latter stages. As I mentioned earlier, there is not one name that jumps out based on the seasons form so I think this could be a good opportunity for Hawkins to get his season going after a strong finish to last campaign.
An in-form Neil Robertson would certainly receive the "man to beat" label but his form continues to disappoint, having just lost 5-2 in Shanghai Masters qualifying to give Chris Totten his first win as a tour pro. Robertson now has four events left to get back in the top 16 on the provisional Masters seedings list, meaning there is now serious danger that the former Masters champion will not be heading back to the Ally Pally in January. His first round opponent Billy Castle showed form recently by making the last 16 of the European Masters beating Martin Gould along the way and it would not surprise me at all if he pulled off another surprise win.
Beyond that there are two young Asian players who could be dark horses for a big run this week. The first is Yan Bingtao who had a fantastic first season on tour, and given the way that these young Chinese players all appear to be thriving on the big stage, he could well back that up in his second season. His best so far this season was a last 32 at the China Championship but there's every chance he could top that here this week. Meanwhile, Thailand's Akani Songsermsawad who could get a run this week, especially as he has been handed a draw where he will be the favourite of the four guys in his mini section to make the last 32. Akani's season kicked into gear in India just as it did in 2016. Wins there against Maguire and Dale saw him into the last 16, one round short of his performance from the year beforehand. He soon backed that up by winning the final four frames of his 6-4 victory against Marco Fu in International Championship qualifying and he has also qualified for Shanghai by defeating Andrew Higginson this week. If he keeps that form up he could certainly reach the latter stages in Barnsley.
My first overall quarter choice is someone who operated with consistency in last year's home nations and that is Barry Hawkins. In the four home nations events last season his worst finish was a narrow last 16 defeat to Liang Wenbo in Scotland, while he made the quarter-finals in Cardiff, the semi-finals of this event in Manchester and lost out to Mark King in the Northern Irish Open final. Hawkins has not had the greatest ever start to the season but that is not all that uncommon for him and not a reason to worry. The biggest aspect of this choice was the fact that the draw has worked out in such a way that he would not have to play a anyone ranked in the world's top 64 to make it to the last 16, so if he plays well enough and keeps his head down he should be able to build up some form and confidence ahead of the latter stages. As I mentioned earlier, there is not one name that jumps out based on the seasons form so I think this could be a good opportunity for Hawkins to get his season going after a strong finish to last campaign.
Best of the Rest: Yan Bingtao and Akani Songsermsawad
Quarter Choice: Barry Hawkins
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Robbie Williams
Mark Joyce Vs Yu De Lu
Matthew Stevens Vs Eden Sharav
David Gilbert Vs Josh Boileau
Luca Brecel Vs Ryan Day
Mark Williams Vs David Grace
Jamie Barrett Vs Li Yuan
Rory McLeod Vs Jack Lisowski
Alan McManus Vs Rhys Clark
Zhang Yong Vs Kurt Dunham
Mark Davis Vs Chen Zhe
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Zhang Anda or Ian Burns
Stephen Maguire Vs Robert Milkins
Nigel Bond Vs Ashley Hugill
Matthew Selt Vs Alfie Burden
John Higgins Vs Elliot Slessor
The second quarter is packed with some of the games top stars, including four of the six ranking event winners from this season so far. Judd Trump is the most recent of those after coming out on top in Lommel and if he continues that fine form than there is every chance he could go one better than he did in Manchester a year ago and win back to back ranking titles. His draw for the early rounds is one he should get through if on form and the latter stages will beckon. At the other end of the draw we find Indian Open winner John Higgins who has not quite found the same form in the two events here and has a tough potential route from the last 32 onwards here. Riga Masters runner-up Stephen Maguire is a potential last 32 opponent for Higgins and Maguire is yet to kick on after making the final of the first tournament this season.
The real section of doom in the draw is where we find Riga Masters winner Ryan Day up against China Championship winner Luca Brecel with the winner likely to face Mark Williams in the last 64. Day is now operating with a new cue after the one his success in June came with broke a month or so ago and he his results suggest he is still finding his way with the new equipment. Brecel though has backed up his winning form by making the semi-finals of his next event in China at the World Open. Last week on home turf he made the last 16 before exiting to eventual runner-up Stuart Bingham and given his talent he will only continue to get stronger now that he knows he can win. Williams has been Mr Consistent so far this season. From the four ranking events he has played thus far he has made the quarter-finals of all four but only surpassed this mark once by making the semi-finals in Latvia. A tough draw awaits him but if he can keep going along as he has been then he still has victories in him.
One man in the draw who I think could operate as a dark horse is Jack Lisowski. A point I have made a couple of times this season is that Lisowski seems to prefer the best of seven frame matches, and the evidence supporting that are his last 16 appearances in the Riga and European Masters. Most recently, he came close to beating Mark Selby in the last 16 in Lommel and he also looked sharp with two centuries in a 5-1 win over Jimmy White to qualify for the Shanghai Masters. That means that overall, Lisowski has won six of his seven qualifying matches in this campaign and it is about time he kicked on.
My overall quarter choice on this occasion is Ronnie O'Sullivan. The first thing I will say about O'Sullivan is that he will be committed to the home nations series again this season, just as he was last year thanks to his work with Eurosport that runs alongside it. He may not have played a lot this season but when he has, the results have been decent. In the invitational Hong Kong Masters he beat John Higgins and Judd Trump to make the final, and only lost out narrowly to overall winner Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals of the China Championship or his name probably would have been on the trophy that week. Since then he has only played two matches, in qualifying for the International Championships and Shanghai Masters, but completed easy 6-0 and 5-0 wins to do so without bother. His recent "numpty" comments on Twitter about the lower ranked players on tour have put him under pressure to make sure he beats these players into the earth in the opening rounds this week. In doing that he would clear any rust in his game and that could all set him up for a run to the title this week.
The real section of doom in the draw is where we find Riga Masters winner Ryan Day up against China Championship winner Luca Brecel with the winner likely to face Mark Williams in the last 64. Day is now operating with a new cue after the one his success in June came with broke a month or so ago and he his results suggest he is still finding his way with the new equipment. Brecel though has backed up his winning form by making the semi-finals of his next event in China at the World Open. Last week on home turf he made the last 16 before exiting to eventual runner-up Stuart Bingham and given his talent he will only continue to get stronger now that he knows he can win. Williams has been Mr Consistent so far this season. From the four ranking events he has played thus far he has made the quarter-finals of all four but only surpassed this mark once by making the semi-finals in Latvia. A tough draw awaits him but if he can keep going along as he has been then he still has victories in him.
One man in the draw who I think could operate as a dark horse is Jack Lisowski. A point I have made a couple of times this season is that Lisowski seems to prefer the best of seven frame matches, and the evidence supporting that are his last 16 appearances in the Riga and European Masters. Most recently, he came close to beating Mark Selby in the last 16 in Lommel and he also looked sharp with two centuries in a 5-1 win over Jimmy White to qualify for the Shanghai Masters. That means that overall, Lisowski has won six of his seven qualifying matches in this campaign and it is about time he kicked on.
My overall quarter choice on this occasion is Ronnie O'Sullivan. The first thing I will say about O'Sullivan is that he will be committed to the home nations series again this season, just as he was last year thanks to his work with Eurosport that runs alongside it. He may not have played a lot this season but when he has, the results have been decent. In the invitational Hong Kong Masters he beat John Higgins and Judd Trump to make the final, and only lost out narrowly to overall winner Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals of the China Championship or his name probably would have been on the trophy that week. Since then he has only played two matches, in qualifying for the International Championships and Shanghai Masters, but completed easy 6-0 and 5-0 wins to do so without bother. His recent "numpty" comments on Twitter about the lower ranked players on tour have put him under pressure to make sure he beats these players into the earth in the opening rounds this week. In doing that he would clear any rust in his game and that could all set him up for a run to the title this week.
Best of the Rest: Jack Lisowski and Luca Brecel
Quarter Choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Ding Junhui Vs Chris Keogan
Michael White Vs Lukas Kleckers
Craig Steadman Vs Robin Hull
Ben Woollaston Vs Peter Ebdon
Ali Carter Vs Oliver Lines
Martin O'Donnell Vs James Wattana
John Astley Vs Paul Davison
Joe Perry Vs Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty Vs Gerard Greene
Anthony Hamilton Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Stuart Carrington Vs Boonyarit Kaettikun
Mark Allen Vs Jimmy White
Fergal O'Brien Vs Liam Highfield
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Kurt Maflin
Dominic Dale Vs Daniel Wells
Shaun Murphy Vs Soheil Vahedi
Four of the six ranking winners from the start of this season were found in quarter two and as we enter the bottom half of the draw, the other two are located here in quarter three, and they could play each other in the last 64. Ding Junhui was victorious in Yushan at the World Open but this will be his first match in a ranking event outside of China since the World Championships. Ding's appearances in the home nations last season did not quite go to plan as he lost in the last 32 of this event and fell at the last 128 stage in both Northern Ireland and Wales. If on form he could well reach the latter stages here in Barnsley but I would fancy his chances a lot more in the International Championship in a couple of weeks. Paul Hunter Classic champion Michael White will give Ding a challenge in the last 64 should both negotiate lower ranked opposition in round one.
Non entries and qualifying losses mean that Ali Carter has only competed in qualifiers for the International Championships and Shanghai Masters since the China Championship two months ago, but with the draw he has I would expect him to make the last 16 at least this week and he could build on a semi-final appearance in China with another good run here. Mark Allen has been knocking on the door in the last month or so, playing some quality snooker, scoring heavily and in his last two events he has made the quarters in Lommel and semi-finals in Yushan. If he keeps that form going he should make the last 16 with comfort, but a trophy cannot be far away if he keeps playing well and working hard. My dark horse pick from this section is Ben Woollaston. Woollaston has quietly been going about his business lately but looks to be playing pretty well. He made the quarter-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany, and was unlucky in losing out to Neil Robertson 5-4 in the last 32 of the World Open, while last week he ran into an in-form Mark Allen in the last 16 of the European Masters. I certainly fancy his chances of getting through the first couple of rounds, and while the draw would certainly get harder from there there is no reason why he could not go on a run this week.
My third quarter pick for this week though is Shaun Murphy. Murphy has gotten off to a good start this season overall, making finals at the China Championship and Paul Hunter Classic that have really set him up for the season ahead. An early exit at the World Open can be explained by a neck injury he suffered on the flight between tournaments, and he scored well in his qualifier this week for the Shanghai Masters with two 85's and a century despite ending up on the losing side. By no means does he have an easy draw for this week but if he is scoring well it will take someone at the top of their game to beat him. Despite not making it past the last 64 in any of the four home nations series events last season, Murphy generally does quite well in the best-of-7 frame events which his European Tour record demonstrates, and I believe he will be targeting these events strongly this season.
Non entries and qualifying losses mean that Ali Carter has only competed in qualifiers for the International Championships and Shanghai Masters since the China Championship two months ago, but with the draw he has I would expect him to make the last 16 at least this week and he could build on a semi-final appearance in China with another good run here. Mark Allen has been knocking on the door in the last month or so, playing some quality snooker, scoring heavily and in his last two events he has made the quarters in Lommel and semi-finals in Yushan. If he keeps that form going he should make the last 16 with comfort, but a trophy cannot be far away if he keeps playing well and working hard. My dark horse pick from this section is Ben Woollaston. Woollaston has quietly been going about his business lately but looks to be playing pretty well. He made the quarter-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany, and was unlucky in losing out to Neil Robertson 5-4 in the last 32 of the World Open, while last week he ran into an in-form Mark Allen in the last 16 of the European Masters. I certainly fancy his chances of getting through the first couple of rounds, and while the draw would certainly get harder from there there is no reason why he could not go on a run this week.
My third quarter pick for this week though is Shaun Murphy. Murphy has gotten off to a good start this season overall, making finals at the China Championship and Paul Hunter Classic that have really set him up for the season ahead. An early exit at the World Open can be explained by a neck injury he suffered on the flight between tournaments, and he scored well in his qualifier this week for the Shanghai Masters with two 85's and a century despite ending up on the losing side. By no means does he have an easy draw for this week but if he is scoring well it will take someone at the top of their game to beat him. Despite not making it past the last 64 in any of the four home nations series events last season, Murphy generally does quite well in the best-of-7 frame events which his European Tour record demonstrates, and I believe he will be targeting these events strongly this season.
Best of the Rest: Mark Allen and Ben Woollaston
Quarter Choice: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Marco Fu Vs Tian Pengfei
Michael Georgiou Vs Hammad Miah
Mitchell Mann Vs Leo Fernandez
Zhou Yuelong Vs Andrew Higginson
Stuart Bingham Vs Lee Walker
Mark King Vs Fang Xiongman or Joe O'Connor
Martin Gould Vs Zhao Xintong
Hossein Vafei Vs Niu Zhuang
Graeme Dott Vs Thor Chuan Leong
Cao Yupeng Vs Hamza Akbar
Mike Dunn Vs Alex Borg
Kyren Wilson Vs Rod Lawler
Xiao Guodong Vs Wang Yuchen
Ricky Walden Vs Jak Jones
Sam Baird Vs Ross Muir
Mark Selby Vs Scott Donaldson
The final quarter is also full of players who are close to the top of their games right now. Three of the four semi-finalists from the European Masters are in this section along with the runner-up from the World Open. Starting with Stuart Bingham, he looked to be growing in confidence with his new cue throughout his run to the final in Lommel where he took out home favourite Luca Brecel and world number one Mark Selby along the way. He was back scoring heavily, looking strong overall and he performed well in the home series last year so looking at the draw he has another opportunity for a big run this week. Cao Yupeng made it all the way to the semi-finals at the European Masters which finally backed up that he is playing better this season. A win on Friday in the Shanghai Masters qualifiers means that he is now seven out of seven in the last 128/qualifying rounds for tournaments this season, and prior to his semi-final he made the last 16 in Yushan so watch out for him again this week.
Zhou Yuelong also made it to his first ranking event semi-final last week in Lommel and is improving all the time, like so many of the young Chinese players. Given the form he has been in this season I fancy his chances of making it to the last 16 and possibly beyond again this week, especially as he now seems more and more comfortable on the big occasions. Kyren Wilson will be looking to get back to the form he showed on the way to the final in Yushan where he made the final, after successive losses to Gerard Greene in the last 64 of the European Masters and Shanghai Masters qualifying this week. I again like his section of the draw but one thing I think Wilson does not do enough of is backing up one good week by building another strong one in the next tournament. A couple of examples from last year saw him lose in the first round of the UK Championships 6-3 the week after making the semi-finals of the Northern Irish Open, and after making the 2016 Indian Open final he was whitewashed in the early stages of the next two events.
The appearances of Marco Fu have been few and far between this season and he is another player who will be looking to build his form up ahead of a busy couple of months on the tour. In the two events he has played, the World Open and China Championship, he lost out in the last 32 stage and will not be at the International Championships after losing his last 128 qualifier. After one of his better seasons in 2016/2017, most people will forget that it actually took Fu until the UK Championships in December to make it past the last 32 of a ranking event in the campaign.
My fourth and final quarter selection for the English Open is the world number one Mark Selby. Selby only played in two of the home nations events last season so there is not much that can be taken from that form wise, and despite a slow start to the campaign he looked good last week in Lommel. In eighteen frames won at the venue he made six centuries and that all took him to the quarter-finals before he was taken out by an in-form Bingham. If that is a sign that his campaign is starting to get going and he brings his best form to Barnsley this week then I could see him storming through this quarter of the draw. When you consider that Selby won five ranking titles last season, I expect him to win regularly again this year and it will not be too long until he has his first trophy of 2017/2018.
Zhou Yuelong also made it to his first ranking event semi-final last week in Lommel and is improving all the time, like so many of the young Chinese players. Given the form he has been in this season I fancy his chances of making it to the last 16 and possibly beyond again this week, especially as he now seems more and more comfortable on the big occasions. Kyren Wilson will be looking to get back to the form he showed on the way to the final in Yushan where he made the final, after successive losses to Gerard Greene in the last 64 of the European Masters and Shanghai Masters qualifying this week. I again like his section of the draw but one thing I think Wilson does not do enough of is backing up one good week by building another strong one in the next tournament. A couple of examples from last year saw him lose in the first round of the UK Championships 6-3 the week after making the semi-finals of the Northern Irish Open, and after making the 2016 Indian Open final he was whitewashed in the early stages of the next two events.
The appearances of Marco Fu have been few and far between this season and he is another player who will be looking to build his form up ahead of a busy couple of months on the tour. In the two events he has played, the World Open and China Championship, he lost out in the last 32 stage and will not be at the International Championships after losing his last 128 qualifier. After one of his better seasons in 2016/2017, most people will forget that it actually took Fu until the UK Championships in December to make it past the last 32 of a ranking event in the campaign.
My fourth and final quarter selection for the English Open is the world number one Mark Selby. Selby only played in two of the home nations events last season so there is not much that can be taken from that form wise, and despite a slow start to the campaign he looked good last week in Lommel. In eighteen frames won at the venue he made six centuries and that all took him to the quarter-finals before he was taken out by an in-form Bingham. If that is a sign that his campaign is starting to get going and he brings his best form to Barnsley this week then I could see him storming through this quarter of the draw. When you consider that Selby won five ranking titles last season, I expect him to win regularly again this year and it will not be too long until he has his first trophy of 2017/2018.
Best of the Rest: Zhou Yuelong and Kyren Wilson
Quarter Choice: Mark Selby
Winner Selection: Mark Selby
The format for the week sees the last 128 played over Monday and Tuesday before the last 64 on Wednesday, while the last 32 and last 16 both take place on Thursday with all of those rounds being over the best-of-7 frames. Things ramp up a bit on Friday with best-of-9 frames quarter-finals prior to Saturday's best-of-11 semi-finals and Sunday's final will be a best-of-17 frame affair.
The event will be covered in full on Eurosport TV with a second streaming table available on Eurosport Player. In the UK the coverage will also be simulcast on freeview channel Quest, which will show afternoon coverage from Monday to Friday, each of Saturday's semi-finals and both sessions of Sunday's finale.
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