Opening days in Bendigo

There have been some interesting results in Round 1 of the Australian Open so far, with 3 more round 1 matches to come (after Ding Junhui pulled out giving Rory McLeod a bye through to the last 16).

Here are the round 1 results so far:

Barry Hawkins 5-1 Dechawat Poomjaeng - clinical performance by Hawkins scoring nicely with breaks of 52, 55, 61 and 80. He'll be a definite contender this week.

Tom Ford 5-3 Ryan Day - A good game by all accounts with both making centuries, fairly close until Ford broke away at the end for victory. Plays Hawkins next and that will be even tougher for Ford, scoring will need to be at it's best.

Fergal O'Brien 5-4 Ricky Walden - A good win for Fergal, not much to shout about in terms of breaks but O'Brien seemed to grind Ricky down for victory and further exposing Ricky's trouble against slower players.

Dominic Dale 5-4 Mike Dunn - Yet another decider in the Aussie Open for Dunn but this time he was on the wrong end. Dale came through a match that was close right up until the last.

Shaun Murphy 5-1 Michael White - Good performance from Shaun, expected this match to be slightly closer but Shaun scored well with his new cue. Top breaks of 129, 87 and 57 outlining that he will be there at the end of the week i'm sure.

Neil Robertson 5-1 Marcus Campbell - A good performance from the Aussie on home soil, continuing his great record against Campbell. He'll want to improve on his form in his home event. Something tells me he will.

Jamie Cope 5-4 Martin Gould - Good to see a Cope win here, will give him confidence to come from 4-3 to beat a class act like Gould. Top breaks of 53,53, 61, 73 and 96 suggest he could give Robertson a run for his money tomorrow.

Joe Perry 5-0 Xiao Guodong - No problem here for Perry. Guodong appearing below par at best and Perry keeping his good run going. He has a good chance for a run on his form at the moment.

Stuart Bingham 5-1 Noppon Saengkham - Simple victory for Bingham as I expected. Has form here winning it in 2011, but has a tough match against Perry next. He'll have his work cut out for him but it should be a good match.

Alfie Burden 5-2 Michael Holt - I thought Burden had a good chance if he scored well and he did so with 50+ breaks in all of the last 4 frames including a 136. His good form continues and he deserved another good victory after another good performance.

Zhang Anda 5-1 Andrew Higginson - Good performance from Zhang with top breaks of 62,63, 68 and 96 to see him to a his first last 16 berth. Seems like Higginson couldn't take his chances as is becoming too regular an occurrence for him.

Mark Selby 5-4 Ian Burns - Burns will be distraught to lose from 3-0 and 4-3 up but he will continue to improve, especially if he kills of the next match against a top player without any hassle to boost his confidence. As for Selby looks like he just dug in as usual when not at his best. He'll need to improve, but i'm sure he will after a rest, after only arriving a day before his match in Australia - which is a big mistake.

Looks like an interesting tournament is unfolding, will hopefully be back with a preview of the 6 remaining Last 16 matches for Thursday and review tomorrows 5 games.

Australian Open Preview

It's time for the trip down under to Bendigo for the Australian Open tournament, which could well be the last as the contract for the tournament runs out after this one. Most of the top players have once again missed this tournament, presumably because of the long journey and quite small prize money, as they have in the last couple of years. The tournament is also not on TV in Europe until the final, which is being televised on Eurosport, making the tournament even less appealing to European snooker fans particularly.

Quarter 1

The big stars in this quarter are defending champion Barry Hawkins, Ding Junhui and Robert Milkins. Barry starts his campaign off with an intriguing match against Dechawat Poomjaeng. We have seen since his run at the Crucible that Poomjaeng can cause problems for the top players and he will give Hawkins a good game here. However, Hawkins also proved last season that he is a top player, and will want to try and defend his title here and I expect him to come through this early test. The winner will then play Tom Ford or Ryan Day. This is a tough match to call, both are great players and are actually quite closely ranked, even though Day is a qualifier and Ford a seed. It definetly wouldn't be an upset of Day won and I think this could be a useful outside bet in the first round. I have a feeling that Day needs a run in an event this year to regain some confidence and if he starts with a win here this could well be the one. Therefore I am going to go for a Ryan Day win. In the other half of this quarter Robert Milkins takes on Ben Woollaston. Milkins is playing great stuff right now and could be ranked inside the top 16 after this tournament. I and many others would have predicted this last season and had another good run to the semi-finals in Wuxi, and he should beat Woollaston, who is just as good a player but has landed a very tough draw. Should Milkins get through he would play either Ding Junhui or Rory McLeod. On paper this looks like a comfortable Ding win, but McLeod could quite easily grind Ding down if the Chinaman is not motivated and becomes frustrated. I expect to see a Ding win still, but won't rule out the upset by any means

Quarter Pick: Barry Hawkins

Quarter 2

This quarter features both of the wildcard round matches, although judging by previous Aussie wildcards, Michael White and Mike Dunn shouldn't have too much trouble making it through. Should Dunn beat Steve Mifsud as expected he will play Dominic Dale in the last 32. Dunn has seen a resurgence in form in recent weeks, with his new cue, but I don't think he will have enough to beat Dale, if the Welshmen is on form. They are playing for the right to play either Ricky Walden or Fergal O'Brien. Fergal is always a tough opponent and one who can beat anyone on his day, but Ricky has a knack for getting through these tough matches even when nowhere near his best. If Ricky is off form I think that Fergal would win, but I think that Ricky has had quite a long rest since his World Championship run and will be fresh for the task this week. Walden will make it through for me. Elsewhere in this section we see Shaun Murphy who will play either young hot shot Michael White or wildcard Shaun Dalitz. If my recent interview with Shaun told me anything it was that he should have a successful week in Australia. Playing with a new cue for the first time, which he feels good with in practice, practicing hard in preparation for this and a general love of playing Australia. White will provide a big test for Murphy and could easily go through. Shaun will need to be on his game from the start but if he is it could be a good indicator of things to come this week. The winner will face either Marco Fu or Ken Doherty. Both have had slower starts to the season and it could well be a scrappy encounter and a tough call. Fu should get through but don't rule out ken for the win here.

Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 3

This quarter is probably the strongest in the draw with Aussie hope Neil Robertson and former champion Stuart Bingham as well as Martin Gould and Asian Tour 1 champion Joe Perry. Neil Robertson plays Scot Marcus Campbell. Robertson has a brilliant record against Campbell and he is the best player on the tour right now. As long as he can deal with home expectations, the Wuxi Classic champion should march into the Last 16. He would then play either Martin Gould or Jamie Cope. Cope has struggled in the last year while Gould has actually prospered in some minor events. Gould could well be a contender to go under the radar and I think that he may well have a good run here to set up a return to the top 16 in the coming months. Meanwhile, Joe Perry plays Xiao Guodong who had some success at the Asian indoor games winning the Six-red event. Perry is in good form at the moment though and I think he will keep that momentum going with a victory here. Should Perry win he would play either Stuart Bingham or Noppon Saengkham in the Last 16. I haven't seen much of Saengkham yet and, although he has had some good results, I don't think he will cause 2011 champion Bingham any problems here.

Quarter winner: Neil Robertson

Quarter 4

This quarter is one that I would say on paper should be one for the seeds to march through and could be short on upsets. Mark Davis plays Paul Davison in his first round match, and I think that the man in the peak of his career will have no problem getting through. I haven't seen much of Davison and whenever I do he isn't too impressive to be honest, but he seems like he can play a lot better than I have seen him play. Should be a comfortable Davis win though. Michael Holt faces "jack of all trades" Alfie Burden in the last 32 in Bendigo. Holt hasn't had the best start to the season and could be vulnerable against Burden, who is a heavy scorer when on form. This could well be an upset, depending on how well Burden plays - if scores well he has a great chance. In the bottom half Andrew Higginson play Zhang Anda in a match that he will be expected to win, but his inconsistent form is Zhang's best chance of a win. The Chinaman is a very useful player and will provide Higginson with food for thought. Higginson usually plays quite well against lower ranked players but struggles against the top guys, so in theory this match shouldn't trouble him. Finally Mark Selby plays Rookie of the year 2012 Ian Burns. Selby was knocked out at the Last 128 stage in the Wuxi Classic, but reached the AT1 final, and has recently lost his World No.1 ranking to Neil Robertson. He will be keen to earn that back and I think he will play well in this tournament, to try and win that back as he has done before. Burns is a very good player, but it will be interesting to see how his second season on tour goes, with added pressure and expectation. Selby should win on this occasion though.

Quarter Winner: Mark Selby

Tournament Winner: This may be a biased view, but I have a very strong feeling that Shaun Murphy will play very well this week, and with the absence of some top players- this could be a great opportunity for him to win his first ranking event since 2011. If he gains some early confidence in the early stages with his new cue, he will be very dangerous in the latter parts of the tournament. This could well be his event.

 

 

EXCLUSIVE Interview with Shaun Murphy

In the first of a new "Life as a snooker player" feature that Shaun Murphy has kindly agreed to do for the blog, I talk to Shaun about: what he thinks of the new format, how he thinks the season will go, his favourite places to visit and what he likes to do away from the baize including the development of his website and the charity work that he partakes in.

Hi Shaun, I’d like to start by asking you, what do you think of the new Flat 128 structure for ranking events?

Hi, yeah I’m definitely a fan of the new flat 128 structure. Ironically myself and Mark Selby both fell foul to it in the Wuxi classic and had to watch from home but that doesn't mean that I'm not in favour of it anymore. It's been a big topic of conversation at home too and the general feeling is that if you were inventing snooker today, this is how you'd structure it. I just feel that if you're a tour player then you should have the same opportunities as everyone else.

We know what you think of burnout, but will you plan your season to be fresh for the World Championship or will you play as much snooker as you can?

I don't feel that the tour is at the stage yet where players should be picking and choosing events to play in. In my book there are still lots of events that need the support of the higher ranked players as they are the ones primarily that the public pay to come and watch and without the support of these players these tournaments simply won't succeed. For me, I'm playing in as much as possible because I love it. I'm a snooker player, it's what i do.

Do you think you can win another World Championship?

Absolutely. This is one of my biggest goals now and one that I'm working towards on a daily basis. When I won the World Title back in 2005 it was weird. By that I mean it was my first pro TV win and so there were so many emotions running about, the fact that I'd become World Champion kind of got lost in there somewhere. So I'd like to win it again so I could enjoy it for what it is.

Why do you think that you have gone so long without a ranking event win, and do you think that the Flat 128 draw will offer up better opportunities for you?

I've no idea why it’s been so long. I hadn't really took any notice of it until I overheard Hazel Irvine broadcasting at The Masters. I was in the practice room warming up for my semi- final and heard them in the studio talking about how long it had been. I think to be honest, somewhere between '09 and '11 I perhaps didn't work quite as hard at my game as many others and certainly not as hard as i know I should've been. On that basis I didn't really deserve to win much but now I'm back to a good old fashioned six hours practise in the club every day, I'm convinced that more trophies are just around the corner.

On the other hand, does it please you that you have, at the same time, been very consistent in getting to the latter stages of events, and that if you continue to do so will it only be a matter of time before you win one?

Consistency is one of my least favourite words. Of course I'm pleased to be making the final stages of events regularly and challenging to win events but you know that isn't what I wanted to achieve from my snooker. I don't want to have to tell the grandkids that I was Mr consistent. They don't make cabinets for consistency; if they did mine would be bulging ha!

How much do you think your new cue will affect your game and if so will the affects be a positive or negative on your game?

Well I've certainly been putting the hours in with it. My new cue is yet to make its debut in competition, that’s coming in Australia but i'd say it’s a keeper. I did use a John Parris replica of my original that i'd had for five years or so in Bulgaria and was quite happy with it but that’s taken second place to my new John Parris cue. It's showing really well in practise so I can't wait to see how it performs out there when it matters.

How much do you enjoy travelling around the world, and do you take the opportunity to do some sightseeing when you can?

I always love going to new places and seeing the culture wherever it may be. I'm always amazed at how many players don't get into all that and just stay in the confines of the hotel. For me it’s all about creating memories to share with my family and friends in the future. They won't want to hear about shots and matches but about places and people.

Do many other players take on some sightseeing when on tour?

Some do and i hope with the new younger breed coming through there will be a few more takers for sightseeing and travelling to these faraway places. I was quite disappointed more top players didn't go to Brazil a few years ago and I think that is a very big part of why that tournament hasn't happened again. I hope the same isn't said about the Australian Masters in a year’s time.

Where is your favourite area to visit on the snooker tour outside of the UK?

I really enjoy all the Euro Tour events wherever they may be and have grown to like going to Shanghai, but my favourite place so far would be Australia. I mean its Australia for crying out loud, what’s not to like? The way of life is fantastic and I guess if it wasn't a whole 24 hours of travel away i'd definitely spend more time there.

What is your favourite snooker venue outside of the UK?

Has to be the Tempodrome in Berlin. In the early days we did quite a few exhibitions there and around Germany trying to generate some interest in the sport together with the TV coverage given by Eurosport. It's amazing now to see that venue full and them all enjoying their own ranking event. My best performance there so far has been a Semi- final and the atmosphere was fantastic.

Who is your favourite player to play and why?

I think that would still have to be Steve Davis. He was my idol growing up and someone that as a professional I've looked up to as a role model. Whilst doing some of these exhibition tours around Europe I've been lucky enough to watch how he handles himself, sponsors and the public and he's simply first class.

Do you have a least favourite player to play against and why?

Not really no. A few years ago on the UK tour I could never beat Mark Gray for some reason. He quickly became my bogey player and then in my early years on tour Matt Couch gave me similar problems.

How many players socialise around events, and are there many cliques in the snooker world?

Most players are very sociable on tour and get on with everyone. I'm not really sure that cliques exist; I just think that certain groups of players have either known each other longer or come from the same area and sometimes even practise at the same clubs so they are bound to stick together. In my case there is a group of players that I’ve grown up with through the junior and amateur game so we would all tend to have dinners and travel together when possible and try to make our trips away as comfortable as possible.

Which players do you spend most time with away from the baize?

Well nowadays we don't get too much time away from the baize so when we do it’s nice to be able to share some other hobbies with some of the other lads. I'm a very keen golfer and so any chance I get I'm out on the course. Fortunately there are quite a few keen and very good golfers among the snooker players so finding a partner isn't too difficult usually. Matt Selt and I have become good mates and have donated a small fortune to each other in golfing bets in the last 24 months or so. It's hard though playing golf with Matt because he is such a funny guy that it becomes very hard to concentrate on what you're trying to do and before you know it you're handing over the dough. Away from the golf I'm good friends with Selby, Carter, Walden and Higginson and many others. I've been friends with Nigel Bond for many years too and hope that will always be the case. When I was a kid he was one of the only pro's that took the time to practise with me and show me the ropes and I will always owe him a huge thanks for that.

What difference has Barry Hearn made to snooker and how much does snooker owe to him?

Quite simply, Barry Hearn and his new team at World Snooker are the best things to happen to the game in my lifetime. When you look back to the pre Hearn years of just a few years ago snooker was going nowhere, and fast. Now look at it. We've got a full diary, lots of events and more money to play for. How can anyone moan about that?

What advice would you give to a young player thinking of turning professional?

My best advice would be two fold. Firstly, make sure that being a snooker placer is absolutely the number one priority in your life. If it’s something that you quite like and are thinking of having a crack at don't bother. There are too many out there who want it more and you'll end up wasting the best years of your life. It has to be your passion. Secondly, don't make the mistake of thinking that practise makes perfect. It doesn't. Practise makes permanent, so only proper structured, goal orientated practise is worth it.

You do a lot of charity work for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. What sort of work do you do to raise money and awareness for the charity, how much do the children there inspire you, and why did you choose to help the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital?

I'd reached that point in my life where i thought it was time to start trying to do some good for others as well as myself. I started looking for a local charity to get involved with and because one of my relatives has spent much of her young life there, the RMCH seems the right place to start. 18 months ago now I started my £100 for 100 breaks initiative and that’s something I'm committed to long term, donating £100 for every century break I make. It really puts the pressure on when I get to 70 - 90 now! I also ran the Manchester 10k in May for them too and loved it.

You have a website of your own (ShaunMurphy.net) that you are also working on. What are you doing to develop the site and what information do you put on there for your fans?

With www.shaunmurphy.net we are constantly looking for ways to make it better and in the future we hope to have a much more interactive site with tuition and back stage footage to try and show a different side to life as a snooker player. I try to keep it up to date with regular match reports and previews and i guess together with my Twitter @magician147 it’s my chance to give my side of any story without the interference of a journalist’s opinion.

It’s not just snooker your good at, it is a well-known fact that you and many other snooker players are a dab hand with a set of Golf clubs. So, what other sports do you enjoy playing or watching in your spare time and why do you think so many other snooker players play Golf?

As already mentioned I do play a lot of golf and I'm sure that it’s because it’s a still ball sport that many snooker players take to it. That in built hand eye coordination comes out, well most of the time anyway and helps. Other than golf I play quite a bit of tennis and I've also got quite into running after doing the Manchester 10k for the RMCH in May. I’m also a bit of a motor enthusiast and if not at home cutting the grass or playing the piano and annoying everyone I'm usually in the garage tinkering away or cleaning the cars.

And Finally Shaun, John Higgins and Neil Robertson have set the bar high at the start if this season but, who do you think will win the most tournaments this season or will they be shared fairly equally like last year?

The standard set so far has been very good, and i think it will only get better. I predicted a few years ago that with all these new tournaments and a sharper set of players the standards across the whole tour would rise and I think that’s happening. From a players point of view its put much more emphasis on the time between events now spent in the club working on my game as that is where the improvements are (hopefully) made. One things for sure, if things carry on this season the way they've begun, it'll be one hell of a year.

Once again I would like to thank Shaun for doing this interview and look forward to the other pieces that he will hopefully do for the blog over the course of the season.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and, like me, are looking forward to more exciting and fun features on the blog in the near future.

Robertson scoops consecutive China titles

Neil Robertson today won his second ranking event in succession in China, after beating John Higgins 10-7 in the Wuxi Classic, once again showing his great break building and fighting qualities along the way.

Robertson made a decent start taking the first frame, but lost the next two as Higgins looked good early on with breaks of 78 and 56. A 91 levelled the scores at the Mid-session interval in the first session with a 91, but Higgins was playing just brilliantly and he threatened to take the game away from Robertson in the opening session. A couple of mistakes cost Robertson as Higgins made breaks of 70, 82 and 93 to take a 5-2 lead with 2 frames to go in the session. The way that Higgins was playing it looked like he would take at least a 6-3 lead into the final session, and Robertson would have been fearing a 7-2 deficit as it didn't look like Higgins could miss. However, the Aussie showed his true grit once again to take the next with a break of 52 to make it 5-3. In the last frame of the session he knocked in a long red and made a century (113) to make the score 5-4 to Higgins going into the final session. Robbo definetly would have felt the better at the end of the session, taking a 5-4 score line that really didn't look possible at one stage.

This feeling was taken into the final session, as Neil Robertson dominated Higgins and took full control of the final. Neil took all 4 frames before the mid-session interval, as Higgins only scored 58 points in those four frames and found himself 8-5 behind from 5-4 ahead. Breaks of 57 and 59 were just half of the story for Robertson as he shut Higgins out of the match. Finally Higgins could get a foot back in the door with a 66 to get the score back to 8-6. Robertson won the 15th though to go one away from victory at 9-6 and give John Higgins the almost impossible task. The Scot won a tight frame in the 16th to get 1 of the 4 he needed at 9-7, but Robertson sealed the match with a 65 to make him the 2013 Wuxi Classic Champion, with a 10-7 victory.

Neil Robertson was the deserved winner, finding the extra gear when it mattered most to get him through the tests that any player could throw at him over the course of the week. He scored well and battled hard when he had to and these were the 2 main components of his success.

Credit also has to go to John Higgins who continued his great start to the season, scoring well and playing a great tactical game as he always does when on form. This week also quashed talk of Higgins being past his best and proving to all of his critics that he can still mix it in the big events under pressure. It was also nice to see young players like Cao Yupeng and David Morris make it to the quarter-finals, causing some upsets along the way and playing some good snooker against the top players. This also showed us what the Flat 128 draw will give us over the whole course of the season, and hopefully giving some more young players the chance to shine on the big stage.

It is a while before the next snooker, roughly 2 weeks before the next event which is the Australian open and I will be back to preview that in good time, and hopefully with another fun piece in between.

Robertson and Higgins to contest Wuxi final

Neil Robertson and John Higgins will play out the Wuxi Classic final, in what could be a classic contest, after both players won their semi-finals quite comfortably 6-2.

Robertson beat Robert Milkins 6-2 in the first semi-final with a very clinical performance. After Neil won a large tactical battle in the first frame and took a 1-0 lead, he never looked back taking the next 3 as well to lead 4-0 at the interval. This included top breaks 51, 59, 71 and 77, and it looked like being a very comfortable victory for Neil. After the interval Milkins managed to get the first frame after Robertson missed the last red and Robert made a good clearance. A swift 72 gave Milkins the next and it looked like he was well back into the match. However, the Aussie stopped the rot in the next to go 1 away from the final, regaining control of the match. As he did in the quarter-final, Robertson finished off the match with his best break, this time a 92, to book his place in consecutive finals in China.

As for Higgins, he beat Matthew Stevens 6-2, with a very high scoring and clinical performance. John started with a tight opening frame which he then followed up with 61 break in the next to give him an early 2-0 lead. Within a flash he was 4-0 ahead at mid-session, with runs of 57 and 66. The Scot continued in the same vain after the interval with another 57 break to give him a 5-0 lead, with a whitewash on the cards for poor Matthew Stevens. However, Stevens managed to avoid the humiliation, with a run of 55 to get his first frame on the board. This boosted the Welshmen's confidence as he went on to make a 70, in getting the score line back to 5-2 - although the comeback still looked very unlikely. As always, John Higgins finished the match off in style with a 101 break to set up a final match-up with Neil Robertson, who he beat to win the Bulgarian Open PTC.

Final Preview 

John Higgins Vs Neil Robertson - As I just mentioned Higgins just beat Robertson 4-1 in the European Tour event 1, however that was in a much shorter format to the best of 19 the pair face tomorrow. This will do different things to both players. For Higgins it will increase his confidence having a recent victory over his opponent, playing very well in the process and shutting Robbo out. As for Robertson, it will make him more determined, as he will want revenge on Higgins, just like he wanted and got against Milkins in the semi-final. Both players won ranking events in China last year, Higgins the Shanghai Masters and Robertson his first - the China Open. I think that Robertson will just about edge this, and he has played excellently this week, taken his chances and scored well. Higgins has played equally well but has not really been tested so far in this tournament and has had a relatively easy ride to the final. As for Robertson he has been tested and has managed to find that extra gear to get him through, and that could prove key again tomorrow if he is to get away from Higgins.

Whatever happens it should be a fantastic final and a fabulous end to a tournament that hasn't been quite as exciting and lacking in something so far, with only a few close, tense moments and matches. I will be back tomorrow evening to review the final and the whole of the season's first ranking event.

Top players come to party ready for semi-finals

After all of the shocks of earlier on in the Wuxi Classic, the top 4 ranked players in the quarter-finals, all got through to the Last 4. Robert Milkins, provisionally ranked 17 in the world after his victory today, got through after a 5-3 win against Anthony Hamilton. Milkins soon found himself 3-1 up after breaks of 120 and 73 as well as taking a 56 minute frame before the interval. A 53 in the next frame put Milkins 4-1. Hamilton battled back though and got the score back to 4-3, but another 53 gave Milkins a thoroughly deserved victory. No-one would begrudge Milkins of the title this week, but the next thing he has to do is overcome an in-form Neil Robertson.

Robertson overcame a massive test today against Cao Yupeng, coming from 4-3 down to beat him 5-4, in one of Yupeng's finest performances to date. The huge turning point was at 3-2, and Robertson missed a black down the cushion for a 4-2 lead, but Cao potted it to take it to 3-3. However, when Robertson was 4-3 down he found an extra gear making his best break of the match, an 87, to take this match into a much deserved decider. Cao didn't really have a chance in the decider and Robertson dominated to secure a 5-4 victory.

John Higgins got through to the semi-finals with a 5-2 victory over Joe Perry. I expected Perry to push Higgins a bit more than this, but it didn't really happen for Perry. He didn't have many chances early on, and missed some chances later on as Higgins took an early 4-1 lead with breaks of 97, 50 and 61. Perry took the next, but Higgins eventually got the 5-2 win. He now plays Matthew Stevens who beat David Morris 5-2, with top breaks of 50, 61 and 62. Morris managed to get it to the interval at 2-2 but struggled afterwards as Stevens took control, winning the next 3 to secure victory.

Semi-final Draw and Prediction:

Robert Milkins Vs Neil Robertson - Both guys are in fabulous form at the moment and have played some great snooker so far this week. Milkins beat Robertson in the first round of the World Championship and he plays his best snooker out in China. However, the circumstances are very different this time around and I think that this match will be very close. After the test that Robertson came through today though I think that Robertson will just pip him at the post.

John Higgins Vs Matthew Stevens - John Higgins will be a hot favourite for this, but Stevens has also played some decent stuff this week, and has pretty much gone under the radar to get to this point. To be fair Stevens has come through some real scraps this week, but if this match turns scrappy there will only be one winner - John Higgins.

Whoever wins tomorrows Semi's, it will be a great final line-up and i'm looking forward to seeing how this weekend  unfolds.

Surprise quarter-finalists in Wuxi

There were some surprise quarter-finalists at the Wuxi Classic as only 3 of the top 16 have made it into the last 8, showing us already just what this new Flat 128 draw can produce.

One of the best results of the round was Anthony Hamilton's victory over Mark Williams 5-3, to nicely follow up his brilliant display against Stuart Bingham in the Last 32. Williams did look better in his win against Lisowski and knocked in some good long pots in this match. Unfortunately for him his break building wasn't quite on the mark, and Hamilton played well and did what he had to at the end for victory. This is probably Hamilton's best chance to win his first ever ranking event, the one that everyone in snooker knows that he deserves.

David Morris is another great story of this event. Having come through Q School in the summer, he has now made it through to the quarter-finals of the seasons opening ranking event, showing us that the future of Irish snooker is in safe hands for many more years to come. Morris today had another fantastic victory, probably the best of his career, in a decider against Ali Carter. Morris was up against it early on finding himself 2-0 and then 3-2 down, before turning the deficit around to lead 4-3. Carter took the match into a decider, but it was Morris that took an early lead in it and therefore control of it. He held his nerve and eventually potted match ball blue to take him through to a quarter-final meeting with Matthew Stevens. Stevens had a 5-3 victory over Peter Lines that in a match that, for the first half, was not particularly thrilling or free-flowing but Stevens did what he had to do for the win.

Neil Robertson impressed once again and made himself the huge favourite to make at least the final of this event and probably win it, after his 5-0 win against Mark King. Robertson made breaks of 75, 96 and finished off with a 111, punishing King's mistakes and inability to score heavy himself. He next plays young Chinamen Cao Yupeng who has also impressed on home soil this week. He is now the last player left flying the Chinese flag in Wuxi and proved right my bet of the round, beating Ben Woollaston 5-3. Cao took an early 2-0 lead, with breaks of 65 and 79 Woollaston pegged him back to 2-2 at the interval. Breaks of 60 and 71 soon restored his two frame advantage, before Woollaston made a 75 to keep the match going. Cao finished the match in style though with another good break of 73, to get through to the quarters.

Quarter-Final Draw and predictions:

Robert Milkins Vs Anthony Hamilton - I would love to see either player go on to win the tournament as it would be thoroughly deserved for either player. However, I just think that Milkins is more likely to get through to the semi-final on this occasion, although it will be close.

Cao Yupeng Vs Neil Robertson - Neil is in fine form this week, and when he is on form only very few players can stop. So as well as Cao is playing I don't think he can stop Robertson, if he continues to score as well as he is.

Joe Perry Vs John Higgins - The two winners of the first two PTC events, and both are in fine form. It's really hard to pick the winner of this one as Perry has already beaten Ding in this tournament while Higgins hasn't really had a big test in this tournament. I still expect Higgins to win, but wouldn't be surprised to see Perry win and would recommend him if you are after a good outside bet this could be it.

Matthew Stevens Vs David Morris - Matthew wasn't playing as well today and has come through a couple of scraps against Lines and Wenbo. As for Morris he has played really well and scored well to get to this point and battled hard today against Carter. It might be fair to say that this is a great opportunity for Morris to get through, and i'm sure he'll go into the match with no fear.

I hope to see some more surprises and have enjoyed watching what the new format has given us so far this week.