Northern Ireland Open Preview

On Monday, the snooker tour heads to Belfast for the second home nations event of the season as the Northern Irish Open begins.

All eyes will be on the man of the moment Ronnie O'Sullivan when he arrives at the Waterfront Hall. As the winner of the first home nations event in Barnsley he is now the only man left who could win the £1 million bonus and you would certainly not put it past him to keep that going by winning this week. O'Sullivan has followed that win up by making the Champion of Champions final and picking up more silverware at the Shanghai Masters.

Fantastic memories will come flooding back to defending champion Mark King, who's victory here a year ago was the first ranking title of his career and was one of the most magical moments of last season.

Mark Allen is the highest ranked home hope this week, while Joe Swail and Gerard Greene will also receive a lot of support as far as they go into the event. Alongside those are two Northern Irish amateur invites in Jordan Brown (who played last year and overcame Ben Woollaston in round one) and Declan Brennan.

There are a few notable absentees as world number one Mark Selby has decided to give Belfast a miss while Ding Junhui continues to recover from an eye injury and has also not entered. Marco Fu withdrew after the draw and has been replaced by Jamie Clarke.

Quarter 1

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark King Vs Matthew Bolton

Josh Boileau Vs Ashley Hugill

Ian Preece Vs Jamie Barrett 

Yan Bingtao Vs Robbie Williams

Ryan Day Vs John Astley

Li Hang Vs Cao Yupeng

Zhou Yuelong Vs Graeme Dott

Robin Hull Vs Eden Sharav

Ricky Walden Vs Hammad Miah

Jack Lisowski Vs Sean O'Sullivan 

Michael White Vs Jimmy Robertson

Barry Hawkins Vs Zhao Xintong

Robert Milkins Vs Alfie Burden

Oliver Lines Vs Xu Si

Billy Castle Vs Declan Brennan 

Neil Robertson Vs Jamie Jones

The opening quarter of the draw can have a big say in the race for the Masters. With just this event and the UK Championships to go before the cut off things could not be tighter. Ryan Day is currently in the final qualifying spot but he only leads Neil Robertson by £1,412 so will need to either match or better the results of the Australian in the next two tournaments. Recent results have not helped Day as he fell in the last 128 of the first home nations event to Luca Brecel, and lost in the last 64 last week in Shanghai. He is in a tricky section of the draw here to with a potential last 64 meeting with one of two in-form Chinese stars in Li Hang and Cao Yupeng who would be more than capable of pouncing if the Welshman starts to feel the pressure.

Defending champion Mark King has not had the greatest warm up after exiting easily in the last 64 of the Shanghai Masters and while he could get on a run this week given his draw, it is hard to see a repeat of last year's heroics for him. Jack Lisowski could be one of the men to watch though for a surprise winner from outside of the top 16. Lisowski comes to Belfast at the top of his game, and full of confidence after making his maiden ranking event semi-final in Shanghai. That came after two last 16's at the European Masters and International Championship as well as a quarter-final in the first home nations event and you would now expect the left-hander to keep on progressing. Last year's Northern Ireland runner-up Barry Hawkins does not come back this year with much form and has a tough first round draw against young Zhao Xintong. Hawkins made the last 16 in Shanghai to get beyond the last 32 stage of a ranking event for the first time this season. Michael White has been playing well and had a decent run in this event last year but also faces a tough opening round tie with Jimmy Robertson, while him and Hawkins could lock horns in the last 64 before a possible last 32 with Lisowski or even Ricky Walden who is well overdue a good run.

Beyond that section of death, I have gone with the under pressure Neil Robertson to rise to the occasion and make it to at least the semi-finals. Given his recent form it may be difficult to see this happening but the Australian is far too good not to turn his recent slump around. He has not been to a ranking event semi-final since the 2016 European Masters which is a huge reason behind why he is in this battle to make the Masters. There has been very little wrong with his scoring though. Match sheets from both the International Championship (where he fell in the last 16) and the English Open (exiting in the quarter-finals) will testify to that. I like his draw for this week, and think that if he can find something he is more than good enough to come through and make it to the semi-finals. When the best players have their backs to the wall they can produce some of their very best and this may well be the case for Robertson in Belfast. 

Best of the rest: Jack Lisowski

Quarter choice: Neil Robertson

Quarter 2

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Allen Vs Sanderson Lam

Tian Pengfei Vs Soheil Vahedi 

Yu De Lu Vs Craig Steadman 

Noppon Saengkham Vs Hamza Akbar

Luca Brecel Vs Fang Xiongman 

Chris Wakelin Vs Chris Totten

Dominic Dale Vs Jimmy White 

Lee Walker Vs Jak Jones

Ian Burns Vs Niu Zhuang 

Ken Doherty Vs Peter Lines

Mark Davis Vs Liam Highfield 

Liang Wenbo Vs Jackson Page 

Alan McManus Vs Yuan Sijun

Lu Haotian Vs Joe Swail

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Allan Taylor

Shaun Murphy Vs Chen Zifan 

The second quarter is where the home favourite Mark Allen is introduced. Last year he felt the pressure on the way to an eventual quarter-final exit and has already targeted feeling more comfortable as a key to success. Allen was less than happy with the way he lost in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters to Lisowski, having already made the International final and World Open semi's this season. His draw looks like one he should get through if he continues scoring as well as he has done in recent months to make the last 16 at the very least. Keep an eye out as well for Joe Swail, who could easily be inspired by his home fans, though in eight tournaments this season he has only passed the last 128 stage three times. Ken Doherty had a strong start to the season making the semi-finals in Riga, and has followed that up with a last 16 and a couple of last 32 appearances and he could easily get on a similar run again here after a few weeks of rest.

Liang Wenbo was one to watch on the Masters race, but a run to the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters has put him £13,000 clear of Neil Robertson and should be able to keep him and Ryan Day at arms length so long as he gets a few wins both here and in York. He has a testing opening round tie against rising young Welsh star Jackson Page but if he comes through that nicely I could see him making at least the last 16 as well this week which would put him in pole position in the Masters list despite a fairly quiet start to this season. He looked decent in Shanghai and could certainly prove a big danger in this section.

My second quarter choice though is the recent Champion of Champions Shaun Murphy. Murphy's victory against Ronnie O'Sullivan in that final is put into even greater perspective by the ease with which O'Sullivan has gone to Shanghai and dismantled the draw to take the title. The 2005 world champion has been in fantastic form this season. Before winning in Coventry he had already been in two finals and this is by far the best start to a season he has had for a number of years. His long potting was superb in Coventry, as it usually is whenever he picks up a trophy, and his scoring has been superb in recent weeks. He looks confident at the table, and it is from there that he is able to be so aggressive and take the game to the best players in the world, which is when Murphy is at his most dangerous. Raring to go again this week in Belfast, there are a couple of banana skins in his section of the draw that he will have to get over to make the latter stages. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh may be inconsistent but can blow any player away on his day, while Alan McManus, Yuan Sijun nor Lu Haotian would be no pushover in a best-of-7 frames contest. However, with the form Murphy is in and with a week to refresh himself after his Coventry triumph along with the pressure that certain top players in this section may be under this week for reasons outlined earlier, I think this is a good chance for him to kick on. 

Best of the rest: Liang Wenbo

Quarter choice: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 3

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in bold) 

John Higgins Vs Nigel Bond

Anthony Hamilton Vs Hossein Vafei 

Stephen Maguire Vs Basem Eltahhan 

Gary Wilson Vs Alexander Ursenbacher

Anthony McGill Vs Boonyarit Kaettikun 

Rory McLeod Vs Adam Duffy

Sam Baird Vs Zhang Yong

Aditya Mehta Vs Li Yuan

Mei Xiwen Vs Jordan Brown

Peter Ebdon Vs Alex Borg

Ben Woollaston Vs Mark Joyce

Kyren Wilson Vs Sam Craigie

Elliot Slessor Vs Kurt Dunham 

Kurt Maflin Vs Andrew Higginson 

Mitchell Mann Vs Duane Jones

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Lukas Kleckers 

The third quarter is all about the possible million pound man Ronnie O'Sullivan. The way that O'Sullivan is playing he could end up picking up a million pounds in prize money this season without winning the four home nations events. If you include the Champion of Champions and Hong Kong Masters runner-up prize money, O'Sullivan has so far picked up £337,000, £242,000 of which goes onto his ranking. O'Sullivan is playing phenomenally well and romped to the title in Shanghai, despite a short turnaround after making the final in Coventry last Sunday. His second title of the season coming in such a circumstance is more than enough to suggest that there is plenty more in the locker and he is going to take some serious stopping in Belfast.

John Higgins may have done a lot better in the last month if he did not keep running in to O'Sullivan, defeats in the last 16 of the English Open, quarter-finals of the Champion of Champions and semi-finals in Shanghai were all inflicted by the Rocket, while Yan Bingtao overcame him in the quarter-finals of the International Championship having already seen off O'Sullivan in the last 64. It is certainly taking some good performances to beat Higgins right now and it would not be a shock to see O'Sullivan and Higgins meet again here in the quarter-finals. Fellow Scotsman Anthony McGill may have something to say about that though. Despite losing to Higgins in the first round of the Champion of Champions and not qualifying for Shanghai, he has had a good season so far. A semi-finalist in the first home nations event, he also made the Indian Open final in September and has added another three quarter-finals this season. His draw looks favourable and if he continues some of his good early season play he should make the last 16 in my view, where a potential meeting with Higgins could be his undoing.

My choice in this quarter however, is another man in great form having already reached two finals this season and that is Kyren Wilson. Those two brilliant runs from Wilson came at the World Open before he lost out to Ding Junhui, and then in the opening home nations event in Barnsley, Wilson came through the field before losing out to O'Sullivan and in both of those events he played nicely. A year ago he overcame O'Sullivan in the last 16 stages on the way to making the last four where he would ultimately lose out to eventual winner Mark King. Despite losing from 4-0 up to Martin Gould in the last 32 of the International Championships he still looked to be playing really well and had a maximum 147 break in that match. The scoring of Wilson looks to be where he has improved most so far on last season. Already in the 2017/2018 campaign he has managed 19 century breaks, already three more than he managed in the whole of 2016/2017 despite making a final, two big semi-finals and a World quarter-final. With a strong tactical game and wise match-play brain, Wilson is going to take some beating this season if his form continues. 

Best of the rest: Anthony McGill

Quarter choice: Kyren Wilson

Quarter 4

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in bold)

Mike Dunn Vs Jamie Clarke 

Matthew Stevens Vs Leo Fernandez

David Grace Vs Michael Georgiou

Michael Holt Vs Martin O'Donnell 

Ali Carter Vs Chen Zhe

Xiao Guodong Vs Christopher Keogan 

Matthew Selt Vs Rhys Clark

Joe Perry Vs Gerard Greene

Zhang Anda Vs Akani Songsermsawad

Scott Donaldson Vs Wang Yuchen 

Tom Ford Vs Fergal O'Brien 

Mark Williams Vs James Wattana

David Gilbert Vs Daniel Wells 

Paul Davison Vs Rod Lawler

Ross Muir Vs Thor Chuan Leong

Judd Trump Vs Stuart Carrington 

The top quarter of the draw is where Marco Fu pulled out and has subsequently been replaced. Gerard Greene another of the home hopes is in this section but faces a tough draw against Joe Perry. Perry has been a little bit hit and miss with his form this season but produced a nice win in the last 64 of the Shanghai Masters against Matthew Selt that featured two centuries. Perry could face Selt again in the last 32 here, but his friend Greene will be no pushover having had some good results and with the home fans behind him.

Mark Williams consistent run at the start of this season continued in Shanghai, making yet another quarter-final before running into O'Sullivan. That was his fifth quarter-final in seven ranking events this season, though he has only converted one of those into a semi-final at the Riga Masters. He has lost to a lot of in-form players this season as well, showing that it is taking good performances to beat him and you would not put another good run past him here. Ali Carter is another top player with a great chance this week in Belfast. In Shanghai he fell in a last 32 decider to Stephen Maguire, who he beat on the way to the quarter-finals in Daqing. With Fu removed from the top half of this quarter, Carter is the firm favourite from those that remain to make the quarter-finals and this could well turn out to be a big week for the Captain. With that top mini section opening up, it could present a chance for Michael Holt, but his form would need to improve to make that the case. He last won a match at a main venue in the last 64 of the World Open, with only a couple of last 128 qualifying wins coming in the two months since then for the Nottingham man.

My final quarter choice for the week is Shanghai Masters runner-up Judd Trump. Trump has been one of the most clinical players so far this season and he finds it easy to dominate players over any format. In 23 matches won this season, eight have been whitewash wins for Trump, while him and O'Sullivan top the century chart with 31 for the season so far, which is eight more than the next best. Having laser eye surgery has had the desired impact on his game as he defended the European Masters and made the final last week in Shanghai, as well as the International Championship quarters before losing out narrowly to Allen and also losing in a final frame to Lisowski at the English Open. On the occasions that he has been beaten since his Belgian triumph, he has been beaten by someone in equally great form. If he is in the mood this week there is no reason why he could not steamroll his way into the latter stages once again. 

Best of the rest: Ali Carter

Quarter choice: Judd Trump

Tournament winner selection: Kyren Wilson


It should be another great week of snooker, and could cause a few surprises too and follow the precedent of last year. The tournament will be covered in full by Eurosport, while Quest will again have coverage of the event on freeview during the afternoon sessions. The format is the same as the English Open and the four home nations events of last season. 

Fantasy Snooker: Shanghai Masters points

It has been a thrilling week of snooker over at the Shanghai Masters and it has produced some big moves in the Fantasy Snooker table.

Perhaps due to the short turn around following the Champion of Champions only two players picked the overall winner Ronnie O'Sullivan, and both of these players deployed a captains pick on him so huge rewards have followed for them.

The two players to have Jack Lisowski as a season-long selection are getting plenty from their foresight too as the left-hander has backed up his recent good form by making a maiden ranking event semi-final in Shanghai.

Here is how the table looks in full following events this week:

Kellie Barker: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 546  

PPS: Allen, Fu, Murphy, Higgins, Hawkins, Ding, Trump, Brecel, Carter, Bingtao, Selby, Wenbo, Williams (1 Captain pick used)

TY: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Zhang Anda   Points: 543  

PPS: Ding, Robertson x3, Higgins, Allen x2, Ding, Bingham, Selby, Trump, Murphy, Brecel, O’Sullivan (1 Captain Pick used)

Couge: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 516   

PPS: Williams x2, Ding x3, Murphy, Gilbert, Higgins x2, Bingham, Trump x2, Selby, O’Sullivan (1 Captain pick used)

Andy Brooker: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 459   

PPS: Carter, Day, Maguire, Bingham, Higgins x2, Williams x2, Trump, Yuelong, Hawkins, O’Sullivan, Ding, Allen (1 Captain pick used)

Protoursnooker: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Cao Yupeng    Points: 408  

PPS: Ding x2, Allen, Maguire, Murphy, Selby, Robertson, Higgins, Hawkins, O’Sullivan, Wenbo, Williams, Fu, Trump (1 Captain Pick used)

Colin Delaney: SEASON: Ken Doherty and Yan Bingtao   Points: 397  

PPS: Higgins, Maguire, McGill, Allen, Hawkins x2, Ding x2, Trump, Brecel, Selby, Murphy, Gould

Munraj: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Michael Georgiou   Points: 391  

PPS: Ding, Trump, Allen, Ford, Hawkins, Selby, Robertson, McGill, O’Sullivan, Wilson, Murphy, Wenbo, Gould, Guodong (1 Captain pick used)

Daniela Reich: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 388   

PPS: Ding, Fu, Murphy, Allen x2, Williams, K. Wilson, Trump, Day, Bingham, McGill, O’Sullivan, Selby, Wenbo

Igor Snooker: SEASON: Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty   Points: 383    

PPS: Ding, O’Sullivan, Maguire, Murphy, Fu, Selby, Robertson x2, McGill, Wilson, Williams x2, Allen, Bingtao (1 captain pick used)

Ben Summers: SEASON: Noppon Saengkham and Sam Craigie    Points: 381   

PPS: McGill x2, Day, Dott, Ding, Selby x2, Trump x2, Holt, Allen, O’Sullivan, Williams, Yuelong

Phil Mudd: SEASON: Jimmy Robertson and Sam Craigie   Points: 372  

PPS: Ding x2, Fu, Woollaston, Allen, Robertson, Williams x2, Brecel, Higgins, O’Sullivan, Selby, Gould (1 Captain pick used)

Alex Abrahams: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley    Points: 370  

PPS: Carter, Fu, Murphy, Perry, Higgins, K. Wilson, Trump x2, Williams x2, Bingham, Ding, O’Sullivan, Selby (1 Captain pick used)

Cluster of Reds: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley   Points: 362    

PPS: Ding, Perry, Allen x3, Ford, Hawkins, Fu, Trump x2, Brecel, Robertson, Williams, Gould (1 Captain pick used)

John McBride: SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Sam Craigie   Points: 338  

PPS:  Holt, Liang x2, Bingham, King, Murphy, Trump, Allen x2, Selby x2, Hawkins, Williams, Lisowski

D. Muckian: SEASON: Tian Pengfei and Zhang Anda    Points: 332  

PPS: Ding x2, Perry, Maguire, Allen X2, Williams x2, Lisowski, O’Sullivan, Wilson, Zhou, Gould (1 Captain pick used)

Mark Taylor: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie    Points: 320   

PPS: Allen, Robertson, Maguire, Perry, Hawkins, Higgins, Wilson, Day, Selby x2, Trump, O’Sullivan (2 Captain Picks used)

FAM147: SEASON: Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong   Points: 320   

PPS: Carter, Hawkins, Woollaston, Hossein, Bingham x2, Allen, Yuelong, Lisowski x2, Selby, Murphy, Trump, Akani

LTD: SEASON: Robert Milkins and Ken Doherty    Points: 306  

PPS: Perry, Carter, Holt, Higgins x2, Hawkins x2, Maguire, Perry, Wilson, Wenbo, Selby, O’Sullivan (1 Captain pick used)

Kjetil: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and John Astley   Points: 299   

PPS: Carter, Perry, Woollaston, Dott, Fu, Allen, Xiwen, Gould, Bingham, O’Sullivan, Ding, Higgins, Akani, Lisowski

Anthony: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and Michael Georgiou   Points: 290  

PPS: Higgins x3, Day, Maguire, Murphy, Ding, King, Trump, Bingham, Williams, O’Sullivan, McGill, Selby

Rob Francis: SEASON: Mark Davis and Cao Yupeng   Points: 290  

PPS: Ding x3, Robertson, Murphy x2, Allen, Higgins x3, Wilson, Trump, Wilson (1 Captain pick used)

Matthew Lowson: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 277  

PPS: Ding x2, Fu, Maguire, Bingham, Hawkins, Brecel, Wilson, Selby, Higgins, Murphy, Trump, Williams, Bingtao

Beat the Boss (Me): SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Robin Hull   Points: 270  

PPS: Maguire, Holt, Allen x2, Ford, Fu, Williams, Robertson, Brecel, Murphy, Hawkins, Ding, Gould (1 Captain pick used)

TungstenDarts: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 270  

PPS: Fu x3, Hawkins, McGill, Allen x2, Selby, Williams, Day, Gould, Trump x2, Ding

Gary: SEASON: Ken Doherty and Yan Bingtao   Points: 270  

PPS: Carter, Robertson, Bingham, Gilbert, Fu, Higgins, Wilson, Day, Williams, Murphy, O’Sullivan, Selby

GaryOnCue: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie   Points: 268  

PPS: Hawkins, Robertson, Maguire, Murphy, Ding x2, Selby, Higgins, Wilson, Allen, O’Sullivan, Williams, Gould, Day (1 Captain pick used)

Voihelevettisua: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and John Astley   Points: 254 

PPS: Ding, Trump, Dott, Allen, Higgins, Murphy, Robertson, Allen, Selby, O’Sullivan

Isitan Bakar: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson   Points: 238 

PPS: Wenbo, Robertson x2, Murphy, Bingham x2, Ding x2, M. White, Higgins, Carter, Wilson

Next up in the league is the Northern Irish Open and the deadline for picks will be the first matches that take place on Monday 20 November at 10am, and after the success of previous players maybe now is the time to unleash a captains pick? 

Finally, my "Beat the Boss" selections this week are Liang Wenbo and Neil Robertson 

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump to face off in Shanghai finale

In a fitting conclusion to this week's action, Judd Trump will face Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Shanghai Masters final after both were comfortable enough winners on semi-finals day.

Trump reached what will be his third final in Shanghai by overcoming Jack Lisowski in the first last four tie, while O'Sullivan beat John Higgins in their third meeting in the last four events to make a final in China for the first time since winning this title back in 2009.

Trump went 2-0 ahead early on in his semi-final aided by runs of 52 and 70 but in his first ever full ranking semi-final, Lisowski hit back quickly making a 79 in the third frame on the way to levelling the match at 2-2 going into the mid-session interval.

The match high break came in frame five as Trump loaded up a break of 105 to regain the advantage, but a nice 55 in the sixth was enough for Lisowski to pull himself level again with his good friend. Successive frames again saw Trump pull away and take a 5-3 lead, putting him just a frame away from the final.

Lisowski did look like staying in the game and pulling the score back to 4-5, but an under-hit positional shot from yellow to green left Lisowski having to play safe 25 ahead with 25 left. Trump would win a black ball battle to force the re-spot after Lisowski missed a long attempt that rattled in both bottom corner pocket jaws. Then a mis-hit safety from the last four rookie left the twice runner-up a shot at the re-spot from mid-distance and it was the sort of shot that Trump usually buries, and this occasion was to see no exception.


Then it was the turn of O'Sullivan and Higgins, as the Scotsman looked to avenge the 6-0 drubbing handed out by the five times world champion in last week's Champion of Champions quarter-finals. When a scrappy opening frame went to Higgins he was already better off than a week earlier, but things were not to improve hugely when he found himself 3-1 down at the mid-session interval. A run of 79 in the second was followed by a sublime 67 in the third frame.

79 from Higgins after the break got him back in it at 2-3, but O'Sullivan's two frame lead was soon restored, and then in frame seven a big blow was landed. A run of 50 from Higgins was not enough to take the frame and O'Sullivan came from behind to take it on the colours and move one away from the final at 5-2. As always, he then saved his best until last by compiling a superb break of 123 to close out victory and set up a fan favourite final.


Semi-Final results: 

Judd Trump 6-3 Jack Lisowski
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 John Higgins

The Final: 

Judd Trump Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan (Best-of-19 frames)


This will be the 15th meeting between Trump and O'Sullivan (outside of Championship and Premier Leagues) and the previous 14 have been shared equally between the two. This will also be the fifth time they have played in a major final, and the previous four of those have also been halved. O'Sullivan overcame Trump twice at the back end of 2014 in the Champion of Champions and UK Championship finals while Trump was triumphant in the 2015 World Grand Prix and 2016 European Masters final. Two of those finals went to deciding frames, while the others were both 10-7 so those stats would suggest a close match.

Prior to O'Sullivan's 6-5 win in the Hong Kong Masters semi-finals in the summer, Trump was on a three match winning streak over the Rocket which suggests the stage when this was a "Master and his apprentice" type battle has long since gone.

This is very much a worthy final as the pair have been far and away the best players of the week. Trump has reached this stage for the loss of just the three frames he conceded in the semi-finals, while O'Sullivan has come back strong from defeat in the Champion of Champions final to make his second final in a week, only dropping six frames himself despite playing his five games in the space of three days.

Make no mistake, this would be a valuable victory for O'Sullivan to prove he can get the job done in China, with this being his first ranking event final in China for eight years, in which time he has made 11 ranking finals in the UK and Europe. However, it was this tournament that he won in 2009 after falling short a year earlier in Shanghai to Ricky Walden. Trump meanwhile is also in his third Shanghai final having lost the previous two to John Higgins in 2012 and Kyren Wilson in 2015, both 10-9.


Whatever the outcome, this could well be one of the great finals and should provide more than a fitting end to what has been a great week of snooker.

Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan storm into Shanghai Masters semi-finals

Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan were on top form on day four of the Shanghai Masters as they each had two comfortable wins in the last 16 and then the quarter-finals.

Trump is yet to even drop a single frame at the venue in Shanghai, having now produced four 5-0 victories, adding to wins over Alfie Burden and Ben Woollaston earlier in the week by thrashing Stephen Maguire and Luca Brecel on a bumper Thursday of action. Against Maguire, his opponent had chances in the opening two frames but could not force a way through, and after falling 2-0 behind he would not register another point in the contest. Runs of 80 and 108 would help Trump into the last eight.

That was followed in the evening with the victory against in-form Belgian Brecel. He had come from 3-2 and 4-3 behind to beat Graeme Dott in the round of 16, and looked like taking the opener against Trump until missing the final black. Trump would eventually double it into the bottom corner and did not look back. Fantastic break-building that produced contributions of 66, 87, 92 and 114 in the final four frames saw Trump race into Friday's semi-finals, while Brecel could only manage another six points after missing frame ball in the first.

Meanwhile, O'Sullivan's day began with a whitewash of Barry Hawkins. Runs of 51, 67, 78, 87 and 90 made sure there was a 50+ break in every frame from the recent English Open winner and put him into the quarter-finals with ease. In that match he would face Mark Williams after the Welshman saw off world number one Mark Selby in the last 16. Selby started well, making a break of 114 on the way to a 2-1 lead. A brilliant counter-punch of 108 had Williams level and a run of 57 soon had him in front at 3-2. Selby levelled at 3-3, but breaks of 66 and 85 in the final two frames helped Williams to finish the job.

However, he was unable to offer the same challenge to O'Sullivan after losing the opener on a re-spotted black after being ahead in that frame. He certainly had his chances scoring at least 30 points in each of the first four frames but he would lose them all, the highlight for the Rocket being a run of 96 that saw him go into the interval 4-0 in front. A run of 62 in the fifth frame ensured Williams avoided a whitewash but he would go no further as O'Sullivan sealed his semi-final place in the sixth.

O'Sullivan will now face John Higgins for the third time in a month, after John Higgins also had two easy enough victories on day four in Shanghai. The Scotsman started out against Liang Wenbo in the last 16, someone he had never previously been beaten by in eight attempts. It was not to be ninth time lucky for the Chinese number two, and he quickly fell 2-0 adrift though did win the third with a run of 56. Contributions of 51 and 59 helped Higgins to win the frames either side of the interval and lead 4-1 and despite a break of 105 in the sixth frame, it was soon all over with Higgins making 67 in the seventh to secure victory.

He would face Martin Gould in the quarter-finals after Gould scored a nice 5-2 victory against Marco Fu that featured high breaks of 124 and 84. It did not start well though for the Englishman as he fell 2-0 adrift, though he did get the third frame on the board with two 50+ contributions. He had a chance to win the fourth frame and level at 2-2 but when Higgins took it to lead 3-1 at the interval this seemed to kill the match. The fifth and sixth frames followed for the Scot after the break and he was into the semi-finals a 5-1 winner, despite not managing a break of above 50 in the contest.

The final man into the semi-finals is Jack Lisowski who is in the first full ranking semi-final of his career. His furious Thursday started with a tight 5-4 win over Mark Allen. It was Allen that was to be left disappointed after losing from 4-2 up and making three centuries of 100, 102 and 115 in those opening six frames. A 54 in the seventh kept Lisowski in the hunt while Allen's best chance to win came in frame eight, and when that came a went a 62 in the decider proved enough for the Englishman to cross the line

Allen was not at all happy with how he lost his match to Lisowski

Then in the quarter-finals he took on Norweigian Kurt Maflin, who had earlier beaten Mei Xiwen 5-2, and Maflin made a strong start by taking the first frame with a run of 65 and then went 50 points ahead in the second frame. Lisowski would come back to take it and level the scores, and did not look back until he was 4-1 in front, with a run of 82 in the fourth and a century straight after the interval. He had a chance to seal victory in the fifth but his earlier 57 break was cancelled out by a Maflin clearance of 77, a swift 70 then saw him close to 3-4 and out the pressure on the left-hander. He was equal to it though, dominating frame eight to secure what is already the best run of his career.


Last 16 Results: 

Kurt Maflin 5-2 Mei Xiwen
Jack Lisowski 5-4 Mark Allen
Judd Trump 5-0 Stephen Magurie
Luca Brecel 5-4 Graeme Dott
John Higgins 5-2 Liang Wenbo
Martin Gould 5-2 Marco Fu
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-0 Barry Hawkins
Mark Williams 5-3 Mark Selby

Quarter-Final Results: 

Jack Lisowski 5-3 Kurt Maflin
Judd Trump 5-0 Luca Brecel
John Higgins 5-1 Martin Gould
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 Mark Williams


Semi-Final Draw: 

Judd Trump Vs Jack Lisowski
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs John Higgins


The first semi-final on Friday will see Judd Trump take on his good friend Jack Lisowski. In seven previous meetings, Lisowski has in fact won four of those including the most recent at the English Open last month. He has been playing well for the best part of the month and it is no surprise at all to see him make his maiden semi-final here. It would also be no surprise if he kept the run going and won the whole tournament such is how well he is playing and scoring presently.

Judd Trump though is proving an even tougher nut to crack than usual this week. In four matches he has not dropped a frame though this will present the biggest test of the week over the best-of-11 frames if Lisowski gets off to a good start. There is a lot of pressure on Lisowski playing on the TV (something he said in Barnsley he is not quite as comfortable with as he would like) and in the biggest match of his life. A win could open all sorts of doors for Lisowski and be the massive breakthrough he needs. While for Trump, it would be his fifth ranking final of 2017 and his seventh since the start of the 2016/2017 season which is a phenomenal display. It would also offer a third chance for Trump to win the Shanghai Masters, having been runner-up in 2012 and 2015.


Then later in the day, John Higgins would face Ronnie O'Sullivan for the third time this season in all competitions, but is still searching for his first victory. Wins for O'Sullivan at the Hong Kong Masters invitational, and the English Open came in deciding frames, but last week's best-of-11 frame quarter-final in Coventry saw O'Sullivan dish out an embarrassing 6-0 loss to the Scotsman. That will surely spur Higgins on to avenge that defeat but with O'Sullivan in sublime form it is a very difficult proposition.

Despite the short turnaround and having to play two matches a day on both Wednesday and Thursday, O'Sullivan has made it to this stage for the loss of just four frames and just looks to be picking up from his performances at the Champion of Champions and English Open. Higgins has had some good victories himself though his scoring does not look to be at the same level as O'Sullivan's if you compare Thursday's match sheets. Higgins failed to make a break of above 50 against Martin Gould and did not register a break over 70 in any of the ten frames won on the day. The interesting point in this match will be whether there is any psychological scarring from the 6-0 defeat last week for Higgins or if that result instead offers the inspiration to beat O'Sullivan here.

Mark Selby comes through second Shanghai Masters decider

Reigning World champion Mark Selby had to come through another decider in the last 32 of the Shanghai Masters as he saw off Alan McManus.

Selby had already survived a scare against Chris Wakelin in the last 64 to come through 5-4 and Wednesday told a similar tale. Once again the world number one started well as he took a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval with breaks of 98 and 56 in frames three and four. McManus came fighting back though with a run of 66 in the fifth and then took the sixth to level the match at 3-3.

Selby went back in front 4-3 but McManus dominated the eight to force a decider. Yet again, there was to be no final frame weakness from Selby who continues his remarkable levels in deciders. Selby has now won eight out of nine deciding frames he has played this season.

Things were much more comfortable for Judd Trump who enters the last 16 having not dropped a frame at the venue in Shanghai this week. This time it was Ben Woollaston who got the whitewash treatment, only managing 31 points in the entire match. There were four breaks above 50 from Trump who had runs of 50, 64, 74 and 92 on the way to another emphatic win.

Ronnie O'Sullivan had to come through two matches on Wednesday to book his last 16 place, but did so without any signs of tiredness from the long trip and short turnaround. O'Sullivan fell short in the Champion of Champions final on Sunday night in Coventry and subsequently had his last 64 match in Shanghai moved to Wednesday morning. In that he overcame Gary Wilson 5-2 with the tournament's new highest break, setting that target at 144 in the fifth frame.

Then in the evening he faced Joe Perry in the last 32. Perry played well making two centuries in his last 64 win, and started nicely by taking the opener in this one. O'Sullivan hit straight back with a 127 break to level the match and Perry would only score a further 19 points in the contest. Breaks of 58 and 56 in frames four and six assisted O'Sullivan on the way to a 5-1 win.

John Higgins looked in fine form as he dusted off Zhou Yuelong 5-1. Higgins was on for a maximum in the opening frame before going in off on the brown. That 125 was followed by breaks of 70, 97 and a closing century of 104.

Fellow Scotsman Stephen Maguire is also into the round of 16 after a tight 5-4 win over Ali Carter. Carter saw off Maguire comfortably at the same stage of the International Championship and would have been hoping for repeat business but soon found himself 2-0 adrift. Breaks of 77 and a massive 143 had Carter level at the mid-session interval but Maguire regained the advantage at 4-2. Carter hit back again with a run of 69 on the way to forcing a decider, though in a lengthy affair Maguire ran out the victor on the colours.

There were also whitewash wins for Mark Allen against Fergal O'Brien, featuring high breaks of 69, 85, 104 and 133 as O'Brien would only manage 25 total points in the match, while Liang Wenbo continued his strong start to the week by thrashing David Gilbert. Liang mustered four breaks of above 60 in the win.

The whitewashes did not end there either, Mark Williams defeated Gerard Greene without dropping a frame in a match that featured a high break of 133 from the Welshman in the opening frame as his good start to the season continued. Luca Brecel recorded his second of the tournament against Jamie Jones. Runs of 60, 72 and 74 helped the Belgian into the last 16. Martin Gould was also in on the act with two centuries in his 5-0 win over Akani Songsermsawad.

Barry Hawkins is into the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time this season after coming from 2-0 down to overcome Michael White 5-3. After falling behind early, he shut the Welshman out in frames three, four and five making breaks of 87, 91 and 121 in the process, while also winning the eighth frame for victory on the final black.

2006 World champion Graeme Dott progressed into the last 16 with a 5-2 win over Robbie Williams. Dott finished the match off with a 101 clearance and won frames four, five and six from behind - most impressively in the sixth from 66-0 behind with a 76 clearance.

Last 32 Results: 

Mei Xiwen 5-3 Jimmy Robertson
Kurt Maflin 5-3 Yu De Lu
Jack Lisowski 5-4 Cao Yupeng
Mark Allen 5-0 Fergal O'Brien
Graeme Dott 5-2 Robbie Williams
Luca Brecel 5-0 Jamie Jones
Stephen Maguire 5-4 Ali Carter
Judd Trump 5-0 Ben Woollaston
John Higgins 5-1 Zhou Yuelong
Liang Wenbo 5-0 David Gilbert
Martin Gould 5-0 Akani Songsermsawad
Marco Fu 5-3 Robert Milkins
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Michael White
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 Joe Perry
Mark Williams 5-0 Gerard Greene
Mark Selby 5-4 Alan McManus

Last 16 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Kurt Maflin Vs Mei Xiwen
Mark Allen Vs Jack Lisowski
Luca Brecel Vs Graeme Dott
Judd Trump Vs Stephen Maguire
John Higgins Vs Liang Wenbo
Marco Fu Vs Martin Gould
Barry Hawkins Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan
Mark Selby Vs Mark Williams

Jack Lisowski has already beaten Mark Allen twice in 2017, in the Riga Masters and Gibraltar Open as well as making it to at least the last 16 for the fourth ranking event in a row, and his fifth overall at the start of this 2017/2018 season. His scoring is the best part of his game by a long way and he has shown that again this week. As for Allen, he too has been in fantastic form with some particularly heavy scoring in his victories this week - which is very similar to most of the tournaments he has played in the last month. In China he has excelled making the World Open semi-finals and the International Championship final, but he has a very tough test here against Lisowski if he is going to continue that strong run.

Luca Brecel will face a tricky test against Graeme Dott. The Scotsman has looked good for his two wins against Xiao Guodong and Robbie Williams making centuries in both games and reaching the last 16 in China for the second time this season. Brecel may have said he was tired and not too bothered about this tournament after the Champion of Champions but so far he has recorded two 5-0 wins and looked solid. Some of Dott's comebacks in frames against Robbie Williams suggest he is up for the fight this week as he always is when he plays well, and his tactical play can also give Brecel problems.

Despite stating his tiredness from a hectic schedule at the start of the week, John Higgins looks to be in fine form, nearly making a maximum in frame one of his last 32 encounter. His record against Liang Wenbo is an excellent one with the current Chinese number two not yet managing to beat him in a major meeting. Liang has been going well in his last couple of matches, scoring heavily in wins over John Astley and David Gilbert. If Liang plays his best he obviously has a great chance, but with good looking form and a perfect head to head it is going to be tough for him to beat Higgins.

Another interesting meeting awaits between Judd Trump and Stephen Maguire. Trump is yet to drop a frame at the venue while Maguire has had to dig in to beat Rory McLeod and Ali Carter in deciding frames. The head to head between the two is pretty even in ranking event play, though Trump has won the last couple of meetings. Given that Maguire was one of the last players to finish on days two and three he may not be as fresh as Trump who seems to be on a roll this week. A good start will be vital for the Scotsman or he could easily be steam rolled like Trump's previous opponents.

Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O'Sullivan will meet for the first time since Hawkins knocked O'Sullivan out of the 2016 World Championship. However, that is one of only two occasions when Hawkins has beaten the Rocket in major competition from 11 previous meetings. It has not been the best start to the season from the left-hander and he has gone 2-0 down in both of his opening two games so will need a much faster start if he is to have any chance here against such a great front runner. O'Sullivan himself has had a quick turnaround but showed no signs of slowing down and was still in great form in his two Wednesday wins.

Mark's Selby and Williams meet in the last 16 for the second Chinese event in a row and have had contrasting routes to this stage. Williams has only dropped a single frame in his wins over Wang Yuchen and Gerard Greene and played pretty nicely, while Selby has come through two deciders in the last two rounds. They have played three times in 2017 in big tournaments and while Selby has won them all, they have been tight tussles and the Welshman has had his chances. With the world number one's hectic schedule and unconvincing route to this stage, this may be the time for Williams to overcome him.

Following the last 16 in an early session time than usual, the quarter-finals will take place in the evening again over the best-of-9 frames ahead of Friday's semi-finals, making it a packed day of action on day four in Shanghai.

Mark Selby survives Shanghai scare against Chris Wakelin

World number one Mark Selby survived a scare in the last 64 of the Shanghai Masters, seeing off a fightback from Chris Wakelin. 

In all, Wakelin made seven half-century breaks in the four frames he won, losing both the second and third frames despite 50+ breaks in both and that saw him fall 3-0 behind. Breaks of 58 in the frames either side of the interval saw Wakelin peg Selby back to 2-3. Selby stretched his lead to 4-2 but Wakelin came back again with a run of 54 in the seventh and runs of 54 and 51 in frame eight to force the decider. The world champion kept up his incredible deciding frame record though and his booked his place in the last 32. 

Mark Allen came out on top again as he faced Yan Bingtao in a repeat of their International Championship semi-final. It was another comprehensive win with the Northern Irishman coming out on top 5-1 with a high break of 102. 

John Higgins was a comfortable winner 5-1 against Ian Preece with runs of 61, 69, 76 and 87 and Judd Trump whitewashed Alfie Burden with a top break of 119. There were also whitewash wins for Marco Fu and Luca Brecel against Hossein Vafei and Matthew Stevens respectively. This was particularly impressive as Brecel only landed a few hours before his match, and then realised he picked up someone else's suitcase and had to hunt for some clothes to borrow for his match. 

Ali Carter came through a tough test against Stuart Carrington winning a tight eighth frame for a 5-3 victory. Liang Wenbo looked in good touch for his 5-2 win against John Astley which has important implications in the race to the Masters. Ryan Day's surprise 5-4 defeat to Yu De Lu also keeps things interesting and helps Neil Robertson who did not qualify for this week. 

Michael White secured his first career win against bogey player Mark Davis, though he had to do so in a deciding frame. White also holds the highest break of the event so far making a 140 break in frame seven. 

Joe Perry secured a nice win 5-1 over Matthew Selt that featured two century breaks of 111 and 137. Perry will be the opponent for Ronnie O'Sullivan, should O'Sullivan come through on Wednesday morning. 

Mark Williams came through comfortably 5-1 over Wang Yuchen while Barry Hawkins won five straight frames to beat Daniel Wells 5-2. 

Last 64 Results: 

Mei Xiwen 5-4 Adam Duffy

Jimmy Robertson 5-4 Tom Ford

Kurt Maflin 5-4 Lee Walker

Ryan Day 5-4 Yu De Lu

Fergal O'Brien 5-4 Mitchell Mann

Mark Allen 5-1 Yan Bingtao 

Cao Yupeng 5-0 Michael Holt

Jack Lisowski 5-1 Chris Totten

Robbie Williams 5-4 Yuan Sijun

Graeme Dott 5-3 Xiao Guodong

Luca Brecel 5-0 Matthew Stevens

Jamie Jones 5-2 Mark King

Ali Carter 5-3 Stuart Carrington 

Stephen Maguire 5-4 Rory McLeod 

Ben Woollaston 5-3 Michael Georgiou

Judd Trump 5-0 Alfie Burden

John Higgins 5-1 Ian Preece

Zhou Yuelong 5-4 Sanderson Lam 

David Gilbert 5-0 Mark Joyce

Liang Wenbo 5-2 John Astley

Akani Songsermsawad W/O Stuart Bingham

Martin Gould 5-0 Li Yuan 

Robert Milkins 5-4 Lu Haotian 

Marco Fu 5-0 Hossein Vafei

Barry Hawkins 5-2 Daniel Wells

Michael White 5-4 Mark Davis 

Joe Perry 5-1 Matthew Selt

Mark Williams 5-1 Wang Yuchen 

Gerard Greene 5-3 Soheil Vahedi 

Alan McManus 5-4 Dominic Dale

Mark Selby 5-4 Chris Wakelin

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Jimmy Robertson Vs Mei Xiwen

Kurt Maflin Vs Yu De Lu

Mark Allen Vs Fergal O'Brien

Jack Lisowski Vs Cao Yupeng

Graeme Dott Vs Robbie Williams

Luca Brecel Vs Jamie Jones

Ali Carter Vs Stephen Maguire 

Judd Trump Vs Ben Woollaston

John Higgins Vs Zhou Yuelong

Liang Wenbo Vs David Gilbert

Martin Gould Vs Akani Songsermsawad

Marco Fu Vs Robert Milkins

Barry Hawkins Vs Michael White

Ronnie O'Sullivan or Gary Wilson Vs Joe Perry (O'Sullivan's last 64 match was moved to Wednesday morning due to his involvement in the Champion of Champions final) 

Mark Williams Vs Gerard Greene

Mark Selby Vs Alan McManus 

There are some very intriguing ties in the last 32 here. Jack Lisowski and Cao Yupeng have been two of the most in-form players from lower down the rankings this season. Both had comfortable victories in round one as Lisowski made two tons and three other 80+ breaks in a 5-1 win over Chris Totten, while Cao Yupeng whitewashed Michael Holt. Lisowski for me has a fantastic chance of going very far into a tournament this season and making a big breakthrough if he carries on as he has been. 

Robbie Williams held Yuan Sijun off well after Yuan came back from 4-2 to 4-4 but Williams looks to be in good form after his run to the quarter-finals of the International Championship. Graeme Dott is his last 32 opponent and despite not being in great form this season, the Scotsman saw off Xiao Guodong and played well in the last two frames there so this should be a close game. 

Luca Brecel looked unfazed by his short turnaround, playing in someone else's clothes and playing with a new cue after his was lost on his last Chinese trip. Jamie Jones had a nice win over Mark King in round one but will need to play at his best to overcome the Belgian. 

Ali Carter will meet Stephen Maguire in the last 32 for the second event running. Carter was a comfortable 6-1 winner in Daqing and has a very good record overall against Maguire. The Scotsman had to fight back from 3-0 down to beat Rory McLeod in a deciding frame and has not been in the greatest form since making the Riga Masters final in June. 

Michael White has been in very nice form this season and that shows as he was finally able to overcome Mark Davis despite a poor head to head record. His game looks great at the moment and he has a great chance against Barry Hawkins who has not gotten further than the last 32 in any ranking event this season.

Zhou Yuelong has had a good season and will fancy his chances against John Higgins who said he "felt like a zombie" in round one and has had a heavy schedule in recent weeks. Higgins has played well in his first two matches in Shanghai to come through easily though and will be confident of keeping that going. 

Liang Wenbo and David Gilbert should be another good contest. Liang looked to be playing well in his match with John Astley while Gilbert whitewashed Mark Joyce in round one, despite only making one break over 50. Gilbert has had a couple of quiet tournaments in recent weeks and Liang may be able to take advantage again here as he hopes to distance himself in the Masters qualification battle. 

Finally, I just want to mention Jimmy Robertson against Mei Xiwen. Mei had a walkover in his heldover last 128 match with Ding Junhui and then overcame Adam Duffy 5-4, while Robertson came from 3-0 down to beat Tom Ford and looked to be scoring well there, as he did in his matches at the International Championship and I think the Englishman has a good chance of getting on a run this week. 

Shanghai Masters Preview

Another trip to China awaits for snooker's top stars as they head back to the re-scheduled Shanghai Masters. The tournament was initially removed from it's original calendar space of late September and replaced by the World Open in Yushan.

The tournament was quickly brought back and moved to this space on the calendar starting on Monday and concluding next Saturday, with both the last 16 and quarter-finals taking place on Thursday as the tournament is a day shorter than most Chinese tournaments.

Once again a £150,000 top prize is on offer for the players who have successfully come through the last 128 qualifying round in Wigan a month ago. There are a few high profile names who did not come through though. Shaun Murphy lost out to young Yuan Sijun, Neil Robertson suffered a hit to his Masters hopes by losing to Chris Totten, while Kyren Wilson and Anthony McGill will also not be making the journey. Stuart Bingham did qualify initially but has since been banned, so Akani Songsermsawad receives a walkover into the last 32 for the second event in a row. Ding Junhui did have his last 128 match with Mei Xiwen heldover but has since chosen to withdrawn.

A number of games have been held over this week, with Mark Selby John Higgins and Liang Wenbo all being spared the task of travelling to Wigan for last 128 action, along with players like Billy Castle and Soheil Vahedi who drew wildcards in the preliminary round, and subsequently their respective first round opponents Stuart Carrington, Rory McLeod and Sam Baird.

Quarter 1

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Mei Xiwen Vs Adam Duffy

Tom Ford Vs Jimmy Robertson

Kurt Maflin Vs Lee Walker

Ryan Day Vs Yu De Lu

Fergal O'Brien Vs Mitchell Mann

Mark Allen Vs Yan Bingtao

Michael Holt Vs Cao Yupeng

Jack Lisowski Vs Chris Totten

Defending champion Ding Junhui was the leader in this opening quarter though he has been suffering from conjunctivitis of late according to reports on social media, and has subsequently withdrawn from this event to give Mei Xiwen a walkover into the last 64. With his non-entry for Northern Ireland next week we will next see the Chinese number one in the UK Championships.  A big week awaits for Ryan Day as he looks to get into the Masters and is in a battle currently with Neil Robertson who has not qualified this week. There is a good chance for him to get on a run in this quarter if he plays more like he did in the first of his two matches in the recent Champion of Champions. Day is still getting used to his new cue which may explain a little inconsistency in his performances of the last couple of months, but if he can find consistency in Shanghai it could be a big week for the Welshman.

International semi-finalist Yan Bingtao is back in action here with a first round tie against the man who brought upon his eventual downfall in Daqing. That week was a big breakthrough and with the talents he has shown things will continue to get better and better for the young man. Jack Lisowski was one of Yan's victims in Daqing falling at the last 16 stage and the left-hander has been on a great run of late. As well as reaching the last 16 in China last time out, he made the quarter-finals in Barnsley and was unlucky to lose to Mark Selby in the last 16 of the European Masters. Looking at the draw he could certainly get on another big run here in Shanghai and these recent weeks may well have given him the confidence to carry on rising up the rankings for the rest of the season. Jimmy Robertson impressed me with some of the scoring he displayed in Daqing and if he can come through a close encounter with Tom Ford this could be an ever better week.

My opening quarter choice though is someone who has been firing in China so far this season, and that of course is Mark Allen. The Northern Irishman has had a very good start to the 2017/2018 campaign, currently sitting fourth on the one-season money list with only the winners of the first three Chinese events sitting above him. As well as making the International Championship final and giving Selby a stern test before just losing out, and he was also only narrowly beaten in the World Open semi-finals and the European Masters quarter-finals. He also has a decent record here in Shanghai making the final in 2014 and the semi-finals the next year. Yan Bingtao will provide a tough test for him in round one, but he will confident having seen him off comfortably in the International semi-finals, and thereafter the draw is one that I would fancy Allen to negotiate if he continues playing well and scoring as heavily as he has been. 

Best of the Rest: Jack Lisowski and Jimmy Robertson

Quarter Choice: Mark Allen

Quarter 2

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Robbie Williams Vs Yuan Sijun

Graeme Dott Vs Xiao Guodong

Luca Brecel Vs Matthew Stevens

Mark King Vs Jamie Jones

Stephen Maguire Vs Rory McLeod, Billy Castle or Zhang Jiankang

Ali Carter Vs Stuart Carrington, Li Zhen or Chen Feilong

Ben Woollaston Vs Michael Georgiou

Judd Trump Vs Alfie Burden

Judd Trump is the headliner of this second section and you can never rule Trump out from having a good week. He made the quarter-finals in the International Championship before a narrow loss to Mark Allen, before a flying visit to Coventry where he was the victim of Brecel's brilliance. Luca Brecel is in the top half of this section though faces a short turnaround to play in Shanghai after losing in the semi-finals in the Champion of Champions on Saturday night. In a quite honest interview straight after the match he mentioned that he was tired from a hectic schedule in recent weeks, that has seen some of these players have events in UK, China, back in the UK and now back in China in the space of four weeks. It was also quite comical when he sarcastically mentioned how much he was looking forward to another China trip, and it looks as though he needs a break to me which is why it would not be surprising to see an early exit for him here.

Stephen Maguire has gone a bit quiet since making the Riga Masters final in June and once again he has a tough mini section to get through if he were to have a run this week. By comparison, the top half of this mini section is a top player light and looks like it could be anyone's. Robbie Williams had a nice run to the quarter-finals in Daqing with wins against Joe Perry and Neil Robertson along the way, and that should give him a lot of confidence ahead of a stern test with Yuan Sijun. The young Chinese talent overcame Shaun Murphy to qualify and followed that up the following week with a win over Joe Perry in the English Open, though that week accounts for three of his four wins in his debut season so far. Watch out as well this week for Xiao Guodong who was a runner-up in Shanghai in 2013, and is coming back to some of that form again. He is someone who I think could do very well this week.

My overall quarter choice is someone who has impressed in China so far this season, Ali Carter. Carter is a former champion in Shanghai and was a quarter-finalist in this event last season. Not qualifying for the European Masters and Indian Open and not entering a few other events means that Carter this will be only the fourth ranking event of the season when Carter has been involved at the venue. Despite that, he was a semi-finalist at the China Championship before narrowly losing out to Shaun Murphy and it was also a close match when he fell to Martin Gould in the quarter-finals in Daqing. Carter's good record in China also goes back to last season when he picked up his second ranking title in China by winning the World Open. Looking at the draw, he has favourable records against two of the major players in this section, and if he can get off to a good start I could see this being a very good week for him. 

Best of the Rest: Xiao Guodong 

Quarter Choice: Ali Carter 

Quarter 3

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

John Higgins or Alexander Ursenbacher Vs Ian Preece

Zhou Yuelong Vs Sanderson Lam

Liang Wenbo or Rod Lawler Vs John Astley

David Gilbert Vs Mark Joyce

Martin Gould Vs Li Yuan 

Akani Songsermsawad W/O Stuart Bingham 

Robert Milkins Vs Lu Haotian 

Marco Fu Vs Hossein Vafei 

The third quarter of the draw for me looks wide open. There is obviously the absence of Bingham due to his suspension, while some of the other top players in this section are not in the best of form. Marco Fu has had a poor start to the season that has seen him lose in the first round of each of the Champion of Champions, International Championship, English Open while also not entering a couple of tournaments. He also faces tough opening round opposition in Hossein Vafei providing that the Iranian avoids the visa problems that troubled him at the International Championships. This week is a big one for Liang Wenbo who can go clear of Neil Robertson in the race for the Masters, especially with his last 128 match being heldover. His section of the draw looks reasonable but he is yet to gain any real momentum so far this season, having not played in all of the tournaments and also having a couple of early exits.

John Higgins has played in a lot of events so far this season without much break and I worry that with the trips to China some of this may catch up with him and produce an uncharacteristic early exit. He did have a few days off to get back from China to Coventry, though a 6-0 loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan may effect his confidence. It is a much shorter turnaround to get back to China where he will play on Monday morning in his heldover last 128 tie. Higgins also looked out of sorts at times in the International Championship and despite already beating him twice this season he faces tough last 128 opposition in Alexander Ursenbacher. The swiss player will be in his first tournament since making the semi-finals of the English Open with victories along the way against Anthony Hamilton, Shaun Murphy and Michael White. Zhou Yuelong is a player I would like to see have another run this week. He made the quarter-finals of the China Championship in August and the semi-finals of the European Masters, before the death of his father saw him withdraw from the English Open. It is going to be an incredibly tough time for him but hopefully he can continue his amazing progress of 2017 so far.

My third quarter pick is a semi-finalist from the last Chinese tournament and that is Martin Gould. The Englishman looked good in Daqing beating Ali Carter in the quarter-finals and coming from 4-0 down to defeat Kyren Wilson in the last 32. He was certainly due a run after a slower start to the season than he would like, but I feel like the draw presents an opportunity for him this week. He could have much tougher opponents than the one he faces in the last 64 and the top 16 player he would have been due to face in the last 32 has been removed. Meanwhile, some of the other top players in this section are either out of form or in the middle of a hectic stretch of tournaments and perhaps more vulnerable because of it. Another of Gould's better runs this year also came in China as he made the last 16 of the China Championship before losing out to Zhou Yuelong. If Gould can follow on from his performance in Daqing then I see no reason why he could not have a very good week in Shanghai. 

Best of the Rest: Zhou Yuelong and Liang Wenbo

Quarter Winner: Martin Gould 

Quarter 4

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Barry Hawkins Vs Daniel Wells

Michael White Vs Mark Davis

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Gary Wilson 

Joe Perry Vs Matthew Selt

Mark Williams Vs Wang Yuchen 

Gerard Greene Vs Sam Baird, Soheil Vahedi or Ma Chunmao 

Alan McManus Vs Dominic Dale

Mark Selby or Ian Burns Vs Chris Wakelin

The bottom quarter if packed with talented players who could all have a big run in Shanghai this week. An ideal starting place is with world number one Mark Selby who picked up the last Chinese title at the International Championship. He played superbly there and showed his dominance over anything that could be considered a slightly "longer format" on today's calendar. Even with jet-lag at the Champion of Champions he still came close to making it into the semi-finals and with a bit more recovery time he will have a massive say in the outcome of this tournament. Barry Hawkins will be looking to get his season started after a pretty poor run since the World Championships. His round one exit at the Champion of Champions followed last 64 defeats in both the International Championship, English Open and World Open. In six ranking events this season he has only reached the last 32 once and is yet to pass this stage. Daniel Wells poses tough first round opposition for him this week.

Michael White has impressed me with some good form in the last couple of months. A winner at the Paul Hunter Classic he has backed that up by making the quarter-finals of the English Open with a win over Ding Junhui in the process. He looked good again last week in the Champion of Champions beating Marco Fu before losing a tight quarter-final with Shaun Murphy. Interestingly he has failed to beat his last 64 opponent in any of their previous nine meetings. This ranges from the Championship League, to European Tour events, a meeting in the 2015 Shanghai Masters and the UK Championships also.

The main man Ronnie O'Sullivan is also in this quarter but at the time of writing he is in the final of the Champion of Champions which concludes on Sunday night. He would then face a race against time to be in Shanghai though his match has been moved to a Wednesday morning slot to give him more time. It would not surprise me at all if he were to have withdrawn given that circumstance and a big home nations event immediately following events in Shanghai. Last time out in China it was a flying visit as he exited 6-1 to the dangerous Yan Bingtao and Gary Wilson here will be no walk in the park. He played O'Sullivan at the Crucible last season and gave a good account of himself and despite not doing much this season, he is more than capable of victory here given the best-of-9 frame format and a short turnaround for Ronnie.

My final quarter choice is someone I have been touting a lot already this season, and that is Mark Williams. Much like my three other quarter selections, I think Williams will benefit from having a week off while some of the other top players in this event have hectic schedules. Williams started the season with a run of making the quarter-finals in each of the first four ranking events he played. This came to an end when an in-form Jack Lisowski overcame the Welshman in the last 32 of the English Open, while in Daqing last time out he fell at the last 16 stage to eventual champion Selby. The general theme of the season is that it has taken players playing very well to get past him and and I would strongly fancy Williams to make the last 16 this week before potentially facing someone in good enough form to beat him, if his own form comes up. With Selby's hectic schedule and the tired performances he showed in Coventry I would favour Williams over him there if he looks similar this week. I'm also still of the opinion that Williams has another ranking title in him and that he will win one before this season is done and dusted. 

Best of the Rest: Michael White 

Quarter Choice: Mark Williams 

Tournament Winner Selection: Ali Carter

A deal was eventually struck to get this tournament on to Eurosport TV and Eurosport Player (after the qualifying rounds were not on the player) and in addition the evening sessions in Shanghai (11.30am session in the UK) will be broadcast on freeview channel Quest for what should be another exciting week of snooker.