The Welsh Open Preview

Wednesday starts, in full, the Welsh Open from the Newport Centre with the full 128 playing at the venue with TV coverage starting with the Last 64 on Monday 24th, with the final taking place on Sunday 2nd March. With so many players taking part in this one, it's tough to try and pick out a winner, and with so much good snooker in prospect it should be a good indicator for the World Championships, but also a great tournament in itself.


So here's what we can expect in the next 11 days of action from Newport:

Quarter 1

Last 128 Draw: (My picks in bold)
Stephen Maguire Vs Elliot Slessor
Robbie Williams Vs Sam Baird
Gerard Greene Vs Li Yan
Marcus Campbell Vs Andrew Pagett
Tom Ford Vs Gareth Green
Rod Lawler Vs James Wattana
Pankaj Advani Vs Joel Walker
Mark Davis Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson
David Gilbert Vs Duane Jones
Jimmy Robertson Vs Luca Brecel
Andrew Higginson Vs Martin O'Donnell
Ben Woollaston Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Alfie Burden Vs Ahmed Saif
Jamie Cope Vs Ryan Clark
Ding Junhui Vs Gary Wilson


This quarter, along with all the quarters really, has plenty of names that could go on and win it, but only a select few that have the form for me to tip to do so. Here we have defending champion Stephen Maguire, winner of 4 of this seasons ranking events Ding Junhui, Mark Davis and Robert Milkins. Out of these guys both Mark Davis and Robert Milkins have struggled lately and both failed to qualify for the China Open just this week. Stephen Maguire meanwhile, will have good memories of winning in Newport last year and has been playing well having won one of the 6 championship league groups this year, and making the Masters semi-finals. However, in actual ranking events, Maguire has been fairly inconsistent, and hard to predict, which is why it is more difficult to predict him to win this quarter, despite the fact I know he's in good form. Ding Junhui meanwhile, has been different class this year, whilst also being very tactical about things, he's won 4 ranking events this year, but has also been very clever about what events he should actually enter. He hasn't entered any of the championship league groups this year, and also missed the recent ET8 event, which means he has been fresher when the big events come around. This means his best form has come out in the ranking events, and he has won a lot more titles this year and I have to say he is one of my favourites to win again this week.


In terms of the end of season money list there are 2 key games between Robbie Williams and Sam Baird and then Gerard Greene and Li Yan where all 4 of those players could do with the win for their respective positions with Greene, Williams fairly close to the Top 64 line either side, and Baird a little further ahead in 61st while Li Yan is looking desperate in 91st. James Wattana in 75th also needs a win or 2, starting against Rod Lawler. However, none of these things should really effect who wins the quarter overall.


Quarter Winner: The machine that is Ding Junhui

Quarter 2

Last 128 Draw: (My picks in bold)
Stuart Bingham Vs Daniel Wells
Jimmy White Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Peter Lines Vs Ross Muir
Michael Holt Vs Stuart Carrington
Matthew Stevens Vs Adam Wicheard
Yu De Lu Vs Ian Burns
Liu Chuang Vs Chen Zhe
Joe Perry Vs Allan Taylor
Mark Allen Vs Sydney Wilson
Steve Davis Vs Noppon Saengkham
Aditya Mehta Vs Mike Dunn
Ali Carter Vs Andrew Norman
Dominic Dale Vs Anthony Parsons
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Liam Highfield
Dave Harold Vs Zhang Anda
Mark Selby Vs Joe Swail


This quarter also looks very strong, and much stronger than quarter 1 with former champion Mark Selby, last year's runner-up Stuart Bingham, Joe Perry, Mark Allen, Ali Carter and home favourites Matthew Stevens. Mark Selby has been a little poor since losing in the Masters final to Ronnie O'Sullivan, with poor shows in the German Masters and Championship League groups, but he looked a lot better in his China Open qualifier this week, and looking at Mark's draw and the format of best-of-7's until the quarter-finals (Quarter-finals best-of-9, semi's best-of-11 and final best-of-17) he could save a lot of energy in the early rounds which would be key for him going into the latter stages. As for Mark Allen, he's not been in the best of form lately with round 1 exits in the Masters and German Masters since the turn of the year, and missing the ET8 and Championship League events. So really, he is a little shorter on match preparation coming into this than the likes of Selby and Perry who have played considerably more than Allen in 2014, though this could be to the Northern-Irishman's advantage as he'll be a lot fresher. However, one thing Allen does have against him is a possible Last 32 match with Ali Carter which could go either way. Stuart Bingham has not been in great form of late with early exits in the Masters, German Masters, Gdynia Open and looking far from convincing in his China Open qualifier. For whatever reason, Bingham hasn't quite looked himself lately and I'd like to see that all change this week, but I can't really see it happening. Joe Perry however, has also been in good form lately making the quarter-finals of the German Masters and winning the 2nd Championship League group, and with a nice enough early draw, I could see him making at least the quarter-finals, but it will take some good performances for him to go much further.


In terms of the money list there is one massive game in here with 59th placed Jimmy White taking on 67th placed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. You fancy that the winner of that match would have an excellent chance of staying on tour, and both players played excellently in their recent China Open qualifiers. 77th placed Liu Chuang takes on 89th placed Chen Zhe elsewhere in the Last 128 and the winner of that would be in a slightly better position, but still in massive amounts of trouble. There are also big games for 60th placed Steve Davis and 70th placed Mike Dunn on the end of season money list who play Noppon Saengkham and Aditya Mehta respectively, with both needing wins to try and secure their tour places.


Quarter Winner: Such a tight quarter and I have changed my mind a few times, but going to go for Mark Selby.

Quarter 3

Last 128 Draw: (My picks in bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Lu Haotian
Rory McLeod Vs Dylan Mitchell
Tian Pengfei Vs Alex Borg
Mark Williams Vs Michael Wasley
Graeme Dott Vs Lee Page
Jamie Jones Vs Cao Xin Long
Kurt Maflin Vs Alex Davies
Marco Fu Vs Chris Norbury
Shaun Murphy Vs David Morris
Mark Joyce Vs Craig Steadman
Fergal O'Brien Vs Sanderson Lam
Liang Wenbo Vs Jak Jones
Martin Gould Vs Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon
Jack Lisowski Vs Adam Duffy
Cao Yupeng Vs David Grace
Barry Hawkins Vs Fraser Patrick


This quarter sees the likes of UK champion Neil Robertson, Australian Open champion Marco Fu, recent ET8 Gdynia Open champion Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, Graeme Dott and Mark Williams that are all capable of winning this quarter and the whole event. Starting with Neil Robertson, despite his obvious position as UK champion and world No.1 and making countless centuries this season, he has hit a slight poor patch in his form, being knocked out in the Last 32 in Germany by Tian Pengfei, struggling in his China Open qualifier against Li Yan and finishing bottom of the recent Championship League group 5, and he does seem to be struggling a little (just a tad). If he continues like this I don't see him winning the quarter. Marco Fu has also been struggling a little, just a little, since throwing away a 4-1 lead against Shaun Murphy at the Masters. He had quite a bad Last 64 exit at the German Masters, and seemed to be struggling and giving his opponents plenty of chances in the last 2 Championship League groups. Marco was slightly more impressive in his China Open qualifier, but his opponent there Adam Wicheard did look very poor in that one and didn't pressure Fu enough. It will be very interesting to see how Fu goes under pressure in this event. Meanwhile, Shaun Murphy is on the up and up in recent times, winning the Gdynia Open in Poland recently and then going on to win the 5th Championship League group quite comfortably both in the same week. His scoring in both was superb and he seemed to have gained a lot more confidence, and if he can continue this in Newport, he has a brilliant chance of going on a great run. In this quarter, you certainly wouldn't rule him out. Barry Hawkins on the other hand, hasn't been in poor form, but has lost a fair few matches recently in which he has thrown away big leads. He led Selby 5-3 in the UK quarter-finals before losing 6-5, he led Walden 5-2 in the Last 16 of the Masters before losing 6-5 and he lost 5-4 to Ryan Day in the Last 32 of the German Masters having led 4-1. So really, that all points to form that has been less than sparkling since the New Year. Meanwhile, Graeme Dott is a man that could do some damage in this quarter, while Mark Williams could do the same, but will be under big pressure on his home patch.


In terms of the end of season money list, Tian Pengfei has a nice draw sitting in 68th place and playing Alex Borg in the Last 128. Adam Duffy could really do with a run as well, but playing Lisowski and sitting in 90th place he looks dead and buried.


Quarter Winner: Going on form of 2014 it has to be Shaun Murphy

Quarter 4

Last 128 Draw:
Judd Trump Vs Kyren Wilson
Jamie Burnett Vs Ratchayothin Yotharuck
Anthony McGill Vs Jamie O'Neill
Ryan Day Vs Rhys Clark
Mark King Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Alan McManus Vs John Astley
Ken Doherty Vs James Cahill
John Higgins Vs Tony Drago
Ricky Walden Vs Paul Davison
Matt Selt Vs Khailed Abumdas
Anthony Hamilton Vs Michael Leslie
Peter Ebdon Vs Li Hang
Xiao Guodong Vs Hammad Miah
Michael White Vs Chris Wakelin
Nigel Bond Vs Barry Pinches
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mitchell Travis


In this, the final quarter we have the likes of World and Masters Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and former World Champion John Higgins, recent German Masters runner-up Judd Trump and semi-finalist Ryan Day, UK semi-finalist Ricky Walden and Shanghai Masters runner-up Xiao Guodong, so a load of players that could do plenty of damage in the next week and a half. Starting with Ronnie O'Sullivan, he has had a month off since his phenomenal display at the Masters, where he brushed everyone aside without blinking. I don't know whether this month off will be good or bad for Ronnie, and it will all depend on what he's been doing and how much he has prepared for this tournament and wants to win. But with a potential Last 32 meeting with Michael White or Xiao Guodong very possible, he's not going to have it all his own way and will have some big early tests. Meanwhile, Judd Trump is in decent form at the other end of this quarter, having recently reached the final of the German Masters and looking like getting back to his old self. However, he has a really tough first round draw against Kyren Wilson, and could well find himself in some early trouble there. John Higgins has had some trouble lately with form, and as he has said motivation and enjoyment of the game. All of that, and pretty inconsistent form, points to him not doing too well in Newport either, but you never know with John. Although, I do get the feeling that he really needs a good run before the end of the season for his own confidence. Ricky Walden could be dangerous in this quarter, but his issue has always been consistency, but if he could produce his best form this week, then he has every chance of going far in Wales. As for the likes of Day and Guodong, they both have tough draws facing likely Last 32 ties with Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan respectively, and though the early format lends itself to the odd shock, I don't really see it happening here, but you never know. Guodong probably has the better chance if he Ronnie isn't quite at his best.


In terms of the end of season money list, there are a lot of players looking very desperate and not even worth mentioning at this stage, though Barry Pinches in 74th still has a chance of getting out, and he plays Nigel Bond in the Last 128, so he could've had tougher matches.


Quarter Winner: Thought long and hard on this one but finally gone for Ronnie O'Sullivan


Tournament Runner-up: Ronnie O'Sullivan


Tournament Winner: Ding Junhui


Whatever does happen in the next week and a half, you know it will be a great event down in Newport with plenty of twists, turns and shocks thrown in, along with some classic snooker as we have another ranking event with 128 players at the venue. I hope you enjoy it as much as I surely will.

European Tour 8: Gdynia Open Preview

This weekend, starting on Friday and coming to a conclusion on Sunday is the professional stages of the final European Tour Players Tour Championship event in Poland. It's going to be a very tense weekend for a lot of players with spots in the PTC Grand Finals in Thailand up for grabs, with still a fair few players in with a chance of making the Top 24 on the European Order of Merit. Also, the race is well and truly on to try and take the 8 tour cards that will be offered to the 8 highest ranked players on the Order of Merit that haven't already qualified for next season. The 8 players currently holding these spots are: Sam Baird, Joel Walker, Luca Brecel, Scott Donaldson, Ian Burns, Michael Wasley, David Grace and Tony Drago. As well as all of this going on in the background, of course there is also a tournament to be won and a top prize of around £20,000 making it's way into someone's bank account after Sunday's final.




It's time to take a look then at all of the weeks scenarios, and who I think will go far in this event:

Quarter 1

Last 128 Draw:


Mark Selby Vs Chen Zhe
Anthony Hamilton Vs Amateur Qualifier
Matthew Stevens Vs Allan Taylor
Matthew Selt Vs Ahmed Saif
Martin Gould Vs Amateur Qualifier
Peter Lines Vs Xiao Guodong
Robert Milkins Vs Paul Davison
John Astley Vs Fraser Patrick
Judd Trump Vs Liu Chuang
Chris Wakelin Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Mike Dunn Vs Michael Leslie
Steve Davis Vs Amateur Qualifier
Tom Ford Vs Amateur Qualifier
Aditya Mehta Vs James Wattana
Mark King Vs Chris Norbury
Joe Perry Vs Daniel Wells


This quarter sees the likes of Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Joe Perry, Robert Milkins and Matthew Stevens as favourites to win it, while Tom Ford and Martin Gould amongst others could all produce good runs capable of winning the quarter. Meanwhile there are also lots of players that will be looking to boost their money ranking or to try and get into the top 8 players not already qualified for next season, and of course there are players in this section that can still make the Grand Finals.


Firstly, Mike Dunn is in a position where he is around £800 behind Tony Drago who holds the final tour card spot, and being £3,000 away from the Top 64 on the provisional money list, you have to say his best opportunity would be to get back on tour via the Euro OoM. Steve Davis is also around £800 pounds behind and could do with getting within this bracket, being only around £5000 ahead of place 65 which should be enough but you never know. Meanwhile the likes of Paul Davison, Daniel Wells, James Wattana and Michael Leslie all need wins this week for the money list you'd think, being a long way behind on that and with no realistic chances of making the top 8 not already on tour for next season. The important match in this quarter could well be between Davis and Dunn with the 2 due to meet in the Last 64 if they win their opening round ties, with the possible winner being in a much better position to stay on the tour you feel.


In terms of PTC Grand finals qualification, Martin Gould, Aditya Mehta and Robert Milkins would be the closest people outside of the Top 24 to be able to qualify this weekend with a few wins under their belts. Mehta is currently 28th on the OoM, while Gould is 31st and Milkins 39th. Looking at the draw and the current positions you have to say Mehta and Gould have the best chances, with Gould around £1,700 behind 24th placed Shaun Murphy, meaning realistically Gould will need to make the Last 8 to have any chance. As for Aditya, he is only £1,200 behind Shaun, meaning he will need either a Last 16 place and early exits for those above him, or a Last 8 spot and still for other results to go his way.


In terms of winning the quarter itself (you could've forgotten with everything else going on) you have to make Selby, Trump and Perry the main favourites this week. Perry has been resurgent all season and is back playing at his best again, and with an Asian PTC under his belt this season you couldn't rule him out this coming weekend. As for Mark Selby, he won the last PTC in November in Antwerp, and despite making the UK and Masters finals, he hardly produced his best snooker in Germany last week, and there are no signs that he could make a deep run in Poland this weekend, but you never know with Selby. Judd Trump is my favourite for the quarter though, having showed a return to form in Berlin last week, where he reach the final before losing out to the unstoppable Ding Junhui (who won't be in Poland to trouble anyone in this event). With Judd back in form it won't be long before he's winning tournaments and with his good record in PTC's, why can't it be this week?


Quarter Winner: Judd Trump

Quarter 2

Last 128 Draw:


Michael Holt Vs Li Hang
Jamie Jones Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Davis Vs Ratchayothin Yotharuck
Martin O'Donnell Vs Jak Jones
Kyren Wilson Vs Tian Pengfei
Robbie Williams Vs Li Yan
Stuart Bingham Vs Amateur Qualifier
Shaun Murphy Vs Jamie O'Neill
Stephen Maguire Vs Cao Xin Long
Ryan Day Vs Robin Hull
Gary Wilson Vs Adam Duffy
Michael Wasley Vs Amateur Qualifier
Barry Hawkins Vs Ryan Clark
Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon Vs Jimmy White
John Higgins Vs Amateur Qualifier
Anthony McGill Vs Elliot Slessor


This quarter sees the likes of Stuart Bingham, Stephen Maguire, Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy and John Higgins battling to try and win this quarter, along with the likes of Mark Davis and Ryan Day that are also well capable of a good run in Poland this weekend. In terms of Grand Final spots we also have places 23, 24 and 25 on the Order of Merit in this quarter along with places 20 and 21 that aren't yet safe and 36 and 37 that still have slim chances of qualifying. As well as this, we also have a fair few players that desperately need prize money this weekend to keep their tour spots via the OoM or Prize money list.


Firstly, in terms of PTC Grand Final spots, Shaun Murphy in 24th currently holds the final qualifying spot, while Barry Hawkins in 23rd is only £17 ahead of him, and therefore nowhere near safe. As for Robbie Williams, in 25th spot he is only £134 behind Shaun and therefore £151 behind Barry meaning it couldn't be tighter between those 3, with realistically the best performing of the 2 being in great shape to qualify. Meanwhile, Mark Davis and Gary Wilson are far from safe, being only around £1,300 clear, and with a lot of people around them being in their quarter, it's still all to play for. Anthony McGill and Kyren Wilson also still have very small chances of qualification, with both sitting around £2,400 or £2,500 behind however, they would need to make a run to at least the semi-finals in my opinion.


On the subject of tour survival, this quarter sees Michael Wasley who is currently within the top 8 not already qualified and being £1,000 ahead of the 9th best player not already qualified, which means that Michael is in a really good position but still needs a win or 2 this weekend to make sure. The current unlucky player who is the 9th best player not already qualified for next year is Martin O'Donnell, who is an agonising £600 behind Tony Drago. Also, the likes of Jimmy White, Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon and Adam Duffy all have decent survival chances, with Jimmy currently £4,000 clear of 65th on the Money list but still in need of wins, while Duffy is actually around £17,000 behind with very little chance of survival unless he has a massive run sometime soon. Thanawat meanwhile is £1,700 behind Tony Drago and would need to run deep in Poland and hope for results to go his way to have any chance of tour survival.


In terms of actually winning the quarter, the form book doesn't really have anything to back up Bingham, Hawkins or Murphy in recent times or even Maguire based on his German Masters showing. In fact Bingham and Murphy are somehow due to meet in the Last 64, but Bingham hasn't quite been himself in 2014 so far, while Murphy has showed glimpses of his best form. Hawkins has also struggled lately throwing away big leads in the UK quarter-final, Last 16 of the Masters and in the Last 32 of last weeks German Masters. Maguire did look good in the Masters and in winning Championship League group 4, but he would have been disappointed not to have gone further than the Last 32 in Berlin. It is sure to be a very tight quarter and with the likes of Higgins and Mark Davis also in the quarter, there are several big players who could win it, but not many that you'd back going by their recent records.


Quarter winner: Stephen Maguire

Quarter 3

Last 128 Draw:


Ricky Walden Vs Amateur Qualifier
Marcus Campbell Vs Andrew Higginson
Joel Walker Vs Amateur Qualifier
Andrew Norman Vs Dave Harold
Joe Swail Vs Ross Muir
Michael White Vs Craig Steadman
Alfie Burden Vs Noppon Saengkham
Jimmy Robertson Vs Andrew Pagett
Marco Fu Vs Amateur Qualifier
Nigel Bond Vs Hammad Miah
Sam Baird Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Luca Brecel Vs Amateur Qualifier
Barry Pinches Vs Amateur Qualifier
Pankaj Advani Vs Alex Borg
Ian Burns Vs Yu De Lu
Scott Donaldson Vs James Cahill


This quarter isn't exactly littered with top stars, but it is filled with a lot of people that need money in terms of the order of merit or the Prize money list. The likes of Ricky Walden, Marco Fu and Michael White will be among the favourites to win the quarter, but this quarter has the look about it of a surprise winner for sure, not that you'd like to try and name one from the capable players within it.


Firstly, looking at players fighting for Grand Final spots Joel Walker, Joe Swail and Luca Brecel are all players that are in with a shout of finishing in the top 24 on the OoM, while apart from that Michael White is the only other player in this quarter that could possibly make it, though he is £2,600 behind Shaun Murphy in 24th. As for Walker, he is himself £1,400 behind him and would therefore need at least a run to the Last 8 to have a good chance, with the same applying to Joe Swail who is £1,700 off of the pace, and Luca Brecel who is £2,100 adrift. On that evidence it is difficult to see any of them qualifying.


As for matters down the rankings and tour survival, the likes of Sam Baird, Luca Brecel and Joel Walker and Scott Donaldson all look certainties to gain tour cards via the Euro OoM with the lowest of those 4 (Donaldson) having a £2,000 cushion from unlucky 9th highest player not already qualified for the tour Martin O'Donnell. As for Ian Burns he is £1,100 clear of O'Donnell and 3 places above him, but he would still like a win or 2 this week (starting out against Yu De Lu) to be 100% of his tour place. The other player worth a look is Barry Pinches, who is 10th best not already qualified for next season, and is currently about £600 behind Drago holding the final tour card spot. So, if he can get a good couple of wins this week, starting against his amateur qualifier, he has every chance of gaining qualification for next year, what with being £9,000 behind on the money list.


As for a quarter winner, I have to make Marco Fu favourite despite his Last 64 exit in the German Masters, as he has been playing fairly well through the season, and in this quarter I can't really see many players stopping him to be honest. Ricky Walden had a week off last week which would have allowed him a good period of relaxation ahead of this one, and after a good comeback at the Masters you wouldn't put it past him to go far in this event. I have to say that one of Michael White, Andrew Higginson or even Luca Brecel could make it to a quarter win here, looking at the draw, but I couldn't trust myself to back one of them outright to do so.


Quarter Winner: Ricky Walden

Quarter 4

Last 128 Draw:


David Gilbert Vs Cao Yupeng
David Grace Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mark Joyce Vs Ken Doherty
Gerard Greene Vs Zhang Anda
Kurt Maflin Vs Lee Page
Rod Lawler Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ben Woollaston Vs Rory McLeod
David Morris Vs Jamie Cope
Graeme Dott Vs Peter Ebdon
Stuart Carrington Vs Patrick Einslie
Neil Robertson Vs Amateur Qualifier
Alan McManus Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Fergal O'Brien Vs Alex Davies
Tony Drago Vs Liam Highfield
Dominic Dale Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Mark Williams Vs Liang Wenbo


This quarter sees the likes of Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Graeme Dott and Dominic Dale battling it out as favourites to take the quarter, while the likes of Kurt Maflin, David Gilbert and Ben Woollaston are all capable of good outside runs to win this quarter. Meanwhile, we also have a few players that will be battling for tour and grand final spots.


Starting with the PTC grand final places, Graeme Dott, Fergal O'Brien and Kurt Maflin are the players within this section that all still have shots at making it into the top 24. Graeme currently sits in 27th around £1,100 behind 24th placed Murphy, meaning he still has a great chance of qualification if he could get a run to the Last 16 or quarter-finals. Fergal O'Brien sits just 2 spots behind Dott and £1,500 off of a grand final spot, realistically meaning he needs a place in the Last 8 to have any chance. Norwegian Kurt Maflin sits £1,800 behind Murphy which also means he will need to make at least the quarter-finals, but for a player of his class that is still well within his grasp.


Next up is the race for tour spots for next season, with the top 8 not already qualified from the OoM getting promotions to the tour for next season. In this quarter we have places 7 and 8 on that little list who are David Grace who is just £17 ahead of 8th placed Drago. This means they both have around £500 leads over the next best, and with Drago facing a fellow tour survival candidate in Liam Highfield (who needs the money being £11,000 behind on the Prize Money list) he isn't safe just yet, while Grace faces an amateur qualifier in round 1, but won't really be able to breath easy unless he can win this match and one more in Poland this weekend. We also have in this quarter Zhang Anda, who can't qualify from the OoM (barring unlikely results) but is only £7,000 behind on the money list and a decent run this weekend could boost his chances on that list.


Finally, for the quarter I'm struggling to see past Neil Robertson who has been a ton machine this season, and has already won 2 ranking events and was the runner-up in the 1st European Tour event, and he has been playing consistently well for most of the season. Mark Williams will probably provide the biggest challenge for the Australian on Saturday and Sunday having already won a PTC event this season, you wouldn't put it past Williams to do so again, though his form is a lot more in and out this season, and now that he is out of the Top 16 he does get much tougher draws than he would like in the full ranking events. Dotty and shoot-out winner Dale will also provide competition this week, with Dale in decent form, but Graeme's form is patchy at best these days, and he will have a lot of pressure on him this week as he will be fighting hard for every result to try and gain a Grand Final spot. Although, this could make him an even better shout for the quarter, putting everything and much more into every match this weekend as he always does, it's still tough to see him winning it though.


Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson


Tournament runner-up: Neil Robertson


Tournament Winner: Judd Trump


However, whatever happens throughout this weekend it is surely going to be very exciting for the viewers and extremely entertaining to keep track of all the permutations, and watch some incredibly nervous matches as there could be more twitches than a rabbits nose with the fight for Grand Finals spots and tour cards reaching a climax on Sunday evening. I hope you've enjoyed reading my preview and taking in all the possibilities for this weekend, and if you want to see how the OoM is looking after every match this weekend then head to snooker.org where their Provisional Euro Order of Merit will be updated as every result comes in throughout the 3 days of the event.

German Masters Preview

Wednesday sees the start of one of my favourite tournaments on the snooker calendar these days with the start of the German Masters at the Tempodrome in Berlin. Why do I and many other fans and players love this event so much? Well firstly, the arena is massive and with the set-up of the tables the fans can see all of the tables at once, which was 5 in the previous years, but it will be 8 for the early stages of this event this time around. Watching at home and for the players, there always seems to be a great atmosphere, with the fantastic German supporters supporting the event superbly from start to finish. This is also the first ranking event of 2014 and it's also a very quick fire event with all the player from the Last 64 down to the final, packed into five thrilling days of snooker from Wednesday to Sunday.




So, then lets have a look at what top quality action we can look forward to this week, and some of the implications that may have on the battle for tour survival down the rankings list:

Quarter 1:

Last 64 Draw: (My picks in bold)


Ali Carter Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Jimmy White Vs Xiao Guodong
Ratchayothin Yotharuck Vs Jamie Burnett
Aditya Mehta Vs Joel Walker
Stuart Bingham Vs Peter Lines
Anthony Hamilton Vs Michael White
Ryan Day Vs Cao Xin Long
Li Hang Vs Barry Hawkins




This quarter isn't exactly littered with top players, but there are plenty of great players in this section that can do plenty of damage in this event and go on to win the whole thing. In this section we have defending champion Ali Carter, UK semi-finalist Stuart Bingham, 2013 World finalist Barry Hawkins, and there are also guys like Shanghai Masters runner-up Xiao Guodong, Ryan Day and Michael White that could all go on a run in Berlin this week. Meanwhile the likes of Peter Lines, Jimmy White and Joel Walker could all do with decent runs this week to try and boost their money rankings, although Lines and Jimmy are currently inside the Top 64, they could certainly do with wins to increase the gap between themselves and the guys below the 64 line. As for Walker you have to say that he would need a miracle to hold onto his tour card via the end of season money list, though he is very well placed on the current European PTC Order of Merit to pick up a new tour card for next season, with just 1 event to go in Poland in early February. However, with the Last 64 matches that these 3 face, it is very hard to see any of them progressing any further in Berlin, but you never know.




In terms of the quarter winner, Ali Carter has not had the best year that has once again been hit by illness, and it would be really good to see him go well this week and cue well, and looking at his draw I have to think he is in a fairly favourable position to at least make the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Stuart Bingham didn't quite look himself at The Masters for whatever reason, and I hope that he can a way to get back to the way he was playing in the UK Championships where he was quite simply superb. Barry Hawkins hasn't had the best year to date either, and after a poor show in the latter stages of his first round loss at The Masters, you have to say that there aren't really any signs that say he will be nearing the form he showed at last years World Championships this coming week.




Quarter Winner: I have to say it would be nice to see Ali Carter win this one and there is no good reason to tell me why he can't.

Quarter 2

Last 64 Draw: (My picks in bold)


Ding Junhui Vs Mike Dunn
David Morris Vs Mark Williams
Dominic Dale Vs Steve Davis
Gerard Greene Vs John Higgins
Mark Allen Vs Anthony McGill
Luca Brecel Vs Joe Perry
Tom Ford Vs Kurt Maflin
Jimmy Robertson Vs Mark Selby




This quarter is absolutely jam-packed full of top players that could all go and win the event, never mind the quarter. Guys like Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Mark Allen, John Higgins, Joe Perry and Mark Williams are all very tough to beat on their respective days. Meanwhile, looking further down the rankings, there are important matches for the likes of Luca Brecel, Mike Dunn, Steve Davis and Gerard Greene who will all looking to pick up vital wins with Gerard Greene, Steve Davis hovering just above the Top 64 line, while Luca is sat in 65th place, but will move into 64th place with Stephen Lee not looking like playing anymore matches this season. As for Mike, he is around £3000 off of the pace this week, and with a very tough opening round draw against Ding Junhui it doesn't look like he'll be adding to that tally this week. Luca has an equally tricky match against Joe Perry in the Last 64, while Greene faces John Higgins and Steve Davis faces Dominic Dale, so as good as all 3 of them are they face very tough matches indeed if they are to put themselves further clear of the ranking relegation zone.




In terms of picking a quarter winner, it is a very tough little section to try and predict, but as always i'll give it my best and hope for something better than total failure. Ding Junhui has to be one of the heavy favourites, despite a poor showing at The Masters, having won 3 ranking events already this season. 2 weeks off since his Masters exit would have done him good after a relaxing Christmas to get back into his full practice routine and be fully prepared for a deep run at the Tempodrome. Mark Selby also has a good shout at winning this section after his little Winter burst has come into effect again with final appearances at the UK Championships and the more recent Masters where Ronnie O'Sullivan ran riot. Mark still has played as well on a consistent basis as he would like, and we know he can and it must be immensely frustrating for a man of his talent to only show his best a few times a year, and on that basis you have to say he will struggle to beat some of the guys lining up in this quarter. The likes of Mark Allen and John Higgins have again showed glimpses of their best so far this season, but they haven't showed it consistently enough in the big events, but maybe this could be the week for one of them to come through. However, if it's consistency you want there is only one winner of this quarter.




Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui to make up for a disappointing display at The Masters.

Quarter 3

Last 64 Draw: (My picks in bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Liu Chuang
Tian Pengfei Vs Andrew Higginson
Marcus Campbell Vs Rod Lawler
Paul Davison Vs Marco Fu
Mark Davis Vs David Gilbert
Ben Woollaston Vs Graeme Dott
Liang Wenbo Vs Cao Yupeng
Mark Joyce Vs Stephen Maguire




Once again here we have a quarter here that is full of great players that could easily go on and win the tournament. The likes of century machine Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire, Marco Fu, Graeme Dott and Mark Davis are all top quality talents and can make this quarter very difficult for each other. Lower down the ranking lists, the provisional end of season money list shows that guys like Tian Pengfei, Liu Chuang and Paul Davison are all in big trouble, needing long runs at some point between now and the end of the season to make up the big gap between themselves and the top 64 tour relegation line. However, the 3 of those having tough draws against Andrew Higginson, Neil Robertson and Marco Fu, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to gain too much money, if any at all to help their survival causes next week.




Back to the top then, and thinking of a winner of this section you have to say there are plenty of players here that could easily run through and win the quarter on their day. You have to start with Neil Robertson, or the ton machine as he will soon be known, having made 77 centuries so far this season with 2 months to go, and 100 for the season well within his sights. Since winning the UK Championship title at the back end of 2013 he hasn't quite looked himself yet in the early stages of 2014 with poor performances, particularly at The Masters, and he seemed to lack a little bit of consistency in groups 3 and 4 of the Championship League last week, but if he can sort that out there's no reason why he couldn't add to his ranking event tally. Stephen Maguire is another great contender for this title, never mind the quarter as a whole, having put in some much better performances at the start of 2014, after working hard at his game over Christmas, making the semi-finals of The Masters and winning Group 4 of the Championship League at Crondon Park last week, and having made the final here 2 years ago, he'll certainly fancy his chances of going one step further this time around. Marco Fu is the other big contender to win this quarter, and again he has played well this season, winning the Australian Open and making the final of the International Championship. However, he showed some of his old consistencies by being by amateur Mitchell Travis at the Last 128 stage of the UK Championship and again at The Masters when he threw away a 4-1 lead to lose 6-4 in the Quarter-finals to Shaun Murphy.




Quarter Winner: With his recent turnaround in form post-Christmas I fancy Stephen Maguire to win this one.

Quarter 4

Last 64 Draw: (My picks in bold)
Judd Trump Vs Noppon Saengkham
Dave Harold Vs Mark King
Matthew Stevens Vs Fergal O'Brien
Shaun Murphy Vs Ken Doherty
Gary Wilson Vs Daniel Wells
Jamie O'Neill Vs Michael Holt
Peter Ebdon Vs Alan McManus
Jack Lisowski Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh




This quarter doesn't have as many top players as some of the other top quarters, with 2nd seed Ronnie O'Sullivan losing to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Ricky Walden losing to 147 man Gary Wilson in the Last 128 stage which was played at the Barnsley Metrodome in mid-December. However, former world Champions Shaun Murphy and Peter Ebdon along with former UK Champion Judd Trump and former Masters champion Matthew Stevens line up in this section, along with young gun Jack Lisowski and former top 16 player Mark King who all have the capabilities of coming out on top in this section. Nearer the bottom end of the rankings, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Daniel Wells and Jamie O'Neill all need wins this week if they are to survive tour relegation. Thepchaiya has the most realistic survival chance, being only around £2000 behind the top 64, and if he can get a win against Jack Lisowski in the Last 64 this week he'll be in a much better position. As for Daniel Wells and Jamie O'Neill, they have little or no chance of staying on the tour this year, and with tough first round matches against Gary Wilson and Michael Holt it won't get any easier for them.


As for the quarter winner, Judd Trump will be someone that is right at the top of that list despite his poor season so far. The best performance Judd seems to have had this season was his win in group 3 of the Championship League last week, because apart from that he's not made it past the Last 16 in a big event since last seasons World Championship. However, his form has looked like it may turn up a couple of times this season, and it hasn't really happened for him, so there are certainly no guarantees. Another player that has not had the best season on tour is Shaun Murphy who's season highlight was his recent semi-final appearance at The Masters, because apart from that he hasn't made it past the Last 16 in a full ranking event. However, I know he has been working very very hard at his game, and on himself and he is feeling very good, and he mentioned in our latest Q&A that he loves the Tempodrome and the German Masters, and would love to win it one day for his German fans. He made a 147 in group 2 of the Championship League and did look to be cueing well in groups 3 and 4 and in parts of his Masters campaign. You have to say though, that Judd and Shaun, who are due to meet in the Last 16 of this event, if they could re-discover their best form, they have to be contenders for the title next weekend.


Quarter Winner: I'm going to go for Shaun Murphy who seems to be cueing slightly better since the New Year.


Tournament Runner-up: Stephen Maguire


Tournament Winner: Ding Junhui


Whether my tips are any good is one thing you should certainly be unsure of, but what we do know is that with cramming the Last 64 to the final into 5 days that we are going to have a snooker feast, with what are sure to be 5 superb days of snooker from Wednesday-Sunday this week, at the wonderful Tempodrome venue in Berlin. I just hope now that one of my favourite events on the calendar can live up to my big billing and provide another enjoyable event this season.

Masters Q&A with SHAUN MURPHY

It's that time of the year again as Masters fever has hit the snooker nation, and one of the guys hoping to take the prestigious title next Sunday is Shaun Murphy who kindly took some time out from his heavy preparations to answer a few questions I had for him on The Masters, a busy period between now and the end of February, his start to the season and his recent weight loss.


Here's what Shaun had to say:

Where do you rank the Masters event on the calendar in comparison to the rest of the calendar?

For me The Masters was always the third major behind the UK's and the World Championship. But now with the increase in prize money and the upcoming switch to a money list, I think it's now the second biggest event of our calendar.

How hard are you working to try and win The Masters this time around and complete the Triple Crown, and how do you rate your chances?

Completing my triple crown of BBC events will be top of my priority list until I achieve it so I've been working really hard on my game over the festive period to try to make sure I get to Ally Pally in good form.

You have Ding Junhui in the first round this year, who since winning The Masters in 2011, hasn’t won a Masters match in 2 years since, how are you looking to approach this match knowing what Ding is capable of, and what are you expecting on the day?

Well as you rightly say, Ding has already won this tournament before and so doesn't have anything to prove there. Mid way through this season he was looking unbeatable and our game in Shanghai was a high quality match. Of course in snooker all I can focus on is my one game and that's what I'll be doing down there.

Where does the Ally Pally sit for you as a Masters snooker venue, and is the feeling shared by the other players?

I'm pretty sure that anyone that played at the old Conference Centre would say that it was the best venue of them all, but the Ally Pally is definitely a close second and 100% better than the Wembley Arena we played in for a few years. Although it was pretty cool knowing that Kylie had used the same dressing rooms the week before!

Neil Robertson has been your Masters nemesis the past 2 years, and after being the first overseas player to complete the Triple Crown in December, do you think he’ll be the man to beat again this year?

Neil along with Mark Selby have now in my opinion made themselves so consistent that I think they are always the ones to beat nowadays. Mark in particular has found a way of being able to win when he's not at his best and as Steve Davis once said, that's what sport is all about.

The Masters is one of the tournaments these days with a longer format, do you prefer the long format and would you like to see more tournaments for the elite players with the longer format?

It's a funny sign of the times when we start calling best of 11's a long format as it isn't really. I just think now that most of the tour have adapted to all the match lengths and just get on with it. I think in general people like the fact that they will definitely have a result at the end of play. Nothing frustrates me more when watching sport than not having a result.

The shoot-out follows the Masters in late January, what do you make of that event and is it nice to see some of these types of events on the calendar?

I really like the Shoot Out. It's a completely different event than any other we see on tour all year and it's refreshing. I do think though that for Snooker to thrive in todays world like a few other sports are doing, certain things have to change and some of the things we see at the Shoot Out need to filter through into "normal" snooker. Certainly a lot of purists won't like it, but the paying public are the ones that part with their cash to come and watch us and I think what they want, they should get.

The German Masters at the Tempodrome in Berlin in early February is another event you have a nice record in, how nice would it be to win an event in a venue you rate so highly and do the surroundings inspire you to do well?

Well it's an event very close to my heart as I was lucky enough to be involved in the promotion of snooker through the mid naughties in places like Germany and other European countries that are now taking snooker to heart and it's really nice to see these events doing so well. I've played many exhibition events in the Tempodrome and have always had great support in Germany that I'm very thankful for, so for them more than me I'd like to have a good run there one day and who knows maybe one day lift the title.

Also in early February is the final EPTC event in Gdynia, and with you currently sat in the 24th and final qualifying spot, how desperate are you to have a good run in Poland to make it back to the PTC Finals for the first time since you won it, and would you consider entering the final APTC if you don’t qualify via the European Order of Merit?

Yeah qualifying for the Tour finals is definitely something I'm trying to do but as always, all I can do is my best and not worry too much about other results and other players. If I play well enough I'm sure I'll get through. If not then entering the final APTC is something I'll definitely be looking at as like I say, getting to the tour finals is a real goal of mine. To win it in year one and then not go back for two years has been hard but I'm trying my best to get there this year.

A hectic January/February period culminates in the Welsh Open, where you have lost in Round 1 in 3 of the last 4 seasons, so how much will you be trying to put that right?

The Welsh Open has not been one of my strongest events that's for sure. I think I got to the final in '06 but since then it's been a tough event for me. Not really sure why but I'll be going this year trying my best as always and trying to put in a good performance and see what happens.

While not playing poorly in the first half of the season, you have been on a pretty poor run of form. So, what aspects of your game in particular are you working on to try and have a better second half of the season and what are your goals for this period?

It's been a really weird season for me so far. I've worked so hard on my game and myself away from the table and so far haven't seen any rewards for it. But I know that if you do the right things for long enough, then eventually you get the rewards for your hard work.

What is your view on the Championship League event as a whole, and do you think that it can provide good match practice for the big events?

When it first started I think a few of the lads saw it as a bit of a knockabout but it's definitely more than that now. For me especially I'm going to use it as an opportunity to try out some of the things I've been working on and hopefully play myself into some good form just before The Masters, so I think it's a great event.

Do you think that tournaments like The Masters really set the men from the boys in terms of the general standard of play, but also the guys that work hard over the Christmas break with the ones that don’t?

I think if The Masters was in the first week of January then you'd really get a taste for who had been playing over Christmas and those that hadn't. With it starting on the 12th and the Championship league being played before it too I think most players will arrive ready for action. It is after all the second biggest event in our game so not being prepared would be a bit silly really.

A lot of people have been commenting on your recent weight loss, and want to know how much you’ve lost, and what made you decide to start losing weight, so could you enlighten the fans?

I just got to a point in my life where I wanted to be better, in all areas. My diet's always been terrible and so I spoke with some close friends about it and they put together a really good health eating plan for me which I've followed and since starting on August 12th last year I've lost nearly three stone. They told me that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise, something I'd not thought about before and they were right. Anyone who wants to know more about it can contact me on Twitter @magician147 or through my website www.shaunmurphy.net

Just to finish off, as we enter the new year what was your favourite moment of 2013, and what are your hopes for 2014?

I actually always look back at my Massé attempt against Ding in Shanghai as one of my funniest moments of 2013, it certainly couldn't have gone any worse could it? As for 2014 I'm going to continue working on my game and getting better and fitter and I'll see where that takes me. Obviously I'm trying to win every event I play in but that hasn't happened yet.............................yet.

Thanks to Shaun once again for giving some good views and insight on a range of things there. I'd like to wish him and the rest of the players good luck for The Masters, and I for one hope to see Murphy back in the winners enclosure very soon.

The Masters Preview

It's that time of the year again, for one of the most prestigious events of the season, as the 16 best players in the world arrive at the Alexandra Palace in London for The Masters starting on Sunday. This event has produced many a classic match in it's time, which is always likely to happen when the best players in the world head-to-head, and I have to say that the Alexandra Palace is another top snooker venue and that The Masters is definetly one of my favourite events on the snooker calendar. Looking at the draw just for the opening round you can see that there are going to be plenty of good matches, even before we reach the latter stages.




Let's have a look at what we can expect at the Ally Pally next week:

Quarter 1

Last 16 Draw (All times UK)
Mark Selby Vs Mark Davis - Sunday 12th January 1pm
Stuart Bingham Vs John Higgins - Sunday 12th January 7pm




So the top half of the draw sees two Masters champions and two other guys who don't perhaps have the best Masters records. Firstly, the 3 times and defending Masters champion Mark Selby is certainly going to be one of the main contenders this week given his brilliant record and return to form, as he reached the final of the UK Championships making a 147 in the semi-final as he fell at the final hurdle as he tried to defend his title. Generally he seemed to be playing better that week and he looked a lot more confident as well. As for Mark Davis his season has been a fairly shaky one, and he will very much need to improve if he is to have any chance in his opening fixture against Selby, and with no disrespect to Davis I can only really see one winner here unless Davis improves the form that's seen him only make 2 ranking quarter-finals all season and not generally play great snooker.


The other contest in this quarter is an incredibly tough one to call with John Higgins struggling for form since the very early stages of the season, but we all know what he's capable of if he can get back to his very best. Meanwhile, Stuart Bingham had a great back end to 2013 reaching a UK semi-final and making the final of the Champion of Champions event. It has to be said that Bingham has to be one of the most improved players of the last 2 years and the fact that he is now in the top eight in the world is evidence of this in itself. However, he looked fairly shaky at the Championship League where he was relegated in  group 1 after only 1 win, and throwing away a few good leads. It just highlighted that although you would make Bingham the favourite that if Higgins can bring out his A game for this one then he will have a great chance of victory.




Quarter Winner: Mark Selby to beat Mark Davis and then John Higgins to make the semi-finals in my opinion

Quarter 2

Last 16 Draw (All times UK):
Judd Trump Vs Marco Fu - Monday 13th January 2pm
Ding Junhui Vs Shaun Murphy - Tuesday 14th January 2pm




This for me is the best quarter of the draw with a former Masters champion and two former runners-up as well as 3 of the players being former UK Champions. It has to be said first off that Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy have both had poor runs of form this season with both players only being able to boast best ranking event performances of the Last 16 in the UK Championship. However, one thing we know about both these men is that they are certainly crowd pleasers. Trump especially loves entertaining the big crowds at the big events with his brand of snooker, and Shaun was saying to me the other day that he thinks he's one of those players that needs a big crowd to perform well. At the end of the day, it doesn't get any bigger than the one table set-up of The Masters.




Marco Fu and Ding Junhui meanwhile have had a brilliant season, with Ding Junhui winning 3 ranking events on the trot, while Fu won the Australian Open and reached the International Championship final. However, neither of these two were at their best in the UK Championships with Fu showing some of his old inconsistencies and Ding Junhui looking tired after a long first half of the season for him. Ding Junhui has said ahead of this tournament that he's had a nice 3 week rest back home in China, and with 2 first round exits in the last 2 years at The Masters it will be interesting to see how much work Ding Junhui has put in ahead of this years campaign. As for Fu, Judd Trump is going to be a very tough opponent for him with Judd finding some form this week at Crondon Park making both of the first two Championship league group finals. As for Ding Junhui against Shaun Murphy, I think that people have been incredibly quick to write Shaun Murphy off for this one, and may have changed their minds after seeing his group 2 performances in the CL this week. Shaun made a 147 on Wednesday and this seemed to give him a huge boost of confidence after probably the lowest point of his season came on Tuesday in group one with him looking very frustrated. It's no secret that Murphy has certainly been putting lot's of work in, on and off of the table getting both his game and himself into shape. It may sound weird but the 147 maybe the turning point of his season and could prove to be the huge confidence boost he needed, but I don't think it will be enough for him to win the event this week.




Quarter Winner: Judd Trump to beat Marco Fu and then Shaun Murphy

Quarter 3

Last 16 draw (all times UK):
Neil Robertson Vs Mark Allen - Wednesday 15th January 1pm
Stephen Maguire Vs Joe Perry - Monday 13th January 7pm




This quarter sees two quality first round matches involving a former Masters champion and current UK champion and a former UK champion, but most importantly 4 guys with loads of big match experience. Firstly, ton machine Neil Robertson meets Mark Allen for the 4th year in a row at The Masters, with Neil winning the last 2 of the 3 previous matches. You have to make Neil a firm favourite again, as he is playing the best snooker in the world right now, and after winning the UK Championship in December you'd be an idiot to think he couldn't win this title for a second time. As for Mark Allen he has had a decent season so far, playing some very good snooker in parts, but his best snooker has only really appeared in the European Tour events, and if he can transfer this to The Masters next week he has every chance of a good run, however it will be another big ask against a very in-form Neil Robertson.




The other last 16 match of this quarter sees Stephen Maguire take on recent CL group 2 winner Joe Perry. Joe Perry has had a very good season so far, with an International Championship semi-final to his name and he just reminded us of his good form in that Championship League group 2 where he only lost one match, which was a 3-0 loss to Robertson who made 3 centuries in the match. Stephen Maguire meanwhile, has not quite been at his consistent best, missing the start of the season before only making an Indian Open semi-final and a UK quarter-final to balance out some early exits. For me, Perry has certainly been the more consistent player this season so far, with some very good performances so far making him a favourite with me for this match.




Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson to beat Mark Allen and then Joe Perry

Quarter 4

Last 16 Draw (all times UK):
Barry Hawkins Vs Ricky Walden - Wednesday 15th January 7pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Robert Milkins - Tuesday 14th January 7pm




The final quarter of the draw sees the defending world Champion join, the 2013 World Championship runner-up and a 2013 World and UK semi-finalist. However, despite the players in this section being evenly matched with the big game credentials, you have to say that this is certainly Ronnie O'Sullivan's quarter for the taking if he's motivated and really wants to win. If Ronnie is in the mood it is very difficult to see Robert Milkins having any chance of victory, especially after the Milkman's showings in the UK Last 16 against Ronnie and at this weeks CL group 1 where he was pretty poor to put it kindly.




As for the other last 16 tie in this section, Barry Hawkins also showed some new year rustiness in group 2 of the Championship League, failing to win any of his 6 group matches. Hawkins also said prior to the UK Championship that he lacked motivation after the World Championship final, so it will be interesting to see how motivated he is for this one, but with it being The Masters motivation shouldn't be a problem. Meanwhile, revenge is the only thing on Ricky Walden as the recent CL group 1 winner looks to get one back on Barry Hawkins after Barry beat him in the 2013 World Championship semi-final. To add to this semi-final Ricky has also got a confidence boosting UK Championship semi-final as the highlight of his season, despite him not really being at his best. Walden does seem to be near his best after this week though, and he will need to be playing well and much more consistently if he is to be the much improved and more consistent Barry Hawkins.




Quarter Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan to beat Robert Milkins and then Ricky Walden.




Masters runner-up: Ronnie O'Sullivan winning a close match against Neil Robertson




Masters Winner: Judd Trump doing enough to overcome Mark Selby before beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in a classic Masters final.


However the draw does pan out, this is going to be a fantastic week of snooker, with plenty of players coming into to top form, with lots of close matches on the cards, and that's just in the first round. I hope you enjoy the event, and I hope to be back with regular updates through the event.

Predictions for the Snooker Year of 2014

Right, with a feast of snooker to look forward to in 2014, thanks to Barry Hearn, Jason Ferguson and everyone at World Snooker. These days there are a lot more things that you can look to predict, and it's fair to say I have had a good go at predict some of them, offering 12 predictions for snooker in 2014 ranging from the winner of the Triple Crown events, to how many centuries Neil Robertson will finish the current season with.

Here they are then:

1)      Winner of World Championship: Ding Junhui - I said he'd win it 2 years ago, but I think he's definetly ready to do it now.

2)      Winner of the Masters: Ronnie O’Sullivan - The big events are what really motivates Ronnie, and he likes a good challenge. It doesn't get any bigger or more challenging than beating the top 16 in the world to win a prestigious title.

3)      Winner of The UK Championships: Mark Allen - you feel he has to win a big major sometime, so why not in 2014

4)      Surprise ranking winner: It wouldn’t be a huge surprise, but I have to feel that Michael White will win a ranking event in 2014 of the guys outside the current top 16.

5)      To end a long drought for a ranking win: Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump, both have worked to hard and are too talented to not win a ranking event some time, with Judd's last coming in November 2012 and Shaun's in March 2011.

6)      To finish the year World No.1 : Neil Robertson, he's been too good in 2013 and if he continues to play well in 2014 you can't see anyone passing him.

7)      To win most ranking events in 2014: Neil Robertson, again if he continues to play how he has in 2013, then he'll be a shoe in for this one.

8)      Big ranking climber: David Morris certainly to continue his climb up the rankings having re-joined the tour in 2013, a very talented player and it would be a shame not to see him continue to go forward.

9)      How many centuries will Neil Robertson finish the 2013/2014 season with? 91 for me (and not because 91 is my favourite number).

10)   Winner of the Shoot-out lottery? Jack Lisowski, a tournament tailor made for him, and usually one that is won by someone outside of the Top 16.

11)   Where will the 2014 UK Championships be held? Got to think they’ll stay in York, no reason to move them really a great venue.

12)   Classic Match of 2014 winner? A best-of-19 Masters final between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump would be a cracker if that happened. Otherwise there are a few scenarios for World Semi-finals or World Finals in 2014 that would produce absolute crackers.


So those are my efforts, if you disagree with any of them, then you'll have to head on to Twitter and tell me where I've gone wrong.

Happy New Year, good luck in everything you do in 2014, and enjoy what is sure to be a great year of snooker.

Classic Matches of 2013 countdown: 1st Place: Judd Trump Vs Shaun Murphy (World Championship)

It's the final day of my 12 days of Christmas, classic matches of 2013 countdown as we find out who takes the prize of the best snooker match of 2013. This time we take a trip back to Tuesday 30th April and Wednesday 1st May when Judd Trump took on Shaun Murphy in an absolutely epic battle in the Quarter-finals of the 2013 World Championships. This match just about had everything from top potting, and break-building, superb tactical play and an incredibly tense final session.

So, let's take a final look back on the 2013 year of snooker, and these 2 magnificent days at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield:

Judd Trump Vs Shaun Murphy

Shaun Murphy was in first in the opening frame of this World Championship Quarter-final, with a brilliant long red to stop the cue ball perfectly for the black, but he only made 16 from the opportunity, missing one of the easiest reds you will ever see missed. This gave Judd Trump an early chance, and once he had the reds open it turned into a golden opportunity but he missed an easy red himself after a horrible kick. The frame started to go scrappy after the next safety battle, but another cracking long pot gave Shaun the next chance but he could only make 9 from it before failing to get on the next colour. After potting the next 2 reds in separate breaks Murphy had a 5 point lead with 2 reds left. After a poor escape from a snooker from Judd, and some brilliant safety from both players, Murphy had the next chance but he missed an easy pink and left the last red on for Judd, and he was 9 points in front when he missed the green. Shaun potted the green, but missed a tough brown and left it on for Judd who potted the brown, blue and pink to win a lengthy opener and lead 1-0. Shaun knocked in another good red to give him the first chance of the second frame, but he could only make 21 before losing the cue ball having gone into the reds from another red. Judd had the next chance before missing another easy red, and with the reds open for Murphy it was a golden chance for him to level. That was exactly what he did with a better break of 68 making it 1-1. Another easy miss from Judd in the third frame showed that he was struggling, and Shaun Murphy had another good opportunity to score. He’d made 28 this time before falling out of position and playing safe.  A very poor safety from Judd, left Shaun another opening, with the balls nicely spread for him to move ahead. He did exactly that with another good break of 61 to go 2-1 up. Judd got in first in the fourth frame with a nice long red, but he went straight into the pack getting a brilliant split only to see a red go in. This gave Shaun another golden chance with all of the balls there for him to double his lead. He was really flowing nicely and a brilliant break of 82 put him into a 3-1 lead at the first mid-session interval.

Shaun Murphy had the first chance after the break with a long red to get in, but with reds not too nicely positioned there was work for him to do. Shaun had made it to 39 when he ran out of position slightly and went in-off on a difficult rest shot. A good long pot from Shaun got him back in but he missed a pink on the stretch. That left Judd in but he couldn’t take advantage, playing a bad shot to not get on a colour from the easy opening red. Judd had the next opening with an easy shot to the middle, and he made 34 before missing a double/treble on the green trailing by 2 points. Shaun missed a long green and left it on for Judd but also knocking the blue and pink safe. Judd potted the green and brown, before playing a poor safety on the blue, which Murphy then missed and left safe with Trump leading by 5 points. Judd then potted a good long blue, leaving him a tricky pink to the middle for the frame. He missed it and left it over the pocket for Murphy to try and steal the frame, and Murphy then had a tricky black along the rail to go three frames clear, and pot it he did to make it 4-1. A missed longish cut from Trump wouldn’t help his confidence, especially as he left Murphy amongst the reds with another scoring opportunity. A fantastic black along the rail from the jaws of the pocket from Murphy took his break onto 22 and made it into a golden opening for the 2005 World Champion to surge ahead. A cannon into the reds went wrong for Shaun shortly after though and he had to play safe on 28. Shaun had the next chance as well after a missed long red from Judd Trump once more, and with all the reds there this time it was a massive chance for Murphy to go 4 frames in front. A good 50 from Shaun put him 5-1 up, and meant that he would lead going into the second session, with 2 frames left to play in this one. Shaun had the first chance again in frame seven after Judd missed another long red by some distance. A terrible contact on what was already a tricky black ruined the break though on 33. Judd got in with a nice long red but he hit the brown going in and out of baulk from the pink and he missed another long red to leave Murphy in again. He could only make 9 though as he didn’t get a favourable split of the reds, but Judd was really struggling now and another miss gave Shaun yet another golden chance to win the frame, but he missed an easy pink to give Judd a decent chance of his own to try and claw back the frame from 43 points behind. Judd reduced the deficit to 25 before failing to nudge out a difficult red, but his safety was poor as he left the red he played safe on over the corner for Shaun. Unusually though Shaun turned down a pot on the blue to put the green safe and snooker Judd on the last red. Judd got out of the snooker and Murphy made a mess of and left the red over the middle. A good break of 33 stole the frame from Murphy’s grasp, in a frame that could have huge importance later, pulling the score back to 2-5. A really poor pot attempt from Judd left Murphy with an easy starter, and showed how much Trump was struggling in the session and how much Shaun needed to capitalise. He only made 3 though as he missed a fairly simple mid-range red which gave Judd an opening to try and finish the session on a really positive note. Trump only made 19 though missing a tough red to the green pocket. Shaun knocked in a cracking long red to give him the next chance after the safety battle. A good split of the remaining reds in the bunch made into a must take chance for Murphy to win the final frame of the first session. A break of 76 was enough for Shaun to do it and he led after the first session 6-2.

The second session started with Judd knocking in a good red into the middle, but he only made 6 before missing a tough black to the corner. A good long pot from Murphy gave him his chance of the middle session in this match, and once he played a nice cannon into the reds from the black that Trump left over the corner, making it a magnificent chance to keep the pressure on Judd. A break of 91 kept Judd under it and put Murphy 5 frames in front at 7-2. Judd had the first chance of the next frame with a good long pot to try and help him get going after a really poor first session. Judd could only make 7 before snookering himself on all the colours after going into reds from a red. Judd fluked a snooker though and Murphy left a red on trying to get out of it and with all the reds there, this was Trump’s chance to show everyone what he was made of. He did just that with a break of 93, his highest of the match so far to pull the score back to 3-7. Murphy knocked in a superb long red to give him the first chance of the eleventh frame, but he ran out of position having potted a tricky black on 16. Another “Shaun Murphy special” got him back in after a brilliant safety battle, but he could only make 6 after a careless positional shot. Murphy missed a cut into the middle after the next safety battle gave Trump a good chance to make a frame winning contribution. A careless cannon left Trump a thin cut on a red though and Trump went in-off from it and only made 14. This gave Shaun another golden chance to restore his 5 frame advantage in this match. He missed a tricky red for frame ball though, but Judd could only tie and he played a careless safety to leave Shaun the red he needed to secure the frame, and Murphy did enough from it to go 8-3 in front. Needing just 5 of the remaining 14 frames to go into the semi-finals. Judd Trump had the first chance in the last frame before the second mid-session interval, after Shaun Murphy was a whisker away from making a great pot to the green pocket, and he soon went into the reds from another red that was over the corner and the former UK Champion soon had an excellent chance to win the frame and get back into the match. After making a very tough cut back black, Trump’s break ended on 20 as he missed a simpler red. Murphy missed a mid-range red to punish Judd though, and the “Ace in the pack” was back at the table with all of the reds perfectly placed for him to take the frame. The break ended when Trump missed a trickier red with his opposite hand, but Murphy couldn’t capitalise potting the red but missing a blue to the corner, leaving Trump the red he needed for the frame and he did enough to get back into it at 4-8.

Judd had an early chance in frame thirteen after potting a good red to the yellow pocket following a missed long red from The Magician. Judd soon went into the reds and made it into a cracking chance to claw another frame back. He’d got to 44 before he played a poor positional shot and failed to get on his next red. Shaun was starting to miss some long reds though, and one of these cost him as it gave Trump another chance to win the frame. He only made 11 though as he missed a simple red to the middle. Judd then knocked in a brilliant long red to give him his third good chance of the frame, and he took it this time as an additional 36 made it 5-8. Judd was on the charge now, and he had the first opportunity of the next frame as well after a good long pot, and he potted a good red to the middle to keep the break going before splitting the reds brilliantly from the black and putting him in a great position to shave another frame off of Shaun Murphy’s lead. He soon found his form an played the rest of the break well to pull the score back to 6-8 with the first century of the quarter-final, a 118. Shaun Murphy knocked in a cracking long red to get going in frame fifteen and he soon looked more focused, but a poor split of the reds on 36 ended his early break. Judd had the next chance after Murphy missed a tough red, making a break of 29 before running out of position. After some failed attempts to get out of a snooker from Shaun, he eventually left Judd another chance with the frame there for the taking. Judd had a 28 point lead before he missed a tough cut on a red, leaving it over the hole only for Shaun Murphy to somehow miss it and leave Judd who did enough to leave Murphy needing 2 snookers which he couldn’t get so Trump closed the gap to a single frame at 7-8 with 1 frame left of the second session. Shaun had the first chance of the sixteenth frame after a Judd missed an attempt at a long pot, but he only made 8 before missing the pink trying to bring the black into play, giving Trump a chance to build a lead. Judd made 24 before running out of position as the final frame of the session showed its importance, with things getting tense. A tough missed red from Shaun under the circumstances, left Judd another chance to square the match which was what he did with a break of 30 completing Trump’s comeback making it 8-8.

 

The final session started off with Shaun Murphy going in-off attempting a long pot, which left Judd Trump with the first real chance of what was now effectively a best-of-9 match. He made 30 before opening the reds well, but he didn’t get on one and had to play safe. Judd took control of the frame with some good tactical play, and it soon gave him another good opportunity to lead for the first time since winning the opener. He had to play safe soon after but had valuable 50 point lead with 5 reds left and the yellow, brown, blue and black all fairly safe. Shaun potted the next red but couldn’t get on a colour, but he did open the brown up with his safety. Judd had the next chance with a beautifully timed long red and an additional 26 put him 9-8 ahead. Another great long red got Trump in first in the eighteenth frame but he missed the black when opening the reds straight after, and a great long red to the green pocket gave Shaun a chance to punish Judd’s error. Punish Judd is exactly what he did squaring the match with a magnificent break of 128, his first century of the match. Judd made a good red to the middle pocket after a safety error from Shaun, gave Trump a good scoring opportunity early in the nineteenth. Once he took the break to 43 with a good separation of the reds you expected him to win the frame, but a bad miss on 59 handed a golden chance for Shaun Murphy to steal with all of the balls there for the 2005 champion. A brilliant break of 70 from Murphy stole the frame from under Judd’s nose to go 10-9 ahead. Judd had the first chance of the twentieth frame, after Murphy left a red on down the rail escaping from a snooker, and with the reds nicely spread already it was a chance that Trump had to take after how he lost the previous frame. A good break of 78 helped him take advantage and square the match at 10-10 at the last mid-session interval.

A good long pot got Shaun Murphy in first after the break, a fantastic split of the reds from a red took him to 17 and gave him a great frame winning chance. A kick on 62 ruined his position and left him a tougher red to the middle which he missed to leave Trump in with a chance to steal the frame. A good long red took him to 21, but he missed the black off of the spot to abruptly end the break. Shaun missed a red along the rail though, which would have effectively won him the frame. Trump potted the next red but missed a thin cut on the black, leaving Murphy with a 40 point lead with 43 on the table. A careless shot trying to get out of a snooker from Shaun gave away 7 points, and left the cue ball in behind the black, with Judd putting him back into play from there. Shaun’s escape left the penultimate red on for Judd but he couldn’t get on the safe last red with Shaun leading by 25 with 35 on.  Judd potted the last red as well, and then potted the brown to get nicely on the yellow on the top cushion but he couldn’t bring the green out and had to play safe. Shaun stuck the green over the middle from a snooker and Judd made a 25 clearance to go 11-10 in front. A good long pot gave Murphy the first chance but he missed a thin cut on the brown going into the reds and left Judd with a good early chance to win the frame. He got to 39 when he missed an easy black off of the spot, which gave Murphy another chance but with the black and pink safe it wasn’t yet a clear opening. He missed a mid-range red on 6 though squandered any kind of opportunity he had, but Trump then missed a red to the middle and went in-off. Shaun soon had another chance, but it wasn’t clear cut. He managed to close the gap to 10 points with 3 reds left, with the frame starting to go scrappy. Shaun soon had another chance though potting the last 2 reds with blacks to go into a 10 point lead of his own with 1 red remaining. Judd potted the last red with the blue, before potting yellow, green, brown and blue to go 10 points ahead but failing to get the pink from the side cushion. Judd then had a horrible miss-cue but it didn’t cost him any more than the 6 foul points. Shaun played a loose safety leaving the pink near the pocket but Judd missed it and left a very thin cut on it for Shaun which he just about made to make it a black ball frame. Both players then missed long shots on the black but Judd eventually stuck it up and Shaun potted it to make it 11-11, and Murphy left the arena giving a fist pump to the crowd. Shaun missed a long red early in frame twenty-three, and that left Trump in with what soon became a great opening as he split the reds immediately from the blue. He was quickly in around the black, and he kept his composure with an excellent run of 90 to take a 12-11 lead and go within 1 frame of the semi-finals.

Judd had the first chance of the twenty-fourth frame but he couldn’t take advantage over-screwing his position leaving him another long red on 3, which he missed and left for Shaun Murphy. Murphy needed to take advantage of this if he was going to force a decider, and a good recovery red to the middle kept the break going, and once he’d opened the reds it was a golden opportunity for him to take advantage. Force a decider was exactly what he did with a break of 88 from Shaun Murphy to respond brilliantly. The decider started with Shaun Murphy knocking in a great long red but he couldn’t get nicely on a colour and had to play safe. Shaun Murphy made the first mistake in  the safety battle, giving Trump the first proper chance of the decider, but he could only make 12 before having to play safe. He played a poor safety though, leaving a red near the corner which Shaun knocked in, but couldn’t get nicely on a colour playing safe again. Murphy potted the next 3 reds but couldn’t get on colours nicely from any as the decider went scrappy. Both players were playing some terrific safety shots, as both players were putting everything they had into it, in such a tense decider. Shaun made the next mistake after a cracking snooker from Judd, which gave Trump the next chance, but with the reds mostly near cushions it wasn’t a great chance and needed lots of work. He made 21 to give him a 40 point lead which was huge with the remaining 5 reds all near cushions. Shaun then knocked in another cracking long pot and he potted the pink with it but was unable to get on another closing the gap to 37, knocking the brown in from his safety shot. Shaun potted the next red in style as well making 16 to close to 21 points behind Judd with 2 reds left on the table. Another unlucky escape from Shaun left the penultimate red to the middle for Judd which he potted with the pink to go 24 ahead with 35 on. Judd potted the last red and snookered Shaun on the yellow to lead by 25 with 27 left. After getting Shaun got out of the third snooker on the yellow, he left it for Judd who played it well to leave Murphy needing a snooker to win, but Shaun tried to pot the green and left it for Judd too, who then potted the brown to seal the 13-12 win and go through to the semi-finals. Judd gave a fist pump to the crowd in celebration, and Murphy as always was a gentleman congratulating Trump and applauding the crowd for their support. It was one of those matches where no-one deserved to lose and was certainly the best match of the 2013 World Championship by a mile.

 

This is what Shaun Murphy had to say about this unbelievable contest:

I always knew that this was going to be a tough game against Judd. His general standard of scoring and potting being right up there with the best in the world recently, I knew nothing but my best would be good enough.

I started the match well finishing the first session 6-2 ahead. The score line was slightly flattering, and i'm sure Judd would admit that he hadn't played that well at all. Going into the second session of eight frames I really just tried to carry on in the same vein as I’d started but for some reason, and i'm still not sure what it was, things just weren't the same. I remember that session turning after the interval when on a break of 60 odd and needing only three more pots for the frame I had a kick on the black which ruined my position for the next red. I went for it off the side cushion, missed and Judd took the frame. From there I lost all the initiative in the game and finished that session 8-8.

Into the third and final session in a race to 13, we both gave it everything. There were big breaks, great safety play and some good sportsmanship too and in the end it came down to a 12-12 thriller. We had the Crucible theatre to ourselves which seemed only right after what had been a great game. The final frame took nearly an hour to separate us and after some great safety play and some good long potting Judd managed to gain a winning lead and when he potted the last red with me needing several snookers, I could do nothing more that wish him the best of luck in his Semi Final against Ronnie.

I was gutted to lose that game as I was really starting to fancy my chances of lifting a 2nd World Title and it seemed so close at the time. But that is the game we play and love, there always is a winner and loser and unfortunately for me that day it was my turn to lose.

 

What a fantastic match, that on a personal level, had me on the edge of my seat more than any other match in the last few years, and I couldn't take my eyes away from the action for a second during an incredibly tense final session. The match was filled with big breaks, extraordinary potting, superb safety play, incredible a tension, a first session that was dominated by Shaun Murphy, a second session that was dominated by a brilliant Judd Trump comeback to set up an unbelievably close third and final session of the match, and it was only right that the last couple of frames were played in front of the whole crucible as this match could've have easily been a World Championship final and it really was a shame that someone had to lose, and it was a shame after that, that Judd couldn't go on further that the semi-finals.

 

Well, it was incredibly enjoyable for me to look back on these 12 superb matches over the last couple of weeks, and now I'm looking forward to the classic snooker that 2014 is sure to bring us.