Defending champion Mark Williams and Masters champion Judd Trump are safely through to the last 16 of the German Masters after victories against Chinese opposition on day one in Berlin.
World champion Williams was the first through as he took out Zhou Yuelong 5-3. Zhou had his fair share of chances, starting in the very first frame as he missed a chance to steal it on the colours. He was soon level at 1-1, but Williams was back ahead after the match high break of 127, before dominating frame four as well to move 3-1 up at the interval.
A run of 51 aided Zhou in pulling a frame back after the break, but missed opportunities in the sixth cost him as Williams moved one away from victory. Zhou kept himself in the hunt with a seventh frame run of 85, his best of the match, making it 3-4, before Williams closed out the contest with a break of 76.
Trump meanwhile was a 5-2 winner against Li Hang, despite not being on the glorious form that took him to victory in London two weeks ago. Li gave Trump plenty of chances as the left-hander cruised into a 3-0 lead despite unusually only having a high break of 55.
Li got on the scoreboard to go into the break 3-1 behind, but Trump stretched his lead back to three after his match high break of 94. The high break of the match came from Li in the next though as he made a break of 105 to keep himself in the contest and he had chances to pile more pressure on Trump, but it was the Masters champion who won the seventh frame re-spot to close out victory.
Two bigger name scalps on day one though were Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy as they were both beaten in close contests.
Murphy's poor season continued as he fell to a 5-3 defeat against Peter Ebdon, who kept alive his hopes of qualifying for the World Grand Prix, while taking Murphy's WGP fate out of his hands. Ebdon started strongly with breaks of 69 and 62 on the way to a 2-0 lead, without Murphy potting a ball. The Magician hit back by winning a lengthy third frame on the black, but Ebdon's response was to pile on a break of 109 to lead 3-1 at the interval.
Murphy battled away despite not being at his best and levelled the tie at 3-3, but missed his chance on the colours in frame seven and another lengthy frame went this time to Ebdon who moved back in front, knocking the stuffing out of Murphy before finishing the match off comfortably in the next.
Barry Hawkins meanwhile was beaten from 3-1 and 4-3 up against another World Grand Prix chaser Robert Milkins. Hawkins stormed ahead early with a century in the opening frame before a further run of 51 doubled his lead. Milkins got on the board in frame three with a run of 97 before Hawkins moved 3-1 up at the interval.
A crucial frame five went to Milkins on the final black and he then levelled at 3-3, only for Hawkins to move back in front. Milkins though won the final two frames despite chances for Hawkins in both and he will now face Stephen Maguire, needing a victory there to displace Gary Wilson and move into the provisional top 32 on the World Grand Prix list.
Maguire booked his last 16 place with a comfortable 5-1 win against Michael Georgiou with top breaks of 54, 71 and 118. Ebdon meanwhile still needs two victories to move into the Grand Prix, and will now face Kyren Wilson after he came through 5-3 against Rory McLeod, with breaks of 74 and 79 in the final two frames finishing off a tight tussle.
Defending champion Williams will take on Joe Perry after he came from 4-1 down to defeat Sam Baird in a deciding frame, while the other last 32 match on Wednesday saw Yan Bingtao win all of the last three frames to defeat Matthew Stevens 5-3.
Last 16 draw (Top Half): (Picks in bold)
Mark Williams Vs Joe Perry
Kyren Wilson Vs Peter Ebdon
Stephen Maguire Vs Robert Milkins
Judd Trump Vs Yan Bingtao
Each of these four last 16 matches in the top half of the draw will be played on Thursday evening, once more over the best-of-9 frames. The TV table match sees defending champion Mark Williams face Joe Perry. Both players will be happy to come through tough opening round games, particularly Perry who looked down and out at 4-1 down against an in-form Sam Baird. Williams certainly did not look at his best at times, but there were glimpses of a return in form having had a quiet last two or three months. Particularly the century just before the interval and the break in the final frame to finish the match off were highlights for Williams but he faces another tough ask against Perry who has already been tested to the maximum and come through. They have met once this season already, in the last 16 of the World Open, with Williams winning 5-1 and going on to win the whole event, so that could be a very good omen for the World champion.
On the secondary streamed table, Masters champion Judd Trump faces Yan Bingtao in what is there third meeting of the season. Both meetings were at the same last 16 stage of two events in China, with Trump winning 5-1 at the China Championship and 6-1 at the International Championship. Based on that Yan will really be starting this one on the back foot and he knows all too well how quickly this game could get away from him if he does not fire early on. After a quieter but still decent season, Yan showed good early signs with breaks of 113 and 90 in the first two frames of his match with Matthew Stevens and then showed the strength to put three successive frames from Stevens behind him, to win three in a row of his own to clinch victory. Trump may not have had to play well against Li Hang, but knowing the talent of Yan and how he has been able to dominate him in their previous ties this season, you would expect him to raise his game for the occasion here.
In the first crucial World Grand Prix qualification match, Robert Milkins has to beat Stephen Maguire to leapfrog Gary Wilson into the 32nd and final spot in the provisional World Grand Prix rankings. However, in all five of their previous meetings (including one Championship League clash) Milkins has been the victor each time which must be a huge confidence boost coming into this one. He fought back well against Barry Hawkins in round one and with the Grand Prix being close to home in Cheltenham, it would almost be a home event for Milkins which must be another big motivation for him here. Maguire was an easy 5-1 winner against an out of form Michael Georgiou but this will be a tougher test for sure and he could do with a good start to banish any thoughts he may have about the negative head-to-head.
Finally, Kyren Wilson will face Peter Ebdon in a repeat of the Paul Hunter Classic final in Germany back in August. Ebdon led 2-0 on that occasion before Wilson reeled off four on the spin to win the match and title 4-2. Ebdon looked sharp in round one and was certainly deserving of a 5-3 win over Shaun Murphy. If he plays as he did in the opening four frames again in this match then he has every chance of holding an early advantage once more. The slight concern for Ebdon would be that he was slightly shakier as the match went on in what was quite a drawn out affair. While Wilson's match against Rory McLeod was not much shorter, the difference is that Wilson is 21 years younger than Ebdon so probably needs less recovery time and might be a bit fresher here. While it seemed a slightly scrappy affair early on, Wilson will be pleased to finish off the match with two 70+ breaks and that will give him added confidence here.
The bottom half of the draw will play out their last 16 matches on Friday afternoon and the line-up for those matches will be confirmed after the five afternoon session matches on Thursday.
Thursday, 31 January 2019
Monday, 28 January 2019
German Masters Preview
On Wednesday, 32 players will kick off a fantastic five days of snooker at one of the most highly rated venues on the circuit, as the German Masters gets underway at the Tempodrome in Berlin.
World Champion Mark Williams will be defending the title that he won last year with a convincing victory in the final against Graeme Dott. The title was Williams' second of the season and was another major confidence boost ahead of his successful World Championship campaign.
The notable absentees from Berlin this year are UK Championship finalists Mark Allen and Ronnie O'Sullivan who chose not to enter December's qualifiers, while all of Luca Brecel, Anthony McGill, Marco Fu and former champions Ali Carter, Anthony Hamilton and Martin Gould failed to get through the two qualifying rounds held in Barnsley.
The absence of these former winners means that defending champion Williams is joined by Mark Selby and Ding Junhui as the only former champions out of the 32 hopefuls.
There is also a tournament within the event this week as the final 32 qualifiers for next week's World Grand Prix will be confirmed. Out of this week's 32, 12 could still play there way into the field, though only four of those could do so without making Sunday's final and each would need to make at least the quarter-finals.
The man who has the most cause for concern is Gary Wilson, who is 32nd in the provisional WGP rankings and failed to qualify for Berlin, while 33rd placed Zhou Yuelong and 34th placed Robert Milkins have both made it through to the Tempodrome and would overtake Wilson if they reached the last eight.
Paul Hunter Classic finalist Peter Ebdon still has a chance but would need to make at least the semi-finals and he takes on joint 30th placed Shaun Murphy in the last 32. Victory there for Murphy would separate him from Fu, who has his destiny out of his hands this week. Ricky Walden is the only other player who can theoretically qualify for the WGP without making the final, though he like Ebdon needs at least a semi-final appearance and opens up his campaign against world number one Mark Selby.
Murphy and Fu though are £6,000 clear of 33rd placed Zhou and a further £2,400 clear of Milkins, while joint 28th placed Ding Junhui and Yuan Sijun are a further £500 ahead of the two tied in 30th place, with both the Chinese players having made it through to Berlin. Barring an incredibly unlikely series of events, everyone else ahead of Ding and Yuan should be well and truly safe.
To better rate the chances of the above hopefuls, here is how the draw shapes up:
The tournament will be covered in full on Eurosport TV and the Eurosport Player and will have the same format as previous. The last 32, last 16 and quarter-finals will be played over the best-of-9 frames, with the last 16 matches spread over Thursday night and Friday afternoon before the famous quarter-finals night on Friday which has produced much drama over the years. The semi-finals will be played over the best-of-11 frames on Saturday before Sunday's best-of-17 frame final, where the winner will receive £80,000.
World Champion Mark Williams will be defending the title that he won last year with a convincing victory in the final against Graeme Dott. The title was Williams' second of the season and was another major confidence boost ahead of his successful World Championship campaign.
The notable absentees from Berlin this year are UK Championship finalists Mark Allen and Ronnie O'Sullivan who chose not to enter December's qualifiers, while all of Luca Brecel, Anthony McGill, Marco Fu and former champions Ali Carter, Anthony Hamilton and Martin Gould failed to get through the two qualifying rounds held in Barnsley.
The absence of these former winners means that defending champion Williams is joined by Mark Selby and Ding Junhui as the only former champions out of the 32 hopefuls.
There is also a tournament within the event this week as the final 32 qualifiers for next week's World Grand Prix will be confirmed. Out of this week's 32, 12 could still play there way into the field, though only four of those could do so without making Sunday's final and each would need to make at least the quarter-finals.
The man who has the most cause for concern is Gary Wilson, who is 32nd in the provisional WGP rankings and failed to qualify for Berlin, while 33rd placed Zhou Yuelong and 34th placed Robert Milkins have both made it through to the Tempodrome and would overtake Wilson if they reached the last eight.
Paul Hunter Classic finalist Peter Ebdon still has a chance but would need to make at least the semi-finals and he takes on joint 30th placed Shaun Murphy in the last 32. Victory there for Murphy would separate him from Fu, who has his destiny out of his hands this week. Ricky Walden is the only other player who can theoretically qualify for the WGP without making the final, though he like Ebdon needs at least a semi-final appearance and opens up his campaign against world number one Mark Selby.
Murphy and Fu though are £6,000 clear of 33rd placed Zhou and a further £2,400 clear of Milkins, while joint 28th placed Ding Junhui and Yuan Sijun are a further £500 ahead of the two tied in 30th place, with both the Chinese players having made it through to Berlin. Barring an incredibly unlikely series of events, everyone else ahead of Ding and Yuan should be well and truly safe.
To better rate the chances of the above hopefuls, here is how the draw shapes up:
Quarter 1
Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Williams Vs Zhou Yuelong
Joe Perry Vs Sam Baird
Shaun Murphy Vs Peter Ebdon
Kyren Wilson Vs Rory McLeod
Straight away we find 33rd placed Zhou Yuelong with an uphill task on his hands against defending champion Mark Williams. However, when these two collided earlier in the season at the English Open, Zhou came out on top at the very same stage of the competition. Williams has not been in the greatest form in the last few months, losing out most recently from 3-1 up in the first round of the Masters. This came after early exits in his defence of the Northern Ireland Open, as well as the International Championship and the Champion of Champions. Zhou meanwhile is making his seventh successive appearance in the last 32 of a ranking event this season, going on to make the last 16 at the first two Home Nations events. Without setting the world alight he has added a greater consistency to his game that was not there as much a season ago and there's a huge incentive for him as he takes on Williams here, with the confidence of the Crawley victory from October.
Shaun Murphy's odd season continued with a 6-2 first round loss to Barry Hawkins in the Masters. He came into that after a confidence boosting couple of weeks that saw him making seven centuries in the two matches to qualify for Berlin, as well as a run to the Scottish Open final, which left expectations a lot higher than what was delivered at the Ally Pally. Prior to Glasgow, it had been an abysmal season for Murphy who was outside of the top 60 in the one-season rankings at one stage. He does have a reasonable record at this event, making the semi-finals last year and the final back in 2015 but in both of those seasons he was in much better form than he is presently. First round opposition in the shape of Peter Ebdon could prove very tough, with their last four meetings being shared 2-2 and Ebdon reaching a final in Germany earlier this season.
Kyren Wilson will be disappointed with his Masters effort also, missing key chances on the way to falling 5-0 down against Judd Trump and ultimately losing 6-2 in the first round there. Should both he and Murphy come through their opening ties in Berlin, they would meet again at the last 16 stage, having done so in Glasgow, with Murphy winning a great contest 4-3. Prior to that Wilson also suffered a heavy loss in the UK Championship quarter-finals, but he has had success in Germany this season winning the Paul Hunter Classic in August and if he were to reach the last 16 he could also face a repeat of that final, if Ebdon overcomes Murphy. All of this does depend on the opening round tie against Rory McLeod and while many will right McLeod off here completely he is capable of causing the upset and is at a point where he needs victories to retain his tour card for next season. Wilson always looks like a contender to be at the latter stages of tournaments, but whether he wins enough to be considered a major contender week after week is an entirely different topic.
Joe Perry is a player that can be considered a serious dark horse this week in my opinion. In round one he takes on Sam Baird in what is a tasty draw, with Baird reaching his first ranking quarter-final at the Scottish Open recently. Perry though is the experienced man and you would have to back him in that one after a solid season. A finalist at the European Masters and a quarter-finalist at the UK Championships, where he may be disappointed not to reach the semi-finals, all leave Perry 11th on the World Grand Prix list and only a small amount behind Jimmy Robertson, who beat Perry in the European Masters final. After a slightly quieter couple of seasons, Perry also sits 17th on the provisional Crucible rankings so has an excellent opportunity to avoid going through the qualifiers, especially given the fact he is also in a strong position to go on and qualify for the Players Championship. All of these things give greater incentive and inspiration to Perry to go on further runs in the second half of the season and looking at the draw for this week, with a couple of vulnerable players in this section, it seems like a great opportunity for Perry to pounce.
Shaun Murphy's odd season continued with a 6-2 first round loss to Barry Hawkins in the Masters. He came into that after a confidence boosting couple of weeks that saw him making seven centuries in the two matches to qualify for Berlin, as well as a run to the Scottish Open final, which left expectations a lot higher than what was delivered at the Ally Pally. Prior to Glasgow, it had been an abysmal season for Murphy who was outside of the top 60 in the one-season rankings at one stage. He does have a reasonable record at this event, making the semi-finals last year and the final back in 2015 but in both of those seasons he was in much better form than he is presently. First round opposition in the shape of Peter Ebdon could prove very tough, with their last four meetings being shared 2-2 and Ebdon reaching a final in Germany earlier this season.
Kyren Wilson will be disappointed with his Masters effort also, missing key chances on the way to falling 5-0 down against Judd Trump and ultimately losing 6-2 in the first round there. Should both he and Murphy come through their opening ties in Berlin, they would meet again at the last 16 stage, having done so in Glasgow, with Murphy winning a great contest 4-3. Prior to that Wilson also suffered a heavy loss in the UK Championship quarter-finals, but he has had success in Germany this season winning the Paul Hunter Classic in August and if he were to reach the last 16 he could also face a repeat of that final, if Ebdon overcomes Murphy. All of this does depend on the opening round tie against Rory McLeod and while many will right McLeod off here completely he is capable of causing the upset and is at a point where he needs victories to retain his tour card for next season. Wilson always looks like a contender to be at the latter stages of tournaments, but whether he wins enough to be considered a major contender week after week is an entirely different topic.
Joe Perry is a player that can be considered a serious dark horse this week in my opinion. In round one he takes on Sam Baird in what is a tasty draw, with Baird reaching his first ranking quarter-final at the Scottish Open recently. Perry though is the experienced man and you would have to back him in that one after a solid season. A finalist at the European Masters and a quarter-finalist at the UK Championships, where he may be disappointed not to reach the semi-finals, all leave Perry 11th on the World Grand Prix list and only a small amount behind Jimmy Robertson, who beat Perry in the European Masters final. After a slightly quieter couple of seasons, Perry also sits 17th on the provisional Crucible rankings so has an excellent opportunity to avoid going through the qualifiers, especially given the fact he is also in a strong position to go on and qualify for the Players Championship. All of these things give greater incentive and inspiration to Perry to go on further runs in the second half of the season and looking at the draw for this week, with a couple of vulnerable players in this section, it seems like a great opportunity for Perry to pounce.
Best of the rest: Kyren Wilson
Quarter choice: Joe Perry
Quarter 2
Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold)
Barry Hawkins Vs Robert Milkins
Stephen Maguire Vs Michael Georgiou
Yan Bingtao Vs Matthew Stevens
Judd Trump Vs Li Hang
Robert Milkins is in 34th position on the Grand Prix list and takes on Barry Hawkins needing a victory in this match and in a probable last 16 encounter with Stephen Maguire to put himself into the Grand Prix, if Zhou fails to make the last eight. In all likelihood Hawkins will just be slightly too strong for Milkins. The Gloucester man has put himself in the Grand Prix mix courtesy of last 16 runs in the English Open and the World Open. Hawkins has also won their last two meetings, with Milkins two wins over Hawkins outside of the Championship League coming way back in 2003, so he has a bit to overturn if he is to keep his Cheltenham hopes alive.
Stephen Maguire has had a decent season, even if it has been a little inconsistent. He is nicely secured of his Grand Prix place for next week and appeared at the Masters again recently, earning his way back there with two semi-finals this season at the Riga Masters and English Open as well as a quarter-final appearance at the UK Championship. If he could get close to the form he found in the second half of his match with Mark Williams in York then he certainly would not be nearing the six-year anniversary of his last ranking title win. At this tournament he has a reasonable record, making two quarter-finals, a semi-final and reaching the final in 2012 from the seven times he has qualified for Berlin. He will be a big favourite in round one against Michael Georgiou who has not had the greatest season, but from there a potential last 16 contest with Barry Hawkins would be a very tight call on paper and with the Masters champion also in this quarter, it will be a tough one for Maguire to win.
Judd Trump is the tournament favourite this week after his excellent Masters victory last weekend. Out of his four wins against Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O'Sullivan, three of those were very comfortable victories and he produced the sort of clinical front running that he produces so often against the lower-ranked players to produce so many whitewash wins. The main question for the next couple of tournaments will be whether Trump is ready to kick-on straight away and contend for this tournament so soon after his Masters victory, or whether he will still be a little in celebration mode. This time last year, new Masters champion Mark Allen was defeated in round one to lower ranked opposition, while in 2015 the new Masters champion Shaun Murphy made it all the way to the final and was riding high on confidence. I have to say looking at the draw that Trump is much more likely to go on and reach the final than to lose early on and his biggest threat would come from a quarter-final with either Maguire or Hawkins.
Barry Hawkins has had a solid season without setting the world alight, but we are certainly now coming into the stage of the campaign where his form usually peaks, between February and April. Last year he made the Welsh Open final, while a year earlier he collected the World Grand Prix title in the month of February. He started this season strongly with a final in the Shanghai Masters, semi-final at the World Open and a quarter-final at the China Championship and well over half of his season's ranking prize money was won prior to the European Masters in October. His record in Berlin may also not be the greatest, having only gone beyond round two in two of his seven appearances at the Tempodrome, which does not go along with his usual February flourish. In this quarter you feel as though he could quietly go about his business to reach the quarter-finals before things hot up, but if Trump does take his intensity down for a week or two after his Masters triumph, Hawkins is certainly the next best candidate to make the semi-finals and beyond.
Stephen Maguire has had a decent season, even if it has been a little inconsistent. He is nicely secured of his Grand Prix place for next week and appeared at the Masters again recently, earning his way back there with two semi-finals this season at the Riga Masters and English Open as well as a quarter-final appearance at the UK Championship. If he could get close to the form he found in the second half of his match with Mark Williams in York then he certainly would not be nearing the six-year anniversary of his last ranking title win. At this tournament he has a reasonable record, making two quarter-finals, a semi-final and reaching the final in 2012 from the seven times he has qualified for Berlin. He will be a big favourite in round one against Michael Georgiou who has not had the greatest season, but from there a potential last 16 contest with Barry Hawkins would be a very tight call on paper and with the Masters champion also in this quarter, it will be a tough one for Maguire to win.
Judd Trump is the tournament favourite this week after his excellent Masters victory last weekend. Out of his four wins against Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O'Sullivan, three of those were very comfortable victories and he produced the sort of clinical front running that he produces so often against the lower-ranked players to produce so many whitewash wins. The main question for the next couple of tournaments will be whether Trump is ready to kick-on straight away and contend for this tournament so soon after his Masters victory, or whether he will still be a little in celebration mode. This time last year, new Masters champion Mark Allen was defeated in round one to lower ranked opposition, while in 2015 the new Masters champion Shaun Murphy made it all the way to the final and was riding high on confidence. I have to say looking at the draw that Trump is much more likely to go on and reach the final than to lose early on and his biggest threat would come from a quarter-final with either Maguire or Hawkins.
Barry Hawkins has had a solid season without setting the world alight, but we are certainly now coming into the stage of the campaign where his form usually peaks, between February and April. Last year he made the Welsh Open final, while a year earlier he collected the World Grand Prix title in the month of February. He started this season strongly with a final in the Shanghai Masters, semi-final at the World Open and a quarter-final at the China Championship and well over half of his season's ranking prize money was won prior to the European Masters in October. His record in Berlin may also not be the greatest, having only gone beyond round two in two of his seven appearances at the Tempodrome, which does not go along with his usual February flourish. In this quarter you feel as though he could quietly go about his business to reach the quarter-finals before things hot up, but if Trump does take his intensity down for a week or two after his Masters triumph, Hawkins is certainly the next best candidate to make the semi-finals and beyond.
Best of the rest: Judd Trump
Quarter choice: Barry Hawkins
Quarter 3
Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold)
John Higgins Vs Yuan Sijun
Jack Lisowski Vs Duane Jones
Ryan Day Vs Xiao Guodong
Ding Junhui Vs Fergal O'Brien
John Higgins has got another interesting challenge facing him in Berlin as he looks to regain his form. Barring a final appearance at the China Championship, where he admits he was still playing quite poorly, it has been a bad time for Higgins who has admitted problems finding motivation. He just edged out Chris Wakelin 5-4 in the second qualifying match to make sure of his spot in the 32 for this week. Prior to that, he suffered a surprise last 16 loss in his home event, as well as a last 64 in the UK Championship, first round exits in the Northern Ireland Open and International Championship and his year started with a tough 6-5 loss in the first round of the Masters against Ryan Day. Higgins first round opponent this week is the extremely talented Yuan Sijun who is not frightened of taking on the best players. Yuan is currently in position to qualify for the WGP as mentioned in the intro and has beaten the likes of Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson as well as beating Ding Junhui on the way to the China Championship quarter-finals. All things considered, you have to say that Yuan has a great chance of causing another upset here.
Ryan Day could be a dark horse this week and go slightly under the radar in the draw. His first round opponent Xiao Guodong is someone he has played twice, with Xiao winning 10-4 in the 2017 World Championships, while Day won their other meeting in Berlin five years ago. Xiao's recent Championship League outing was not successful though as he managed only one win from his six Round Robin games. Day meanwhile overcame Higgins in round one of the Masters before pushing Ronnie O'Sullivan with some good play in the first half of their quarter-final. In many ways it has been a tale of quarter-finals for the Welshman this season, making two non-ranking quarter-finals at the Masters and Shanghai Masters, as well as four ranking quarter-finals, at the European Masters as well as the opening three Home Nations events. Having not gone beyond that stage in the 2018/2019 campaign it is becoming a bit of an unwanted trait and makes it tough to say he will win this quarter, especially with the quality in the section.
Jack Lisowski is someone I thought would win a ranking event this season, especially after he made the final of the season opening Riga Masters. He followed that up by making the World Open quarter-finals before losing from 3-0 up there when a win may have teed up that maiden title, before similar happened at the Paul Hunter Classic. Another tight quarter-final went against him at the European Masters, and he fell just short against Neil Robertson in the International Championship semi-finals. He is yet to go beyond the last 16 of an event since then but this week looks like a big opportunity for him to put that right. The German Masters does have previous for creating first time ranking winners, with both Martin Gould and Anthony Hamilton achieving theirs in 2016 and 2017 respectively, which may prove a good omen for someone like Lisowski this week. He will also have a slight irk about his poor Masters debut, providing him some extra fire and inspiration in Berlin, while the draw does nothing to play down his chances of at least making the quarter-finals.
2014 champion Ding Junhui is my third quarter selection though, having seen something of an improvement in what was by far his best display of the season at the recent Masters. After a quiet start to the season where he only played three ranking events prior to the UK Championship, he has made three last 16 appearances in a row in ranking events, to play his way into the Grand Prix mix and looks committed to playing more in the second half of the season. As well as competing here again after missing out in previous years, he has committed to play in group 7 of the Championship League in March. Perhaps he feels he needs to put in as much playing time as possible prior to another bid at becoming China's first World Snooker Champion at the end of the season. Against Lisowski at the Masters he was clinical if not at his best and he showed a lot of grit and fight to come through against Luca Brecel. Then against Ronnie O'Sullivan he put a lot of pressure on from 4-0 down and came close to a maximum break, which may have slightly upset his focus in the last couple of frames. You would firmly expect him to beat Fergal O'Brien in round playing as he did in London, before a potential banana skin against nemesis Ryan Day, who has won four of their last five major meetings. Should he get over that hurdle then I would expect him to go from strength to strength and be a serious title contender in Berlin.
Ryan Day could be a dark horse this week and go slightly under the radar in the draw. His first round opponent Xiao Guodong is someone he has played twice, with Xiao winning 10-4 in the 2017 World Championships, while Day won their other meeting in Berlin five years ago. Xiao's recent Championship League outing was not successful though as he managed only one win from his six Round Robin games. Day meanwhile overcame Higgins in round one of the Masters before pushing Ronnie O'Sullivan with some good play in the first half of their quarter-final. In many ways it has been a tale of quarter-finals for the Welshman this season, making two non-ranking quarter-finals at the Masters and Shanghai Masters, as well as four ranking quarter-finals, at the European Masters as well as the opening three Home Nations events. Having not gone beyond that stage in the 2018/2019 campaign it is becoming a bit of an unwanted trait and makes it tough to say he will win this quarter, especially with the quality in the section.
Jack Lisowski is someone I thought would win a ranking event this season, especially after he made the final of the season opening Riga Masters. He followed that up by making the World Open quarter-finals before losing from 3-0 up there when a win may have teed up that maiden title, before similar happened at the Paul Hunter Classic. Another tight quarter-final went against him at the European Masters, and he fell just short against Neil Robertson in the International Championship semi-finals. He is yet to go beyond the last 16 of an event since then but this week looks like a big opportunity for him to put that right. The German Masters does have previous for creating first time ranking winners, with both Martin Gould and Anthony Hamilton achieving theirs in 2016 and 2017 respectively, which may prove a good omen for someone like Lisowski this week. He will also have a slight irk about his poor Masters debut, providing him some extra fire and inspiration in Berlin, while the draw does nothing to play down his chances of at least making the quarter-finals.
2014 champion Ding Junhui is my third quarter selection though, having seen something of an improvement in what was by far his best display of the season at the recent Masters. After a quiet start to the season where he only played three ranking events prior to the UK Championship, he has made three last 16 appearances in a row in ranking events, to play his way into the Grand Prix mix and looks committed to playing more in the second half of the season. As well as competing here again after missing out in previous years, he has committed to play in group 7 of the Championship League in March. Perhaps he feels he needs to put in as much playing time as possible prior to another bid at becoming China's first World Snooker Champion at the end of the season. Against Lisowski at the Masters he was clinical if not at his best and he showed a lot of grit and fight to come through against Luca Brecel. Then against Ronnie O'Sullivan he put a lot of pressure on from 4-0 down and came close to a maximum break, which may have slightly upset his focus in the last couple of frames. You would firmly expect him to beat Fergal O'Brien in round playing as he did in London, before a potential banana skin against nemesis Ryan Day, who has won four of their last five major meetings. Should he get over that hurdle then I would expect him to go from strength to strength and be a serious title contender in Berlin.
Best of the rest: Jack Lisowski
Quarter choice: Ding Junhui
Quarter 4
Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Kurt Maflin
Stuart Bingham Vs Jimmy Robertson
David Gilbert Vs Ben Woollaston
Mark Selby Vs Ricky Walden
David Gilbert is a potential dark horse for this week. He started the season by narrowly missing out on his first ranking title at the World Open and his since made a quarter-final at the Northern Ireland Open and the last 16 of the International Championship. Recently at the Championship League, he won his opening five games in group 5, before making the 147th 147 break in his sixth match. That sort of form certainly makes him favourite against Ben Woollaston in round one and could see him trouble Mark Selby in the last 16 should the pair both get through. At eighth on this season's money list he is not to be underestimated, and as mentioned earlier with Lisowski, the German Masters has produced a couple of first time ranking winners in recent years. If his form from group 5 in the Championship League transfers to Berlin he could certainly be in the running.
Mark Selby has had a very up and down 2018/2019 season so far. The best demonstration of that is how he played in his two matches at the recent Masters. Against Maguire he was in sublime form making three centuries and two further breaks in the 90's, while against Judd Trump in the quarters he was nowhere near that form and was at less than 80% pot success as Trump built his 5-1 lead. Another example of the up and down form would be as Selby narrowly missed out on the final of the Northern Ireland Open, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan on the final black. At the next event, the UK Championships in York, he lost 6-3 in round one to amateur James Cahill in one of the biggest UK Championship upsets. His China Championship title at the start of the season means he is third on the WGP list and if he has a good week he could walk away with this title easily, but the above examples show that recently he has been a very tough player to predict. His recent head-to-head with first round opponent Ricky Walden has been pretty even, though Walden is not in the best form this season and needs at least a semi-final here to get into the Grand Prix. That may give Walden the extra spark to go on and beat Selby but at the moment both players are very difficult to predict.
Stuart Bingham is another contender in this quarter of the draw and will hoping to bounce back from first round exits at the Masters and Scottish Open with a big run here. Bingham only edged past Chen Feilong 5-4 in the last 128 qualifier for this event as well, though his start to the season has been a good one leaving him in a healthy ninth position on the WGP list. That is mainly thanks to his storming run to the UK Championship semi-finals and the English Open title he picked up two months earlier. In between all of that though there have been further early exits, including a last 128 loss in Northern Ireland and a last 64 defeat at the International Championship, making him another tough player to predict. On top of that, he plays European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson in round one who is just a place below him on the season's rankings. Jimmy may have gone slightly quiet since that Lommel triumph but you also have to consider how long that win must have taken to sink in. He can certainly trouble Bingham in round one here, and was a quarter-finalist at this event 12 months ago - his first ranking quarter-final - so he will have good memories of the event.
Neil Robertson is my final quarter choice for the German Masters however. The Australian is in fifth place on the WGP list so has no fears this week on that front and his form this season is probably as good as it has been for three or four years. He started the season with victory at the Riga Masters and has since made the International Championship final, as well as being the closest man to defeating Trump in the Masters, at the semi-final stage. Mark Allen has been his nemesis this season (beating him in the International final, Champion of Champions quarter-finals and UK Championship last 16) and again he has no fears from him this week after his non-entry in this event. His first round opponent Kurt Maflin is always capable of pulling off an upset on his day, in fact in their last meeting Robertson came back from 3-0 down to beat him 4-3 and four of their previous six meetings have finished in deciding frames. For me, Robertson is someone I would fancy for another tournament win before this season is over and it may well be this week.
Mark Selby has had a very up and down 2018/2019 season so far. The best demonstration of that is how he played in his two matches at the recent Masters. Against Maguire he was in sublime form making three centuries and two further breaks in the 90's, while against Judd Trump in the quarters he was nowhere near that form and was at less than 80% pot success as Trump built his 5-1 lead. Another example of the up and down form would be as Selby narrowly missed out on the final of the Northern Ireland Open, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan on the final black. At the next event, the UK Championships in York, he lost 6-3 in round one to amateur James Cahill in one of the biggest UK Championship upsets. His China Championship title at the start of the season means he is third on the WGP list and if he has a good week he could walk away with this title easily, but the above examples show that recently he has been a very tough player to predict. His recent head-to-head with first round opponent Ricky Walden has been pretty even, though Walden is not in the best form this season and needs at least a semi-final here to get into the Grand Prix. That may give Walden the extra spark to go on and beat Selby but at the moment both players are very difficult to predict.
Stuart Bingham is another contender in this quarter of the draw and will hoping to bounce back from first round exits at the Masters and Scottish Open with a big run here. Bingham only edged past Chen Feilong 5-4 in the last 128 qualifier for this event as well, though his start to the season has been a good one leaving him in a healthy ninth position on the WGP list. That is mainly thanks to his storming run to the UK Championship semi-finals and the English Open title he picked up two months earlier. In between all of that though there have been further early exits, including a last 128 loss in Northern Ireland and a last 64 defeat at the International Championship, making him another tough player to predict. On top of that, he plays European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson in round one who is just a place below him on the season's rankings. Jimmy may have gone slightly quiet since that Lommel triumph but you also have to consider how long that win must have taken to sink in. He can certainly trouble Bingham in round one here, and was a quarter-finalist at this event 12 months ago - his first ranking quarter-final - so he will have good memories of the event.
Neil Robertson is my final quarter choice for the German Masters however. The Australian is in fifth place on the WGP list so has no fears this week on that front and his form this season is probably as good as it has been for three or four years. He started the season with victory at the Riga Masters and has since made the International Championship final, as well as being the closest man to defeating Trump in the Masters, at the semi-final stage. Mark Allen has been his nemesis this season (beating him in the International final, Champion of Champions quarter-finals and UK Championship last 16) and again he has no fears from him this week after his non-entry in this event. His first round opponent Kurt Maflin is always capable of pulling off an upset on his day, in fact in their last meeting Robertson came back from 3-0 down to beat him 4-3 and four of their previous six meetings have finished in deciding frames. For me, Robertson is someone I would fancy for another tournament win before this season is over and it may well be this week.
Best of the rest: David Gilbert
Quarter choice: Neil Robertson
Tournament winner selection: Ding Junhui
The tournament will be covered in full on Eurosport TV and the Eurosport Player and will have the same format as previous. The last 32, last 16 and quarter-finals will be played over the best-of-9 frames, with the last 16 matches spread over Thursday night and Friday afternoon before the famous quarter-finals night on Friday which has produced much drama over the years. The semi-finals will be played over the best-of-11 frames on Saturday before Sunday's best-of-17 frame final, where the winner will receive £80,000.
Saturday, 26 January 2019
Guest Blog: What next for Judd Trump?
Following his superb victory at the Alexandra Palace to claim his first Masters title, new guest blogger Gary Moss has asked the question... What is next for Judd Trump? Long time snooker fans will know Gary from his days running the blog 'On Cue' and he has contributed most recently for 'The Sportsman' so I'm really looking forward to his contributions on the blog.
What next for Judd?
Breakthrough moments in sport can come in all different
shapes and sizes.
While Judd has had a few in the past, Sunday night’s Masters
triumph at the Alexandra Palace could certainly be another.
His resounding defeat of Ronnie O’Sullivan – the sport’s
most successful player in this tournament – lands him his first major title
since 2011 and could be the moment that he breaks through the ceiling to go on
and land a hatful more. After all, it is his wins in these events that will
ultimately define his legacy in the sport.
Aged 29, Judd is without doubt the most accomplished and
well-decorated player in his age bracket with nine ranking titles to his name
and having achieved a sustained and stable period at the very top of the
rankings.
But this doesn’t hide whispering in the game from those who
believe his trophy return in the sport’s blue riband events is short of his
talent. We can speculate as much as we want about why he has waited so long for
this win. Dedication, mental strength and many more factors are touted as
playing a part. We’ve heard them all, but sport is about looking forward rather
than looking back. Every top player has battle scars from painful defeats in
the past, but now the task for Judd becomes about capitalising on this win and
getting more.
As he lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy on Sunday, he landed the
second of snooker’s Triple Crown events and got back that taste of winning one
of the big ones again.
It will feel long overdue for the ambitious Judd who not
only knows how good he is when he’s at his best but also knows that criticism
and expectation on him have been high. For all these reasons, it is important
he enjoys the win and there is no doubt it sticks one back on his doubters.
This win puts a bit of that to bed for now but the challenge
ahead is for him to go on and keep doing it. He needs to use this as a
springboard to become a serial winner of the biggest titles.
Of course, this is no easy task and doesn’t just become a
formality. Winning the big events is no easy feat and there are so many top
players around with the same ambition.
After a win of this magnitude, it is natural for attention
to turn to April’s World Championship with numerous people posing the question
as to whether Judd can go on and complete the Triple Crown with immediate
effect. While spectators like to use the Masters as a barometer for form ahead
of the Crucible, the last time that a player did actually go on to win in
Sheffield after victory in London is Mark Williams back in 2003.
This doesn’t mean Judd can’t do it, of course but it should be
a reminder that Trump’s win is no guarantee of the floodgates opening for major
wins. In fact, we might have to judge over a longer period of four to five
years of whether this Masters win will prove a catalyst for Judd, in which he
can add a handful more to his collection in the next few years ahead, rather
than it translating to immediate success.
That said, Judd looked ready to win the World Championship
last year. His narrow 13-12 defeat to John Higgins in the quarter-finals was
despite the result a performance which showed he had matured and was getting
closer to achieving the game’s holy grail. This Masters win solidifies this.
Judd can be very proud of his work at Alexandra Palace. He
looked to have that extra bit of fire in the belly you need to win the big
titles and despite taking early leads in all his matches proved that he could
stand up to the pressure of the winning line when it came within sight and his
opponents tried to hook him back in.
There were spells when Trump looked at his free-flowing best
in this event but there were also plenty of moments where he was forced to get
the job done when he wasn’t in top form and this proved pivotal.
His newfound partnership on the practice table with his brother
Jack seems to have resulted in him spending many more hours each week putting
the work in and to earn direct results off the back of this will probably mean
it continues.
His fierce rivalry with Kyren Wilson and drawing him in
round one of this tournament no doubt played a big part too. After a mini run
of defeats to Kyren, he was desperate to reverse that here and as a result came
into the event firing on all cylinders.
Wherever the motivation and drive comes from, it doesn’t
matter. For Judd now, the challenge is to put his foot down and go into his 30s
looking to achieve as much as he can out of his outstanding potential.
Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Tour Qualification routes confirmed for the 2019/2020 season
The WPBSA has today announced the qualification routes for the professional snooker tour in the 2019/2020 season.
As always the top 64 in the world rankings at the end of the current season will remain on tour for at least another year, while 30 players in all are currently on the first year of a two-year tour card and will also stay on tour for next season.
It has also been confirmed that, despite speculation that this would no longer be a route, the top eight players on the one-season list at the end of this season that are not in the top 64 on the two-year list, or one season into a two-year card, will be awarded a fresh two-year tour card.
Once again, 12 players will then be awarded tour cards via Q School and these will again be the four winners of the three events to be held at the end of the season. For the first time, two players will be awarded cards via the new Challenge Tour.
This will be decided by the season-long order of merit and with eight of the 10 events completed, Brandon Sargeant and David Grace are provisionally set to claim tour cards. Event nine is coming up this weekend (26-27 January) at the Star Snooker Academy in Sheffield, while event 10 runs from March 6-7 at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.
The two tour cards allocated to the Challenge Tour replace the cards that were awarded to the winners of the EBSA play-offs in previous years.
Similarly to last year, two tour cards have then been allocated to the CBSA China Tour, the winners of the 2019 European Championship and the 2019 European Under-21 Championship will also receive tour cards along with the WSF Champion. The WPBSA have also confirmed that the WSF Championship runner-up will receive a tour card, something that was not confirmed going into last year's event, though eventual runner-up Adam Stefanow was invited to the tour at a later date.
Finally, the winners of the 2019 Oceania Championship (not awarded a card last year), the 2019 Americas Championship (last awarded a card in 2016) and the 2019 African Championship will all receive two-year tour cards.
Timeline of events:
- 2019 Pan American Snooker Championship - Houston, Texas - January 30-February 3
- 2019 European Under-21 Championship - Eilat, Israel - February 19-22
- 2019 European Men's Championship - Eilat, Isreal - February 23-March 2
- 2018/2019 Challenge Tour, Final event - Gloucester, England - March 6-7
- 2019 Oceania Snooker Championship - New South Wales, Australia - March 14-17
- 2019 WSF Championship - Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE - April 1-7
Top 8 on the one-season list
At the time of writing, the top 8 players on the provisional one-season list (inclusive of German Masters and Indian Open qualifying points) that are neither in the first year of a two-year tour card or currently inside the top 64 on the provisional end-of-season rankings are as follows:
1 - Eden Sharav (34th, £46,600)
2 - Ian Burns (61st, £28,600)
3 - David Lilley (competing as a Q-School top-up) (68th, £22,500)
4 - Rory McLeod (69th, £22,000)
5 - Joe Swail (73rd, £19,600)
6 - Alexander Ursenbacher (77th, £18,600)
7 - Peter Lines (78th, £18,500)
=8 - James Cahill (competing as a Q-School top-up) and Paul Davison (Joint 81st, £16,500)
----------
With a number of events still to go, the chasing pack are tightly bunched, with another four players within £1,400 of Cahill and Davison:
10 - Gerard Greene (83rd, £16,100)
11 - Zhang Yong (84th, £16,000)
12 - Ross Muir (85th, £15,600)
13 - Dominic Dale (87th, £15,100)
This is also subject to a lot of change not just on the one-season list but as players move into or out of the top 64 on the provisional end-of-season list. For example, currently in 66th position is Zhao Xintong who is on the first year of a two-year tour card, but is set to get into the top 64 after one year. Having qualified for the World Grand Prix, the £5,000 he would be guaranteed would take him into the provisional top 64, knocking out Anthony Hamilton.
There's still a long way to go until this will all be decided during the World Championship qualifiers in April, while the next few months will see a number of cards being awarded over the various international amateur competitions starting with the Pan-American Championship.
As always the top 64 in the world rankings at the end of the current season will remain on tour for at least another year, while 30 players in all are currently on the first year of a two-year tour card and will also stay on tour for next season.
It has also been confirmed that, despite speculation that this would no longer be a route, the top eight players on the one-season list at the end of this season that are not in the top 64 on the two-year list, or one season into a two-year card, will be awarded a fresh two-year tour card.
Once again, 12 players will then be awarded tour cards via Q School and these will again be the four winners of the three events to be held at the end of the season. For the first time, two players will be awarded cards via the new Challenge Tour.
This will be decided by the season-long order of merit and with eight of the 10 events completed, Brandon Sargeant and David Grace are provisionally set to claim tour cards. Event nine is coming up this weekend (26-27 January) at the Star Snooker Academy in Sheffield, while event 10 runs from March 6-7 at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.
The two tour cards allocated to the Challenge Tour replace the cards that were awarded to the winners of the EBSA play-offs in previous years.
Similarly to last year, two tour cards have then been allocated to the CBSA China Tour, the winners of the 2019 European Championship and the 2019 European Under-21 Championship will also receive tour cards along with the WSF Champion. The WPBSA have also confirmed that the WSF Championship runner-up will receive a tour card, something that was not confirmed going into last year's event, though eventual runner-up Adam Stefanow was invited to the tour at a later date.
Finally, the winners of the 2019 Oceania Championship (not awarded a card last year), the 2019 Americas Championship (last awarded a card in 2016) and the 2019 African Championship will all receive two-year tour cards.
Timeline of events:
- 2019 Pan American Snooker Championship - Houston, Texas - January 30-February 3
- 2019 European Under-21 Championship - Eilat, Israel - February 19-22
- 2019 European Men's Championship - Eilat, Isreal - February 23-March 2
- 2018/2019 Challenge Tour, Final event - Gloucester, England - March 6-7
- 2019 Oceania Snooker Championship - New South Wales, Australia - March 14-17
- 2019 WSF Championship - Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE - April 1-7
Top 8 on the one-season list
At the time of writing, the top 8 players on the provisional one-season list (inclusive of German Masters and Indian Open qualifying points) that are neither in the first year of a two-year tour card or currently inside the top 64 on the provisional end-of-season rankings are as follows:
1 - Eden Sharav (34th, £46,600)
2 - Ian Burns (61st, £28,600)
3 - David Lilley (competing as a Q-School top-up) (68th, £22,500)
4 - Rory McLeod (69th, £22,000)
5 - Joe Swail (73rd, £19,600)
6 - Alexander Ursenbacher (77th, £18,600)
7 - Peter Lines (78th, £18,500)
=8 - James Cahill (competing as a Q-School top-up) and Paul Davison (Joint 81st, £16,500)
----------
With a number of events still to go, the chasing pack are tightly bunched, with another four players within £1,400 of Cahill and Davison:
10 - Gerard Greene (83rd, £16,100)
11 - Zhang Yong (84th, £16,000)
12 - Ross Muir (85th, £15,600)
13 - Dominic Dale (87th, £15,100)
This is also subject to a lot of change not just on the one-season list but as players move into or out of the top 64 on the provisional end-of-season list. For example, currently in 66th position is Zhao Xintong who is on the first year of a two-year tour card, but is set to get into the top 64 after one year. Having qualified for the World Grand Prix, the £5,000 he would be guaranteed would take him into the provisional top 64, knocking out Anthony Hamilton.
There's still a long way to go until this will all be decided during the World Championship qualifiers in April, while the next few months will see a number of cards being awarded over the various international amateur competitions starting with the Pan-American Championship.
Monday, 21 January 2019
Fantasy Snooker: Masters points and German Masters info
The second double points event of the season has come to a close and it has made a big difference to those in the running for this year's fantasy snooker title. Not only has Judd Trump's victory given defending champion Kellie Barker the lead once again in the standings, but she was joined by three other participants who fired up the standings by combining a pick on Trump by selecting losing finalist Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The others to select Trump and O'Sullivan were Phil Mudd (up to joint 8th from 19th), Kim Kristensen (up to 12th from joint 23rd) and Daniel Gavin (up to 15th from 27th). It remains tight though with the top four in the standings being separated by just 30 points, while each of the top nine in the standings are within 100 points, so a couple of good weeks for the chasing pack or a couple of bad weeks for the leaders could see the standings changing once more.
STANDINGS AFTER THE MASTERS:
Next up in the Fantasy League is the German Masters and the deadline for picks there falls on Wednesday 30 January at 1pm before the first matches at the venue get underway. The qualifiers for this one were played just prior to Christmas meaning there are 32 players heading to Berlin with a shot at the title. Those that have a season pick in the 32 for Berlin will receive points from the last 128 and last 64 matches for that player (not shown in the above table).
Immediately following the German Masters will be the World Grand Prix and the draw for this event will only be confirmed after the event in Berlin has been completed so keep a close eye on that ahead of further upcoming picks in what will be a busy February on the baize. Don't forget in all of the busyness that you can only select a player three times over the course of the season and with a few top players missing from the German Masters draw, this week may be a good opportunity to look outside of the box a touch.
The others to select Trump and O'Sullivan were Phil Mudd (up to joint 8th from 19th), Kim Kristensen (up to 12th from joint 23rd) and Daniel Gavin (up to 15th from 27th). It remains tight though with the top four in the standings being separated by just 30 points, while each of the top nine in the standings are within 100 points, so a couple of good weeks for the chasing pack or a couple of bad weeks for the leaders could see the standings changing once more.
STANDINGS AFTER THE MASTERS:
Kellie Barker 789
Matt Butler 779
Daz Muckian 762
Ryan Duckett 759
Rob Chipp 735
FAM147 701
LTD Syndicate 695
Cluster of Reds 693
Phil Mudd 693
Stephen McCabe 681
Tungsten Darts 674
Kim Kristensen 672
Andy (APB147) 661
Rob Francis 650
Daniel Gavin 642
Shaun Hunt 634
Munraj Pal 629
Debbie Dymott 625
Voihelevettisua 609
Anatole Compton 608
Alex Abrahams 605
Anthony (antow73) 604
Dani M (esnukero) 602
Daniela Reich 595
Chris Watts 584
Phil Robinson 581
Martin Pearlman 559
The Cue View 536
Steven Bunn 530
Pete Tscherewik 527
Kelvin Platten 456
Andrew Devonshire 452
Markus 450
Next up in the Fantasy League is the German Masters and the deadline for picks there falls on Wednesday 30 January at 1pm before the first matches at the venue get underway. The qualifiers for this one were played just prior to Christmas meaning there are 32 players heading to Berlin with a shot at the title. Those that have a season pick in the 32 for Berlin will receive points from the last 128 and last 64 matches for that player (not shown in the above table).
Immediately following the German Masters will be the World Grand Prix and the draw for this event will only be confirmed after the event in Berlin has been completed so keep a close eye on that ahead of further upcoming picks in what will be a busy February on the baize. Don't forget in all of the busyness that you can only select a player three times over the course of the season and with a few top players missing from the German Masters draw, this week may be a good opportunity to look outside of the box a touch.
Thursday, 17 January 2019
World champion Mark Williams falls short at the Master while Mark Selby flourishes
World Champion Mark Williams has fallen at the first hurdle in the 2019 Masters after letting a 3-1 lead slip, losing five frames in a row to fall 6-3 to Neil Robertson. Mark Selby meanwhile made three century breaks as well as further breaks of 95 and 96 on the way to an emphatic 6-2 victory against Stephen Maguire in what was by far the performance of the round.
Robertson had not been without chances in the opening four frames, but without setting the world alight it was Williams who took the early advantage. The tide turned in frame five though when Williams casually missed frame ball brown to lead 4-1, instead shooting himself in the foot as Robertson produced an exceptional 59 clearance to get back into the match and fully punish the poor play from Williams.
From there, Robertson began to find his stride, making a break of 102 in the next frame to level the match, before a break of 69 in the seventh put him ahead for the first time at 4-3, with Williams only scoring two points up from 57-0 ahead in frame five to falling behind. There was another killer blow in the eighth as he missed a chance to level the match, his break of 53 not doing enough to make it 4-4 and another tight frame would go the way of Robertson who moved one frame from victory. In the clinical fashion of a former champion, Robertson closed out the match with a fine break of 88, to progress to Friday's quarter-final.
Also in fine scoring form was three-time Masters champion Mark Selby as he demolished Stephen Maguire 6-2. After a long and scrappy opening frame went to Maguire on the colours, Selby quickly found his range responding with a break of 115 to swiftly level up the scores. In the third, the world number one moved ahead with a break of 95, missing the brown for the chance of consecutive centuries. He only had to wait until the next frame though to bring up three figures again, with a superb 125 clearance putting him 3-1 ahead at the interval in emphatic style.
Another frame of over half an hour went to the Scotsman after the interval to keep him in the match, but there was simply nothing he could do about Selby's scoring. Frame six saw the highest break of the match as Selby made a 133 to restore his two frame advantage, before a run of 96 where the world number one missed the black for his fourth century of the night made it 5-2. There were no big breaks to finish up but the damage had already been done long before the eighth and final frame, and Selby laid down his marker for a fourth Masters title with a very convincing 6-2 win.
Selby will now face Judd Trump who came through the 'grudge match' against Kyren Wilson in equally as comfortable fashion. 12 months ago Trump had blown a 5-2 lead against Wilson in the semi-final at Ally Pally and further losses to Wilson since would have fired him up to finally get one over on him. On the day though it was fairly easy pickings for the left-hander who started with a break of 128 as Wilson did not even pot a ball until he was 2-0 down. In that third frame though he relinquished a 57 point advantage as Trump cleared with 58 in a crucial frame that moved him 3-0 up, before a break of 81 made it 4-0. Another big opportunity came and went for Wilson in the fifth and the bad miss that cost him that frame also cost him any chances of a comeback as he fell 5-0 adrift. The warrior battled hard to win the next two frames, particularly the seventh after Trump had chances to close out the match, but there was to be no repeat of last year and a run of 72 in the next frame was enough to close out a 6-2 win.
In very similar style, 2016 runner-up Barry Hawkins progressed to a quarter-final with Neil Robertson by beating 2015 Masters champion Shaun Murphy. Hawkins took the opening two frames after missed opportunities for Murphy, who was not at the races early on in the match at all. Then, sensing the weakness in his opponent, Hawkins stretched his lead with breaks of 86 and 124 to take a massive 4-0 lead at the mid-session lead. The fifth would also go the way of the left-hander aided by a break of 60 as a humbling night continued for Murphy.
He was able to get a frame on the board with a break of 74 in the sixth, as the Magician jokingly took a bow to the crowd after avoiding the whitewash. Frame seven followed and then the eighth came down to the colours as Hawkins was perhaps starting to sweat a little. Murphy snookered himself on the yellow though and was then put into a far worse snooker by Hawkins, who would then clear from yellow to an impressive shot on match ball blue to close out what in the end was still an easy evenings work.
Quarter-Final draw (Bottom Half)
Mark Selby Vs Judd Trump (Friday 18 January - 1pm)
Barry Hawkins Vs Neil Robertson (Friday 18 January - 7pm)
The first quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw sees Mark Selby face Judd Trump in what should be an excellent contest. Trump looked fresh and well-prepared for his match yesterday against Wilson but was still not quite at the level we know he can reach and he may well need to make that step up to beat the world number one. Selby played as well as he has all season in defeating Stephen Maguire 6-2. He made five breaks of at least 95 in a best-of-11 which will beat anyone on the planet and showed why he is a three time winner of this event. Selby will be fresh and raring to go having disappointed in the triple crown events in 2018, a first round loss at the UK Championship, followed by skipping the Scottish Open meaning that he had almost all of December off. The head-to-head between these two is even, at 5-5 in matches outside of the Championship League, though three of Selby's wins came prior to Trump's breakthrough in the 2011 China Open, where he beat Selby in the final. The last major meeting between the pair was well over two years ago though with Trump winning 6-2 in the 2016 European Masters semi-final. Overall, if Selby plays close to how he did against Stephen Maguire, he may get a closer contest out of Trump but you have to give the number one player the slight edge.
Then Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins will complete the quarter-final action on Friday night in what is another intriguing contest. Both were emphatic winners in their first round matches but against below par opposition, making this a much tough proposition for both guys. Hawkins looked solid as ever against Murphy, even if he did stutter a little towards the winning line but if Robertson continues scoring as he has been this season then he will take some beating. When he sensed the opportunity at 3-1 down against Williams he made an excellent clearance and then hammered home the advantage he had picked up from that mentally by producing the heavy scoring that has been the trademark of his career. Outside of the Championship League, these two have met ten times in total, with Robertson winning six to give him the slight edge on the head-to-head. Hawkins however, has won three of the last four against Robertson, including a 10-6 win in the semi-finals of the 2018 China Open and a famous 13-12 victory in the 2015 World Championship quarter-finals. This is another incredibly tough match to call and it would not be any surprise if they needed a deciding frame to find the winner.
All the quarter-final matches will be played over the best-of-11 frames, ahead of two further best-of-11 semi-final matches on Saturday.
Robertson had not been without chances in the opening four frames, but without setting the world alight it was Williams who took the early advantage. The tide turned in frame five though when Williams casually missed frame ball brown to lead 4-1, instead shooting himself in the foot as Robertson produced an exceptional 59 clearance to get back into the match and fully punish the poor play from Williams.
From there, Robertson began to find his stride, making a break of 102 in the next frame to level the match, before a break of 69 in the seventh put him ahead for the first time at 4-3, with Williams only scoring two points up from 57-0 ahead in frame five to falling behind. There was another killer blow in the eighth as he missed a chance to level the match, his break of 53 not doing enough to make it 4-4 and another tight frame would go the way of Robertson who moved one frame from victory. In the clinical fashion of a former champion, Robertson closed out the match with a fine break of 88, to progress to Friday's quarter-final.
Also in fine scoring form was three-time Masters champion Mark Selby as he demolished Stephen Maguire 6-2. After a long and scrappy opening frame went to Maguire on the colours, Selby quickly found his range responding with a break of 115 to swiftly level up the scores. In the third, the world number one moved ahead with a break of 95, missing the brown for the chance of consecutive centuries. He only had to wait until the next frame though to bring up three figures again, with a superb 125 clearance putting him 3-1 ahead at the interval in emphatic style.
Another frame of over half an hour went to the Scotsman after the interval to keep him in the match, but there was simply nothing he could do about Selby's scoring. Frame six saw the highest break of the match as Selby made a 133 to restore his two frame advantage, before a run of 96 where the world number one missed the black for his fourth century of the night made it 5-2. There were no big breaks to finish up but the damage had already been done long before the eighth and final frame, and Selby laid down his marker for a fourth Masters title with a very convincing 6-2 win.
Selby will now face Judd Trump who came through the 'grudge match' against Kyren Wilson in equally as comfortable fashion. 12 months ago Trump had blown a 5-2 lead against Wilson in the semi-final at Ally Pally and further losses to Wilson since would have fired him up to finally get one over on him. On the day though it was fairly easy pickings for the left-hander who started with a break of 128 as Wilson did not even pot a ball until he was 2-0 down. In that third frame though he relinquished a 57 point advantage as Trump cleared with 58 in a crucial frame that moved him 3-0 up, before a break of 81 made it 4-0. Another big opportunity came and went for Wilson in the fifth and the bad miss that cost him that frame also cost him any chances of a comeback as he fell 5-0 adrift. The warrior battled hard to win the next two frames, particularly the seventh after Trump had chances to close out the match, but there was to be no repeat of last year and a run of 72 in the next frame was enough to close out a 6-2 win.
In very similar style, 2016 runner-up Barry Hawkins progressed to a quarter-final with Neil Robertson by beating 2015 Masters champion Shaun Murphy. Hawkins took the opening two frames after missed opportunities for Murphy, who was not at the races early on in the match at all. Then, sensing the weakness in his opponent, Hawkins stretched his lead with breaks of 86 and 124 to take a massive 4-0 lead at the mid-session lead. The fifth would also go the way of the left-hander aided by a break of 60 as a humbling night continued for Murphy.
He was able to get a frame on the board with a break of 74 in the sixth, as the Magician jokingly took a bow to the crowd after avoiding the whitewash. Frame seven followed and then the eighth came down to the colours as Hawkins was perhaps starting to sweat a little. Murphy snookered himself on the yellow though and was then put into a far worse snooker by Hawkins, who would then clear from yellow to an impressive shot on match ball blue to close out what in the end was still an easy evenings work.
Quarter-Final draw (Bottom Half)
Mark Selby Vs Judd Trump (Friday 18 January - 1pm)
Barry Hawkins Vs Neil Robertson (Friday 18 January - 7pm)
The first quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw sees Mark Selby face Judd Trump in what should be an excellent contest. Trump looked fresh and well-prepared for his match yesterday against Wilson but was still not quite at the level we know he can reach and he may well need to make that step up to beat the world number one. Selby played as well as he has all season in defeating Stephen Maguire 6-2. He made five breaks of at least 95 in a best-of-11 which will beat anyone on the planet and showed why he is a three time winner of this event. Selby will be fresh and raring to go having disappointed in the triple crown events in 2018, a first round loss at the UK Championship, followed by skipping the Scottish Open meaning that he had almost all of December off. The head-to-head between these two is even, at 5-5 in matches outside of the Championship League, though three of Selby's wins came prior to Trump's breakthrough in the 2011 China Open, where he beat Selby in the final. The last major meeting between the pair was well over two years ago though with Trump winning 6-2 in the 2016 European Masters semi-final. Overall, if Selby plays close to how he did against Stephen Maguire, he may get a closer contest out of Trump but you have to give the number one player the slight edge.
Then Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins will complete the quarter-final action on Friday night in what is another intriguing contest. Both were emphatic winners in their first round matches but against below par opposition, making this a much tough proposition for both guys. Hawkins looked solid as ever against Murphy, even if he did stutter a little towards the winning line but if Robertson continues scoring as he has been this season then he will take some beating. When he sensed the opportunity at 3-1 down against Williams he made an excellent clearance and then hammered home the advantage he had picked up from that mentally by producing the heavy scoring that has been the trademark of his career. Outside of the Championship League, these two have met ten times in total, with Robertson winning six to give him the slight edge on the head-to-head. Hawkins however, has won three of the last four against Robertson, including a 10-6 win in the semi-finals of the 2018 China Open and a famous 13-12 victory in the 2015 World Championship quarter-finals. This is another incredibly tough match to call and it would not be any surprise if they needed a deciding frame to find the winner.
All the quarter-final matches will be played over the best-of-11 frames, ahead of two further best-of-11 semi-final matches on Saturday.
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
Defending Master Mark Allen beaten while Ronnie O'Sullivan progresses
Defending champion Mark Allen has been defeated in the first round of the Masters, but Ronnie O'Sullivan has progressed to the quarter-finals after the completion of the first four matches in London.
Allen was a strong favourite to defeat Belgian Luca Brecel, who is 37th on the provisional one-season ranking list compared to Allen who has led the way this season, but it was Brecel that found his form and came through 6-5.
Breaks of 75 and 50 featured from Brecel in the opening four frames as he took a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval, but the scoring really hit another level after the break. Allen came storming back with a break of 96 followed by a 136 total clearance to level the scores at 3-3. Brecel then made the highest break of the match and set a very good early tournament high break target with a stunning 140 to move back ahead.
A run of 83 from Allen put him back level, but he could not steer ahead as the former China Champion moved 5-4 ahead aided by an 88 contribution. Allen fell one short of a second century, with a 99 break to force the final frame shoot-out. An excellent long pot started Brecel's early break of 58 but Allen had the chance to counter later in the frame, before going in-off on a thin cut on the brown and Brecel would eventually get over the line.
Masters specialist Ronnie O'Sullivan had no such problems as he defeated Stuart Bingham with ease 6-2. Bingham took a scrappy opener but never looked likely from that point on and did not perform to the level required to test O'Sullivan. The run of 96 that put O'Sullivan 2-1 was the moment the reigning UK champion found his form, following that with centuries either side of the interval. Those runs of 134 and 111 take him up to 988 career centuries, before a 60 break aided him in moving within a frame of victory at 5-1. Bingham kept O'Sullivan at bay with a run of 71 to get a second on the board and he looked like extending the match further before falling short on 62 in the ninth. That sparked a 66 counter clearance for O'Sullivan to force a re-spotted black, which he went on to win in order to seal victory.
Another former Masters champion was not so fortunate though as John Higgins fell in a final frame decider to Ryan Day. After losing a tight opener and another tight fourth frame in which he had chances to draw level, Day found himself 3-1 down at the interval. From there though, Higgins would only score another 10 points in the next three frames as Day found his scoring boots. A break of 52 was enough to secure the fifth frame, before following it up with a sublime 111 and a further 83 to move 4-3 up. Higgins drew level at 4-4, but only before Day would win a crucial frame nine after excellent pots on pink and black after a long battle on the colours. Higgins was not to be discouraged though, forcing a decider by comfortably taking the tenth. He did not get a match winning chance as Day was at his clinical best in the eleventh. A sensational long pot got him in first and left him perfect on the black and he would go from strength to strength, finishing with a sublime 128 break to move into the quarter-finals.
The first half of the opening round came to a close as Ding Junhui defeated Masters debutant Jack Lisowski 6-1, but the scoreline alone does not tell you the full story. Lisowski had clear cut chances in almost every frame that Ding won. Starting in the opener, Lisowski missed a straightforward black to leave Ding in and he took advantage of what Lisowski left with a break of 66 to take the opener. Then in the second, Lisowski missed the final red into the middle and paved the way for Ding to lead 2-0. Frame three came down to the pink and black, with Lisowski only needing the pink to take the frame. The left-hander narrowly missed out on three long attempts on the pink but the frame would go to Ding after an excellent long pot of his own followed by a fine cut on the black.
The fourth frame was another bad one for Lisowski as he took a commanding early lead before Ding got away with misses late on in the frame, before eventually taking that one on the black as well to lead 4-0. The one bright spark from either player came in frame five when Ding made the match high break of 123 to move 5-0 up. Lisowski did show the battling qualities to avoid a whitewash with a run of 60 helping him in taking frame six and he could have extended the match further, but for a casual miss when in amongst the balls in frame seven, leaving everything on for Ding. The Chinese number one made enough to leave Lisowski needing a snooker, completing a 6-1 win that could have been very different.
So already in the quarter-finals, we have two former champions taking on two slightly less established winners at this level.
Quarter-Final draw (Top half):
Ding Junhui Vs Luca Brecel (Thursday 17 January - 7pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ryan Day (Thursday 17 January - 1pm)
In all likelihood now, most will be expecting an O'Sullivan Vs Ding semi-final but Day and Brecel will certainly have something to say about that. Brecel performed to a much higher level than Ding did in the opening round and while his form this season may not suggest a big run in this event, the Belgian is a very streaky player that could now be about to get on a very hot run. Ding looked far from convincing and had it not been for the potential nerves of Masters debutant Lisowski who missed a boat-load of chances, the 2011 champion could be on his way home again. That match was only the second Ding has won since lifting the trophy in 2011 (the year before the event moved to its current home) so he clearly has a vulnerability at Ally Pally and Brecel can exploit that if he scores as well as he did against Allen.
As for O'Sullivan and Day, the Welshman showed a lot of bottle in the deciding frame century he made against a star player in John Higgins and that is just the confidence boost a player needs before taking on the most daunting task on the planet. Playing O'Sullivan is tough enough at the best of times, but doing so in front of such a big crowd of which 99% will be supporting O'Sullivan is almost an impossible mission. O'Sullivan looked very solid in round one, without having to be spectacular against Bingham and you would not think he would need to go through too many gears in order to see off Day, unless the former Riga Masters champion is in flawless form.
There are still four first round matches to enjoy on Tuesday and Wednesday in the bottom half of the draw, and to see my thoughts on those take a look at quarters 3 and 4 in my initial Masters preview here
Allen was a strong favourite to defeat Belgian Luca Brecel, who is 37th on the provisional one-season ranking list compared to Allen who has led the way this season, but it was Brecel that found his form and came through 6-5.
Breaks of 75 and 50 featured from Brecel in the opening four frames as he took a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval, but the scoring really hit another level after the break. Allen came storming back with a break of 96 followed by a 136 total clearance to level the scores at 3-3. Brecel then made the highest break of the match and set a very good early tournament high break target with a stunning 140 to move back ahead.
A run of 83 from Allen put him back level, but he could not steer ahead as the former China Champion moved 5-4 ahead aided by an 88 contribution. Allen fell one short of a second century, with a 99 break to force the final frame shoot-out. An excellent long pot started Brecel's early break of 58 but Allen had the chance to counter later in the frame, before going in-off on a thin cut on the brown and Brecel would eventually get over the line.
Masters specialist Ronnie O'Sullivan had no such problems as he defeated Stuart Bingham with ease 6-2. Bingham took a scrappy opener but never looked likely from that point on and did not perform to the level required to test O'Sullivan. The run of 96 that put O'Sullivan 2-1 was the moment the reigning UK champion found his form, following that with centuries either side of the interval. Those runs of 134 and 111 take him up to 988 career centuries, before a 60 break aided him in moving within a frame of victory at 5-1. Bingham kept O'Sullivan at bay with a run of 71 to get a second on the board and he looked like extending the match further before falling short on 62 in the ninth. That sparked a 66 counter clearance for O'Sullivan to force a re-spotted black, which he went on to win in order to seal victory.
Another former Masters champion was not so fortunate though as John Higgins fell in a final frame decider to Ryan Day. After losing a tight opener and another tight fourth frame in which he had chances to draw level, Day found himself 3-1 down at the interval. From there though, Higgins would only score another 10 points in the next three frames as Day found his scoring boots. A break of 52 was enough to secure the fifth frame, before following it up with a sublime 111 and a further 83 to move 4-3 up. Higgins drew level at 4-4, but only before Day would win a crucial frame nine after excellent pots on pink and black after a long battle on the colours. Higgins was not to be discouraged though, forcing a decider by comfortably taking the tenth. He did not get a match winning chance as Day was at his clinical best in the eleventh. A sensational long pot got him in first and left him perfect on the black and he would go from strength to strength, finishing with a sublime 128 break to move into the quarter-finals.
The first half of the opening round came to a close as Ding Junhui defeated Masters debutant Jack Lisowski 6-1, but the scoreline alone does not tell you the full story. Lisowski had clear cut chances in almost every frame that Ding won. Starting in the opener, Lisowski missed a straightforward black to leave Ding in and he took advantage of what Lisowski left with a break of 66 to take the opener. Then in the second, Lisowski missed the final red into the middle and paved the way for Ding to lead 2-0. Frame three came down to the pink and black, with Lisowski only needing the pink to take the frame. The left-hander narrowly missed out on three long attempts on the pink but the frame would go to Ding after an excellent long pot of his own followed by a fine cut on the black.
The fourth frame was another bad one for Lisowski as he took a commanding early lead before Ding got away with misses late on in the frame, before eventually taking that one on the black as well to lead 4-0. The one bright spark from either player came in frame five when Ding made the match high break of 123 to move 5-0 up. Lisowski did show the battling qualities to avoid a whitewash with a run of 60 helping him in taking frame six and he could have extended the match further, but for a casual miss when in amongst the balls in frame seven, leaving everything on for Ding. The Chinese number one made enough to leave Lisowski needing a snooker, completing a 6-1 win that could have been very different.
So already in the quarter-finals, we have two former champions taking on two slightly less established winners at this level.
Quarter-Final draw (Top half):
Ding Junhui Vs Luca Brecel (Thursday 17 January - 7pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ryan Day (Thursday 17 January - 1pm)
In all likelihood now, most will be expecting an O'Sullivan Vs Ding semi-final but Day and Brecel will certainly have something to say about that. Brecel performed to a much higher level than Ding did in the opening round and while his form this season may not suggest a big run in this event, the Belgian is a very streaky player that could now be about to get on a very hot run. Ding looked far from convincing and had it not been for the potential nerves of Masters debutant Lisowski who missed a boat-load of chances, the 2011 champion could be on his way home again. That match was only the second Ding has won since lifting the trophy in 2011 (the year before the event moved to its current home) so he clearly has a vulnerability at Ally Pally and Brecel can exploit that if he scores as well as he did against Allen.
As for O'Sullivan and Day, the Welshman showed a lot of bottle in the deciding frame century he made against a star player in John Higgins and that is just the confidence boost a player needs before taking on the most daunting task on the planet. Playing O'Sullivan is tough enough at the best of times, but doing so in front of such a big crowd of which 99% will be supporting O'Sullivan is almost an impossible mission. O'Sullivan looked very solid in round one, without having to be spectacular against Bingham and you would not think he would need to go through too many gears in order to see off Day, unless the former Riga Masters champion is in flawless form.
There are still four first round matches to enjoy on Tuesday and Wednesday in the bottom half of the draw, and to see my thoughts on those take a look at quarters 3 and 4 in my initial Masters preview here
Friday, 11 January 2019
THE BIG MASTERS PREVIEW
The snooker year of 2019 kicks into top gear this week as the top 16 players on the world ranking list descend on London's Alexandra Palace for the Masters. The year's first triple crown event is one packed full of worthy contenders.
The season's first triple crown title went to Ronnie O'Sullivan as he defeated Mark Allen to win the UK Championships in December, and it is Allen that is the defending champion in the capital after his epic victory against Kyren Wilson in the final 12 months ago.
Allen and O'Sullivan are joined by a further 6 former Masters champions, while only one of the 16 players in Jack Lisowski is making his first appearance in the event, so there is big tournament winning experience everywhere you look.
As well as Lisowski breaking into the top 16, Stephen Maguire is back where he belongs, qualifying for the Masters again after a two year absence. Stuart Bingham is also back after being suspended for this event last year, while Neil Robertson was also absent 12 months ago after dropping out of the top 16 for the most important week of the year (before immediately retaking his place with a win in Scotland).
Those four replace Anthony McGill, Marco Fu, Ali Carter and Liang Wenbo in the four changes to the line-up from 2018. Plenty of drama can be expected once again and some top quality snooker from the 16 best players that the game has to offer.
Three-time Masters champion and world number one Mark Selby features in the last of the first round matches on Wednesday evening taking on Stephen Maguire. Selby has not had the brightest start to the season in some peoples eyes, though he has won a big Chinese title in the early part of the season. The disappointment for him will come from another early York exit, this time at the hands of James Cahill in the last 128 round. One thing he does have is a slight edge against Maguire in the head-to-head, as well as winning their two previous matches in this event back in 2008 and 2010. Maguire's comeback in the last 16 of the UK Championship against Mark Williams showed that he can still produce the goods on the big stage, but Selby has all the tools to frustrate the hotheaded Scotsman. Given that he has not gone beyond the quarters since 2014, it would be easy to forget that Selby made the final of this event in five of his first seven attempts, while Maguire himself has lost in the first round here in four of his last six appearances. Unless Selby is really off his game in this one, you have to think that Maguire will need to be at his very best to come through.
The other tie in this third quarter is the one that has caught everyone's eye given their track record. The needle between Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson has really gone up a notch in recent months and both will be giving everything they've got to put the other in their place. Trump overcame Wilson twice in the recent Championship League groups, but without a big match atmosphere and much more on the line it is hard to use that as any kind of guide whatsoever. When it has mattered, Wilson has won the last four non-Championship League meetings against Trump, 6-1 in the Champion of Champions, 6-2 in the Shanghai Masters, 4-2 in the Romanian Masters and of course 6-5 from 5-2 down in the Masters semi-final last year. In all that means he has won 20 of their last 25 frames played outside of the Championship League and one of the matches in their head-to-head that may be forgotten is the 2015 Shanghai Masters final which Wilson won 10-9, another massive match where Wilson has got the better of Trump.
The danger for both players given the animosity between them is that they end up trying too hard, fail to produce their best which could result in a scrappy encounter or one player having a runaway win, or indeed taking so much out of themselves that they scupper their chances of going on and winning the title. In all honesty, this feels like a much bigger match for Trump than it does for Wilson. The left-hander has a few points to prove. First off he needs to beat Wilson in a big match because the record between them does not make for pretty reading. Then there is the much bigger task of having a big run in a triple crown event. This is his eighth Masters in a row and it is somewhat surprising that is yet to appear in the final, because on paper it is an event that should suit him down to the ground. He has had three semi-final appearances, but at the same time he has had three first round exits in the last five years at the Palace. This will also be his 22nd triple crown event since winning the 2011 UK Championships and he has only been in one final (the 2014 UK Championship) out of the previous 21, another huge surprise.
In all, Selby's Masters record is the stand out of those in this quarter and he will be hungry for a big run after the disappointment of the UK Championship. If Trump and Wilson's match is as much of a tight battle as anticipated, then Selby could be the benefactor if the winner of that clash shows any mental fatigue in the quarter-final.
The season's first triple crown title went to Ronnie O'Sullivan as he defeated Mark Allen to win the UK Championships in December, and it is Allen that is the defending champion in the capital after his epic victory against Kyren Wilson in the final 12 months ago.
Allen and O'Sullivan are joined by a further 6 former Masters champions, while only one of the 16 players in Jack Lisowski is making his first appearance in the event, so there is big tournament winning experience everywhere you look.
As well as Lisowski breaking into the top 16, Stephen Maguire is back where he belongs, qualifying for the Masters again after a two year absence. Stuart Bingham is also back after being suspended for this event last year, while Neil Robertson was also absent 12 months ago after dropping out of the top 16 for the most important week of the year (before immediately retaking his place with a win in Scotland).
Those four replace Anthony McGill, Marco Fu, Ali Carter and Liang Wenbo in the four changes to the line-up from 2018. Plenty of drama can be expected once again and some top quality snooker from the 16 best players that the game has to offer.
Quarter 1
First round draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Allen Vs Luca Brecel (Sunday 13 January - 1pm)
Ding Junhui Vs Jack Lisowski (Monday 14 January - 7pm)
Defending champion Mark Allen opens up the tournament on Sunday afternoon with a repeat of the match that got him underway 12 months ago, as he takes on Luca Brecel. The Belgian fell down 6-3 on that occasion and his form has gotten progressively worse from that point on as he suffered a torrid 2018, failing to make a single world ranking event quarter-final. For Brecel, who is winless from four previous outings against Allen, winning this one would be a fantastic result, while the Northern Irishman will have serious aspirations of defending his title. Marches to victory at the International Championship and the recent Scottish Open will have him full of confidence, while Ronnie O'Sullivan was the only man who could stop him in York, as Allen had to settle for second prize at the UK Championship.
The other match in this top quarter sees debutant Jack Lisowski take on 2011 Masters champion Ding Junhui. That opening line may give you false ideas about how this match may go, but the season Lisowski has had to rise into the top 16, coupled with Ding's Masters record since the tournament moved to the Alexandra Palace in 2012 tell an entirely different tale. This will be Ding's eighth Masters in all since he lifted the illustrious trophy and he has managed just one match win in that time. Interestingly, he mentioned after a loss to Shaun Murphy in 2014 that he perhaps did not put enough work in over Christmas in order to give the tournament a good enough go and that quote has stood out ever since. Put that alongside a heavily reduced schedule this season since the birth of his first child and a fairly average season altogether and it is hard to see him as a firm contender this week. Lisowski though has a great chance in this match. He's been excellent this season, making his first ranking final in the season's opening event in Riga, before making the semi-finals of the International Championship and generally looking altogether more consistent than he ever has. His dedication has shone at the start of the 2019, lining up in group one of the Championship League (on New Year's Day) making the final of that group before winning group two.
All things considered, Allen is certainly the form man of this section while Lisowski certainly has an outside chance as long as he does not suffer any debutant nerves early on against Ding.
The other match in this top quarter sees debutant Jack Lisowski take on 2011 Masters champion Ding Junhui. That opening line may give you false ideas about how this match may go, but the season Lisowski has had to rise into the top 16, coupled with Ding's Masters record since the tournament moved to the Alexandra Palace in 2012 tell an entirely different tale. This will be Ding's eighth Masters in all since he lifted the illustrious trophy and he has managed just one match win in that time. Interestingly, he mentioned after a loss to Shaun Murphy in 2014 that he perhaps did not put enough work in over Christmas in order to give the tournament a good enough go and that quote has stood out ever since. Put that alongside a heavily reduced schedule this season since the birth of his first child and a fairly average season altogether and it is hard to see him as a firm contender this week. Lisowski though has a great chance in this match. He's been excellent this season, making his first ranking final in the season's opening event in Riga, before making the semi-finals of the International Championship and generally looking altogether more consistent than he ever has. His dedication has shone at the start of the 2019, lining up in group one of the Championship League (on New Year's Day) making the final of that group before winning group two.
All things considered, Allen is certainly the form man of this section while Lisowski certainly has an outside chance as long as he does not suffer any debutant nerves early on against Ding.
Quarter choice: Mark Allen
Quarter 2
First round draw: (Picks in bold)
John Higgins Vs Ryan Day (Sunday 13 January - 7pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Stuart Bingham (Monday 14 January 1pm)
The opening game in this quarter between John Higgins and Ryan Day looks like a really tight affair and one that could hang on a knife edge. In the head-to-head, Higgins may lead the way overall but their last four meetings have been shared, with both of the last two going to deciding frames (Day winning 6-5 in Shanghai and Higgins 4-3 in Coventry). They did meet in the quarter-finals of this event 12 months ago when Higgins ran out 6-1 but his form this season does not point towards a repeat scoreline here. Early exits at the UK and International Championship are the stand out disappointments for a player that has spoken about retirement and losing his motivation with the game, after a second successive World Final defeat last May. Day has hardly set the world alight this season either, with a string of quarter-finals that could have become much more. The question here is whether either player turns up on the day. Day has been known to blow hot and cold at the best of times, while Higgins self-proclaimed lack of motivation may have resulted in a lack of practice time over the Christmas period.
Then on Monday afternoon, it is over to Masters legend Ronnie O'Sullivan and former world champion Stuart Bingham. Overall, the pair have met 17 times, though Bingham has only registered three victories in that time. One of those was the 2015 world quarter-final that inspired Bingham to his world title, though the three meetings since have all gone in O'Sullivan's favour. One of those was a semi-final at this event in 2016 which Ronnie won 6-3, while the other two were this season in Shanghai (6-2 O'Sullivan) and Coventry (4-2 O'Sullivan). Bingham may have had a strong season winning the English Open and making the UK Championship semi-finals, but O'Sullivan has been at the latter stages in every tournament he has played in. A winner at the Shanghai Masters, semi-finalist in the English Open, winner again at the Champion of Champions, finalist in Northern Ireland and then winning the UK Championship. A reduced schedule is helping him to contend in all the big events and helping him to stay motivated and he will be hungry for yet more Masters glory in front of his home fans.
In all, Bingham will most likely fall short against O'Sullivan, while either Higgins or Day would massively have to up their form from the first half of the season in order to get anywhere near him in the quarter-final. O'Sullivan is a firm favourite to lift the trophy next Sunday and the way he has played this season, it is hard to go against that.
Then on Monday afternoon, it is over to Masters legend Ronnie O'Sullivan and former world champion Stuart Bingham. Overall, the pair have met 17 times, though Bingham has only registered three victories in that time. One of those was the 2015 world quarter-final that inspired Bingham to his world title, though the three meetings since have all gone in O'Sullivan's favour. One of those was a semi-final at this event in 2016 which Ronnie won 6-3, while the other two were this season in Shanghai (6-2 O'Sullivan) and Coventry (4-2 O'Sullivan). Bingham may have had a strong season winning the English Open and making the UK Championship semi-finals, but O'Sullivan has been at the latter stages in every tournament he has played in. A winner at the Shanghai Masters, semi-finalist in the English Open, winner again at the Champion of Champions, finalist in Northern Ireland and then winning the UK Championship. A reduced schedule is helping him to contend in all the big events and helping him to stay motivated and he will be hungry for yet more Masters glory in front of his home fans.
In all, Bingham will most likely fall short against O'Sullivan, while either Higgins or Day would massively have to up their form from the first half of the season in order to get anywhere near him in the quarter-final. O'Sullivan is a firm favourite to lift the trophy next Sunday and the way he has played this season, it is hard to go against that.
Quarter choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan
Quarter 3
First round draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Stephen Maguire (Wednesday 16 January - 7pm)
Judd Trump Vs Kyren Wilson (Wednesday 16 January - 1pm)
Three-time Masters champion and world number one Mark Selby features in the last of the first round matches on Wednesday evening taking on Stephen Maguire. Selby has not had the brightest start to the season in some peoples eyes, though he has won a big Chinese title in the early part of the season. The disappointment for him will come from another early York exit, this time at the hands of James Cahill in the last 128 round. One thing he does have is a slight edge against Maguire in the head-to-head, as well as winning their two previous matches in this event back in 2008 and 2010. Maguire's comeback in the last 16 of the UK Championship against Mark Williams showed that he can still produce the goods on the big stage, but Selby has all the tools to frustrate the hotheaded Scotsman. Given that he has not gone beyond the quarters since 2014, it would be easy to forget that Selby made the final of this event in five of his first seven attempts, while Maguire himself has lost in the first round here in four of his last six appearances. Unless Selby is really off his game in this one, you have to think that Maguire will need to be at his very best to come through.
The other tie in this third quarter is the one that has caught everyone's eye given their track record. The needle between Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson has really gone up a notch in recent months and both will be giving everything they've got to put the other in their place. Trump overcame Wilson twice in the recent Championship League groups, but without a big match atmosphere and much more on the line it is hard to use that as any kind of guide whatsoever. When it has mattered, Wilson has won the last four non-Championship League meetings against Trump, 6-1 in the Champion of Champions, 6-2 in the Shanghai Masters, 4-2 in the Romanian Masters and of course 6-5 from 5-2 down in the Masters semi-final last year. In all that means he has won 20 of their last 25 frames played outside of the Championship League and one of the matches in their head-to-head that may be forgotten is the 2015 Shanghai Masters final which Wilson won 10-9, another massive match where Wilson has got the better of Trump.
The danger for both players given the animosity between them is that they end up trying too hard, fail to produce their best which could result in a scrappy encounter or one player having a runaway win, or indeed taking so much out of themselves that they scupper their chances of going on and winning the title. In all honesty, this feels like a much bigger match for Trump than it does for Wilson. The left-hander has a few points to prove. First off he needs to beat Wilson in a big match because the record between them does not make for pretty reading. Then there is the much bigger task of having a big run in a triple crown event. This is his eighth Masters in a row and it is somewhat surprising that is yet to appear in the final, because on paper it is an event that should suit him down to the ground. He has had three semi-final appearances, but at the same time he has had three first round exits in the last five years at the Palace. This will also be his 22nd triple crown event since winning the 2011 UK Championships and he has only been in one final (the 2014 UK Championship) out of the previous 21, another huge surprise.
In all, Selby's Masters record is the stand out of those in this quarter and he will be hungry for a big run after the disappointment of the UK Championship. If Trump and Wilson's match is as much of a tight battle as anticipated, then Selby could be the benefactor if the winner of that clash shows any mental fatigue in the quarter-final.
Quarter choice: Mark Selby
Quarter 4
First round draw: (Picks in bold)
Barry Hawkins Vs Shaun Murphy (Tuesday 15 January - 7pm)
Mark Williams Vs Neil Robertson (Tuesday 15 January - 1pm)
The fourth and final quarter of the draw is probably one of the tightest to call. Starting with 2015 Masters champion Shaun Murphy's match up with 2016 runner-up Barry Hawkins, this is a really tough one to call. The pair actually met in round one here in 2017 with Murphy having a real off day in a 6-1 loss. Taking the Championship League and Snooker Shoot-Out out of the equation, that is one of Hawkins two wins against Murphy, from 11 previous attempts. The other may also have been a big match in the 2013 UK Championship, but Murphy won their very biggest tie in the 2015 World Championship semi-finals by a wide margin.
Their seasons have both been interesting ones. Murphy's has been stacked with early exits, including in the last 128 of the UK and International Championships, but things have looked up in recent times. Back with coach Chris Henry, who aided him in winning this title four years, he made the final of the Scottish Open with wins over Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump before a narrow loss to Mark Allen. Following that he won both of his German Masters qualifiers just before Christmas, making seven centuries in ten frames won. If that sort of form continues in London then he is major title contender, make no mistake. As for Hawkins, he was solid as a rock at the start of the season, making the Shanghai Masters final and having some other good results in China in the early part of the season. In recent times though he has suffered some early exits, including first round losses in both the Northern Ireland and Scottish Opens. It is hard to see this match being anything over than close, but if his form since getting back with Chris Henry continues, Murphy is a huge threat.
Then we have another epic battle lined up between world champion Mark Williams and 2012 Masters champion Neil Robertson. In the head-to-head Robertson has a slight edge and has won their two previous Masters match-ups in 2007 and on the road to victory in 2012. Robertson has a bit of a love affair with the Alexandra Palace. His victory year in 2012 was the first at the new venue and he has thrived since, making two further finals and never losing in the first round in the six times he has qualified for the Masters at this venue. For Williams, it is now 16 years since he last won this prestigious title and he has only appeared in one Masters semi-final since then. If their recent Masters records differ, then so to has their form this season. Williams may have won the World Open early on in the season, but since then he has not made a ranking quarter-final, losing in the last 16 of the UK Championships, the first round of the Champion of Champions and looking a little out of sorts at times, as his World Championship party has gone on a little too long. Robertson meanwhile has been focused from ball one, winning the Riga Masters and making the International Championship final. His failure to qualify for this event last year spurred him on to win the 2017 Scottish Open and he has looked more like the player we know with each passing event. A last 16 exit in the UK Championship and a quarter-final loss in another big event at the Champion of Champions both came at the hands of Mark Allen, who also beat him in that International final. With Allen safely in the opposing half of the draw this week, Robertson could be a serious title contender.
In all though, the second half of this season could be a big one for Murphy after his run to the final in Scotland. The confidence gained there will be re-enforced by having Chris Henry back by his side and that makes him a real dark horse for this title.
Their seasons have both been interesting ones. Murphy's has been stacked with early exits, including in the last 128 of the UK and International Championships, but things have looked up in recent times. Back with coach Chris Henry, who aided him in winning this title four years, he made the final of the Scottish Open with wins over Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump before a narrow loss to Mark Allen. Following that he won both of his German Masters qualifiers just before Christmas, making seven centuries in ten frames won. If that sort of form continues in London then he is major title contender, make no mistake. As for Hawkins, he was solid as a rock at the start of the season, making the Shanghai Masters final and having some other good results in China in the early part of the season. In recent times though he has suffered some early exits, including first round losses in both the Northern Ireland and Scottish Opens. It is hard to see this match being anything over than close, but if his form since getting back with Chris Henry continues, Murphy is a huge threat.
Then we have another epic battle lined up between world champion Mark Williams and 2012 Masters champion Neil Robertson. In the head-to-head Robertson has a slight edge and has won their two previous Masters match-ups in 2007 and on the road to victory in 2012. Robertson has a bit of a love affair with the Alexandra Palace. His victory year in 2012 was the first at the new venue and he has thrived since, making two further finals and never losing in the first round in the six times he has qualified for the Masters at this venue. For Williams, it is now 16 years since he last won this prestigious title and he has only appeared in one Masters semi-final since then. If their recent Masters records differ, then so to has their form this season. Williams may have won the World Open early on in the season, but since then he has not made a ranking quarter-final, losing in the last 16 of the UK Championships, the first round of the Champion of Champions and looking a little out of sorts at times, as his World Championship party has gone on a little too long. Robertson meanwhile has been focused from ball one, winning the Riga Masters and making the International Championship final. His failure to qualify for this event last year spurred him on to win the 2017 Scottish Open and he has looked more like the player we know with each passing event. A last 16 exit in the UK Championship and a quarter-final loss in another big event at the Champion of Champions both came at the hands of Mark Allen, who also beat him in that International final. With Allen safely in the opposing half of the draw this week, Robertson could be a serious title contender.
In all though, the second half of this season could be a big one for Murphy after his run to the final in Scotland. The confidence gained there will be re-enforced by having Chris Henry back by his side and that makes him a real dark horse for this title.
Quarter choice: Shaun Murphy
Tournament winner selection: Ronnie O'Sullivan
For an alternative build-up to the Masters, it is worth listening to the podcast produced by the Racing Post, featuring the thoughts of their snooker expert Dave Clark who is also worth giving a follow on Twitter. You can listen to that in full (at just under the half hour in length) by clicking here.
As always, the first three rounds up to and including the semi-finals will be played over the best-of-11 frames at Alexandra Palace ahead of the best-of-19 frame showpiece final on January 20, where the winner will take home the Paul Hunter trophy and the £200,000 first prize.
As always, the first three rounds up to and including the semi-finals will be played over the best-of-11 frames at Alexandra Palace ahead of the best-of-19 frame showpiece final on January 20, where the winner will take home the Paul Hunter trophy and the £200,000 first prize.
Wednesday, 9 January 2019
Fantasy Snooker: Updated points table and Masters information
After a month off from the Fantasy Snooker League since the Scottish Open concluded with a dramatic 9-7 victory for Mark Allen in the final against Shaun Murphy, the League returns with the second double points event of the season, as the Masters kicks off on Sunday.
Following a short turnaround from his UK Championship final loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan, not a single player in the league selected eventual winner Allen for the event in Glasgow, while only one participant fancied Murphy to turn around his poor season. One big mover in the table was Tungsten Darts who is up to joint 7th in a tightly bunched table after picking semi-finalist Judd Trump, quarter-finalist Ryan Day and having another quarter-finalist in Alfie Burden as one of his season picks.
There has also been a change at the very top of the standings with Daz Muckian overtaking Matt Butler, who saw his reign come to a quick end after some poor Scotland picking. In fact some of the picking across the board was below par, with two of the most popular picks being Stuart Bingham and Neil Robertson. Bingham would lose out 4-0 in the very first round, while defending champion Robertson would only go a round further, losing 4-2 to Ross Muir in the last 64.
So, here is how the table looks in full ahead of the Masters:
In all, the top 14 in the table are only separated by 85 points, which is not a huge margin leading into a double points, with a further nine events still to come thereafter. The double points offering at the Alexandra Palace may help to open the table up a bit, but with only 16 players to choose from there may also be a lot of repeat picks that could lead to very little separation whatsoever.
The deadline for your two Masters selections is prior to the first match between defending champion Mark Allen and Belgium's Luca Brecel on Sunday 13 January at 1pm. With plenty of points on offer still if you can pick the two finalists it is very much worth studying the draw closely before making the two selections. I would like to wish the very best of luck to all competitors ahead of the Masters, and the next update will follow events in London and lead into the German Masters at the very end of the month.
Following a short turnaround from his UK Championship final loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan, not a single player in the league selected eventual winner Allen for the event in Glasgow, while only one participant fancied Murphy to turn around his poor season. One big mover in the table was Tungsten Darts who is up to joint 7th in a tightly bunched table after picking semi-finalist Judd Trump, quarter-finalist Ryan Day and having another quarter-finalist in Alfie Burden as one of his season picks.
There has also been a change at the very top of the standings with Daz Muckian overtaking Matt Butler, who saw his reign come to a quick end after some poor Scotland picking. In fact some of the picking across the board was below par, with two of the most popular picks being Stuart Bingham and Neil Robertson. Bingham would lose out 4-0 in the very first round, while defending champion Robertson would only go a round further, losing 4-2 to Ross Muir in the last 64.
So, here is how the table looks in full ahead of the Masters:
Daz Muckian 690
Matt Butler 677
Rob Chipp 661
Ryan Duckett 657
LTD Syndicate 651
Kellie Barker 637
Shaun Hunt 630
Tungsten Darts 630
Cluster of Reds 617
Rob Francis 616
FAM147 613
Andy (APB147) 613
Stephen McCabe 605
Voihelevettisua 605
Chris Watts 580
Phil Robinson 577
Munraj Pal 557
Debbie Dymott 553
Phil Mudd 541
Alex Abrahams 533
The Cue View 532
Daniela Reich 523
Anthony (antow73) 520
Kim Kristensen 520
Dani M (esnukero) 512
Anatole Compton 506
Daniel Gavin 490
Steven Bunn 482
Martin Pearlman 457
Pete Tscherewik 455
Square Sausage 436
Andrew Devonshire 422
Markus 420
Kelvin Platten 412
In all, the top 14 in the table are only separated by 85 points, which is not a huge margin leading into a double points, with a further nine events still to come thereafter. The double points offering at the Alexandra Palace may help to open the table up a bit, but with only 16 players to choose from there may also be a lot of repeat picks that could lead to very little separation whatsoever.
The deadline for your two Masters selections is prior to the first match between defending champion Mark Allen and Belgium's Luca Brecel on Sunday 13 January at 1pm. With plenty of points on offer still if you can pick the two finalists it is very much worth studying the draw closely before making the two selections. I would like to wish the very best of luck to all competitors ahead of the Masters, and the next update will follow events in London and lead into the German Masters at the very end of the month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)