The likes of Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and Judd Trump who all skipped the Riga Masters will be competing for the title and a very healthy first prize of £150,000. Ding is the defending champion having eased to victory in the final against Kyren Wilson last September, and he will now be hoping to add another title to his collection on home soil.
Neil Robertson will be hoping to make it back-to-back titles, while Jack Lisowski will want to build on his first ranking final appearance, after losing to the Australian 5-2 in Latvia. Others eyeing success in Yushan will be former champions Ali Carter and Mark Allen (when the tournament was staged on the Hainan island), while a total of 10 Chinese pros will be bidding for home glory, with a further two Hong Kong representatives and four Chinese amateur wildcards hoping to make a name for themselves.
It's set up to be a very interesting and exciting in Yushan, with so many capable winners in all sections of the draw.
Quarter 1
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Ding Junhui or James Wattana Vs Yuan Sijun
Robert Milkins Vs David Lilley
Marco Fu Vs Peter Ebdon
Liang Wenbo or James Cahill Vs Andrew Higginson
David Gilbert W/O Matthew Stevens
Ali Carter Vs Rory McLeod
Ricky Walden Vs Dominic Dale
Neil Robertson or He Guoqiang Vs Andy Lee
Ding Junhui is the defending champion this week and one of the leading contenders when it comes to playing in China. This will be his first outing of the new season so a little bit of rust can be expected. When he won the title last year it was played in a September slot that he has had much success in, having won the Shanghai Masters multiple times during that period. If he overcomes James Wattana in his heldover last 128 match, it will be intriguing to see how young Yuan Sijun gets on against him, but with the pressure of playing a Chinese hero on home soil could be too much for Yuan. With plenty of top players in this section though it is tough to pick Ding out for a big run having not seen him yet this season.
Neil Robertson got his season off to a flyer again last week by winning the Riga Masters for a second time, and taking the first ranking event of the season for the fourth time in six years. I expected him to do well, after seeing that he had changed cues and been practising a lot to get use to the new equipment. With the confidence of knowing that the change has worked, the Australian will now be looking to keep the ball rolling and add yet another Chinese ranking title to his collection. Robertson has twice won the Wuxi Classic which used to be played around this time of year, so he knows all about playing in Chinese conditions at this time of year, and given his performance in Latvia he has to be a front runner again this week.
Ali Carter and Liang Wenbo are two players who can consider themselves unlucky with how they lost out in Latvia last week. Both fell in tough matches to Mark Allen and Robertson respectively, and that came after Carter had already beaten Ryan Day. Carter is a former winner of this title, overcoming Joe Perry in a close final two years ago. Of Carter's four ranking titles, two have come in China and over the last couple of seasons his best performances have come over in Asia. Liang Wenbo was one of many tour players to enter the unsanctioned Haining Open in the lead up to this event, though footage emerged during the week of him walking out of one his matches, conceding the tie in just the second frame. Liang will need to have much more patience here this week, though he often struggles to keep his emotions under control so this is not new. His holdover opponent James Cahill can cause him problems, and out of Carter and Liang you have to think the Englishman is the much bigger contender in Yushan.
Ricky Walden has started the season brightly, making the quarter-finals in Riga, beating Mark Allen before losing out to the eventual champion Robertson. The pair would meet again in the last 32 if they safely negotiate their opening ties, and Walden would have every chance of coming out of that one on the right side. Like Robertson, Walden has had early season success in the past, having been a former winner of the Wuxi Classic himself. As is well documented, Walden is a bit of a China specialist, with all of his three ranking titles coming in China, while five of his six ranking finals have been in Asia. Now that he is coming back to top form, and after scoring really well in Latvia, he may not be far away from that one really big run that puts him back close to the top 16 in the world rankings, as he certainly has the quality to get back there. Given his past performances and current form, Walden has to be a dark horse for this week.
My opening quarter choice though is Hong Kong's Marco Fu. Fu is a player working his way back to form after eye surgery and it may not seem inviting for this pick that he lost in the last 32 in Latvia to Mark Davis. He had beaten Xiao Guodong a round previously though and Davis has a good record against a number of top players so that is hardly a surprise. With Liang proving unpredictable, while Ding is in his first tournament of the season, Fu looks the best pick from the top half of this section to make the quarter-finals. If he can pick up a couple of good wins early on in the week, that could give him the confidence to know his change to SightRight methods and recent eye surgery is all working out well and that he can really kick on and get back to his best. It is only about a year and half since Fu was playing some of the best snooker of his career, winning the Scottish Open and reaching the Players Championship final, so that sort of form is hardly a distant memory. So, this could be a very big week for Fu.
Best of the rest: Ricky Walden
Quarter choice: Marco Fu
Quarter 2
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Barry Hawkins Vs Akani Songsermsawad
Michael Holt Vs Mark Davis
Matthew Selt Vs Lee Walker
Yan Bingtao or Ashley Carty Vs Stuart Carrington
Fergal O'Brien Vs Zhao Xintong
Luca Brecel Vs Scott Donaldson
Tom Ford Vs Gary Wilson
Judd Trump Vs Martin O'Donnell
The second quarter of the draw looks like a pretty open one in all, and will feature the first tournament venue appearance of Judd Trump. The former China Open and International champion has a good record in the big China events, including the Shanghai Masters where he has lost in three finals. In this event though or the China Championship which are newer to the scene and have slightly less prestige perhaps, he does not quite seem to have as good a record. There are certainly plenty of potential hurdles for Trump in the early stages of the draw, so if he is not quite on his game an early exit could loom. Equally, with the likes of Higgins and O'Sullivan not involved this week he could see this is as an early opportunity to lay down his own marker for the upcoming 2018/2019 campaign.
Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong are two young Chinese players that will have a lot of support and expectation on them this week. Yan is highly touted as the next potential Chinese ranking winner but after an early withdrawal from last week's Riga Masters, and a potential last 64 tie against one of the losing Latvia semi-finalists, it will be interesting to see how he gets on in Yushan. Zhao meanwhile has shown some early promise with a last 16 appearance in Riga, thrashing Shaun Murphy along the way, while defeating Graeme Dott to qualify for this tournament. However, in his last 64 tie with Fergal O'Brien he faces someone who made a couple of centuries in his qualifying round win over Robin Hull, and will test every part of Zhao's tactical play and patience in what will be a tough match for the young man.
Luca Brecel was a semi-finalist here last year before losing to eventual winner Ding Junhui, and that run came shortly after his win at the China Championship, showing how much the Belgian enjoys playing in China and seems to embrace the challenge. After a poor end to the 2017/2018 season though, and an early exit in Latvia last week, his confidence will not be quite as high. Looking at the draw, he could easily lose in either of his first two matches if he is just off his game, but equally he could have a run right through to the latter stages if he plays solidly. Looking at his social media he has arrived in China early, spending some time in Shanghai prior to the tournament, so that should help him in terms of jet lag and acclimatising to conditions ahead of the event, a reason many players chose to play in the unsanctioned Haining Open this week.
My second quarter choice is one of those players to feature in Haining, Barry Hawkins. The left-hander has been in a China for a while already after playing the unsanctioned event last week, so that will have helped him get over any jet lag and acclimatise ahead of the much more important event this week. Even though his success there was limited, it is always a good move to play in China the week before a big event, much like American golfers playing the Scottish Open the week before the Open Championship on UK soil. Notoriously Hawkins is a slow starter to a season and this seems like a much less assured pick when you consider he lost 4-3 in the last 64 in Latvia to Li Hang (who was the losing finalist this week in Haining). With question marks over the other top players in this section for this week, Hawkins may be able to take advantage if the draw opens up, and he is far too good a player to continue struggling every year for the first few months of the season.
Best of the rest: Luca Brecel
Quarter choice: Barry Hawkins
Quarter 3
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Elliot Slessor
Zhou Yuelong Vs Jamie Jones
Ryan Day Vs Robbie Williams
Noppon Saengkham Vs Rod Lawler
Xiao Guodong Vs Michael Georgiou
Zhang Anda Vs Jak Jones
Anthony Hamilton Vs Mark Joyce
Mei Xiwen Vs Simon Lichtenberg
The third quarter is where the likes of Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham would have been but both were beaten in lats 128 qualifying. That leaves Ryan Day as the second highest ranked player in this section and someone who will be looking to have a strong week. His Riga defence last week did not go too well, after losing in the last 128 albeit against Ali Carter. If he turns up with his high scoring and with a minimum of the unforced errors that have cost him dearly in the past, then the three time tournament winner has every chance in a very open section of the draw.
Anthony Hamilton is another player to keep an eye on. Last season was a struggle for him given some back problems, but he has started the year brightly by qualifying here and making the last 16 in the Riga Masters. Looking at the section of the draw he finds himself in, he is a good bet to get a couple of wins again this week to make back-to-back last 16 appearances and possibly go a few better from there.
Xiao Guodong is one of the players on my internal list of players that could step up and win a ranking title this season, or make it to another final like he did in Shanghai in 2013. His opening match against Michael Georgiou could be one of his toughest in a section of the draw that he could easily come through to make the last eight, should he be close to top form. After several runs to quarter-finals during last season it would hardly be a surprise if he added another he continues to surge back up the world rankings.
My third quarter choice though is the rightful tournament favourite Mark Selby. The world number one is in full tournament action for the first time since his first round exit and after a few early exits in the back half of last season, he may feel like he has a point to prove. After his failings in the triple crown events, some would have written Selby's 2017/2018 off as a bad season, but he did win the second highest paying events of the season, which was held in China. He was also a winner in November's International Championship in China, the week after winning the unsanctioned Haining Open, a tournament that has been going on again this week and Selby has gone on to defend his title. It is very hard to ignore someone who has won five Chinese ranking events in the last three years, and been runner-up in another (his only ranking final defeat since losing the final of this tournament in Haikou in 2014). All in all, if Selby can get through the first couple of rounds he'll get stronger and any early season rust will be dealt with, making him the man to beat once more.
Best of the rest: Xiao Guodong
Quarter Choice: Mark Selby
Quarter 4
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Kyren Wilson Vs Paul Davison
Kurt Maflin Vs Harvey Chandler
Mark Allen Vs Lu Haotian
Jack Lisowski Vs Chris Wakelin
Joe Perry Vs Mike Dunn or Luo Zetao
Stephen Maguire Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ben Woollaston or Bai Langning Vs Jimmy Robertson or Chang Bingyu
Mark Williams or Lukas Kleckers Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
World champion Mark Williams is the headline act in this quarter of the draw and once again he has a holdover match to get his week started. His experience alone should prove a big factor against his first two opponents Lukas Kleckers and Alexander Ursenbacher, but his start in Latvia was shaky. The Welshman lost in the last 32 to Zhang Yong and has made a point of mentioning all over his Twitter how little practice he has been putting in over the summer. That in itself is good enough reason to hold fire on any picks for Williams to do well in the first few events of this season, though his draw for the first two or three rounds this week is inviting, not that his draw in Riga was not similar in many ways.
Mark Allen's draw is almost the complete opposite with a very tough opener coming up against Lu Haotian, who has made it into the top 64 after just one year back on tour. He can cause Allen a lot of problems in the first round, while his second round opponent would be last week's runner-up Jack Lisowski, or an equally as confident Chris Wakelin who made the last eight in Latvia. Allen himself made the last 16 in Riga beating Ali Carter before losing to Ricky Walden in another very tough draw, that also saw him sneak past Peter Lines 4-3 in the last 64. The Northern Irishman may sight this event as when his season really kicked into gear last year, making the semi-finals here, prior to making the International final and winning the Masters a few months afterwards. To cap off a tough draw though, his last 16 opponent could be the man that put him out in that World Open semi last year, Kyren Wilson. So, if Allen is to repeat his 2017 efforts in Yushan or go even better, he will certainly have done it the hard way.
I have already briefly mentioned Jack Lisowski after his final in Latvia last week. Prior to his run there I tipped him to win his quarter and said it was time for him to make the next big step after a good season, by making a ranking final or going one better. Now that he's done that he returns to China having had quite a good time of things there last season, making the last 16 of the International Championship, the quarter-finals of the China Open and the semi-finals in Shanghai. You certainly would not put another big run past him because his confidence, like his world ranking, is surely at an all-time high. Tough opposition stands in his way from the start this week, but with the form he is in that will help him ensure he is focused and at his best from ball one in Yushan.
Stephen Maguire was one of Lisowski's victims in Latvia, losing to him 5-1 in the semi-finals, just falling short of making back-to-back finals in the season's first ranking event. The Scotsman has just leapfrogged Ryan Day to move back up to 16 in the world rankings, and is projected to move to 14 after this week, which is more than enough to get him in the invitational Shanghai Masters. Consistency has been Maguire's main issue in recent years, but it is also the issue of his first round opponent Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who could win this match 5-0 or 5-1 just as easily as he could lose by the same margin. With question marks over Williams early season practice, Maguire looks like a solid choice in the bottom half of this section to make it through to at least the quarter-finals, and potentially kick on from there.
My fourth and final quarter selection though is Kyren Wilson. Last year's losing finalist made the quarter-finals in Latvia last week before losing to Maguire and has already made consistency his number one target of the new season. He is looking more and more consistent all the time, and a good week here would see him overtake Shaun Murphy to get into the world's top eight. The only thing missing from his performances over the past 12 months is a trophy, and it is amazing that he has not added another title since winning in Shanghai three years ago. You would expect him to beat Paul Davison in the last 64 this week and then to be too strong for Kurt Maflin before the draw really heats up. After beating Allen in the World Championship quarter-finals at the end of last season, and here in Yushan last season, Wilson would relish another meeting with the Northern Irishman in the last 16. He also overcame Lisowski in the China quarter-finals in April from way behind so would be confident facing him. Wilson thrives off of the big challenges and he would certainly have a few of those after the first round or two, but his form over the last year is too good to ignore.
Best of the rest: Stephen Maguire
Quarter choice: Kyren Wilson
Tournament winner selection: Mark Selby
All matches up to and including the quarter-finals this week will be played over the best-of-9 frames, with the semi-finals being over the best-of-11 and the final a best-of-19 frame affair. For UK and European viewers, the event will be televised in full by Eurosport and Eurosport Player, in what is the first week-long event of the new snooker season.
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