Thursday 19 April 2018

THE BIG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

The 16 qualifiers are confirmed, the seeds are ready to go and snooker fans all over the world are set to take over Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in the next 17 days. That can only mean one thing, the World Championships are here and from Saturday morning 31 players will be aiming to take the trophy from the grasps of Mark Selby.

Selby is not only the defending champion but has won three of the last four World Championships to signal his domination of snooker's greatest test. Ronnie O'Sullivan however has dominated the 2017/2018 snooker season, winning five ranking events in all and topping the one-season money list by close to £210,000 of Selby, who remains number one on the two-year rankings.

Once more, Ding Junhui will be flying the flag for China as he aims to win his and the nation's first World Snooker Championship. Close calls in the last two years can only help the world number three to grow in his quest for the one title he desires. Scotland's John Higgins will be aiming to go one better than in 2017 where he fell just short of taking the trophy out of England for the first time since his 2011 victory.

Judd Trump could fulfil his promise by winning his maiden World title and silencing the many critics he had after his pre-tournament comments 12 months ago were only followed by a shock first round exit to Rory McLeod. Then there is Shaun Murphy, a five-time finalist this season, winning one at the Champion of Champions and hoping that 13 is a lucky number for him, as he plays his thirteenth Crucible Championship since taking the title in 2005. If he were to take the title it would smash the record for the longest gap between World Championship title wins, which currently belongs to 1972 and 1982 champion Alex Higgins.

There a plenty more contenders besides too in what could be one of the most fiercely contested World Championships for a number of years given the form of qualifiers like Ryan Day, a three time winner on tour this year.

Quarter 1

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Selby Vs Joe Perry (Saturday 21 April 10am and 7pm)
Mark Allen Vs Liam Highfield (Sunday 22 April and Monday 23 April 10am)
Kyren Wilson Vs Matthew Stevens (Saturday 21 April 2.30pm and Sunday 22 April 7pm)
Shaun Murphy Vs Jamie Jones (Sunday 22 April and Monday 23 April 2.30pm)

Mark Selby has a much tougher opener here than he did last year and has done for a while in the World Championships. You do not have to go back far to when Joe Perry was in the top 16 and reaching the final of the Masters. Things have not quite gone the way the gentleman would have wanted since that final last January, as he failed to qualify for the Crucible last year upon slipping out of the 16. This year he did have a good run to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, and if he plays how he did in beating Mark Allen in the last 16 in York, Selby has a tough task ahead of him.

Selby's season has certainly been a mixed one, winning the two biggest tournaments in China at the International Championships and the recent China Open, but there have been an equal share of early exits mixed in there too. You can take the other triple crown events as examples, a first round Masters exit and a last 64 exit in York. He has looked more vulnerable in the early rounds of a few competitions this season, including the ones he has done well in, and that should give hope to Perry and to the rest of the field that are trying to take the title from him. With a tough draw against Perry and another potentially tricky tie in the second round against Mark Allen, it is hard to say that an early exit is out of the question. On the other hand, if he gets through those first couple of rounds he will be an incredibly strong force and incredibly tough to beat, as he has proven to be at the Crucible over the last four years.

Mark Allen is certainly a contender for this title after breaking his major duck by winning January's Masters and that should give him so much more confidence to add to that tally now. In terms of the rankings, he sneaked in but that is more a reflection on the season he had last year and 12 months down the line I think he'll be back in the top eight. In Liam Highfield he has a first round opponent who is on debut at the Crucible, and naturally you would expect some nerves from Highfield. He is an incredibly talented player and Ali Carter has sung his praises on social media a few times recently - as someone who knows the tough times Highfield has had with Crohn's disease and what that is really like. This season has been a strong one for Highfield, who came to the qualifiers still not assured of his top 64 place but that is in the bag now.

His win over Tom Ford in the second qualifier was very impressive and I have been more and more impressed with him every time I watch him. If he settles quickly he is going to have a big chance of running Allen close, but as we know with Crucible debutants that is a big if. For Allen, finals at the World Open and International Championship on top of his Masters win this season show he is a force to be reckoned with, but he needs to do something about his Crucible record of exiting in the last 16 four years in a row and not making the quarter-finals since 2011.

Kyren Wilson is someone else that you have to admit has a very good chance this year at the Crucible. He may have only appeared here three times but after his debut in 2014 he has come back stronger making the quarter-final in both of the last two years and now he has the experience of being in a big final, after this year's Masters. He has taken to life in the big time like a Duck to water and he comes across as one of those characters who has no fear, and someone who will do whatever it takes to reach the top. He may not be one of those players in the draw that everyone thinks is ready, but having been to three finals this season I would not share that opinion.

In round one he faces Matthew Stevens and I think that is a draw that Wilson would quietly be pleased with. Stevens has a lot of Crucible experience having been in two finals before, and people including Neal Foulds think that he can certainly have a resurgence. There is still not getting away from the fact that he came into this World Championship outside of the top 50 in the world and as we sit here now in 2018, he is not in the same bracket as Wilson. The Welshman can certainly give Wilson a run for his money, but I think the seeded player will just be too good in the end.

Finally in this top quarter, we come to a five time finalist in the 2017/2018 season in Shaun Murphy. Coming in to these Championships people might look at his recent neck troubles and right Murphy off but the big thing to remember is that he reached the final of the Players Championship recently, beating Kyren Wilson, Anthony McGill and Mark Williams despite still being in quite a lot of discomfort. If he was still suffering in China when he lost 6-0 to Chris Wakelin you have to say that the travelling might not have helped him there. The two and a half weeks he would have had since last hitting a ball will surely help him and if he's fully fit is game is certainly good to go. Winning the Champion of Champions against Ronnie O'Sullivan was a huge moment for Murphy and he backed that up by reaching the UK Championship final. O'Sullivan was by far the best that week, but Murphy was the second best by a distance of anyone else, and at times this season that has certainly been the order of things.

In round one though he has an enormous test against Jamie Jones. The Welshman was a quarter-finalist on his Crucible debut and the man he beat in round one that year was Murphy. Jones comes in to this after beating Liang Wenbo 10-0 in the final qualifying round and that result alone will certainly make Murphy sit up and take notice if he was not already. Jones has had two other career wins over Murphy in the best-of-7 frames format and was unlucky not to beat him again earlier this season in the Paul Hunter Classic semi-finals as Murphy came from 3-1 down to win 4-3. If fully fit then I think Murphy might just edge this one and go on to have a big run at the Crucible this year, if not though Jones will be there to pounce. 

Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 2 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold)

John Higgins Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Wednesday 25 April 10am and 7pm)
Stuart Bingham Vs Jack Lisowski (Tuesday 24 April 10am and 7pm)
Luca Brecel Vs Ricky Walden (Monday 23 April 7pm and Tuesday 24 April 2.30pm)
Judd Trump Vs Chris Wakelin (Wednesday 25 April 2.30pm and Thursday 26 April 7pm)

The first player that the eyes are draw to in the second quarter is the name Judd Trump. He was much fancied 12 months ago by many and suffered a shock exit to Rory McLeod and this seems to have added big question marks to his title winning credentials in the eyes of many. The fact is, Trump is only 28. He still has a lot of World Championships ahead of him even if he does not win this year or indeed next year. He should be fresh this year having failed to qualify for the China Open, an event that many used to skip in order to be fresh for the Crucible, before the big prize money change for this season. Trump has a title to his name earlier this season and despite some early exits in a few, he has also had a few semi-finals, though he still would have been disappointed with hos these turned  out in Glasgow and at the Masters particularly.

In round one this year he faces another lower ranked player, but also someone with less experience than his opponent of 12 months previous. Chris Wakelin is on his Crucible debut, but he did come through the qualifiers emphatically, only losing nine frames across his three matches. As I mentioned with Highfield in quarter one and as I will with all the debutants, it is all going to be about how well they settle. If Wakelin gets a foothold early on in this contest then a contest it shall be. A man that has just defeated Shaun Murphy 6-0 in the run up to the Crucible is someone who should have a lot of confidence in his game, and if you look back through his season he has played quite a few top players and made a good account of himself in them on the whole. Still, you would expect an on form Trump to just be too strong for him given the occasion as well.

Luca Brecel and Ricky Walden looks like a very even contest on paper. Brecel will be looking to put last year's defeat from 7-1 up against Marco Fu completely out of his mind and move forward, and that was something he did early this season by winning the China Championship and putting himself in the top 16. The second half of this season though has not been a successful one for him. The Belgian lost in round one of the Masters, the World Grand Prix and also suffered early exits in Gibraltar, Wales and Beijing as well as messing around with different cues in that time. Despite being a seeded player this will only be his third Crucible appearance and to have an unhappy memory so early in your Crucible career is something that could play a factor on his return.

He will certainly need to find top form for his match up with Walden who nearly made a maximum in the final session of his final qualifying match with Andrew Higginson. The impressive thing for me was that Walden, who has also suffered with a back problem at the start of the season, mentioned that he was unwell during the qualifiers and yet he still got past three very experienced opponents and good match players who could easily have ground him down. He showed pretty good scoring form in the qualifiers though and if he keeps this up as well as his good battling qualities he is more than a match for Brecel.

Another very even match up puts Stuart Bingham against Jack Lisowski. Starting with Bingham, he will be quietly confident given the form he has shown in the last couple of events leading up to the Crucible. All the talk in this match will be about the dangerous Lisowski and I do not think he will mind that at all. Bingham knows what it takes at the Crucible having done it in 2015 and although he has not passed the second round in two attempts since, that experience will stay with him forever. A quarter-final in China following the Romanian Masters final is not bad and having missed a heavy chunk of the season through suspension he will be fresh and raring to go this year in Sheffield.

Jack Lisowski is one of the qualifiers that everyone's eye would have been on as one to avoid. He blitzed through his three qualifying games impressively, beating David Grace 10-3 in a match Grace needed to win for his tour place, before beating the incredibly experienced Alan McManus by the same score. We all know he can score heavily and he got his Crucible debut out of the way back in 2013 where he lost out to eventual runner-up Barry Hawkins. He spoke with good confidence after beating McManus and mentioned that his match play is improving, and it is good to hear him say that because it's recognition that this is the missing piece of the puzzle, and shows that he is working hard to fix that. Could he do what Trump did in 2011? Why not. Is he capable of winning a couple of games this year at the very least? Absolutely.

John Higgins was the runner-up at the Crucible last year and I think some of the consistency he has shown in the year since is a good sign that he can go one better in 2018. The Scotsman comes here having won the Welsh Open title a couple of months ago as well as defending the Championship League in March and winning the Indian Open title in September showing that he has played well for most of the year. The fifth seed has also made semi-finals at the Shanghai Masters, Scottish Open, the Masters and having played Ronnie O'Sullivan in a lot of tournaments, with a couple of successes too, he may well be pleased to see O'Sullivan is safely in the opposite half of the draw to him. The key for Higgins is stamina and that is something he has recognised himself in interviews so he may have made subtle changes in order to try and go one better. This may be looking far to far ahead, but given that I fancy Higgins to make it through the first two rounds steadily enough, his record against potential quarter-final opponent Judd Trump is excellent. Higgins has beaten Trump in all five matches they have played over a longer format than best-of-9 frames, with Trump's successes against Higgins largely coming in best-of-7 frames matches. He has won a few matches against Trump from behind such as in the 2014 World Open (5-4 from 4-0 down) and the 2016 Scottish Open (6-5 from from 5-1 down).

Higgins first round opponent is another of the debutants in Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. The Thai qualified after 10-8 wins against Alexander Ursenbacher and Alfie Burden with a simple victory against Adam Stefanow sandwiched in between. Despite his low ranking that means he did not actually have to play anyone ranked higher than him in order to qualify so this match agaisnt Higgins will be a huge test. Thepchaiya will give you plenty of chances but he will also make big breaks and not take long doing so and of all the qualifiers, I feel Thepchaiya is really one that has to settle quickly because of the style of game he plays. For Higgins, his experience and tactical superiority will be keys to this match, as they will be throughout the championship. 

Quarter Winner: John Higgins

Quarter 3

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Ding Junhui Vs Xiao Guodong (Monday 23 April 2.30pm and Tuesday 24 April 10am)
Anthony McGill Vs Ryan Day (Wednesday 25 April 7pm and Thursday 26 April 1pm)
Marco Fu Vs Lu Haotian (Saturday 21 April 10am and Sunday 22 April 7pm)
Barry Hawkins Vs Stuart Carrington (Monday 23 April 10am and 7pm)

If form is anything to go by in recent years, I should just pick Barry Hawkins as the winner of this third quarter and go home. Hawkins has made the one table set up in four of the last five years, a narrow 2016 quarter-final loss to Marco Fu being the odd one out there. In that time he has defeated Mark Selby, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson, all players who have won this title and with his form picking up in the last couple of months, he is a big contender once again. There was very little to shout about for Hawkins until he made it to the Welsh Open final and narrowly losing out there to John Higgins. Then not too long after he made a second final of the season in Beijing, flying back up to world number 6 and avoiding being O'Sullivan and Selby's quarters in the process. Hawkins is always solid and he must come back to the Crucible with more and more confidence every year, and the achievement of someone like Stuart Bingham in 2015 should give Hawkins hope that he could walk away with the world title.

In round one he faces Stuart Carrington, who will be appearing at the Crucible for the third time. In his previous two appearances he has lost to Judd Trump and Liang Wenbo in a match he really could have won. However, when you are searching for your first win at the Crucible, drawing someone who has not lost in round since 2010 is probably not the best outcome. In the qualifiers, a late night 10-9 win against Nigel Bond, and hard fought 10-8 wins against Ben Woollaston and Zhang Anda will have taken a lot out of him and therefore, playing both sessions in one day here is again probably not the best draw for him either.

Marco Fu is someone nobody really knows how to judge for this year's tournament. Having not played since the Masters after eye surgery he will at the very least be fresh but perhaps not completely ready. When declaring he was playing at the Crucible he did not do so with confidence saying that his eyes are perhaps not as good as they could be. There is also a big difference between being fresh and being rusty, and Fu not playing under the bright TV lights for three months means that when he does it will be a big test for him.

In round one he faces another of the debutants but in my view, by far and away the best one. I have a lot of time for Lu Haotian. He broke through at a young age and had initial go on tour before dropping off after his two years. After taking a bit of time away from the game he has come back a lot stronger and is going to finish the year inside the top 64 despite only having one season's worth of points to his name. What a season it has been for Lu. A semi-final in Northern Ireland as well as making the last 16 in the UK Championships, beating Fu in the last 32 there. He may come across as a very small figure, but he has a certain confidence to his stride around the table, and this is matched when I have seen him walking around venues as well. Given the uncertainty with his opponent as well, I certainly think Lu has the best chance of getting a victory for the debutants.

Anthony McGill and Ryan Day is another very even match. McGill has been really unlucky again here I think. Last year he drew Stephen Maguire who was very much the qualifier to avoid and this year the same thing has happened. Things did not go well for him against Maguire last year losing quite convincingly and it would not be a huge shock if the same thing happened. McGill did play well at the Players Championship to beat John Higgins 6-0 before narrowly losing to Shaun Murphy but otherwise the second half to his season has been very hit and miss. This could be summed up nicely by him losing in the last 64 of the next tournament to a player that is not yet on the tour.

Day however must be on top of the world, having won three times this season and twice in the last couple of months overall. He also took down Mark Selby over the best-of-11 frames in the first round of the Players Championship, and even though he did get through the qualifiers with comfort, he still had to get past a very tough opponent in the final round by beating Peter Ebdon. Last season he was a seeded player and under that pressure he did not stand up losing easily to Xiao Guodong, but this year he has a lot of form and all the pressure is on McGill as the seed so this could be another match that goes the way of the qualifier. In fact, the 2008, 2009 and 2012 Crucible quarter-finalist is arguably playing his best snooker and given that he has favourable records against both of the front runners in this quarter (Ding and Hawkins) he could really have a big run here, and match his semi-final in this season's UK Championship.

My thoughts with Ding Junhui and the World Championships are similar to those on golfer Rory McIlroy and the Masters. This is the one tournament that interests Ding Junhui. 2016 was a huge reality check for Ding and the fact that he got to the final after coming through qualifying just shows that he is good enough to win this title in my view. In the last two years the fact is that Mark Selby was the only man that could stop him, beating him in the 2016 final and then again in the semi's last year, after Ding had played sublime snooker to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan a round previously. Had he beaten Selby in that incredibly close semi-final then you would have fancied him to beat Higgins in the final too in my opinion. The fact that he stated in the lead up to last year's World Championship that he wanted to win it for his Mum, who sadly passed away in early 2017, was a great sign. It showed huge determination and desire and this was matched when he got out onto the table. He displayed it to win a very tough match against Liang and then again when he played O'Sullivan. Arguably, this is one of the only things that Ding lacks because in some tournaments he seems as though he is not really that bothered. His season has been decent winning a title early in the season and then getting to the Grand Prix final in February, after suffering a bit of eye trouble in between times but that seems to be long gone now.

His first round opponent Xiao Guodong is a very dangerous player and he has improved further still since making the last 16 at the Crucible last year, reaching a few quarter-finals this season. Crucially though, Ding does have a very good record against Xiao so he will not be too unhappy with this draw. Ding was a convincing winner when the pair met recently at the China Open, and when Ding won the World Open earlier this season - beating Xiao at the last 32 stage of both competitions. Ding has also won their most major meeting, back in 2013 when they contested the Shanghai Masters final, and Xiao is now getting back to the form that took him to that final. For me though, Ding is a very strong contender for this title. 

Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui

Quarter 4 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold)

Mark Williams Vs Jimmy Robertson (Tuesday 24 April 2.30pm and Wednesday 25 April 10am)
Neil Robertson Vs Robert Milkins (Tuesday 24 April 7pm and Wednesday 25 April 2.30pm) 
Ali Carter Vs Graeme Dott (Saturday 21 April 7pm and Sunday 22 April 2.30pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Stephen Maguire (Saturday 21 April 2.30pm and Sunday 22 April 10am) 

Mark Williams form this season has once again made him a Crucible contender as he seeks a third world title. The Welshman broke a long gap between ranking titles when he won at the Northern Ireland Open, a win that his start to the season suggested was always on the horizon, before only taking another two and a half months to win again as he breezed to the German Masters title. One thing that does stand out though for Williams is that he has only been to the one table set up once since he last won the title 15 years ago, as well as only reaching two quarter-finals in that period. However, his form across the season has been consistent and suggests that he is playing as well as he has done for a long time, so this may be the year that he has another big Crucible run. This could be especially so given that his recent World Championships record stated above will not bother him, because very little does, and this is the sort of mindset you need to do well in snooker's toughest test.

His first round opponent is Jimmy Robertson who is here at the Crucible for the fourth time but still searching for his first victory here. He is also searching for his first victory against Mark Williams having lost each of their previous six meetings, so victory here could be a big breakthrough for him. His route for qualifying started with an easy win against Alex Borg followed by back-to-back 10-7 wins against tough opponents in Sam Baird and Michael White. This has been one of Jimmy's best seasons ever, and he had his best ever run in a ranking event making the German Masters quarter-finals, a run Williams ended. While he has taken more frames each year of his three Crucible appearances to date, on this occasion he really has been handed a very tough task if he is to get that maiden success in the theatre of dreams.

Neil Robertson and Robert Milkins is a repeat of five years ago when Milkins overcame Robertson in the first round. I seem to remember that Robertson was quite heavily fancied that year and he still made the tournament high break despite losing to Milkins. The 2010 champion has only been back to the one table set up once in the seven years since that success, losing in the semi's to Selby in 2014. By contrast, he has lost in the first round three times, falling at the first hurdle in his 2011 defence when he played Trump, and in 2016 where Michael Holt got the better of him, as well as the 2013 exit. For a week in December Robertson had dipped out of the top 16, which was enough to keep him out of the Masters, following a last 32 exit at the UK Championships. The Australian went on to win the Scottish Open the next week, though that win was the first time he had made the semi-finals in a ranking event for nearly 15 months. He is now back up to 10 in the world rankings but it does not quite feel like he has kicked on, despite making the China Open semi-finals recently. Evidence of that would be heavy defeats to Mark Selby and Judd Trump in the World Grand Prix and Players Championships respectively.

Milkins came through qualifiers with easy wins against World Seniors winner Aaron Canavan and Michael Holt with a tough match against Scott Donaldson in between those two. He has nothing to lose here and I'm sure he will be happy enough to have drawn someone he has beaten on this stage before, as well as beating him earlier this season in the Northern Ireland Open. The pair also played a very even match in the 2015 Masters which Robertson narrowly won 6-4 before going on to make the final, and there is nothing to say that Milkins will not give Robertson another tough time here or even beat him again.

Speaking of repeats, you only have to cast your minds back one year to when Graeme Dott upset the odds and overcame Ali Carter at the Crucible. The victory for Dott on that occasion was 10-7 and after an improved season this time around he will certainly fancy the job again. In fact, when comparing their two seasons Dott is 15th on the provisional one season money list (including his guaranteed money for qualifying) while Carter is way down in 34th after a string of early exits throughout the season. These exits for Carter include at the last 64 stage of the China Open, Welsh Open, Scottish Open and the Northern Ireland Open as well as first round exits in the Masters, World Grand Prix and UK Championships.

Dott though has had one of his best season's for a long time. He was very impressive in making the final of the German Masters in February, as well as making the last 16 of the UK and China Championships with wins over Judd Trump in both. As well as his first round win last year against Carter as a qualifier, Dott has also had Crucible success as a qualifier in recent years when he overcame Ricky Walden in 2015 and as a former winner and two time runner-up there will be nothing but good memories when he enters the arena.

The same is also more than true for five time World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has been the best player this season by a mile but he now needs to back that up on the biggest stage of them all. Winning five ranking events this season will not mean as much to him if he is unable to win the World Championships. The key for O'Sullivan in his victories is that he has stepped up in the big events to take the UK Championships as well as the World Grand Prix and Players Championships, the last two of which he would describe as "numpty free zones". It may be five years since his last world title but in that time he lost in the final in 2014, as well as quarter-finals in 2015 and 2017. His last round one exit was in 2003 but this year he has a very tough opening obstacle in Stephen Maguire.

Maguire qualified with wins over Allan Taylor, Hammad Miah and a tough test against Hossein Vafei. The Scotsman looked decent in qualifying and proved dangerous as a qualifier last year when he then overcame Anthony McGill and Rory McLeod comfortably at the venue to make the quarter-finals. Maguire has also faced O'Sullivan twice this year in big matches, both semi-finals at the UK Championships and World Grand Prix and both times Maguire was on the wrong end of things. Overall, his record against O'Sullivan is not great but the same could be said of many a player, but that does not mean he cannot beat the Rocket in this one off encounter. On the whole though, everything about O'Sullivan's season suggests that he is well in the hunt for a sixth world title and if he's in the mood, he will take some serious stopping this year. 

Quarter Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Predicted World Champion: John Higgins 


With the strength of that draw from top to bottom I believe that this will be one of the strongest and most exciting World Championships for a number of years. So many players could walk away with the title, while plenty of the seeded players are in for a tough time in round one.

Sit back, relax and enjoy as the next 17 days of snooker could be very special indeed. 

Wednesday 18 April 2018

FANTASY SNOOKER: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The final event of the 2017/2018 Fantasy Snooker season is upon us and with the 32 man field for the World Championships all set it is time to get your picks in for the Crucible.

The lead at the top has been cut after events in the China Open and with this final event being a double points affair it is certainly all to play for.

Some players have been lucky enough to see their season picks qualify and for that they also get a handy points bonus. Any players that have selected a Crucible qualifier as one of their season picks at the start of the campaign have had that players points for the three qualifying matches added to their total, at the double points rate used for the rest of the Championships.

As you'll spot in the table the only players listed under those "previously selected" are ones which you cannot pick for the event having already done so three times. All other players are free for selection as long as they are not listed under your name.

So, here is how the table looks ahead of this season's finale:



Couge: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1316   
PPS: Williams x3, Ding x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Bingham x3, Trump x3, K. Wilson x3

Kellie Barker: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 1253  
PPS: Allen x3, Higgins x3, Selby x3, Robertson x3

FAM147: SEASON: Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong   Points: 1238   
PPS: Selby x3, Trump x3, Robertson x3

Daniela Reich: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1202
PPS: Ding x3, Murphy x3, Williams x3, Trump x3, Robertson x3

Protoursnooker: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Cao Yupeng    Points: 1180  
PPS: Murphy x3, Robertson x3, Higgins x3, O’Sullivan x3, Trump x3, Bingham x3

Phil Mudd: SEASON: Jimmy Robertson and Sam Craigie   Points: 1072 
PPS: Ding x3, Allen x3, Robertson x3, Williams x3, O’Sullivan x3

Munraj: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Michael Georgiou   Points: 1038  
PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x3

Alex Abrahams: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley    Points: 1028   
PPS: Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Trump x3, Williams x3, O’Sullivan x3, Robertson x3

TungstenDarts: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1009  
PPS: Fu x3, McGill x3, Allen x3, Robertson x3

Andy Brooker: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1008   
PPS: Higgins x3, O’Sullivan x3

TY: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Zhang Anda   Points: 970  
PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x3, Higgins x3, Allen x3, Bingham x3, Selby x3, Murphy x3

Cluster of Reds: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley   Points: 961   
PPS: Allen x3, Murphy x3, O’Sullivan x3, Higgins x3

Isitan Bakar: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson   Points: 957  
PPS: Robertson x3, Murphy x3, Bingham x3, Ding x3, Trump x3, O’Sullivan x3

Rob Francis: SEASON: Mark Davis and Cao Yupeng   Points: 949  
PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Wilson x3, Trump x3, O’Sullivan x3

John McBride: SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Sam Craigie   Points: 942 
PPS:  Allen x3, Selby x3, Williams x3, Robertson x3

Colin Delaney: SEASON: Ken Doherty and Yan Bingtao   Points: 932  
PPS: Higgins x3, Trump x3, Robertson x3

Ben Summers: SEASON: Noppon Saengkham and Sam Craigie    Points: 913   
PPS: Trump x3, Allen x3, Williams x3

Igor Snooker: SEASON: Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty   Points: 902  
PPS: Murphy x3, Selby x3, Robertson x3, Williams x3

LTD: SEASON: Robert Milkins and Ken Doherty    Points: 891   
PPS: Higgins x3, Hawkins x3, Perry x3, Selby x3

Anthony: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and Michael Georgiou   Points: 845   
PPS: Higgins x3, Maguire x3, Williams x3, O’Sullivan x3

Kjetil: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and John Astley   Points: 810 

GaryOnCue: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie   Points: 807  
PPS: Robertson x3, Maguire x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, O’Sullivan x3

D. Muckian: SEASON: Tian Pengfei and Zhang Anda    Points: 787  
PPS: Ding x3, Allen X3, Selby x3

Mark Taylor: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie    Points: 767  
PPS: Selby x3

Matthew Lowson: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 704  
PPS: Ding x3, Higgins x3, Murphy x3, Williams x3, O’Sullivan x3, Allen x3

Beat the Boss (Me): SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Robin Hull   Points: 695 




All that's left to say is, don't forget to send your picks in to me via Twitter for the World Championships prior to the first matches on Saturday 21 April at 10am UK Time.

I will tweet my own Beat the Boss picks out after Thursday's first round draw. All the best to each of the players ahead of the final picks in this exciting season of fantasy snooker.

Monday 16 April 2018

Yan Bingtao crashes out in Second Round of World Championship Qualifying

Yan Bingtao has crashed out in the second round of qualifiers for the upcoming World Championship after losing out 10-9 to Tian Pengfei.

Yan had at one stage led 6-1 in the all-Chinese clash but could not keep going and soon found himself 8-7 behind in the final session. He won the sixteenth from behind to level at 8-8, only to fall behind again at 9-8. A break of 72 from Yan took the game to 9-9, only for Tian to produce the highest break of the match, a 127, and take the frame at one visit to progress.

Ryan Day benefited from a withdrawal when he took on Mitchell Mann. The pair played eight frames, after which Day was 7-1 up and this was the point that Mann chose to withdraw due to ill health. Having spoken in the past about his battles with mental health, and given that he was battling to stay on the professional tour in this game, I sincerely hope that whatever the true cause of his withdrawal was, he gets the help he needs to recover.

Meanwhile, the dreams of Jimmy White fans were dashed as he failed to back up victory over Sam Craigie, falling 10-5 to Joe Perry. The gentleman will now face Mark Davis who has recorded the only 10-0 win of these World Championships so far, whitewashing the Shoot-Out winner Michael Georgiou.

2006 World Champion Graeme Dott is also into the final round after a convincing 10-2 win against Akani Songsermsawad that has set up a final round tie with Mike Dunn. Another former World Champion in 1997 winner Ken Doherty has made it through to the final round. Doherty saw off Gerard Greene by a comfortable 10-4 margin, making high breaks of 102 and 133 in successive frames during the first session.

Doherty faces former World finalist Matthew Stevens in the final round after the Welshman won the final three frames from 9-7 adrift to overcome Yuan Sijun in a deciding frame. There was also defeat for another Chinese youngster as Zhao Xintong exited 10-5 against first round maximum man Liang Wenbo. Liang made two centuries in the contest, while defeat for Zhao now means he will have to go to Q School in May to regain his professional playing rights.

There was tour survival success though for Zhang Anda as he caused one of the rounds other big upsets by soundly defeating Martin Gould 10-4. Zhang compiled three centuries in the contest as he moved up to 66th on the provisional end-of-season list, just shy of the top 64, but inside the top eight on the one-season money list not already qualified for next season. Now, the 26-year-old will be looking to secure a fourth Crucible appearance after booking his place in the final round.

Alfie Burden has also taken a huge step towards tour survival after overcoming David Gilbert 10-9 in a late night thriller. Burden is now further inside the top eight on the one-year money list not already qualified for this season, after winning the final two frames from 9-8 down, despite leading 8-5 at one stage.

Lee Walker remains in a good position for tour survival despite losing 10-7 to formal World Championship semi-finalist Ricky Walden. Walker had led 6-4 at one stage but lost six of the last seven frames as Walden made two centuries in the match including a high of 135.



Second Round Results: 

Ryan Day 10-1 Mitchell Mann
Peter Ebdon 10-5 Robbie Williams
Daniel Wells 10-8 Zhou Yuelong
Liam Highfield 10-6 Tom Ford
Adam Duffy 10-6 Matthew Selt
Xiao Guodong 10-4 Mei Xiwen
Stuart Carrington 10-8 Ben Woollaston
Zhang Anda 10-4 Martin Gould
Graeme Dott 10-2 Akani Songsermsawad
Mike Dunn 10-3 Dominic Dale
Michael Holt 10-7 Elliot Slessor
Robert Milkins 10-8 Scott Donaldson
Rory McLeod 10-9 Li Hang
Lu Haotian 10-9 Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens 10-9 Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty 10-4 Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo 10-5 Zhao Xintong
Jamie Jones 10-7 Yu De Lu
Jack Lisowski 10-3 David Grace
Alan McManus 10-9 Oliver Lines 
Andrew Higginson 10-5 Robin Hull
Ricky Walden 10-7 Lee Walker
Mark Davis 10-0 Michael Georgiou
Joe Perry 10-5 Jimmy White
Tian Pengfei 10-9 Yan Bingtao
Chris Wakelin 10-4 Kurt Maflin
Alfie Burden 10-9 David Gilbert
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-4 Adam Stefanow
Jimmy Robertson 10-7 Sam Baird
Michael White 10-7 John Astley
Hossein Vafei 10-5 Noppon Saengkham
Stephen Maguire 10-4 Hammad Miah

Final Round Draw: (Picks in bold)

Ryan Day
Vs Peter Ebdon
Daniel Wells Vs Liam Highfield 
Xiao Guodong Vs Adam Duffy
Stuart Carrington Vs Zhang Anda
Graeme Dott Vs Mike Dunn
Michael Holt Vs Robert Milkins
Rory McLeod Vs Lu Haotian
Matthew Stevens Vs Ken Doherty
Liang Wenbo Vs Jamie Jones
Jack Lisowski Vs Alan McManus
Ricky Walden Vs Andrew Higginson
Joe Perry Vs Mark Davis
Chris Wakelin Vs Tian Pengfei
Thepchiaya Un-Nooh Vs Alfie Burden
Michael White Vs Jimmy Robertson
Stephen Maguire Vs Hossein Vafei


Ryan Day will be fresh coming into the final round here and he will need to be as he goes up against the experience of Peter Ebdon. Day has only played twenty frames after an easy round one victory followed by Mitchell Mann's withdrawal after eight frames. Ebdon meanwhile has taken care of James Wattana and Robbie Williams quite comfortably and seems to be coming into form at the perfect time once again. His huge experience is a big factor here but with Day in the form of his life at the moment it is still going to be an incredibly tough task for Ebdon here.

A Crucible debutant is guaranteed when Liam Highfield faces Daniel Wells. Highfield has played very solidly to defeat Chen Zhe comfortably and then overcome Tom Ford who would have been highly fancied for qualification. Wells meanwhile was a 10-6 winner against Kurt Dunham in round one before beating Zhou Yuelong 10-8. The pair have met three times in all with Highfield winning on each occasion, including at this season's UK Championship where Highfield ran out a 6-4 victor. Both are quality players on their day and only one place separates them in the seedings for this event so that is a sign that this could be a very close battle, especially given the nerves of trying to make their respective Crucible debuts. For me though, Highfield is the player I think is improving the most and is probably the most solid over the longer format.

Xiao Guodong stands between Adam Duffy and dreams of a Crucible debut, which would also make him the first man from Sheffield to compete at the Crucible. Duffy has had two very good wins this week so far defeating Mark Joyce 10-4 and then seeing off Matthew Selt 10-6. It is not so long ago that Duffy nearly qualified for the Crucible despite not being on the tour, but he faces a very tough task here against Xiao. The Chinese player has been terrific this season and really improved from around this time last year when he qualified for the Crucible and then thrashed Ryan Day at the venue. Xiao has also made easy work of his first two matches and if he scores as heavily as he has been this season then I can see this going a similar way.

Stuart Carrington and Zhang Anda are two players that you might not have necessarily expected to be meeting in the final qualifying round, despite both having qualified for the Crucible on more than one occasion. Carrington qualified last year and could have taken down Liang Wenbo in round one, so he will be looking to get back and put that right. Zhang Anda though has been very impressive this week. He has needed to win both of his opening two qualifiers in order to get into the top eight on the one season money list that were not already qualified for next season, in order to secure a new two year professional tour card. After beating Zhang Yong in round one he then took down Martin Gould very impressively and will be full of confidence here as he faces Carrington, looking for a fourth Crucible appearance. Zhang really seems to perform over the long format, and while a close match can be anticipated here, it may be the Chinese that has the edge.

Michael Holt and Robert Milkins are again two very experienced players with plenty of Crucible appearances under their belts. In the opening two rounds, Holt has had two 10-7 wins, battling back from 4-0 down to defeat Thor Chuan Leong, before then coming through in a tough tie against Elliot Slessor. Milkins meanwhile had an easy time in round against the World Seniors Champion, though was given much more of challenge in round two against Scott Donaldson before eventually coming through 10-8. There's very little between these two players and this could be one of those tense final round matches that needs a deciding frame to separate the two players. After a quiet season in all honesty, Holt should be able to take some confidence from his opening two wins, particularly given the position he was in early in round one.

Rory McLeod and Lu Haotian is certainly a match that you would put down as a clash of styles and that only plays into one mans hands. A lot of people seemed to write McLeod off prior to these qualifiers, despite the fact he qualified last year and defeated Judd Trump. Some bookies even foolishly had him as an underdog against Ian Burns in round one. He was a big outsider against Li Hang but showed his experience winning the final two frames for a 10-9 victory and he will very much fancy his chances of qualifying again. Lu Haotian has also had two very tough games to get to this stage. After defeating Fang Xiongman 10-8 he then produced a fantastic comeback from 9-5 down to defeat Martin O'Donnell in a final frame decider. As he seeks his Crucible debut though there will be added pressure on his shoulders and the experience of McLeod could prove vital once again.

Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty will do battle in a match that brings plenty of Crucible know-how to the table. Before the start of the qualifiers this is probably the final round match that I had picked out in my mind, before opting for Doherty as the predicted qualifier. After a tough 10-8 victory against Josh Boileau, the 1997 World Champion was excellent in beating Gerard Greene 10-4. Stevens meanwhile had to battle hard from 9-7 down to defeat Yuan Sijun and he will have to raise his game against much more experienced opponent than the first two he has faced to get this far.

Ricky Walden and Andrew Higginson is another tough match to call. Walden has really battled so far coming through 10-8 against Joe Swail before beating Lee Walker 10-7, peaking at the end in both contests which is a very good sign as he has held up well under pressure. For Higginson, his route has been with less drama. After an easy win against David John in round one he defeated Robin Hull 10-5 in a match that could have been much closer if the Finn had taken his chances. Higginson will not be able to afford to give Walden as many chances and I think the style of Higginson will suit Walden much more than his previous two, which could be the difference.

Once more, there is plenty of experience between Mark Davis and Joe Perry. No one has had an easier route than Davis in terms of frames lost this week. In round one he dispatched of Sanderson Lam 10-1 before whitewashing Michael Georgiou in round two, so he has plenty left in the tank for this final push. As for Perry, he too was a 10-1 winner in round one against Ross Muir, ahead of a 10-5 defeat of Jimmy White in which Perry really pulled away in the second half of the match. Perry has scored very well and he is the stronger player of the two in terms of form over the last few seasons so he could edge what sets up as a very close contest on paper.

The match between Chris Wakelin and Tian Pengfei guarantees a Crucible debutant. Wakelin has had two comfortable wins against difficult opposition in Xu Si and Kurt Maflin, while Tian came from 6-1 adrift to defeat Yan Bingtao. For me, Wakelin is in the better form of the two having also defeated Shaun Murphy 6-0 in the China Open recently and he will have plenty left in the tank after his first two matches. Meanwhile, Tian's second round fightback may have taken a bit more out of him, but with both eyeing a Crucible debut, the nerves and how both players handle them will be a much greater factor.

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is another player eyeing a Crucible debut when he takes on Alfie Burden who has not appeared at the Crucible for 20 years. Burden has battled hard to be here with his tour card on the line in both games that he has faced so far against Jamie Curtis-Barrett and David Gilbert. Thepchaiya was also under a bit of pressure in round one and only just came through 10-8 against Alexander Ursenbacher, though things were much more comfortable in round two against Adam Stefanow. The worry for Burden fans would be how much mental energy he has left after fighting hard for his tour card, and you could see how much it meant when he potted match ball in the deciding frame against Gilbert, though equally he has had the extra day to recover for this one.

Michael White and Jimmy Robertson was another of the final qualifying round matches you would have predicted at the start of the qualifiers. Both players are very aggressive and heavy scoring players and plenty of high breaks can be expected here. When the draw came out I fancied Robertson given the fact I think he has been very consistent this year. After taking down Alex Borg in round one he overcame Sam Baird in a tough match 10-7. White has really had to fight hard seeing off Niu Zhuang in a decider and then defeating John Astley 10-7, two players that I would not necessarily expect to get near the Welshman at his very best so you sense that there is an extra gear left for him, and he may need to find it if he is to qualify.

Finally, Stephen Maguire faces a tough clash against Hossein Vafei. Maguire was obviously a hot favourite to qualify at the start of the week but he will be up against it here against Hossein. The Iranian overcame Jamie Cope in one of the toughest first round draws out there, before overcoming the in-form Noppon Saengkham in round two. After falling at the final fence last year against Tom Ford, he will be determined to make his Crucible debut this time around and that will make him a tricky opponent for Maguire. The Scot has had a 10-5 win against Allan Taylor and a 10-4 victory over Hammad Miah, but you would certainly expect the Iranian to make this a closer game for Maguire.


DON'T FORGET. The final round of qualifying will be streamed LIVE on both Facebook and YouTube with the excellent coverage fronted by Rob Walker and Neal Foulds who have done an excellent job in previous years. Both sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday at 11am and 5pm will be shown on the platform, with eight matches being played per session and all sixteen concluding over the two sessions on Wednesday. With so much on the line, the action is sure to provide plenty of tension and excitement as the 16 Crucible qualifiers are finalised.

Saturday 14 April 2018

Liang Wenbo shines in World Championship Qualifying

Liang Wenbo was the star in the opening round of World Championship qualifying after a dramatic end to his 10-2 victory over Rod Lawler.

Liang was 8-1 up after the opening session of play but the two frames he won in the final session nearly made history. The first to put him 9-1 ahead came through a maximum 147 break which will earn him a £10,000 bonus as long as another is not made in the remainder of the qualifiers. However, he nearly completed another himself just two frames later when he completed the match by missing a black for his second maximum of the match, which would have created snooker history. 

Either way, Liang has outlined his intentions in these qualifiers with a strong start, as the highest ranked player Ryan Day has done. Day was also a 10-2 winner when he took on the World Snooker Federation Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo. 

Fellow Welshman and former World Championship quarter-finalist Michael White did not have things all his own way though. White had to win the final two frames from 9-8 down to come through 10-9 against Niu Zhuang and avoid a surprise first round exit. 

World number 20 Mark King did suffer defeat as he was seen off 10-9 by Gerard Greene. King had trailed 9-6 at one stage but fought back to force the decider, only for the Northern Irishman to hold on and take the deciding frame. 

Former World Champion Graeme Dott completed a simple 10-1 win against Adrian Ridley, while fellow Scot Stephen Maguire ran out a 10-5 winner against Allan Taylor, winning five of the six frames played in the final session of that encounter. 

Michael Holt won six of the last seven frames as he came from 4-0 and 6-4 adrift to complete a 10-7 win against Malaysian Thor Chuan Leong, completing a number of good clearances throughout the contest. Anthony Hamilton did suffer a first round exit to Martin O'Donnell in a match where Hamilton averaged just over 40 seconds per shot. 

There is to be no repeat of last year's two-hour final round deciding frame from Fergal O'Brien either, after he was taken down 10-5 by young Chinese star Yuan Sijun. There was success though for 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty, as he came out on the right side of an all-Irish clash with Josh Boileau by a 10-8 scoreline. 

There were also differing results from two of this season's big ranking movers. Scottish and Gibraltar Open finalist Cao Yupeng let a 5-2 lead slip by losing eight of the last ten frames of his 10-7 loss to Finland's Robin Hull. Meanwhile, Shanghai Masters semi-finalist Jack Lisowski came through comfortably 10-4 against Christopher Keogan. 

In the battle of two former Crucible semi-finalists Ricky Walden saw off Joe Swail 10-8 in a very tight contest, Jimmy White took care of Sam Craigie 10-6 and Joe Perry completed a simple 10-1 win. Also, Yan Bingtao held off a fightback from Jackson Page in a battle of two stars of the future, the Chinese teenager coming through there 10-7. 


First Round Results: 

Ryan Day 10-2 Igor Figueiredo
Mitchell Mann 10-5 Peter Lines
Robbie Williams 10-8 Jak Jones
Peter Ebdon 10-4 James Wattana
Zhou Yuelong 10-1 Ian Preece
Daniel Wells 10-6 Kurt Dunham
Liam Highfield 10-3 Chen Zhe
Tom Ford 10-2 Leo Fernandez
Matthew Selt 10-1 Ng On Yee
Adam Duffy 10-4 Mark Joyce
Mei Xiwen 10-8 Basem Eltahhan
Xiao Guodong 10-3 Chris Totten
Stuart Carrington 10-9 Nigel Bond
Ben Woollaston 10-5 Kacper Filipiak
Zhang Anda 10-6 Zhang Yong
Martin Gould 10-4 Paul Davison
Graeme Dott 10-1 Adrian Ridley
Akani Songsermsawad 10-4 Lukas Kleckers
Dominic Dale 10-7 Reanne Evans
Mike Dunn 10-8 Duane Jones
Michael Holt 10-7 Thor Chuan Leong
Elliot Slessor 10-7 Eden Sharav
Scott Donaldson 10-5 Tyler Rees
Robert Milkins 10-1 Aaron Canavan
Li Hang 10-9 Ashley Hugill
Rory McLeod 10-8 Ian Burns
Lu Haotian 10-8 Fang Xiongman
Martin O'Donnell 10-7 Anthony Hamilton
Matthew Stevens 10-5 Ryan Thomerson
Yuan Sijun 10-5 Fergal O'Brien
Ken Doherty 10-8 Josh Boileau
Gerard Greene 10-9 Mark King
Liang Wenbo 10-2 Rod Lawler
Zhao Xintong 10-8 Aditya Mehta
Yu De Lu 10-8 Sean O'Sullivan
Jamie Jones 10-5 Craig Steadman
Jack Lisowski 10-4 Christopher Keogan
David Grace 10-6 Wang Yuchen
Oliver Lines 10-6 Harvey Chandler
Alan McManus 10-2 Rhys Clark
Robin Hull 10-7 Cao Yupeng
Andrew Higginson 10-4 David John
Lee Walker 10-6 Kristjan Helgason
Ricky Walden 10-8 Joe Swail
Mark Davis 10-1 Sanderson Lam
Michael Georgiou 10-4 Matthew Bolton
Jimmy White 10-6 Sam Craigie
Joe Perry 10-1 Ross Muir
Yan Bingtao 10-7 Jackson Page
Tian Pengfei 10-1 Li Yuan
Kurt Maflin 10-7 Hamza Akbar
Chris Wakelin 10-4 Xu Si
David Gilbert 10-8 Billy Castle
Alfie Burden 10-6 Jamie Barrett
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-8 Alexander Ursenbacher
Adam Stefanow 10-8 Gary Wilson
Jimmy Robertson 10-2 Alex Borg
Sam Baird 10-5 Soheil Vahedi
Michael White 10-9 Niu Zhuang
John Astley 10-1 Marvin Lim
Hossein Vafei 10-8 Jamie Cope
Noppon Saengkham 10-1 Chen Zifan
Hammad Miah 10-9 Jordan Brown
Stephen Maguire 10-5 Allan Taylor


Second Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Ryan Day Vs Mitchell Mann
Robbie Williams Vs Peter Ebdon 
Zhou Yuelong Vs Daniel Wells
Tom Ford Vs Liam Highfield
Matthew Selt Vs Adam Duffy
Xiao Guodong Vs Mei Xiwen
Ben Woollaston Vs Stuart Carrington
Martin Gould Vs Zhang Anda
Graeme Dott Vs Akani Songsermsawad
Dominic Dale Vs Mike Dunn
Michael Holt Vs Elliot Slessor
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson
Li Hang Vs Rory McLeod
Lu Haotian Vs Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens Vs Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty Vs Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo Vs Zhao Xintong
Yu De Lu Vs Jamie Jones
Jack Lisowski Vs David Grace
Alan McManus Vs Oliver Lines
Andrew Higginson Vs Robin Hull
Ricky Walden Vs Lee Walker
Mark Davis Vs Michael Georgiou
Joe Perry Vs Jimmy White
Yan Bingtao Vs Tian Pengfei
Kurt Maflin Vs Chris Wakelin
David Gilbert Vs Alfie Burden
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Adam Stefanow
Jimmy Robertson Vs Sam Baird
Michael White Vs John Astley
Noppon Saengkham Vs Hossein Vafei
Stephen Maguire Vs Hammad Miah

There are plenty of intriguing second round ties here, with Tom Ford and Liam Highfield's clash certainly falling into that category. I have become a big fan of Highfield in the last few months and he is one player who has the game to qualify for the Crucible. In Ford he has an incredibly tough opponent who is in good form, and if both players are scoring well then this could go down to the wire and Highfield is more than capable of winning this one against the odds. 

Ben Woollaston and Stuart Carrington is a very tough game to call between two former Crucible qualifiers. Carrington was impressive twelve months ago but has had a very quiet season this time around and only just managed to get past Nigel Bond in a first round deciding frame. Ben Woollaston meanwhile started slowly against Kacper Filipiak but he came through pretty comfortably in the end and that bodes well for him coming into this one. Form slightly favours Woollaston in this one. 

2006 World Champion Graeme Dott against Akani Songsermsawad is arguably the match of the entire round. Dott is going to be very hard to beat with all of his World Championship experience, coupled with a return to form this season that saw him make the final of the German Masters in February. Akani though is someone who will not be fazed by his opponent and is always up for the challenge. As always, he will stick to his routine and it has served him well again this season as he continues to climb the rankings, and if anyone is going to deny Dott in these qualifiers, Akani was always the most likely candidate. 

Michael Holt and Elliot Slessor also looks like another very tight match. Both players came through 10-7 in round one, with Holt fighting back from 4-0 behind, while Slessor was always in charge against Eden Sharav. These two met over a much shorter format recently at the Welsh Open when Holt was victorious 4-2, though a trend in that match is something Slessor will need to fight here. Slessor made two centuries in the clash, but each frame that Holt won turned out to be a scrappy and long affair, so Slessor will certainly want to improve in the more tactical frames against Holt if he is to win this time around. 

Li Hang and Rory McLeod both had tight first round matches as they meet here. Li came through in a decider against Ashley Hugill, while in a must win game, Rory McLeod won the final three frames as he defeated Ian Burns 10-8. McLeod is a very tough man to beat over this length, and is not someone you want to underestimate - just ask Judd Trump. Li is by far the heavier scorer, but McLeod could easily grind him down here. 

Yuan Sijun surprised me by being able to beat someone of Fergal O'Brien's experience and class by the scoreline that he did in round one, so that should give him a big boost ahead of this match with Matthew Stevens. The Welshman made harder work of his match with Ryan Thomerson than he would have liked in the final session, and he will need to be fully focused this time around against an opponent that can quickly rattle frames off against you. 

Maximum man Liang Wenbo faces an all-Chinese clash against Zhao Xintong in the second round. This sets up to be one of the more entertaining matches of the second round between two very heavy scoring players who are incredibly good to watch. Liang will be incredibly difficult to overcome if he maintains the scoring form displayed against Rod Lawler. Meanwhile, Zhao Xintong impressed me by coming through a tight one against Aditya Mehta in a match that came with plenty of pressure because of the tour survival battle, coupled with the fact Mehta's style of play will not have suited Zhao. 

Robin Hull was impressive in overcoming one of the lower ranked players of the season in Cao Yupeng. The Finn qualified for the Crucible in both 2014 and 2015 and with a solid victory in his first match since the China Open qualifiers in late January, he could now kick on and qualify for a third time in five years. Andrew Higginson is his second round opponent and someone who had an easy enough win against a weaker opponent in round one so he has not been tested yet. Higginson has not qualified for the Crucible since 2012 and that may play on his mind against someone who seems to perform very well over the longer format. 

Ricky Walden may not be too excited by the prospect of playing Lee Walker. Walden has a bit of history with the slower players after comments he made about McLeod, and according to the Average shot time statistics, Walker is even slower than McLeod - in fact there is not a single player on tour that has played slower than Walker this season on average. Combine that with the fact that Walker has plenty of experience and this is a very tricky match for Walden. He came through in tight fashion against Joe Swail in round one so he will at least be battle hardened here and if he is in good scoring form he should be able to get through here without being ground down too much. 

Joe Perry is the next man to take on Jimmy White, after the Whirlwind took care of Sam Craigie 10-6 in the opening round. Perry meanwhile was a comfortable 10-1 winner against Ross Muir and will be a strong favourite against White here. The first round victory for White will have given his fans plenty of hope that he could qualify for the Crucible once again, but realistically you have to ask how much stamina he will have. With Perry coming through so easily in round one he will have plenty in the tank and his extra quality added to that will surely make the difference in this one. 

Jimmy Robertson and Sam Baird is a very interesting clash. Robertson has all of the form looking at how the two players have performed this season, but when it comes to the head to head, Baird has won their last three meetings - two of which were early on this season. Things have gone downhill from Baird since then and he still needs wins here to try and stay on the tour without going to Q School. As a two time Crucible qualifier, he should have the confidence to do it again, and a comfortable first round win against Soheil Vahedi should give him a boost. Robertson is going to be very tough to overcome though you feel. His scoring power gives him quite a big advantage over a lot of players in the long format and as a multiple Crucible qualifier himself, that certainly shows. If both players are in good form though, this one has the makings of a match that could go the distance, otherwise Robertson may have the slight edge. 

Finally, Noppon Saengkham and Hossein Vafei is another incredibly interesting match to discuss. Both players had very differing routes to the second round. Noppon came through 10-1 against a decent player in Chen Zifan and he piled up some high breaks in that win as well. Hossein meanwhile had a real battle against an ex-tour pro in Jamie Cope, eventually showing his class and coming through 10-8. Hossein was very close to qualifying last year, while Noppon did come through to make his Crucible debut. The Thai should be full of confidence after a run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open recently, while Hossein has not had lots of match time coming into the qualifiers, so a close match with Cope will have greatly helped to increase his match sharpness, while he will also be fresh. Overall, this is another match that has the makings of being a nail-biter, but on recent form Noppon gets my pick. 


There are plenty more quality encounters in the second round, and far too many to mention in this round-up. These matches will be played over the course of Sunday and Monday, before judgement beckons in the final qualifying round over Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Tuesday 10 April 2018

World Championship Qualifiers Preview

It's the best time of year to be a snooker fan and the most important time of year for snooker players - the World Championship Qualifiers.

128 players are battling it out for 16 places to join the 16 best players in the world for the main event at the Crucible on April 21. Starting on Wednesday these players will be three best-of-19 frame matches, and potentially eight days from the sport's biggest stage.

Last year's qualifiers were: Fergal O'Brien, Xiao Guodong, Noppon Saengkham, Luca Brecel, Yan Bingtao, Gary Wilson, Stuart Carrington, Zhou Yuelong, Peter Ebdon, David Grace, Jimmy Robertson, Martin Gould, Tom Ford, Graeme Dott, Stephen Maguire and Rory McLeod.

Of these, Luca Brecel is now seeded, while Mark Williams is now back in the top 16 having failed to qualify last year. What that means is that Ryan Day and Liang Wenbo who were both seeded last year are among those requiring three wins to qualify for the Crucible.

On top of this, there is the ongoing battle for tour survival with players looking to end the season ranked inside of the top 64, unless they are only one season into a two year card. For these players that fail to finish 64 or above in the rankings there is a second chance. For the best eight players on the ranking list for this season, that have not already guaranteed a place on tour for next season, there are eight two year tour cards up for grabs. 

Qualifying Section 1 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Ryan Day Vs Igor Figueiredo 
Mitchell Mann Vs Peter Lines
Robbie Williams Vs Jak Jones
Peter Ebdon Vs James Wattana

This first section in all honesty is all about Ryan Day. The Welshman has bagged three titles this season at the Riga Masters, Gibraltar Open and the invitational in Romania so he's in very good form and very unfortunate to be in these qualifiers. On the flip side, he should be incredibly confident of getting through but could still find plenty of trouble with some of the experienced names in this section. His first round opponent Igor Figueiredo is here as an invitee as the WSF Seniors champion. We know what the Brazilian is capable of and he could cause Day problems, but in all likelihood he will prove too strong.

Former world champion Peter Ebdon is another highlight in this section, as is his first round encounter with James Wattana. The Thai himself showed in the Welsh Open that he is still capable of pulling off results with a couple of wins there, after making the English Open last 16 earlier this season though. Ebdon though is no stranger to these qualifiers and coming through them. He qualified narrowly last year against Michael Holt and was also at the Crucible in 2016 after a two year absence prior to that.

Robbie Williams could also prove dangerous. Last season, when he lost in the second qualifying round very narrowly against Yu De Lu, was the first time he had not been at the Crucible since 2013 after three successive appearances. He has had a decent season that was highlighted largely by making the International Championship quarter-finals. His first round opponent Jak Jones is in need of victories though. Jones is presently outside of the top 64 and the final man currently in line for one of the eight two your cards by the one season list. In all probability a defeat here for the Welshman will see him have to go to Q School.

Finally, Peter Lines and Mitchell Mann is a very even contest. Mann has qualified before but this season has been a quiet one for him since making the Paul Hunter Classic semi-finals in August. Despite that run, Lines is still ahead of him on the one-season list and that is quite telling. For me, the experience of Lines could be the crucial factor, but it will take much more for him and the other players in this section to stop Day. 

Predicted Qualifier: Ryan Day

Qualifying Section 2

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Zhou Yuelong Vs Ian Preece
Daniel Wells Vs Kurt Dunham 
Tom Ford Vs Leo Fernandez
Liam Highfield Vs Chen Zhe

This second section is probably one of the tightest ones for me. A very strong case could made for three of these players qualifying. Starting with Tom Ford, he has recently missed out on the China Open semi-finals by a deciding frame against Barry Hawkins. That may play a part as players that have done well in China in the last couple of years, have then struggled in the qualifying with the short turnaround. However, he should not have too many problems against Leo Fernandez who has only managed the one victory since returning to the tour from suspension midway through the season. Ford was a qualifier last season against a in-form Hossein Vafei, and given the form he is in at the moment he will be tough to stop.

For Daniel Wells, his immediate attention will be on tour survival. He is 62nd on the end of season rankings but not far enough clear with £9,000 on the table for first round winners. If he were to drop out of the 64 he would be in line for one of the eight tour cards on the one-season list but this would all depend on other results. You would not think that he would have too many problems against Kurt Dunham, though the Austrlian did show strong signs of improvement when he overcame Ryan Day on TV at the Welsh Open just over a month ago. Last year's qualifiers were a bit of a write off though for Dunham as he fell 10-1 in round one to Alan McManus.

Liam Highfield is also in the tour survival shake up. However, he is further clear the Daniel Wells and in a much better position on the one-season list if he were to lose to Chen Zhe and potentially drop out of the 64. Readers of the blog will know that the Highfield is a player I have followed more closely this season and he has improved massively in my view. He certainly has potential to be one of those players who comes from the pack to make his Crucible debut such is his quality and the high opinion I hold of him.

My pick to qualify though is Zhou Yuelong. Zhou has perhaps not been as impressive this season as he was last when he qualified before losing on his Crucible debut to Ding Junhui. He has shown good signs in the last couple of weeks though making the China Open last 16 and the final of the Championship League in a difficult Winners Group. I can't see him having any problems with Ian Preece in round one as long as the Chinese youngster is in good touch and from there you have to say a final round showdown with Ford or Highfield would be the likely outcome. The heavy scoring that Zhou possesses is a strong asset and one that can help him take sessions away from players over a long format or rattle frames off quickly if he has to come from behind. It is a very tight section but Zhou may just be the one to edge it.

Predicted Qualifier: Zhou Yuelong

Qualifying Section 3 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Matthew Selt Vs Ng On Yee
Mark Joyce Vs Adam Duffy
Mei Xiwen Vs Basem Eltahhan 
Xiao Guodong Vs Chris Totten

In this section we have one of the players that I picked out before the draw was even made. Xiao Guodong has had a very strong season and is 23rd on this season's money list after impressive runs throughout the season. Not only did he qualify last year but he then dispatched of Ryan Day quite comfortably before losing in the last 16 to Mark Selby. In round one here he should not have too many problems against Chris Totten over a 19 frame affair and his heavy scoring would take care of many players in these qualifiers.

Mei Xiwen is not someone you would fancy against Xiao but he is more than good enough to take care of Basem Eltahhan comfortably and he needs to in order to boost his tour survival chances. He is currently outside of the top 64 on the end of season list and sixth on the one year list of those not already qualified for next year, so a win is certainly needed for him if he is to be on the main tour next year.

Matthew Selt has showed signs of getting back to the form that saw him qualify for the Crucible in 2015 and come up just short in round one there against Barry Hawkins, but is still only 50th on the one season money list. In Women's World champion Ng On Yee he faces someone in round one that has nothing to lose and we saw with Reanne Evans last year that this can be very dangerous for the seed. Selt is not one of the main contenders to qualify here in my view unless he finds some form.

Mark Joyce could be a contender though. His performance in getting to the UK Championship quarter-finals should be enough to make people sit up and take notice of him as far as these qualifiers are concerned. Somewhat surprisingly, he has never actually qualified for the Crucible but with the form he has shown this year and the confidence that must give him, this may be his best chance. His first round opponent Adam Duffy is in no form whatsoever and looks set to drop off tour, unless he qualifies for the Crucible himself at the very least. Joyce is probably the strongest opposition to Xiao in this section but I still fancy the Chinese player strongly to qualify.

Predicted Qualifier: Xiao Guodong

Qualifying Section 4 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Stuart Carrington Vs Nigel Bond 
Ben Woollaston Vs Kacper Filipiak
Zhang Anda Vs Zhang Yong
Martin Gould Vs Paul Davison

Again there is one man in this section who is going to prove very difficult to stop. Martin Gould qualified last year and was seeded back in 2016. 2015 was the only year in the last nine where Gould was not at the Crucible either as a seed or a qualifier so he has experience in abundance and is a firm favourite to get back there again. It has been a decent season for Gould that has included a semi-final over the slightly longer best-of-11 format in the International Championship as well as a last 16 recently at the Welsh Open that included three wins against strong opposition.

Stuart Carrington has some experience of qualifying for the Crucible now having made his debut in 2015 and making it through again last year before falling to Liang Wenbo very narrowly after impressing early in the contest. You would certainly make him a dark horse to here qualify here but his performances this season do not back that up. He is in fact 74th on this season's money list, so way off of his normal pace. His first round opponent Nigel Bond could well cause him some big problems. Bond has experience in abundance and has still outperformed a number of the players that started this season with a fresh two year tour card, which is not bad for someone is supposedly winding down in his career.

Ben Woollaston is someone on paper that should be the strongest challenger to Gould in this section though he has not qualified for the Crucible since making his debut in 2013. Last year he came within a single frame, losing out to Zhou Yuelong in a decider and it could be just as close this year. Overall, he has had a steady season and is certainly about time that he made his second Crucible appearance in my opinion.

Finally, Zhang Anda is someone who is under immense pressure this week. Outside of the top 64 on the end of season and not in the top 8 not already qualified for next season, he has to beat Zhang Yong in round one to have any chance of avoiding a trip to Q School. Yong has actually outperformed Anda in terms of money earned, despite the fact that Anda was a quarter-finalist in India in September. However, he does have pedigree in this format though having qualified for the Crucible in 2010, 2015 and 2016 even if the form guide suggests his chances are slim. If he could get beyond that nervy opening round and boost his tour survival hopes, that could be the springboard that sees him come from the pack to come all the way through these qualifiers once more. 

Predicted Qualifier: Martin Gould 

Qualifying Section 5 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Graeme Dott Vs Adrian Ridley 
Akani Songsermsawad Vs Lukas Kleckers
Dominic Dale Vs Reanne Evans
Mike Dunn Vs Duane Jones

Much like with Xiao Guodong in section three, Graeme Dott was one of the players that I earmarked prior to the draw as someone who I fully expected to qualify. The fact that he was a finalist in the German Masters earlier on this season really helps to back up that call. He qualified last year as well and then went on to beat Ali Carter in the last 32 when the main tournament began. His reputation in the World Championships speaks for itself as Dott is not only a former champion but also twice a runner-up on top of that. He should not have any problems in round one and his greatest opposition may well come in the second qualifying round.

Akani Songsermsawad is the man he is likely to face in that second qualifier and he has been one of the rising stars of the last year. In making the last 16 of the UK Championships he demonstrated what he is capable of and his style could easily wear opponents down over the long format. However, Dott is someone who is unlikely to fall into these traps and Akani will have to be at his very best if he is to come through this qualifying section.

Dominic Dale last qualified for the Crucible when he went on to make the quarter-finals back in 2014. The Welshman has a world of experience and will be eager for a Crucible return after narrowly missing out on the one-table set-up four years ago. In round one he faces someone who could be very dangerous though, and certainly proved to be last year. Reanne Evans defeated Robin Hull in he first round of qualifying 12 months ago, and with no pressure on Evans can go out and enjoy the occasion, freeing her up to potentially play at her best. It has been a quiet season for Dale though and unless he finds some form it is difficult to see him coming through this section.

Mike Dunn and Duane Jones presents an interesting clash. Jones played well in the China Open last week to overcome Liang Wenbo and was close to a last 32 victory against Luo Honghao. Dunn meanwhile can never be underestimated, though amazingly he last qualified for the Crucible back in 2002 so it will take a lot for him mentally to overcome this 16 year hoodoo. This is certainly one of the tightest looking matches in the section and whoever comes through could certainly have a run to the final qualifying match but in the end I think Dott will prove too strong in this section. 

Predicted Qualifier: Graeme Dott

Qualifying Section 6 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Michael Holt Vs Thor Chuan Leong 
Elliot Slessor Vs Eden Sharav
Robert Milkins Vs Aaron Canavan
Scott Donaldson Vs Tyler Rees

Section six looks like one of the most even sections and one of the toughest to pick an overall qualifier from. Robert Milkins has qualified three times in the last five years prior to this and should have no problems in round one dispatching a relative unknown in the World Seniors Champion Aaron Canavan. If Milkins is scoring well then he will be a tough man to beat, but if he is slightly off his game than the frustrations could grow, and this is when he would be most vulnerable.

Michael Holt is the highest seed in this section but his form right now does not make him a clear favourite at all. Last year he missed out narrowly on qualifying losing out in the final round to Peter Ebdon, but his form this season has not matched that of the previous two years in which he was making good progress it seemed. One of the toughest matches for Holt would come in round two. Elliot Slessor has been in good form this season and would be tough to beat, while if Eden Sharav could come through it is common knowledge now of the bad blood they share.

Slessor though is a more than worthy favourite against Sharav. This time last year this would have looked a much more even game on paper, but Sharav has not had the best of seasons and failed to make much progress up the rankings. Slessor on the other hand has defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan twice this season and made it to a maiden ranking semi-final. Given his performance in Beijing last week he should be full of confidence and there is not one player in this section that he should really fear. Slessor therefore, is certainly a good bet to make it through and be one of this year's debutants.

Don't rule out Scott Donaldson either though. His game is one that should be more suited to the longer format, as he showed by defeating Mark Selby in the last 64 of the UK Championships earlier this season. However, he did have a very slow start to the year and, even though he has improved since, it may well have harmed his confidence and I think Milkins will give him a very tough time in round two. 

Predicted Qualifier: Elliot Slessor

Qualifying Section 7 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Rory McLeod Vs Ian Burns 
Li Hang Vs Ashley Hugill
Lu Haotian Vs Fang Xiongman
Anthony Hamilton Vs Martin O'Donnell 

Of the players in this section, Rory McLeod was the only one to qualify last year and then went on to defeat Judd Trump at the Crucible in dramatic fashion. McLeod is one of those players who can certainly drive you mad over a long format and there are a few players on the circuit who would certainly agree with that. I have to say I was a little shocked therefore to see Ian Burns as a favourite to beat him in round one. McLeod may not have shined brightly this season but he has still earned £500 more than Burns. The only run of any note for Burns came in Wales when he made the quarter-finals, while he also made the quarters in Furth in August, though there were a number of early exits in between. Over the long format though, I see nothing worth warning people against picking out McLeod to beat Burns in round one given the odds on offer.

Li Hang is the favourite to come through in this section but his form in recent times does not present much reason for him to be. He has not done a whole lot since making the UK Championship last 16, with early exits and a withdrawal from the Welsh Open since then, whilst also failing to qualify for the big money China Open. If he were to make it through it would be a Crucible debut for the heavy scoring Li having missed out in the final round against Maguire last year. In round one he faces a tough test against Ashley Hugill who has a good outside chance of causing an upset here as a player I rated very highly when he earned his tour card. Hugill has had a few good results this season and is more than capable of taking care of Li here.

Anthony Hamilton and Martin O'Donnell is another tight match to call. Hamilton has suffered this season with back injuries that have really hindered his progress. He is the top 32 seed in this section but though on the one year money list he comes in at 86. On top of that it is 10 years since he last qualified for the Crucible which is a very long gap for someone of his quality and experience. As for O'Donnell I always think that he is a very solid player and has had some very good results this season. He defeated Luca Brecel recently in Gibraltar before losing in the last 32 to eventual champion Ryan Day as well as making the International Championship last 16 earlier in the campaign. O'Donnell is not only a good bet against Hamilton but someone who could easily go on and qualify.

My choice here though is the ever impressive Lu Haotian. The way he has fought back to get on the tour and then progress as quickly as he has is admirable. He featured in the semi-finals in Northern Ireland this season and the last 16 of last week's China Open as well as the UK Championship last 16 so he has performed very well in the big events. His heavy scoring makes him incredibly dangerous, and while he may not have as much experience as others in this section, the quality he brings to the table more than makes up for it.

Predicted Qualifier: Lu Haotian

Qualifying Section 8 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Matthew Stevens Vs Ryan Thomerson 
Fergal O'Brien Vs Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty Vs Josh Boileau
Mark King Vs Gerard Greene 

Matthew Stevens is one of the favourites to come out of this section and qualify this year. Given his World Championship pedigree that is hardly a surprise and he also has a first round draw that is not likely to cause him too many issues. However, as the years go on Stevens is becoming more and more hit and miss and while he has had some good runs this season there have also been some heavy and disappointing losses including a first round exit at the UK Championships. This section is such a tough one and full of experience so it is very tough and go as to whether Stevens will qualify.

After a full final frame deciders in previous years, Fergal O'Brien finally came through last year against David Gilbert to qualify and is someone who can never be ruled out over this length of match. His sheer determination and desire is the reason he qualified last year and his experience and class will be too much for young Yuan Sijun if the rookie is anything short of his absolute best. O'Brien does have a little bit of form coming in having beaten Stephen Maguire in the last 64 in the China Open last week. It is a very tight call however as to who would make the final qualifier out of Stevens and O'Brien.

Ken Doherty is someone who I think can seize on the fact that there is no pressure on him this year now that he is on an invitational tour card. Right from the off this season he has played better, making the semi-finals in the Riga Masters and he has strategically not played in every event in order to be fresh and ready when it counts. His first round opponent Josh Boileau has very slim hopes of tour survival and I expect these hopes to be extinguished quickly by Doherty here.

Mark King is the highest seed in this section but again given the experienced opposition he would have to play in every single round, he is by no means a clear and heavy favourite. His first round opponent Gerard Greene showed what he was capable of in the Welsh Open when he impressively defeated Shaun Murphy 4-0. Despite falling off the tour a couple of years ago, Greene has fought back strongly and will be a good match here for King. All in all this a tough section to call, but prior to the draw Ken Doherty is one of the players I picked out as having a good outside chance of qualifying. 

Predicted Qualifier: Ken Doherty 

Qualifying Section 9 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Liang Wenbo Vs Rod Lawler  
Zhao Xintong Vs Aditya Mehta
Yu De Lu Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Jamie Jones Vs Craig Steadman

Despite his poor season that has left him outside of the top 32 on the one year money list, Liang Wenbo for me is still a very hot favourite to qualify looking at the players in this section. Last year he was seeded but he did come through the qualifiers in 2016 having only just missed out on automatic qualification, so that bodes well for the Chinese number two. His first round opponent Rod Lawler has really been out of sorts this season and if his poor form continues he could fall quite heavily here against Liang.

Zhao Xintong at his very best would be a contender to knock Liang out but in Aditya Mehta he has a very tricky first round tie. Zhao has to win this match to have any chance of avoiding Q School and while one win would add £9,000 to his ranking total, he may need two wins to earn a new tour year tour card via the one year list, depending on other results. Mehta is one of the players currently in those top eight spots on the one year list so he too needs a victory and I think he has the type of game that will really not suit Zhao. Mehta will not give Zhao an inch and hope to grind the young man down, and you would have India's number one as the hot favourite to win the tactical frames of this contest.

Yu De Lu is one of the bigger challenges that Liang will face in this section, if they meet in the final round. Yu always seems to go a little under the radar, though one thing that stands against him is the fact he has never qualified for the Crucible before. Sean O'Sullivan his first round opponent has had a similar season to Lawler in terms of his struggles and position on the money list, and will really need to up his game to defeat Yu and have any chance of qualifying. Recent form stands nicely in Yu's favour having made the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open followed by the last 16 in Gibraltar.

Jamie Jones and Craig Steadman for me is another tight match up. Steadman has qualified for the Crucible in recent years and needs a couple of wins in qualifying to avoid going to Q School at the end of the season. He was unlucky in the China Open to lose in the last 64 to Ding Junhui after making two centuries and he also had a couple of wins recently in the Welsh Open. Jones meanwhile has had a fairly quiet season by his standards, especially since making the Paul Hunter Classic semi-finals in August. He has shown in the past that he is more than capable of qualifying, but his recent form does not back that up really and Steadman could be able to take advantage.

Predicted Qualifier: Liang Wenbo 

Qualifying Section 10 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Jack Lisowski Vs Chris Keogan 
David Grace Vs Wang Yuchen
Alan McManus Vs Rhys Clark
Oliver Lines Vs Harvey Chandler

With the three other seeded players all involved in the tour survival battle and under huge pressure over the next week, the in-form and ever improving Jack Lisowski is a huge favourite to qualify. Lisowski comes into this off the back of another quarter-final at the China Open which follows his Shanghai Masters semi-final and English Open quarter-final earlier this season, results that have him in the top 20 on this season's money list. He may have only qualified for the Crucible once back in 2013, but he is more than capable of breezing through this section in a similar way to what he has done in the early stages of many tournaments this season. For me, this will be the year for his long awaited Crucible return.

David Grace needs at least one win in these qualifiers in order to stay on the tour and he faces a tricky task against Wang Yuchen to do that. Those that watched Wang's heldover match against Mark Selby in the China Open would have seen that he was in good touch, and with his chances of tour survival much slimmer there is almost less pressure in Wang as the hopes and expectations will be lower than those of Grace. The big Yorkshireman did collect the three wins needed for his Crucible debut last year so the former UK Championship semi-finalist knows he can get the job done.

Also under a little bit of pressure is Oliver Lines. He faces European Amateur champion Harvey Chandler in round one with his place on tour next season far from secure. Defeat to Chandler would leave him likely to finish the season outside of the top 64 and dependant on other results, he would not be secure of a new two year card via the one-year list either. The one thing that does play into Lines hands is the fact he has the experience of playing on the tour and the match tables where Chandler may not, though Chandler will be on tour next season and he can play freely with nothing on the line here.

Alan McManus is also under huge pressure. With his World Championship semi-final money from tour years ago coming off, he is the man on the bubble at 64th on the provisional end of season money list and, like so many others, he is going to need at least one win here this week. If he were to slip out of the 64 he would be practically assured of a two year card via the one-year list, but for someone that has been on the tour as long as McManus, starting again next season with £0 on his ranking would be very undesirable. The one thing McManus has though is a wealth of experience and a first round opponent who is totally out of form, and he can be expected too boss Rhys Clark in round one. From there, he is most likely to be the biggest challenger to Lisowski and his experience and tactical prowess could hurt the left-hander if they were to meet in the final round. However, on pure form and with how much confidence he should have, Lisowski has to be the pick here. 

Predicted Qualifier: Jack Lisowski 

Qualifying Section 11 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Andrew Higginson Vs David John 
Cao Yupeng Vs Robin Hull 
Lee Walker Vs Kristjan Helgason 
Ricky Walden Vs Joe Swail

One player in this section is someone I had been eyeing up before the draw came out. Cao Yupeng has out performed everyone in this section by a mile this season rising from way back in the rankings at the start of the campaign, to make the Scottish and Gibraltar Open finals. The only one issue he may have in his three matches is getting over the line. Two or three times this season, including the Scottish Open final and recent China Open last 16 exit, he has lost matches from quite a long way in front. On the whole, he has been very consistent all season and played very well to get inside the top 20 on the one season list and he is certainly the front runner for qualification in my eyes. His first round opponent Robin Hull is no stranger to World Championship qualification, coming through in both 2014 and 2015, while his 2014 season was very similar to this season in the build up. In recent months Hull has missed events due to a virus, but if he is 100% and healthy to play here then he will certainly keep Cao honest.

2013 World Championship semi-finalist Ricky Walden may have something to say about that. Walden would play Cao in the final round if he gets that far and I would expect him to do just that. His first round opponent Joe Swail has missed events this season for personal reasons, but he is more than capable of beating Walden on his comeback here. Walden did exit in round one least season to Hammad Miah, but he was troubled greatly by his back it seems, something that looks to have settled down a great deal over the course of the season. Walden is still good enough to break back into the top 16 in my view and he will certainly hope to show that in these qualifiers.

Andrew Higginson is somewhat of a dark horse. On his day he still seems capable of beating most players in these qualifiers this week, but on his bad days he could just as easily lose to anyone in these qualifiers. His performances this season are good enough to have him at joint 59th on the one season money list, a far cry from a player that was closing in on the top 16 when he last played at the Crucible in 2012. In David John though, he has a first round opponent who has not made much headway on the professional circuit and will have to head to Q School in May if he wants another go.

Lee Walker is the outsider of the four seeds in this section. He is under pressure in round one as he needs to defeat Kristjan Helgason to secure his place on tour for next season, via a fresh two year tour card on the one year money list. Of the eight spots available, his performances this season are currently good enough to have him in 6th (69th on the one-year money list overall) so he is by no means safe if his Icelandic opponent causes an upset. Helgason is in the qualifiers as an amateur invite after making the semi-finals of the World Snooker Federation Championship, and he was so close to making the final and a match that could have earned him a tour card. In the event he was one of the heaviest scorers, making a total of five centuries in the 27 frames he won in the event (two of which came in a group game against Ryan Thomerson) and if he can find some of that scoring he will make Walker work hard. 

Predicted Qualifier: Cao Yupeng

Qualifying Section 12 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Michael Georgiou Vs Matthew Bolton
Mark Davis Vs Sanderson Lam
Sam Craigie Vs Jimmy White
Joe Perry Vs Ross Muir

On paper, section 12 is one that is headlined by Joe Perry and he will be among most peoples picks to qualify. However, last season he did not make it through the qualifiers and has not done enough since to forge a challenge for a top 16 return. He probably will not have many problems in round one though Ross Muir can be dangerous on his day, but the big hurdles will follow in rounds two and three if Perry makes it that far.

Sam Craigie and Jimmy White will be a very entertaining game and one where a lot of high breaks can be expected. Craigie impressed last week by beating Martin Gould in Beijing with four centuries and then leading Neil Robertson 4-1 in the last 32 before just falling 6-5. Last year, Craigie actually led Yan Bingtao 8-4 at one stage in the qualifying round before Yan turned it around and went on to qualify for the Crucible. Craigie's performances in round one here could lay down a big marker and if he sees off White with ease then that could be a sign that he is ready to kick on and make his Crucible debut. Defeat to the Whirlwind, who certainly still has the ability to put some wins together in this qualifying campaign himself, would leave Craigie slightly vulnerable to falling off tour. He is second out of the eight players currently in position to gain a new two year tour card via the one year money list, and it would take a number of results to go against him for things to go wrong.

Mark Davis is certainly someone in this section who is not to be underestimated. He has not appeared at the Crucible since 2015, though that was his fourth year in a row in the final stages of the World Championship, and it is not so long ago that he was a seed himself. Those days may be gone and his provisional end of season ranking is 41, but the quality is still there and he is more than good enough to get through a round or two again here.

My choice though is Michael Georgiou. Winning the Shoot Out has played a big part in his successes this season but along with that should come a lot of confidence. That victory and qualification for the World Grand Prix, where he made the last 16, were more than enough to secure his tour place for next season - and that was in some doubt prior to the Shoot-Out. Since that victory he looks to be playing with a new found confidence and belief. People may say a lot of things about the event itself, but one thing that cannot be disputed is the amount of bottle it takes to win it under such intense pressure, and the knowledge that he can handle that will serve Georgiou well in these qualifiers. In Matthew Bolton he has a first round opponent who has not found his feet on the professional tour, so he should get through without much bother and from there he is certainly my one to watch in this section. 

Predicted Qualifier: Michael Georgiou 

Qualifying Section 13 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Yan Bingtao Vs Jackson Page 
Tian Pengfei Vs Li Yuan
Kurt Maflin Vs Hamza Akbar
Chris Wakelin Vs Xu Si

In this section there is one clear runaway favourite but also plenty of players that could trouble that player. Yan Bingtao is the man many will expect to win three matches with ease and secure back-to-back Crucible appearances, but that is still no easy feat. His rise has been phenomenal and since this time last year he has continued his incredible progression by reaching his first ranking final, just 18 months after joining the professional tour. He is now an established member of the top 32 and will certainly not be far away from being a top 16 seed at next year's Championships. In round one he will need to be on guard as he faces another dangerous young talent in Jackson Page. This tie is one that lights up the draw and if Page is in good form he will certainly challenge Yan. Page has nothing to lose and despite his age has already shown enough to suggest he could go far once he earns a professional tour card. What this does provide is a test that if Yan does come through, he will be full of confidence for the matches that follow.

Tian Pengfei is his most likely second round opponent and his second half to the season has tailed off dramatically. At one point it looked like he would stay on tour easily, but he is still going to need to win his first round encounter with Li Yuan to guarantee one of the eight tour cards on offer via the one year list. As for his qualification chances, it is tough to see him stopping someone like Yan Bingtao and as someone who is yet to make the Crucible, you would not fancy him to change that here.

Chris Wakelin has done enough to be nicely secured of his tour berth for next season, but he does face a tough first round match here against Xu Si. Xu has been very hit and miss this season and it will be interesting to see how he performs over the best-of-19 frames. His performances in all are enough to have him 71st on the one season money list which is a good effort and he has been unlucky losing a few deciders this season. His highlight by far will have been making the semi-finals of the Indian Open as well as the last 16 of the Scottish Open. His defeat of Mark Davis in the UK Championships showed that he is more than capable of beating these established players and I think he has a good chance of victory against Wakelin, though Wakelin himself was a 6-0 winner in the China Open recently against an injured Shaun Murphy.

Kurt Maflin is probably the greatest challenger to Yan Bingtao in this section and if the pair meet in the final round it will be a very entertaining encounter. They met recently in the China Open with Yan coming from behind to win 6-5. A quarter-final in Shanghai is his highlight of a season that has been good enough to get him to 41st on the one season money list. 2015 was the year that the big Norwegian showed his capabilities in the World Championship, making his Crucible debut before pushing Mark Selby all the way in the last 32. Overall, it is still going to be very difficult to back against Yan Bingtao here with much success. 

Predicted Qualifier: Yan Bingtao 

Qualifying Section 14 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

David Gilbert Vs Billy Castle 
Alfie Burden Vs Jamie Barrett 
Gary Wilson Vs Adam Stefanow
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Alexander Ursenbacher

A couple of players in this section are under pressure for their tour place. The first is Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who could end up in trouble if he lost in round one here to Alexander Ursenbacher. Quite a few other results would have to go against him for that to happen but that pressure may feed into his game and give Ursenbacher a good chance. Last year he got to the third qualifying round despite not actually being back on tour until the start of this season. Since then, he has had a semi-final at the English Open, but has not quite kicked on since then. This is sure to be a high scoring and attacking game, and Un-Nooh's inconsistencies along with the pressure involved could leave him open to an upset here.

Alfie Burden is the other player here fighting for his tour place. At 73rd on the provisional end of season money list he is well off the pace, and at 81st on this season's money list he is currently £1,000 behind Jak Jones who holds the last of the eight "not already qualified for next year" spots as it stands. Victory in round one against Jamie Barrett is therefore a must for Burden, and he may even need to make the final qualifier to stay on tour. While Barrett has had the odd result, Burden should fancy his chances of getting into the second round but from there he may just come up short. For a player of his quality, it is hard to believe it has been 20 years since his only Crucible appearance, and the longer that goes on the more unlikely that is to change.

In terms of the seedings, David Gilbert is the front runner in this section for qualification and he will be a man on a mission after the heartbreak of 12 months ago. For those with a good memory, Gilbert was the player who lost the two hour decider in the final qualifying round against Fergal O'Brien which would have taken him a while to get over you imagine. There have not been too many highlights for him in the second half of the season, though his performances across the campaign still have him in the top 25 on this season's money list. On top of that there is a trend forming with Gilbert and qualifying in even numbered years after making it to the Crucible in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and there is no reason why he cannot keep that going.

One of the men that I think will stand strongly in Gilbert's way though is Gary Wilson. Having qualified last year to make his debut, he held his own against Ronnie O'Sullivan and I think he took a lot of confidence from the experience. This season he has appeared in the semi-finals of the Welsh Open as well as making the last 16 of the China Open last week with wins over Ali Carter and Joe Perry. His heavy scoring is his greatest asset over this long format and given his form, he should have the confidence and bottle to be able to qualify for a second season in succession. 

Predicted Qualifier: Gary Wilson

Qualifying Section 15 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Sam Baird Vs Soheil Vahedi 
Jimmy Robertson Vs Alex Borg
John Astley Vs Marvin Lim
Michael White Vs Niu Zhuang

Like in the previous section, section 15 has two more players who are in precarious positions in the ranking list. Sam Baird is the first of those after a horrible season that he has endured. Baird is certainly not someone you thought would be in the position that he is right now. At 74th on the provisional end of season money list he would have to qualify for the Crucible at the very least in order to make it into the top 64. Even to get a fresh two year card via the one year money list he is going to have to win at least one game, but more than likely two in these qualifiers. One thing in his favour is that he has qualified for the Crucible twice before, debuting in 2013 before making the last 16 in 2016. Although, when I have seen him this year he has looked very low on confidence and a long way short of that 2016 performance. In Soheil Vahedi, Baird faces a player who players a very aggressive game which will give Baird plenty of chances, though if Soheil is on form he will be a tough man to get past and the closer the match becomes the more the pressure will heap on to Baird's shoulders.

John Astley though has a much more realistic tour survival chance. His match with invitee Marvin Lim is one that could well shift him from 65th on the provisional end of season money to a position well inside the top 64 depending on other results. If those other results do go against him, victory against Lim should still be more than enough to secure him a fresh two year tour card via the one season money list. From there, Astley should be able to focus on trying to make his World Championship debut at the Crucible, something that would be quite special for someone who has previously performed at the Crucible in a play where his character was... a snooker player.

In terms of rankings, Michael White is the front runner in this section and someone that made the quarter-finals on his Crucible debut back in 2013 as well as qualifying again in 2014 and 2016. Despite his form not always being consistent he has still had a very good season that included victory very early on in August's Paul Hunter Classic. White's scoring always makes him a dangerous player and he is certainly a huge threat who I can only see being stopped by one man in this section.

That is someone in the best season of their career in Jimmy Robertson. Robertson was a quarter-finalist earlier in the year at the German Masters and he has played pretty consistently all season long to go along with that and put him at 33rd on this season's money list. Robertson is also no stranger to qualifying for the Crucible having done so three times and twice in the last three years overall. His heavy scoring is certainly a match for White and something that will give him a good advantage against some of the other players in this section as well. His first round tie against Alex Borg is not one I see him having too much trouble with and he should also be too strong for Baird or Soheil in round two, before a thrilling contest with White in round three could await. 

Predicted Qualifier: Jimmy Robertson

Qualifying Section 16 

First Round Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Noppon Saengkham Vs Chen Zifan  
Hossein Vafei Vs Jamie Cope
Hammad Miah Vs Jordan Brown
Stephen Maguire Vs Allan Taylor

The final qualifying section is all about former Crucible semi-finalist Stephen Maguire. You would think that he is far too good to be in these qualifiers but here he is for the second successive year. Last year, he came through the three rounds quite easily and then used that as a springboard to making the quarter-finals with victories over Anthony McGill and Rory McLeod once the main event began. The one worry you would have about Maguire is that he has had chances in the latter stages of events this season to get victories that would have seen him return to the top 16 but he has just fell short when it mattered. Along with that, in the last four years he was seeded at the Crucible from 2013-2016 he lost in the first round four years in succession which is far from impressive. On the other hand, looking at his draw I cannot see him having too many problems in the first two rounds and if he can get through those comfortably he should still be fresh for one the real test will come in the final qualifier.

Hammad Miah will have all eyes on tour survival as he starts out his qualifying campaign. At 79th on the provisional end of season ranking list his only hope realistically is via the one year list and the top eight not already qualified. Even on that list, the likelihood is that he would need to make the final qualifying round to have any chance of getting a fresh two year tour card without going to Q School. Defeating Luca Brecel and Zhao Xintong to qualify for the German Masters is about as good as it has got for Miah this season, so he is certainly up against this week.

Hossein Vafei is a name that many will have earmarked after he lost narrowly in the final qualifying round last year against Tom Ford. However, he has had a quiet second half to this season. In fact, with non entries and visa issues he has only played one match in 2018, a first round exit at the Welsh Open. Despite that, he is still 48th on the one season money list such as his quality and the strength he showed in the first half of the season making the English Open quarter-finals and UK Championships last 32. In the first round he has a very tough match against Jamie Cope. Cope may no longer be on the tour but he was invited here as the leader of the EBSA order of merit, and on the final day of qualifying he will be in action in the EBSA play-offs as the front runner for one of two tour cards. Cope played both the Paul Hunter Classic and the Gibraltar Open, coming through amateur qualifying and eventually making the last 32 of both events with wins against tour players and I think he has a good chance of victory against Hossein here.

That leaves Noppon Saengkham, the Welsh Open semi-finalist as one of the most likely players to challenge Maguire. His run in Cardiff with wins over Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump demonstrated the huge potential that he has teased for a while now. Add to that the fact that Noppon qualified for the Crucible last year beating an in-form Anthony Hamilton 10-9 in the process, and you have someone who should be full of confidence for this year's qualifiers. Still, Stephen Maguire's pedigree still makes him the front runner to qualify from this section. 

Predicted Qualifier: Stephen Maguire


These are the players I believe will make the Crucible but as outlined, every section is competitive and it shapes up as one of the most exciting qualifying campaigns. Plenty of exciting young talent, experienced players and those that have climbed up the rankings with brilliant form this season, makes for plenty of tough battles to come over the next eight days. 

Who do you think will make it through from each section? Feel free to comment below or on my Twitter page @CueActionBlog, and make sure to keep an eye out for my thoughts and all the information you need as the qualifiers progress.