For the players involved there as well as in the Riga Masters and World Open qualifiers there have been ups and downs, highs and lows as they got the ball rolling on their 2018/2019 campaigns. There was success for some of the rookie players who picked up valuable, confidence-boosting wins to start in style, while other players in need of early wins to boost their ranking got off to a perfect start.
Some of the top players meanwhile struggled in this early part of the season, to show that these qualifying matches are not easy - whatever your world ranking is.
To summarise the opening exchanges of the season I'll be listing some of the players who had a good time of it, and those that did not have as much success at the Preston Guildhall.
Good Week
David Lilley - Lilley is not currently the holder of a professional tour card, but his near misses at Q School will earn him an invite into most of this season's ranking events via the Q School order of merit top-up system. His play in the opening two qualifiers however, was impressive and having won both games you wonder if he will get enough opportunities this season to try and earn a tour card, via the top eight on the one-season money list not already qualified for the 2019/2020 once this campaign is done. In Riga qualifying he produced one of the better performances I saw while I was in Preston for the first three days. Two centuries and a further break of 90+ saw him take care of Hammad Miah 4-2, before then coming from 4-2 behind to defeat China's Li Hang 5-4 to put his name in the main draw for the World Open. On top of that the £5,500 he's banked for those wins is a nice boost for a non-tour player.
Zhao Xintong - The snooker world has known for a long time that Zhao has as much potential as some of his more successful Chinese counterparts, but after dropping off the tour at the end of last season questions have been asked whether he would fulfil it. Impressively he has fought his way back on through Q School and is another of the 30 players who won qualifiers for both of the first two events. Breaks of 73, 86 and 88 helped him dismantle Jimmy Robertson 4-0 in Riga qualifying, before he defeated a high ranked opponent in Graeme Dott 5-3 to make it to Yushan for the World Open. Those results should be a big boost to Zhao's confidence, so do not be surprised to see him continue producing wins like this in the coming months.
Robbie Williams - If I said that things were comfortable for Williams in his two qualifiers it would certainly be a lie. His first match against Alan McManus went to a deciding frame where Williams needed snookers, before he fought back to win the frame and match on the final black. Then against Oliver Lines he faced another deciding frame and once again it would come down to the final colours, but Williams was again victorious 5-4. During that match he also had the high break of World Open qualifying by some margin, firing in a 140. His nerves may have taken a battering but for a player ranked in the low 50's, this is a much needed positive start to the campaign.
Rod Lawler - Another player who needed to start strongly was Lawler, after a very poor 2017/2018 season. The £5,500 he has picked up for back-to-back victories at the Guildhall is only £100 short of his earnings for the entire of the last campaign so it must be a relief to collect a couple of cheques. He started very strongly with a 4-0 win against Martin O'Donnell to book his place in Latvia, featuring breaks of 65, 73 and 107. Then he was never behind against Mark King in World Open qualifying as he eventually came through a 5-4 winner in a very tight contest. Lawler will need a monumental campaign in order to get into the top 64 at the end of it, though he has done all he could to get the wheels moving forward this week.
David Grace and Mitchell Mann - Mann and Grace were both on the pro tour last season, but were relegated in April and failed to get back on tour at Q School in May. The pair both made the semi-finals of the first Challenge Tour event at the start of June and have now gone better at the Guildhall this week. Grace and Mann contested the final of the second CT event where former UK semi-finalist Grace would come out on top a 3-0 winner. Grace also overcame fellow former tour players in Jamie O'Neill, Simon Bedford, James Cahill and Steven Hallworth on the way to the final, while Mann took out the winner of event one Brandon Sargeant in the semi-finals. Despite his narrow 3-2 loss in that semi-final, Sargeant is still top of the CT order of merit, in a tie with Grace after two events.
Disappointing week
Alan McManus - Having touched on Robbie Williams victory over McManus already in the Riga qualifying, where Williams came from snookers required in the final frame to clinch victory, that gives you one part of a disappointing start to the season for the Scotsman. The second part came as he was beaten more comprehensively in World Open qualifying, 5-2 by Paul Davison. With McManus' ranking as low as it has become in the last year, these early season defeats are not good news and something he will have to bounce back from quickly in August.
Sam Baird - After a poor 2017/2018 season, Baird dropped off the circuit and had to earn his tour card back at Q School, along with the likes of Zhao Xintong. Unlike Zhao, Baird has not made such a positive return to the tour. He only managed to win one frame from his two qualifying matches, losing 4-0 to Ben Woollaston and 5-1 to Mark Davis. That will do nothing to help his belief and confidence which looked to be suffering on a couple of occasions when I watched him up close in the middle of last season. Baird may have two years now to climb back into the top 64, but he could already do with picking up a win or two from the three qualifiers that will be played in the middle of August.
Ross Muir - It's a big season for Scotland's Ross Muir as he looks to find a way of staying on the professional circuit. Things have not started well for him though in his search for every ranking point he can get his hands on, following a 2017/2018 season that saw him accumulate only £10,000. Muir fell 4-1 to a fellow player from outside the top 64 in Zhang Yong. He then fought hard to force a decider in his World Open qualifier, coming from 3-0 and 4-2 down to make it 4-4 with Ryan Day. Unfortunately for the Scot, he was unable to take advantage having put Day on the rocks, and the Welshman escaped with a 5-4 win.
Notable Others
Stuart Bingham - Bingham was another player who suffered two defeats to start off his season in what was really one of the big surprises of these qualifiers. In Riga qualifying he fell 4-0 to Niu Zhuang before a 5-4 loss to another Chinese player in Zhang Anda. Bingham will now have to wait until the August qualifying matches to get back in action.
Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby - It was a struggle for another two of the top players. Murphy entered both events, defeating Sanderson Lam to make it to Riga despite being 2-0 adrift and surviving frame ball to fall 3-0 behind. He was not to be so fortunate later in the week though as he fell 5-4 to Mei Xiwen. As for the world number one, he only entered World Open qualifying and got off to a slow start. He fell 3-1 behind against non-tour player Luke Simmonds before winning four on the spin to secure a 5-3 win.
Joe O'Connor, Ashley Carty, Simon Lichtenberg, Harvey Chandler and Andy Lee - There was success for some of the players that had earned a two-year tour card. Lee had been on tour previously but is looking to make a bigger impact now, especially after securing a decent start after winning his World Open qualifier 5-2 against Daniel Wells. As for some of the rookies, Joe O'Connor defeated returning Jordan Brown to secure his first tour win at the first attempt. Ashley Carty had a holdover for the World Open but played fellow rookie Harvey Chandler in Riga qualifying, winning comfortably in the end at 4-1. Chandler would put that disappointment behind him though and secure an impressive 5-4 triumph over Michael White a few days later. Germany's Simon Lichtenberg gained his first win in the qualifiers for Yushan with a 5-2 defeat of 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty. That was not the only German success in qualifying as Lukas Kleckers gained his first win in a year by beating Alexander Ursenbacher to book a return trip to Riga.
Ali Carter, Kyren Wilson, Luca Brecel, Marco Fu, Barry Hawkins and Mark Allen - For six of the top players involved this week there was to be no trouble, qualifying for both of the season's first two ranking events. Ali Carter won his two matches without dropping a frame, while Hawkins only dropped two in defeating Andy Lee and Alfie Burden. Kyren Wilson had to battle a little harder, coming through a final frame decider with Dominic Dale, and then defeating Nigel Bond 5-3. After a poor end to last season, Luca Brecel made no mistake in his games with Allan Taylor and Ian Burns. Masters winner Mark Allen secured 4-2 and 5-2 victories against Daniel Wells and Peter Lines but most impressive was Marco Fu. Fu only dropped one frame in defeating Elliot Slessor and Chris Totten for not only his first wins of the season, but his first victories since December 2017, prior to his eye surgery.
For all of the results from the last week, follow the links below:
The next action from the tour will see the first main tour trophy of the season awarded as the players compete in the final stages of the Riga Masters starting on Friday July 27. That will coincide with the third Challenge Tour event, from Latvia on Saturday July 28 and Sunday July 29 - which are also the final two days of action in the Riga Masters.
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