Mark Williams is out at the last 16 stage of the China Championship in Guangzhou after Zhao Xintong came from 3-1 adrift to win 5-3. Williams had won his first three matches for the loss of just two frames and it looked like being similarly easy progress when he went ahead today. Zhao has been in excellent form this season and has already seen off Anthony McGill as well this week and is now into his first ever ranking event quarter-final.
Another young Chinese player that shone on day four was Lu Haotian after he won the final three frames of his match with Shaun Murphy to come through a 5-3 winner. Yuan Sijun meanwhile keeps marching on after backing up his victory against Ding Junhui with a 5-3 win against Mark King to make his first ever ranking quarter-final.
Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao failed to join the Chinese trio however. Yan was taken down by Judd Trump 5-1 as he marched into the quarter-finals in imperious fashion, having lost just three frames in his three matches in Guangzhou. Liang meanwhile lost out slightly more surprisingly against Martin O'Donnell. O'Donnell was a 5-2 victor to continue his excellent form having defeated Luca Brecel and Tom Ford already this week.
The all-Scottish clash between John Higgins and Scott Donaldson went the way of the more experienced and higher ranked Higgins 5-3, though Donaldson fought hard and will be happy with his week having beaten Stephen Maguire and Jack Lisowski. World number one Mark Selby won the final two frames to hold off a great fight from Hossein Vafei and win 5-3. Selby had led 2-0 early on before Hossein levelled at 2-2 and kept the game close throughout. Finally, Barry Hawkins booked his spot in the quarter-finals, winning the final three frames against Graeme Dott to go from 2-2 at the interval to a 5-2 win.
Last 16 results:
Martin O'Donnell 5-2 Liang Wenbo
Lu Haotian 5-3 Shaun Murphy
Judd Trump 5-1 Yan Bingtao
John Higgins 5-3 Scott Donaldson
Mark Selby 5-3 Hossein Vafei
Yuan Sijun 5-3 Mark King
Barry Hawkins 5-2 Graeme Dott
Zhao Xintong 5-3 Mark Williams
Quarter-Final draw: (Picks in bold)
Lu Haotian Vs Martin O'Donnell
Judd Trump Vs John Higgins
Mark Selby Vs Yuan Sijun
Barry Hawkins Vs Zhao Xintong
The opening quarter-final sees Lu Haotian face Martin O'Donnell. Both have had some excellent wins in Guangzhou this week and with that in mind it makes it very difficult to separate the two. That proved to be the case in their only previous meeting when O'Donnell had led 6-1 and 9-5 before losing 10-9 in this year's World Championship qualifying. This week, Lu had a walkover in the last 64 after Kyren Wilson's withdrawal, before 5-3 wins against Joe Perry and Shaun Murphy. He looks to be picking up from where he left off last season, having broken into the top 64 inside of one season. O'Donnell meanwhile has already beaten defending champion Luca Brecel and one of the home favourites in Liang Wenbo. His heavy scoring has played a large part in allowing him to cause these upsets and if he can continue that under the pressure of a big quarter-final he is well capable of another impressive win.
John Higgins and Judd Trump is always an exciting match-up and one that has been very kind to the Scotsman over the years. So much so that Trump has only beaten Higgins once in a match that was played over at least the best-of-9 frames. Many of those wins have seen Higgins come from a way behind, including this year's World Championship quarter-final, the 2016 Scottish Open semi-final, a 2014 World Open last 16 where Higgins was 4-0 down before winning 5-4 and the 2012 Shanghai Masters final. Higgins may have been pushed a lot further for his victories this week against Allan Taylor, Mei Xiwen and Scott Donaldson than Judd, who has seen off Rhys Clark, Jamie Jones and Yan Bingtao, but this record must give Higgins a lot of confidence and put Trump psychologically on the back foot from the off.
World number one Mark Selby provides the stern opposition to Chinese Yuan Sijun who is in his first ever ranking event quarter-final. Yuan has beaten Alexander Ursenbacher, Ding Junhui and Mark King to secure his career best run but it will be even harder work if he is to keep it going. Selby has had a couple of tough games against Akani Songsermsawad and Hossein Vafei but has come through strongly in the end and you would expect to see some nerves from his opponent that he could take advantage of. If Yuan can fight off any nerves to produce the heavy scoring that has gotten him this far then he is sure to give Selby a fierce test.
Zhao Xintong is also entering new territory in his first ever ranking quarter-final and he will face in-form Barry Hawkins. Zhao looked incredibly comfortable in defeating Mark Williams in the last 16 and has looked equally comfortable all season, including a victory in the Riga Masters against Shaun Murphy where he was in frightening form. Hawkins had to battle hard against Ashley Carty and then again when he trailed Noppon Saengkham 4-2 in the last 32. It looks like he was in better scoring form against Graeme Dott with a 5-2 win. The Shanghai Masters runner-up lost to Zhao Xintong in last season's Northern Irish Open, but is in much better form now having made at least the semi-finals in the last three Chinese events and in five of his last eight events overall. If both continue their recent form then this match could be set to go the distance.
All four quarter-finals will be available to watch live either on Eurosport TV or the Eurosport Player with matches being played over the best-of-9 frames. The players are guaranteed £20,000 for making the last eight, with an extra £12,000 guaranteed for the four winners ahead of the best-of-11 frame semi-finals.
Thursday 27 September 2018
Wednesday 26 September 2018
Home favourite Ding Junhui taken out by Yuan Sijun in China Championships
The home favourite Ding Junhui has crashed out of the China Championships, losing out in a deciding frame to fellow Chinese star Yuan Sijun.
The pair had met previously this season with Yuan taking a 3-1 lead before falling to a 5-3 loss, but this time he was just able to hold his nerve and progress. Ding had led 3-2 but lost the next two frames and was on the verge of defeat in the eighth frame. Coming from snookers required, Ding eventually won that frame on the black, only for Yuan to eventually close the match out a frame later.
There was no upset though for World Champion Mark Williams who overcame Gary Wilson 5-2, despite unexpectedly playing on one of the non-TV tables for the second game in succession. Williams had a high break of 136 in the contest and will now be on one of the two TV tables in the last 16.
There were however another four top 16 casualties on day three in Guangzhou. Ryan Day fell to Iran's Hossein Vafei 5-3, which follows Hossein's 5-3 win against World Open runner-up David Gilbert in which he trailed 3-0. Stuart Bingham lost out to the ever improving Yan Bingtao 5-2, while Neil Robertson was defeated by the same scoreline against Graeme Dott. Mark Allen was another to go, going down 5-1 to Mark King.
John Higgins needed all of his experience to come through against China's Mei Xiwen. Mei had led 4-2 against Higgins but the Scot claimed all of the last three frames to set up an all-Scottish tie in the last 16. This comes after Scott Donaldson continued his 100% head to head record against Jack Lisowski with a 5-3 win.
Mark Selby also took down Chinese opposition with young wildcard Chang Bingyu. Bingyu had beaten Robert Milkins and Jimmy Robertson but was no match for Selby who came through 5-1. Shaun Murphy got in on the act too finishing with a century in his 5-2 win against Xiao Guodong booking his place in the last 16. In the final match to finish on the day, Shanghai Masters runner-up Barry Hawkins battled back from 4-2 down against Noppon Saengkham, not conceding a single point in the final three frames as he ran out a 5-4 winner.
Last 32 results:
Martin O'Donnell 5-4 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 5-2 Zhang Anda
Lu Haotian 5-3 Joe Perry
Shaun Murphy 5-2 Xiao Guodong
Judd Trump 5-2 Jamie Jones
Yan Bingtao 5-2 Stuart Bingham
Scott Donaldson 5-3 Jack Lisowski
John Higgins 5-4 Mei Xiwen
Mark Selby 5-1 Chang Bingyu
Hossein Vafei 5-3 Ryan Day
Mark King 5-1 Mark Allen
Yuan Sijun 5-4 Ding Junhui
Barry Hawkins 5-4 Noppon Saengkham
Graeme Dott 5-2 Neil Robertson
Zhao Xintong 5-2 Fergal O'Brien
Mark Williams 5-2 Gary Wilson
Last 16 draw: (Picks in bold)
Liang Wenbo Vs Martin O'Donnell
Shaun Murphy Vs Lu Haotian
Judd Trump Vs Yan Bingtao
John Higgins Vs Scott Donaldson
Mark Selby Vs Hossein Vafei
Mark King Vs Yuan Sijun
Barry Hawkins Vs Graeme Dott
Mark Williams Vs Zhao Xintong
Martin O'Donnell has already taken two good scalps this week with wins over Luca Brecel and Tom Ford and he should prove a good match for Liang Wenbo in this last 16 tie. China's number two struggled in his heldover last 128 match with Alfie Burden and should have been on his way out, but he seems to be building his way into the tournament after a 5-2 win against Zhang Anda. He will need to keep that up though because O'Donnell should be full of confidence and if he say any of the match between Liang and Burden he will know that Liang could well be there for the taking.
Shaun Murphy has looked good so far and after defeating Chinese opposition in Xiao Guodong in the last 32, he will now face Lu Haotian for a place in the quarter-finals. Murphy looked to be striking it well in his first two matches and will be looking to put a slightly slow start to the season behind him, in an event where he has a good record. Lu meanwhile had a walkover in the last 64 after the withdrawal of Kyren Wilson, before defeating Joe Perry 5-3. Perry would later say on Twitter that the tough sticky conditions on the outside tables played against him due to his lack of cue power. This match will be on one of the two TV tables tomorrow, where Murphy has played his first two games and that should give him a bit of an advantage as he will be more in tune with the conditions there.
Judd Trump has had two quick wins so far this week with a 5-0 win against Rhys Clark being followed by a 5-2 defeat of Jamie Jones. This will be his toughest test of the week so far though taking on Northern Irish Open runner-up Yan Bingtao. Yan battled hard in round one to beat Chris Wakelin 5-4 before a 5-2 win against Stuart Bingham has set up his first meeting with Trump. You would have to expect a pretty open and attacking affair between the two which will suit both players and mean that both have to be close to their best to secure a spot in the last eight.
Mark King is the next to face young Yuan Sijun. Both come into the match after good victories against top players. King defeated Mark Allen comfortably having also beaten the talented Sam Craigie in round one. Yuan of course took out Ding after his opening round win against Alexander Ursenbacher, but he will need to be at his best against the experienced King. There is a lot of talk about all the young Chinese players, including Yuan and his excellent talent, but smart and savvy match players like King always have that extra element that can put these players right up against it.
Barry Hawkins and Graeme Dott are two players that have had to fight hard to make it through the first couple of rounds. In the last 64, Dott was right up against it having lost three in a row from 4-1 up against Stuart Carrington before fighting back from 59-0 down in the decider to win the match on the black. His round two victory against Neil Robertson though featured some heavy scoring and if he repeats that in this match he will have Hawkins on the back foot. The Hawk was 4-2 down in the last 32 against the rising Noppon Saengkham before shutting his opponent out and not giving him a real chance to win. That finish will give him some confidence, not that he should be short of self-belief given his recent runs in China. The head to head between these two does favour Dott though and that could certainly come into play.
Finally, Mark Williams will take on the exciting young Zhao Xintong in a mouth-watering clash. Zhao has started this season strongly winning all of his qualifiers for the opening ranking events, as well as reaching the last 16 in Riga before repeating that here. This week he has seen off Anthony McGill and Fergal O'Brien to get to this stage and you know he will not hold back on his attacking style just because he is playing the World Champion. Williams has played three matches so far in Guangzhou, with his heldover last 128 tie, but only conceded the three frames against Rod Lawler, Ken Doherty and Gary Wilson. These two have met on four previous occasions with Williams winning them all and you have to believe that his added experience and superior safety player were the key factors in those games. If Zhao fails to get ahead early on the match will get away from him very quickly with the form Williams is in.
All last 16 matches will be played over the best-of-9 frames on Thursday with places in the quarter-finals and an extra £7,000 up for grabs.
The pair had met previously this season with Yuan taking a 3-1 lead before falling to a 5-3 loss, but this time he was just able to hold his nerve and progress. Ding had led 3-2 but lost the next two frames and was on the verge of defeat in the eighth frame. Coming from snookers required, Ding eventually won that frame on the black, only for Yuan to eventually close the match out a frame later.
There was no upset though for World Champion Mark Williams who overcame Gary Wilson 5-2, despite unexpectedly playing on one of the non-TV tables for the second game in succession. Williams had a high break of 136 in the contest and will now be on one of the two TV tables in the last 16.
There were however another four top 16 casualties on day three in Guangzhou. Ryan Day fell to Iran's Hossein Vafei 5-3, which follows Hossein's 5-3 win against World Open runner-up David Gilbert in which he trailed 3-0. Stuart Bingham lost out to the ever improving Yan Bingtao 5-2, while Neil Robertson was defeated by the same scoreline against Graeme Dott. Mark Allen was another to go, going down 5-1 to Mark King.
John Higgins needed all of his experience to come through against China's Mei Xiwen. Mei had led 4-2 against Higgins but the Scot claimed all of the last three frames to set up an all-Scottish tie in the last 16. This comes after Scott Donaldson continued his 100% head to head record against Jack Lisowski with a 5-3 win.
Mark Selby also took down Chinese opposition with young wildcard Chang Bingyu. Bingyu had beaten Robert Milkins and Jimmy Robertson but was no match for Selby who came through 5-1. Shaun Murphy got in on the act too finishing with a century in his 5-2 win against Xiao Guodong booking his place in the last 16. In the final match to finish on the day, Shanghai Masters runner-up Barry Hawkins battled back from 4-2 down against Noppon Saengkham, not conceding a single point in the final three frames as he ran out a 5-4 winner.
Last 32 results:
Martin O'Donnell 5-4 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 5-2 Zhang Anda
Lu Haotian 5-3 Joe Perry
Shaun Murphy 5-2 Xiao Guodong
Judd Trump 5-2 Jamie Jones
Yan Bingtao 5-2 Stuart Bingham
Scott Donaldson 5-3 Jack Lisowski
John Higgins 5-4 Mei Xiwen
Mark Selby 5-1 Chang Bingyu
Hossein Vafei 5-3 Ryan Day
Mark King 5-1 Mark Allen
Yuan Sijun 5-4 Ding Junhui
Barry Hawkins 5-4 Noppon Saengkham
Graeme Dott 5-2 Neil Robertson
Zhao Xintong 5-2 Fergal O'Brien
Mark Williams 5-2 Gary Wilson
Last 16 draw: (Picks in bold)
Liang Wenbo Vs Martin O'Donnell
Shaun Murphy Vs Lu Haotian
Judd Trump Vs Yan Bingtao
John Higgins Vs Scott Donaldson
Mark Selby Vs Hossein Vafei
Mark King Vs Yuan Sijun
Barry Hawkins Vs Graeme Dott
Mark Williams Vs Zhao Xintong
Martin O'Donnell has already taken two good scalps this week with wins over Luca Brecel and Tom Ford and he should prove a good match for Liang Wenbo in this last 16 tie. China's number two struggled in his heldover last 128 match with Alfie Burden and should have been on his way out, but he seems to be building his way into the tournament after a 5-2 win against Zhang Anda. He will need to keep that up though because O'Donnell should be full of confidence and if he say any of the match between Liang and Burden he will know that Liang could well be there for the taking.
Shaun Murphy has looked good so far and after defeating Chinese opposition in Xiao Guodong in the last 32, he will now face Lu Haotian for a place in the quarter-finals. Murphy looked to be striking it well in his first two matches and will be looking to put a slightly slow start to the season behind him, in an event where he has a good record. Lu meanwhile had a walkover in the last 64 after the withdrawal of Kyren Wilson, before defeating Joe Perry 5-3. Perry would later say on Twitter that the tough sticky conditions on the outside tables played against him due to his lack of cue power. This match will be on one of the two TV tables tomorrow, where Murphy has played his first two games and that should give him a bit of an advantage as he will be more in tune with the conditions there.
Judd Trump has had two quick wins so far this week with a 5-0 win against Rhys Clark being followed by a 5-2 defeat of Jamie Jones. This will be his toughest test of the week so far though taking on Northern Irish Open runner-up Yan Bingtao. Yan battled hard in round one to beat Chris Wakelin 5-4 before a 5-2 win against Stuart Bingham has set up his first meeting with Trump. You would have to expect a pretty open and attacking affair between the two which will suit both players and mean that both have to be close to their best to secure a spot in the last eight.
Mark King is the next to face young Yuan Sijun. Both come into the match after good victories against top players. King defeated Mark Allen comfortably having also beaten the talented Sam Craigie in round one. Yuan of course took out Ding after his opening round win against Alexander Ursenbacher, but he will need to be at his best against the experienced King. There is a lot of talk about all the young Chinese players, including Yuan and his excellent talent, but smart and savvy match players like King always have that extra element that can put these players right up against it.
Barry Hawkins and Graeme Dott are two players that have had to fight hard to make it through the first couple of rounds. In the last 64, Dott was right up against it having lost three in a row from 4-1 up against Stuart Carrington before fighting back from 59-0 down in the decider to win the match on the black. His round two victory against Neil Robertson though featured some heavy scoring and if he repeats that in this match he will have Hawkins on the back foot. The Hawk was 4-2 down in the last 32 against the rising Noppon Saengkham before shutting his opponent out and not giving him a real chance to win. That finish will give him some confidence, not that he should be short of self-belief given his recent runs in China. The head to head between these two does favour Dott though and that could certainly come into play.
Finally, Mark Williams will take on the exciting young Zhao Xintong in a mouth-watering clash. Zhao has started this season strongly winning all of his qualifiers for the opening ranking events, as well as reaching the last 16 in Riga before repeating that here. This week he has seen off Anthony McGill and Fergal O'Brien to get to this stage and you know he will not hold back on his attacking style just because he is playing the World Champion. Williams has played three matches so far in Guangzhou, with his heldover last 128 tie, but only conceded the three frames against Rod Lawler, Ken Doherty and Gary Wilson. These two have met on four previous occasions with Williams winning them all and you have to believe that his added experience and superior safety player were the key factors in those games. If Zhao fails to get ahead early on the match will get away from him very quickly with the form Williams is in.
All last 16 matches will be played over the best-of-9 frames on Thursday with places in the quarter-finals and an extra £7,000 up for grabs.
Tuesday 25 September 2018
Defending champion Luca Brecel crashes out of China Championship
Defending champion Luca Brecel has crashed out at the last 64 stage of the China Championship losing 5-3 to Martin O'Donnell. Brecel had come through his heldover last 128 match 5-1 against Joe O'Connor but was unable to keep it going against O'Donnell.
It has been plain sailing for world champion Mark Williams though over the opening two days. The Welshman has defeated Rod Lawler in his heldover last 128 tie and then seen off Ken Doherty without dropping a single frame. After winning the World Open earlier this season, the Welshman will have his sights set on back-to-back Chinese ranking titles.
World number one Mark Selby was made to battle hard before coming through his last 64 match with Akani Songsermsawad. Selby had trailed 2-1 before moving ahead 4-2 and eventually got over the line 5-3.
John Higgins also struggled early on in his game with Allan Taylor, falling 2-0 behind before closing out a 5-3 victory, while Jack Lisowski made a similar turnaround in his victory over Kurt Maflin.
Home favourite Ding Junhui is into the last 32 after beating Daniel Wells 5-1, while Shaun Murphy defeated Liam Highfield 5-1 in his first competitive match since the birth of his daughter Molly. Judd Trump wasted little time in beating Rhys Clark 5-0, closing out the match with a century break and Mark Allen was also a comfortable winner against Matthew Selt.
There were a few more upsets though. These included Marco Fu's exit as he relinquished a 3-0 lead to lose out 5-3 to Zhang Anda. Ali Carter made the high break of the tournament so far at 144, but would only win that frame as he fell 5-1 to Fergal O'Brien. Despite fighting back valiantly, Anthony McGill was also a big named casualty losing out in a deciding frame to the ever improving Zhao Xintong. The all-Scottish clash between Stephen Maguire and Scott Donaldson went the way of the outsider Donaldson 5-2 and wildcard Chang Bingyu is into the last 32 after wins over Jimmy Robertson and Robert Milkins.
Last 64 results:
Martin O'Donnell 5-3 Luca Brecel
Tom Ford 5-0 Nigel Bond
Zhang Anda 5-3 Marco Fu
Liang Wenbo 5-3 John Astley
Joe Perry 5-1 Mark Joyce
Lu Haotian W/O Kyren Wilson
Xiao Guodong 5-0 Mark Davis
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Liam Highfield
Judd Trump 5-0 Rhys Clark
Jamie Jones 5-4 Anthony Hamilton
Stuart Bingham 5-3 Peter Ebdon
Yan Bingtao 5-4 Chris Wakelin
Jack Lisowski 5-3 Kurt Maflin
Scott Donaldson 5-2 Stephen Maguire
Mei Xiwen 5-4 Michael White
John Higgins 5-3 Allan Taylor
Mark Selby 5-3 Akani Songsermsawad
Chang Bingyu 5-3 Robert Milkins
Ryan Day 5-1 Mike Dunn
Hossein Vafei 5-3 David Gilbert
Mark King 5-3 Sam Craigie
Mark Allen 5-1 Matthew Selt
Yuan Sijun 5-2 Alexander Ursenbacher
Ding Junhui 5-1 Daniel Wells
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Ashley Carty
Noppon Saengkham 5-2 Xu Si
Neil Robertson 5-2 Gerard Greene
Graeme Dott 5-4 Stuart Carrington
Fergal O'Brien 5-1 Ali Carter
Zhao Xintong 5-4 Anthony McGill
Gary Wilson 5-2 Luo Honghao
Mark Williams 5-0 Ken Doherty
Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold)
Tom Ford Vs Martin O'Donnell
Liang Wenbo Vs Zhang Anda
Joe Perry Vs Lu Haotian
Shaun Murphy Vs Xiao Guodong
Judd Trump Vs Jamie Jones
Stuart Bingham Vs Yan Bingtao
Jack Lisowski Vs Scott Donaldson
John Higgins Vs Mei Xiwen
Mark Selby Vs Chang Bingyu
Ryan Day Vs Hossein Vafei
Mark Allen Vs Mark King
Ding Junhui Vs Yuan Sijun
Barry Hawkins Vs Noppon Saengkham
Neil Robertson Vs Graeme Dott
Fergal O'Brien Vs Zhao Xintong
Mark Williams Vs Gary Wilson
Shaun Murphy is now the only top 16 player left in the opening quarter of the draw, but that does not mean things will be plain sailing for him. Next up he faces Xiao Guodong who has been in good form over the last year or so and defeated Mark Davis comfortably in round one. Xiao was also a comfortable winner when these two met at the 2016 Scottish Open and Murphy has lost four of his last five matches against Chinese opposition, though this may just be coincidental. Having not had the best of starts to the season, Murphy looked good against Highfield in the last 64 and he does have a good record at this event with appearances in a semi-final and final from the two stagings.
Judd Trump and Jamie Jones will be an interesting last 32 tie. Trump looked in good form to whitewash Rhys Clark but is in for a much tougher game here. Jones was a 5-4 winner against Anthony Hamilton, who has had a decent start to the season, in the opening round and should be full of confidence after the way he ended last season in Sheffield. Trump has had a quiet season to date, though it is early days, so it is by no means beyond the realms of possibility that he could fall foul of another big display from Jones.
Jack Lisowski and Scott Donaldson presents an intriguing tie. On paper Lisowski is a strong favourite having continued his rise at the start of the season by making the Riga Masters final, but he did have to battle hard for victory against Kurt Maflin in round one. After an awful start to last season, Donaldson is now back to the sort of form that saw him make the semi-finals of the 2017 Welsh Open. He opened up with a strong win against Maguire and has won both of his previous meetings against Lisowski, so he should be full of confidence and primed to cause another upset.
Another pick of the ties pits world number one Mark Selby against wildcard Chang Bingyu. Chang has at the very least picked up some good experience from this week already with wins over Jimmy Robertson (who he also beaten in the World Open) and Robert Milkins. A match with Selby is likely to be a step too far though, but it could be a very good marker for the future if he can get two or three frames off of the three-time world champion.
China's number one player Ding Junhui takes on fellow Chinese opposition in young Yuan Sijun on Wednesday. The pair met at the World Open and Yuan took the lead in the first half of the contest, before Ding came back to win 5-3. Ding looks in good form thus far, but it will be interesting to see how Yuan gets on this time around if he is able to put himself in position to potentially take Ding out.
Barry Hawkins will take on Noppon Saengkham in a repeat of February's Welsh Open semi-final. Noppon made another semi-final recently at the World Open, though he could have beaten Mark Williams in that game and potentially gone on to win the competition, which shows the threat he poses to the Englishman. Hawkins though is in good form in China of late, having been to two finals and a semi-final of his own in the last three Chinese events. Hawkins had to battle hard against Ashley Carty but came good late on for a 5-3 victory, while Noppon needed one less frame to get through against Xu Si in the last 64.
Fergal O'Brien and Zhao Xintong are set to meet for the second Chinese ranking event in a row after O'Brien overcame Zhao in the last 64 of the World Open. O'Brien went on to make the last 16 there and will be targeting the same again here with another win against the young Chinese player. I mentioned in my preview an expectation on them both to win their first round games against higher ranked opposition. Zhao led early before McGill came back at him, while O'Brien won easily against Carter and scored well making a century in the win.
Finally, world champion Mark Williams faces a tough tie against Gary Wilson. Williams has not been tested greatly so far having won both his matches without dropping a frame, while Wilson was a 5-2 winner against Luo Honghao in the last 64. In the first Chinese ranking event of the season, Wilson impressed making the quarter-finals and having previously been a finalist at the China Open he appears to perform well in China. Add in a semi-final at this year's Welsh Open and Wilson appears to be improving all the time, but Williams should be as confident as ever and will certainly not fear any of his opponents this year which will continue to make him incredibly dangerous.
All of these last 32 matches are over the best-of-9 frames on Wednesday, with places in Friday's last 16 and at least another £5,500 at stake.
It has been plain sailing for world champion Mark Williams though over the opening two days. The Welshman has defeated Rod Lawler in his heldover last 128 tie and then seen off Ken Doherty without dropping a single frame. After winning the World Open earlier this season, the Welshman will have his sights set on back-to-back Chinese ranking titles.
World number one Mark Selby was made to battle hard before coming through his last 64 match with Akani Songsermsawad. Selby had trailed 2-1 before moving ahead 4-2 and eventually got over the line 5-3.
John Higgins also struggled early on in his game with Allan Taylor, falling 2-0 behind before closing out a 5-3 victory, while Jack Lisowski made a similar turnaround in his victory over Kurt Maflin.
Home favourite Ding Junhui is into the last 32 after beating Daniel Wells 5-1, while Shaun Murphy defeated Liam Highfield 5-1 in his first competitive match since the birth of his daughter Molly. Judd Trump wasted little time in beating Rhys Clark 5-0, closing out the match with a century break and Mark Allen was also a comfortable winner against Matthew Selt.
There were a few more upsets though. These included Marco Fu's exit as he relinquished a 3-0 lead to lose out 5-3 to Zhang Anda. Ali Carter made the high break of the tournament so far at 144, but would only win that frame as he fell 5-1 to Fergal O'Brien. Despite fighting back valiantly, Anthony McGill was also a big named casualty losing out in a deciding frame to the ever improving Zhao Xintong. The all-Scottish clash between Stephen Maguire and Scott Donaldson went the way of the outsider Donaldson 5-2 and wildcard Chang Bingyu is into the last 32 after wins over Jimmy Robertson and Robert Milkins.
Last 64 results:
Martin O'Donnell 5-3 Luca Brecel
Tom Ford 5-0 Nigel Bond
Zhang Anda 5-3 Marco Fu
Liang Wenbo 5-3 John Astley
Joe Perry 5-1 Mark Joyce
Lu Haotian W/O Kyren Wilson
Xiao Guodong 5-0 Mark Davis
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Liam Highfield
Judd Trump 5-0 Rhys Clark
Jamie Jones 5-4 Anthony Hamilton
Stuart Bingham 5-3 Peter Ebdon
Yan Bingtao 5-4 Chris Wakelin
Jack Lisowski 5-3 Kurt Maflin
Scott Donaldson 5-2 Stephen Maguire
Mei Xiwen 5-4 Michael White
John Higgins 5-3 Allan Taylor
Mark Selby 5-3 Akani Songsermsawad
Chang Bingyu 5-3 Robert Milkins
Ryan Day 5-1 Mike Dunn
Hossein Vafei 5-3 David Gilbert
Mark King 5-3 Sam Craigie
Mark Allen 5-1 Matthew Selt
Yuan Sijun 5-2 Alexander Ursenbacher
Ding Junhui 5-1 Daniel Wells
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Ashley Carty
Noppon Saengkham 5-2 Xu Si
Neil Robertson 5-2 Gerard Greene
Graeme Dott 5-4 Stuart Carrington
Fergal O'Brien 5-1 Ali Carter
Zhao Xintong 5-4 Anthony McGill
Gary Wilson 5-2 Luo Honghao
Mark Williams 5-0 Ken Doherty
Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold)
Tom Ford Vs Martin O'Donnell
Liang Wenbo Vs Zhang Anda
Joe Perry Vs Lu Haotian
Shaun Murphy Vs Xiao Guodong
Judd Trump Vs Jamie Jones
Stuart Bingham Vs Yan Bingtao
Jack Lisowski Vs Scott Donaldson
John Higgins Vs Mei Xiwen
Mark Selby Vs Chang Bingyu
Ryan Day Vs Hossein Vafei
Mark Allen Vs Mark King
Ding Junhui Vs Yuan Sijun
Barry Hawkins Vs Noppon Saengkham
Neil Robertson Vs Graeme Dott
Fergal O'Brien Vs Zhao Xintong
Mark Williams Vs Gary Wilson
Shaun Murphy is now the only top 16 player left in the opening quarter of the draw, but that does not mean things will be plain sailing for him. Next up he faces Xiao Guodong who has been in good form over the last year or so and defeated Mark Davis comfortably in round one. Xiao was also a comfortable winner when these two met at the 2016 Scottish Open and Murphy has lost four of his last five matches against Chinese opposition, though this may just be coincidental. Having not had the best of starts to the season, Murphy looked good against Highfield in the last 64 and he does have a good record at this event with appearances in a semi-final and final from the two stagings.
Judd Trump and Jamie Jones will be an interesting last 32 tie. Trump looked in good form to whitewash Rhys Clark but is in for a much tougher game here. Jones was a 5-4 winner against Anthony Hamilton, who has had a decent start to the season, in the opening round and should be full of confidence after the way he ended last season in Sheffield. Trump has had a quiet season to date, though it is early days, so it is by no means beyond the realms of possibility that he could fall foul of another big display from Jones.
Jack Lisowski and Scott Donaldson presents an intriguing tie. On paper Lisowski is a strong favourite having continued his rise at the start of the season by making the Riga Masters final, but he did have to battle hard for victory against Kurt Maflin in round one. After an awful start to last season, Donaldson is now back to the sort of form that saw him make the semi-finals of the 2017 Welsh Open. He opened up with a strong win against Maguire and has won both of his previous meetings against Lisowski, so he should be full of confidence and primed to cause another upset.
Another pick of the ties pits world number one Mark Selby against wildcard Chang Bingyu. Chang has at the very least picked up some good experience from this week already with wins over Jimmy Robertson (who he also beaten in the World Open) and Robert Milkins. A match with Selby is likely to be a step too far though, but it could be a very good marker for the future if he can get two or three frames off of the three-time world champion.
China's number one player Ding Junhui takes on fellow Chinese opposition in young Yuan Sijun on Wednesday. The pair met at the World Open and Yuan took the lead in the first half of the contest, before Ding came back to win 5-3. Ding looks in good form thus far, but it will be interesting to see how Yuan gets on this time around if he is able to put himself in position to potentially take Ding out.
Barry Hawkins will take on Noppon Saengkham in a repeat of February's Welsh Open semi-final. Noppon made another semi-final recently at the World Open, though he could have beaten Mark Williams in that game and potentially gone on to win the competition, which shows the threat he poses to the Englishman. Hawkins though is in good form in China of late, having been to two finals and a semi-final of his own in the last three Chinese events. Hawkins had to battle hard against Ashley Carty but came good late on for a 5-3 victory, while Noppon needed one less frame to get through against Xu Si in the last 64.
Fergal O'Brien and Zhao Xintong are set to meet for the second Chinese ranking event in a row after O'Brien overcame Zhao in the last 64 of the World Open. O'Brien went on to make the last 16 there and will be targeting the same again here with another win against the young Chinese player. I mentioned in my preview an expectation on them both to win their first round games against higher ranked opposition. Zhao led early before McGill came back at him, while O'Brien won easily against Carter and scored well making a century in the win.
Finally, world champion Mark Williams faces a tough tie against Gary Wilson. Williams has not been tested greatly so far having won both his matches without dropping a frame, while Wilson was a 5-2 winner against Luo Honghao in the last 64. In the first Chinese ranking event of the season, Wilson impressed making the quarter-finals and having previously been a finalist at the China Open he appears to perform well in China. Add in a semi-final at this year's Welsh Open and Wilson appears to be improving all the time, but Williams should be as confident as ever and will certainly not fear any of his opponents this year which will continue to make him incredibly dangerous.
All of these last 32 matches are over the best-of-9 frames on Wednesday, with places in Friday's last 16 and at least another £5,500 at stake.
Saturday 22 September 2018
China Championship Preview
Following the recent Shanghai Masters, snooker is once again heading to China this week for the China Championship in Guangzhou.
This will be the second time that this event has been staged as a ranking event, and the third time overall. Luca Brecel is the defending champion after winning this title in August last year by defeating Shaun Murphy in the final to win his maiden ranking title. John Higgins was the winner a year earlier when the event was played as an invitational, with Stuart Bingham losing out in the final on that occasion.
Unfortunately for the event, recent Shanghai Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is not in the field after deciding not to enter the last 128 qualifiers that were held in August. Paul Hunter Classic and Six-Reds World champion Kyren Wilson is also not in Guangzhou after withdrawing from the event for personal reasons.
The rest of the biggest and best names that snooker has to offer will be making the journey over with £150,000 and the fourth ranking title of the season up for grabs, as the season really starts to heat up with lots of action coming up on the calendar. The event also presents an opportunity to get into the Champion of Champions in November, with a number of top players such as Judd Trump, Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins all yet to secure their places in Coventry. Though with a number of repeat winners of the qualifying events Ding, Hawkins and Trump are all well placed to qualify if the organisers decide to award any remaining spots via the world ranking list.
With so many players to look out for, here is how the draw looks for the upcoming week:
This will be the second time that this event has been staged as a ranking event, and the third time overall. Luca Brecel is the defending champion after winning this title in August last year by defeating Shaun Murphy in the final to win his maiden ranking title. John Higgins was the winner a year earlier when the event was played as an invitational, with Stuart Bingham losing out in the final on that occasion.
Unfortunately for the event, recent Shanghai Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is not in the field after deciding not to enter the last 128 qualifiers that were held in August. Paul Hunter Classic and Six-Reds World champion Kyren Wilson is also not in Guangzhou after withdrawing from the event for personal reasons.
The rest of the biggest and best names that snooker has to offer will be making the journey over with £150,000 and the fourth ranking title of the season up for grabs, as the season really starts to heat up with lots of action coming up on the calendar. The event also presents an opportunity to get into the Champion of Champions in November, with a number of top players such as Judd Trump, Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins all yet to secure their places in Coventry. Though with a number of repeat winners of the qualifying events Ding, Hawkins and Trump are all well placed to qualify if the organisers decide to award any remaining spots via the world ranking list.
With so many players to look out for, here is how the draw looks for the upcoming week:
Quarter 1
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Luca Brecel or Joe O'Connor Vs Martin O'Donnell
Tom Ford Vs Nigel Bond
Marco Fu Vs Zhang Anda
Liang Wenbo or Alfie Burden Vs John Astley
Joe Perry Vs Mark Joyce
Lu Haotian W/O Kyren Wilson
Xiao Guodong Vs Mark Davis
Shaun Murphy Vs Liam Highfield
Shaun Murphy has had two close calls in the previous staging of this event. Last year he was a big favourite to win as the experienced player going into the final with Brecel but came out on the wrong side after falling away after taking an early lead to lose 10-5. In 2016 he lost out a round earlier in a high quality semi-final where Stuart Bingham edged him 9-8. Under normal circumstances with that sort of past tournament form you would make Murphy a good shout for a big run this week. However, he missed the recent Shanghai Masters to be with his family after newborn baby daughter Molly was ill in hospital. Fortunately things have improved since and it was noted that Murphy competed in an Irish pro-am this week which featured the likes of Mark Allen and Ken Doherty, but Murphy took the title with a 4-0 win over Fergal O'Brien in the final.
Liang Wenbo is perhaps someone that could contend in this section now after the withdrawal of in-form Kyren Wilson. It has been a quiet start to the season for Liang and he will start here with yet another heldover last 128 clash. It did not work out as planned in the World Open when James Cahill took him down 5-1. He has work ahead of him in order to stay as the number two Chinese player and avoid trips to the UK qualifiers for future Chinese events. Even though you would expect him to get through the first couple of rounds there is no reason why he may not fall prior to a potential last 32 meeting with Marco Fu, who you would make favourite to beat Liang if that arises.
Luca Brecel is the defending champion in what will be a special period for him. This week he arrives as a defending champion of a ranking event for the very first time and next week he will be playing a ranking event on home turf at the European Masters. It all means that, like Liang, he has a heldover last 128 match to start his week off in Guangzhou. His draw is not straightforward though, as it would be no surprise to see Martin O'Donnell cause him problems in the last 64 or Tom Ford do the same in a potential last 32 clash before possibly playing Fu or Liang in the last 16. He has not had a good time of it in China recently either, losing in the preliminary round of the Shanghai Masters to Zhou Yuelong and relinquishing a 4-0 lead against Fergal O'Brien in the World Open. His appearance in the semi-finals of the Six-Reds is really the only positive from his season and he may be putting a lot of pressure on himself given what these next two events bring.
Marco Fu is my first quarter choice for the China Championship. It has been a long road back for Fu and now his task is to recover the ranking he had after one of his best ever seasons in 2016/2017. There are positives coming here having made the quarter-finals of the World Open before falling to eventual runner-up David Gilbert. The quality of his scoring is still as high as ever and once he gets a few more events under his belt he could be right back to the sensational form he was displaying in that aforementioned period. At the 2016 Scottish Open he was simply unplayable and it is eye trouble that has halted progress in the last 12 months rather than any kind of form loss. Looking at the draw, he is probably the player you would look at most favourably, even though he has some tough names to negotiate, though even Murphy has a tough route despite no top 16 players standing between him and a place in the quarter-finals potentially. Over the next couple of months I think Fu will really start building up his confidence with a run of good results starting here in Guangzhou.
Liang Wenbo is perhaps someone that could contend in this section now after the withdrawal of in-form Kyren Wilson. It has been a quiet start to the season for Liang and he will start here with yet another heldover last 128 clash. It did not work out as planned in the World Open when James Cahill took him down 5-1. He has work ahead of him in order to stay as the number two Chinese player and avoid trips to the UK qualifiers for future Chinese events. Even though you would expect him to get through the first couple of rounds there is no reason why he may not fall prior to a potential last 32 meeting with Marco Fu, who you would make favourite to beat Liang if that arises.
Luca Brecel is the defending champion in what will be a special period for him. This week he arrives as a defending champion of a ranking event for the very first time and next week he will be playing a ranking event on home turf at the European Masters. It all means that, like Liang, he has a heldover last 128 match to start his week off in Guangzhou. His draw is not straightforward though, as it would be no surprise to see Martin O'Donnell cause him problems in the last 64 or Tom Ford do the same in a potential last 32 clash before possibly playing Fu or Liang in the last 16. He has not had a good time of it in China recently either, losing in the preliminary round of the Shanghai Masters to Zhou Yuelong and relinquishing a 4-0 lead against Fergal O'Brien in the World Open. His appearance in the semi-finals of the Six-Reds is really the only positive from his season and he may be putting a lot of pressure on himself given what these next two events bring.
Marco Fu is my first quarter choice for the China Championship. It has been a long road back for Fu and now his task is to recover the ranking he had after one of his best ever seasons in 2016/2017. There are positives coming here having made the quarter-finals of the World Open before falling to eventual runner-up David Gilbert. The quality of his scoring is still as high as ever and once he gets a few more events under his belt he could be right back to the sensational form he was displaying in that aforementioned period. At the 2016 Scottish Open he was simply unplayable and it is eye trouble that has halted progress in the last 12 months rather than any kind of form loss. Looking at the draw, he is probably the player you would look at most favourably, even though he has some tough names to negotiate, though even Murphy has a tough route despite no top 16 players standing between him and a place in the quarter-finals potentially. Over the next couple of months I think Fu will really start building up his confidence with a run of good results starting here in Guangzhou.
Best of the rest: Luca Brecel
Quarter choice: Marco Fu
Quarter 2
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Judd Trump Vs Rhys Clark
Anthony Hamilton Vs Jamie Jones
Stuart Bingham Vs Peter Ebdon
Yan Bingtao Vs Chris Wakelin
Jack Lisowski Vs Kurt Maflin
Stephen Maguire Vs Scott Donaldson
Michael White Vs Mei Xiwen
John Higgins Vs Allan Taylor
Judd Trump is one of the big names in this second section of the draw, but so far there has been little to talk about in his 2018/2019. Non entries in the Riga Masters and Paul Hunter Classic mean he has only played in two events so far, both of which were in China. At the World Open he was defeated in the last 32, 5-3 by an in-form Gary Wilson, before another in-form Wilson in the shape of Kyren took him down 6-2 in the last 16 of the invitational Shanghai Masters. It would not be a surprise if this was possibly another more quiet week for him as he builds his game towards events to come, such as the European Masters in Belgium where he will be looking to win for the third year in a row, and the English Open that is also coming up in October. He has a tough draw in a section that is packed from top to tail in class players, so a run to the semi-finals or beyond this week could be a huge boost in kick starting his season.
John Higgins has not had much tournament time as yet this season. Last time out in Shanghai he was beaten in the opening round by Ryan Day, having skipped the first three events of the new season. That may well have helped the Scot recover from another tough World final loss in May, allowing him to come back fresh and hungry to play once again. He is a former winner here, having won the invitational version of this event in 2016 but it is probably a little unrealistic to expect him to blaze through this section having only played three matches since losing to Mark Williams at the Crucible nearly five months ago.
Stuart Bingham has had a slow start to the new campaign and will be hoping to kick start things here in Guangzhou. He failed to qualify for the first two events in Riga and Yushan and was very nearly knocked out of this event in Preston by Craig Steadman, who led Bingham 4-2 before losing 5-4. In Shanghai recently, he won 6-0 against a Chinese wildcard, before the withdrawal of Murphy put him into the quarter-finals where he lost out 6-2 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. His draw is far from easy either, facing up to recent Paul Hunter Classic finalist Peter Ebdon in the last 64 with Yan Bingtao or the surging Chris Wakelin his last 32 opposition if he comes through.
Anthony Hamilton is someone who could put some good results together this week and see off some of the big boys. Much like Fu in the top quarter, he had one of his best ever seasons in 2016/2017 but back problems last year ruined what could have been a potential run back into the top 16. Now he needs good results this year to stay on tour, but has started brightly by making the last 16 of the first two events in Riga and Yushan, as well as winning his three August qualifiers for the loss of just one frame. Jamie Jones in the last 64 is a tough opponent but an in-form Hamilton should be the favourite there in my view and would have a very good chance of sending Trump home early in a potential last 32 outing. He has made breaks for fun so far in the new campaign with 24 breaks of 50 or above, baring in mind his frames won tally is 41 thus far.
Could this be the week that Jack Lisowski picks up a ranking title? It is hardly a secret that he is in the form of his life having followed a career best season in 2017/2018 with a run to the final of this season's first tournament. Following that he has added back-to-back quarter-finals, both of which could have seen him go on further and maybe even pick up that illusive silverware. Lisowski is my second quarter pick as the form man that is in Guanghzhou. He starts off in the last 64 against the unpredictable Kurt Maflin. The Norwegian could overcome Lisowski just as easily as he could be soundly beaten, but if Lisowski focuses on his own game, rather than worrying about which Maflin will turn up on Monday, he is the worthy favourite. From there, plenty of top players stand in his way but none that he would be scared of as he seems to be pretty fearless right now.
John Higgins has not had much tournament time as yet this season. Last time out in Shanghai he was beaten in the opening round by Ryan Day, having skipped the first three events of the new season. That may well have helped the Scot recover from another tough World final loss in May, allowing him to come back fresh and hungry to play once again. He is a former winner here, having won the invitational version of this event in 2016 but it is probably a little unrealistic to expect him to blaze through this section having only played three matches since losing to Mark Williams at the Crucible nearly five months ago.
Stuart Bingham has had a slow start to the new campaign and will be hoping to kick start things here in Guangzhou. He failed to qualify for the first two events in Riga and Yushan and was very nearly knocked out of this event in Preston by Craig Steadman, who led Bingham 4-2 before losing 5-4. In Shanghai recently, he won 6-0 against a Chinese wildcard, before the withdrawal of Murphy put him into the quarter-finals where he lost out 6-2 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. His draw is far from easy either, facing up to recent Paul Hunter Classic finalist Peter Ebdon in the last 64 with Yan Bingtao or the surging Chris Wakelin his last 32 opposition if he comes through.
Anthony Hamilton is someone who could put some good results together this week and see off some of the big boys. Much like Fu in the top quarter, he had one of his best ever seasons in 2016/2017 but back problems last year ruined what could have been a potential run back into the top 16. Now he needs good results this year to stay on tour, but has started brightly by making the last 16 of the first two events in Riga and Yushan, as well as winning his three August qualifiers for the loss of just one frame. Jamie Jones in the last 64 is a tough opponent but an in-form Hamilton should be the favourite there in my view and would have a very good chance of sending Trump home early in a potential last 32 outing. He has made breaks for fun so far in the new campaign with 24 breaks of 50 or above, baring in mind his frames won tally is 41 thus far.
Could this be the week that Jack Lisowski picks up a ranking title? It is hardly a secret that he is in the form of his life having followed a career best season in 2017/2018 with a run to the final of this season's first tournament. Following that he has added back-to-back quarter-finals, both of which could have seen him go on further and maybe even pick up that illusive silverware. Lisowski is my second quarter pick as the form man that is in Guanghzhou. He starts off in the last 64 against the unpredictable Kurt Maflin. The Norwegian could overcome Lisowski just as easily as he could be soundly beaten, but if Lisowski focuses on his own game, rather than worrying about which Maflin will turn up on Monday, he is the worthy favourite. From there, plenty of top players stand in his way but none that he would be scared of as he seems to be pretty fearless right now.
Best of the rest: Anthony Hamilton
Quarter choice: Jack Lisowski
Quarter 3
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Akani Songsermsawad
Robert Milkins Vs Jimmy Robertson or Chang Bingyu
Ryan Day Vs Mike Dunn or Luo Zetao
David Gilbert Vs Hossein Vafei
Mark King Vs Sam Craigie
Mark Allen Vs Matthew Selt
Alexander Ursenbacher Vs Yuan Sijun
Ding Junhui or Lee Walker Vs Daniel Wells
Mark Selby as you would expect is one of the tournament favourites this week. The two major events he has played in this season so far have both been in China and have seen rare final frame defeats. At the World Open he was beaten in the last 16 5-4 by Noppon Saengkham. Then last week in Shanghai, he was beaten in the quarter-final 6-5 by Ding Junhui. His draw is far from easy with young Akani Songsermsawad providing his first threat in Guangzhou, with Robert Milkins, Jimmy Robertson, Ryan Day and David Gilbert all sitting between him and a potential quarter-final spot. In top battling form though Selby will more than likely still take care of business, but with events being sporadic in the early season, it feels as though you would need to see his first match or two to judge how he is going to do both in this event, but also for the tournaments that come quickly after this.
Mark Allen has had an inbetween start to his season thus far. In the events he has featured in, he reached the last 16 in Riga, made the last 32 in the World Open before losing to Lisowski and then lost out in the Shanghai Masters last 16 to Ding Junhui. His first round opponent this week is Matthew Selt who beat Allen at the German Masters, in his first outing since winning the Masters earlier this year. Looking further ahead, a potential last 16 repeat against Ding is a possibility who he really does not have a great overall record with either.
David Gilbert is going to be out for redemption when he kicks off his campaign here this week. Last time out in China, Gilbert was a finalist and was well ahead in the final against Mark Williams, before the world champion came through 10-9. That will have hurt greatly as his search for a ranking title continues, having also reached the International Championship final three years ago. Perhaps if he could make another ranking final in China or indeed elsewhere it would be third time lucky, as someone with his break-building skill and pure ball-striking is still more than capable of picking up multiple trophies in the remainder of his career.
Ryan Day has become a tournament contender much more in the last 18 months and again he could be one to watch this week. His results at the start of the season have seen him lose in the last 64 in Riga, but 4-3 to Ali Carter, and in the last 32 of the World Open, though that was 5-2 to eventual semi-finalist Noppon Saengkham. Last time out he defeated John Higgins in Shanghai before losing a tight quarter-final with the in-form Kyren Wilson where he was 3-1 ahead at one stage. His draw is by no means easy with a potential second round tie with David Gilbert in what you would expect to be a tight game if it were to arise. Should he come through though, there is no reason why he could not have another big run.
Ding Junhui is my third quarter choice for the China Championship. When looking at the quarter in full the first thing that came to mind was that Ding had just beaten potential last 16 opponent Allen and potential quarter-final opponent Selby in the same rounds of the Shanghai Masters, where he would eventually lose a very tight semi-final with Barry Hawkins. Looking at his opponents in his first three matches, if the Chinese number one is somewhere near his best you would expect him to come through unscathed and make the last 16. He did lose in the last 32 of the World Open, though that was his first event of the season and his wife was due to give birth at any time. Since then he has also played in the Six-Reds losing the final to Wilson. His game looks to be in good shape which on home soil obviously makes him a very solid choice.
Mark Allen has had an inbetween start to his season thus far. In the events he has featured in, he reached the last 16 in Riga, made the last 32 in the World Open before losing to Lisowski and then lost out in the Shanghai Masters last 16 to Ding Junhui. His first round opponent this week is Matthew Selt who beat Allen at the German Masters, in his first outing since winning the Masters earlier this year. Looking further ahead, a potential last 16 repeat against Ding is a possibility who he really does not have a great overall record with either.
David Gilbert is going to be out for redemption when he kicks off his campaign here this week. Last time out in China, Gilbert was a finalist and was well ahead in the final against Mark Williams, before the world champion came through 10-9. That will have hurt greatly as his search for a ranking title continues, having also reached the International Championship final three years ago. Perhaps if he could make another ranking final in China or indeed elsewhere it would be third time lucky, as someone with his break-building skill and pure ball-striking is still more than capable of picking up multiple trophies in the remainder of his career.
Ryan Day has become a tournament contender much more in the last 18 months and again he could be one to watch this week. His results at the start of the season have seen him lose in the last 64 in Riga, but 4-3 to Ali Carter, and in the last 32 of the World Open, though that was 5-2 to eventual semi-finalist Noppon Saengkham. Last time out he defeated John Higgins in Shanghai before losing a tight quarter-final with the in-form Kyren Wilson where he was 3-1 ahead at one stage. His draw is by no means easy with a potential second round tie with David Gilbert in what you would expect to be a tight game if it were to arise. Should he come through though, there is no reason why he could not have another big run.
Ding Junhui is my third quarter choice for the China Championship. When looking at the quarter in full the first thing that came to mind was that Ding had just beaten potential last 16 opponent Allen and potential quarter-final opponent Selby in the same rounds of the Shanghai Masters, where he would eventually lose a very tight semi-final with Barry Hawkins. Looking at his opponents in his first three matches, if the Chinese number one is somewhere near his best you would expect him to come through unscathed and make the last 16. He did lose in the last 32 of the World Open, though that was his first event of the season and his wife was due to give birth at any time. Since then he has also played in the Six-Reds losing the final to Wilson. His game looks to be in good shape which on home soil obviously makes him a very solid choice.
Best of the rest: Ryan Day
Quarter choice: Ding Junhui
Quarter 4
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Barry Hawkins Vs Ashley Carty
Noppon Saengkham Vs Xu Si
Neil Robertson Vs Gerard Greene
Graeme Dott or Bai Langning Vs Stuart Carrington or He Guoqiang
Ali Carter Vs Fergal O'Brien
Anthony McGill Vs Zhao Xintong
Gary Wilson Vs Luo Honghao
Mark Williams or Rod Lawler Vs Ken Doherty
Neil Robertson started the season in perfect fashion by taking the first ranking title of the year in Riga. Since then, the Australian has had two outings in China, losing in the last 32 of the World Open to Ricky Walden and then having the misfortune to draw Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 16 in Shanghai. He starts this week against Gerard Greene before a potential run-in with Graeme Dott who has had a pretty quiet start to the new season. Robertson's scoring has been unbelievable at the start of this season, having made 17 centuries in just 14 matches, though even in his out of form period a year or so ago, he was still scoring heavily but was not putting his play together for a full match and leaving the door open for his opponents.
Mark Williams returns to China having won the World Open earlier this season, to put an early exit in Riga to the back of his mind. His exit to amateur Mohammed Shehab in the first knockout round of the Six-Reds will not trouble him either and there is no shame at all in the 6-4 loss he suffered in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters to Barry Hawkins. His draw for the first couple of rounds in Guangzhou features plenty of experience, but he should be able to come through comfortably to the last 32. There he could face Gary Wilson who made the quarter-finals of the World Open and could really cause the world champion some problems. If the early rounds are negotiated though, there is certainly potential for another title to add to his growing collection.
Ali Carter and Anthony McGill are two top players that I could very easily see losing early on this week. Starting with Carter, he faces solid Fergal O'Brien who will pounce if Carter is not at his best. The Captain was not in Shanghai and has only played two events this season where he lost in the last 32 on both occasions so does not bring much form to Guangzhou. O'Brien meanwhile has already had some good results in the new season, defeating Luca Brecel and Zhao Xintong in tough matches on the way to the last 16 in Yushan as well as beating Shaun Murphy in the Paul Hunter Classic. McGill meanwhile faces up to Zhao Xintong who has gotten off to a much more solid start. McGill lost out in the last 64 in Riga and failed to qualify for the World Open, as well as then failing to qualify for the delayed Indian Open in August. Zhao meanwhile has won every qualifier he has played, and made the last 16 in Riga with a whitewash of Murphy on the way that featured two centuries. He has also beaten Matthew Stevens (twice), Graeme Dott and Ricky Walden so big name players do not seem to be bringing any fear out in the youngster.
Barry Hawkins is my fourth and final quarter choice this week and in all-honesty he is one of the stand-out stars of the new season. In the past, Hawkins has been a bit of a slow starter to a season, but that is not the case this time around. His last three trips to China have seen him reach two finals (the China Open and recent Shanghai Masters) and a semi-final (at the World Open) so he is certainly the form man in this part of the world right now. Add in his World Championship semi-final and Welsh Open final from the end of last season and he has reached at least the semi-finals in five of his last eight events (the Gibraltar Open, Romanian Masters and Riga Masters being the odd ones out). Out of the 31 frames Hawkins won on the way to an 11-9 final loss in Shanghai he made 19 breaks of 50 or more, with seven of those passing the century mark which is the sign of a man at the very top of his game and will make him incredibly tough to beat if he re-creates that here in Guangzhou. The only thing missing from Hawkins recent play is a trophy and if he kicks into gear again here then that tournament victory might not be far away.
Mark Williams returns to China having won the World Open earlier this season, to put an early exit in Riga to the back of his mind. His exit to amateur Mohammed Shehab in the first knockout round of the Six-Reds will not trouble him either and there is no shame at all in the 6-4 loss he suffered in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters to Barry Hawkins. His draw for the first couple of rounds in Guangzhou features plenty of experience, but he should be able to come through comfortably to the last 32. There he could face Gary Wilson who made the quarter-finals of the World Open and could really cause the world champion some problems. If the early rounds are negotiated though, there is certainly potential for another title to add to his growing collection.
Ali Carter and Anthony McGill are two top players that I could very easily see losing early on this week. Starting with Carter, he faces solid Fergal O'Brien who will pounce if Carter is not at his best. The Captain was not in Shanghai and has only played two events this season where he lost in the last 32 on both occasions so does not bring much form to Guangzhou. O'Brien meanwhile has already had some good results in the new season, defeating Luca Brecel and Zhao Xintong in tough matches on the way to the last 16 in Yushan as well as beating Shaun Murphy in the Paul Hunter Classic. McGill meanwhile faces up to Zhao Xintong who has gotten off to a much more solid start. McGill lost out in the last 64 in Riga and failed to qualify for the World Open, as well as then failing to qualify for the delayed Indian Open in August. Zhao meanwhile has won every qualifier he has played, and made the last 16 in Riga with a whitewash of Murphy on the way that featured two centuries. He has also beaten Matthew Stevens (twice), Graeme Dott and Ricky Walden so big name players do not seem to be bringing any fear out in the youngster.
Barry Hawkins is my fourth and final quarter choice this week and in all-honesty he is one of the stand-out stars of the new season. In the past, Hawkins has been a bit of a slow starter to a season, but that is not the case this time around. His last three trips to China have seen him reach two finals (the China Open and recent Shanghai Masters) and a semi-final (at the World Open) so he is certainly the form man in this part of the world right now. Add in his World Championship semi-final and Welsh Open final from the end of last season and he has reached at least the semi-finals in five of his last eight events (the Gibraltar Open, Romanian Masters and Riga Masters being the odd ones out). Out of the 31 frames Hawkins won on the way to an 11-9 final loss in Shanghai he made 19 breaks of 50 or more, with seven of those passing the century mark which is the sign of a man at the very top of his game and will make him incredibly tough to beat if he re-creates that here in Guangzhou. The only thing missing from Hawkins recent play is a trophy and if he kicks into gear again here then that tournament victory might not be far away.
Best of the rest: Zhao Xintong
Quarter choice: Barry Hawkins
Tournament winner selection: Barry Hawkins
The tournament if played over the best-of-9 frames from the last 64 through to the best-of-11 semi-finals and the best-of-19 frame final. Full coverage of the tournament will be available on Eurosport TV and Eurosport Player.
Wednesday 19 September 2018
FANTASY SNOOKER: Points update and China Championship info
Following the postponement of the Indian Open, it has been four weeks since the last counting event to the fantasy snooker concluded with Kyren Wilson winning the Paul Hunter Classic. While Wilson was a popular pick for the three days in Furth, only one participant chose runner-up Peter Ebdon in what was an inspired selection.
Next up is the China Championships which begins on Monday. The first thing for participants to remember is that, with qualifying having already taken place, points for any heldover matches will not count towards a final player for the tournament. So, for example, do not pick out defending champion Luca Brecel in the hope of stealing a few extra points from his last 128 game.
As well as this, keep in mind that this is only the third of event of the season and there are still plenty of events on the schedule, given the rule that you can only pick any player up to three times during the 2018/2019 campaign.
This is how the table looks after the first two events:
The Cue View is still out in front after a successful opening two events but the chasing pack behind are certainly close behind with a long way to go in the season. Those nearer the bottom half of the table are by no means out of it either and three events in the next four weeks can certainly change the look of these standings.
The deadline for all picks in the China Championship is before the first matches on Monday 24 September at 2.30am UK time.
PLEASE NOTE: For those waiting for an update prior to the fourth round of picks, be aware that the European Masters starts the day after the China Championship final, and the deadline for picks there will be Monday 1 October at 12pm UK time.
Good luck to all the Fantasy Players for the next two weeks!
Next up is the China Championships which begins on Monday. The first thing for participants to remember is that, with qualifying having already taken place, points for any heldover matches will not count towards a final player for the tournament. So, for example, do not pick out defending champion Luca Brecel in the hope of stealing a few extra points from his last 128 game.
As well as this, keep in mind that this is only the third of event of the season and there are still plenty of events on the schedule, given the rule that you can only pick any player up to three times during the 2018/2019 campaign.
This is how the table looks after the first two events:
The Cue View 152
Dani M (esnukero) 141
Ryan Duckett 133
Voihelevettisua 133
FAM147 125
Shaun Hunt 118
Daniela Reich 116
Andy (APB147) 111
Kellie Barker 103
Rob Chipp 102
Cluster of Reds 101
Rob Francis 100
Matt Butler 98
LTD Syndicate 96
Daz Muckian 94
Martin Pearlman 91
Phil Mudd 90
Tungsten Darts 90
Chris Watts 86
Steven Bunn 85
Kim Kristensen 84
Stephen McCabe 83
Andrew Devonshire 83
Anthony (antow73) 82
Pete Tscherewik 77
Daniel Gavin 75
Gary Freeman 75
Alex Abrahams 73
Debbie Dymott 70
GaryOnCue 64
Kevin Platten 64
Square Sausage 61
Anatole Compton 60
Markus 57
Twit Torr Terry 56
Munraj Pal 53
Phil Robinson 51
The Cue View is still out in front after a successful opening two events but the chasing pack behind are certainly close behind with a long way to go in the season. Those nearer the bottom half of the table are by no means out of it either and three events in the next four weeks can certainly change the look of these standings.
The deadline for all picks in the China Championship is before the first matches on Monday 24 September at 2.30am UK time.
PLEASE NOTE: For those waiting for an update prior to the fourth round of picks, be aware that the European Masters starts the day after the China Championship final, and the deadline for picks there will be Monday 1 October at 12pm UK time.
Good luck to all the Fantasy Players for the next two weeks!
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