LIVE BLOG: Noppon Saengkham Vs Stuart Carrington

Noppon Saengkham 4-3 Stuart Carrington - An unbelievable turnaround there for Noppon. He looked throughly down and out at 3-0 down, and Carrington had no reason to think he could clinch victory quickly and complete an early night. The maximum attempt in the fifth was the game changer for me. It left Carrington cold in his seat and really boosted Noppon's confidence. In the end a clearance of 90 came from Noppon's aforementioned excellent match winning chance and he must be a very relieved man. Carrington though might not get his head around that for a while.

Noppon misses on 14 and while he leaves nothing on at the time Carrington soon plays an excellent red from distance to get in. However he makes 23 only before Noppon is back at the table with an opening. There are a couple of open reds but he'll soon need to open the bunch up. He chooses to do it from another red and plays it to perfection. Not overpowering them just delicately nudging through them. A really good match winning opportunity now.

Frame 7 - what had been an easy evening for Carrington has become a nightmare. The decider starts in disastrous fashion as he takes on a long pot and misses, leaving Noppon in at the business end of the table with the first chance in this decider.

Frame Noppon - Well it was a chance that Noppon just could not fail with as long as he kept his concentration and did not take it for granted. He had certainly delivered and Carrington will really be wondering what has happened because he has not had much of a chance since going 3-0 ahead. Noppon though is certainly the favourite in this upcoming decider after another good break of 102. 3-3

Frame 6 - Having completely written off his comeback chances earlier that looks an awful call now. Carrington leaves Noppon right in here with the reds spread like a practice session and if he can mind his work he won't ever have a better chance to win a frame this season.

Frame Noppon - A quick kill in frame five for Noppon as he takes the frame out in one visit. The drama in the frame came from his attempted 147 break. He was cruising until the 13th red when he lost position and had to cut one in the middle coming around the table for the black. A great shot though that was he left the black awkward and missed it. A run of 97 nonetheless means he's definitely in with a fighting chance now and must be growing in confidence. 3-2 now to Carrington.

Frame 5 - Noppon is in first again in the fifth and this time he looks like he's growing in confidence a little and with a few open reds to go at this is another good chance to put some pressure onto Carrington

Frame Noppon - Finally Noppon takes one of his chances in full with a break of 62 to get a frame on the board. It was certainly the easiest run he has had in the match so not quite justification for talk of a possible revival but he's hanging in there.

Noppon is back in again now with an opportunity that he would usually eat up for breakfast. He certainly needs to be taking these chances or he can say goodbye to his hopes in Cardiff this year

Frame 4 - Well the only way Noppon can get back into the match here is to try and get in first and take his opportunities. He's done the first part here in the fourth frame but the second part has been much more difficult for him tonight. Already in this break of 24 he's needed a good recovery pot on the green so he will be hoping to tighten his positional play up. He soon loses position totally and plays safe on 26.

Frame Carrington - With the chances that have come and gone tonight for Noppon it's get difficult to see any possible way he can get back into this. Carrington has not even been at his best but he's cruising ahead. The miss playing a red onto the red over the corner costs the Thai as an additional 42 makes it 3-0 to Carrington

Carrington wobbles a red and leaves it over the corner allowing Noppon back in but he has a little bit of a nightmare trying to play a red onto the one over the corner and Carrington is off the hook again.

Carrington was on just 14 when he fired into the pack from the blue, only to go in off in the corner. Noppon misses a red from range though and leaves the red for Carrington to pick back up where he left off.

Frame 3 - The opening red from Carrington in frame three is the best shot I have seen today. Digging down on the cue ball he fires in an excellent red from long range and lands perfectly on the blue. Certainly worthy of the first chance and he deserves to make plenty from a shot like that.

Frame Carrington - That miss from Noppon has proved to be very costly. No problem at any point in the clearance for Carrington and he's definitely taken control of this match. Noppon is going to need to find his form from 12 months ago to get back into this. With a 65 clearance it's 2-0 Carrington.

Noppon gets the reds nicely open but leaves one from mid range on 34 and jaws it to let Carrington off the hook. A pretty good chance now as he looks to double his advantage.

Frame 2 - First chance for Carrington this time in the second frame but he only makes 20 before losing black ball position and misses a thin cut to allow Noppon to the table. He'll need to get into the reds early here though if he's going to make anything of note.

Frame Carrington - The last red is decisive as Carrington misses the pink in the process of bringing it out, only for Noppon to miss the red into the middle pocket. Carrington gets it and does enough to take the opening frame.

The frame has continued to be pretty slow going but Carrington now has a great opportunity after rolling a nice red in from distance, finishing on the black. One red on the side cushion could be problematic as he looks to win the frame at this visit.

Very much caught me by surprise that Noppon misses a red near the bottom cushion on just 23. Whatever the reason, it has left Carrington in but he loses ideal position and misses a red of his own on 14. A scruffy start but Noppon is back at the table now having been let off big time.

Frame 1 - Noppon has the first chance here in the opener and the way these two score whoever gets in first the most tonight could be the winner. This is a good early opening on this occasion for sure.

My live blog of the evening will be the match between Noppon Saengkham and Stuart Carrington.

Both of these guys have been semi-finalists this season. Carrington at the Riga Masters, while Noppon did so at the World Open and was also in the last four of this event last year. Carrington meanwhile made the last eight here two years ago so this really is a great match up.

Thanks to their good starts to the season both players competed in last week's World Grand Prix, with Carrington falling just short in round one against eventual champion Judd Trump. Noppon meanwhile picked up a really good win against John Higgins before losing in the last 16 to Mark Selby.

Expecting some more big scoring tonight as these two guys make breaks for fun at their best so it should be a great match up.

LIVE BLOG: Liang Wenbo Vs Liam Highfield

Liang Wenbo 4-3 Liam Highfield - in the end that's a very fine win for Liang as his break of 74 in the decider proves more than enough for victory. Highfield threw plenty at him which if anything will make that a big boost for Liang to win it after struggling this season. A perfectly fine display from both players but on the day Liang comes through 4-3.

Frame 7 - After a long delay while the scoreboard was fixed Liang eventually gets the first chance in this decider floating in an excellent long red to hold for the black. With reds open this is a very good early chance here for Liang.

Frame Highfield - Another beautiful break from Liam Highfield and in around about 20 minutes he has fought from 3-1 down to 3-3. Once again in this break he looked in complete control and never looked like missing. Back to back centuries with a 108 sees this game going all the way and Liang must be wondering what has hit him. 3-3

Highfield secures a beautiful split on the reds and now this game definitely looks like heading to a decider as Highfield is in the groove here.

Frame 6 - An excellent long pot gets Highfield in first once more and he really has found his best game here now. If he gets a good split on the bunch in a few shots time we could be going all the way in this match.

Frame Highfield - Another quick kill in this frame for Highfield and another frame lasting less than 10 minutes overall before snookers are required. This really has been the perfect response from Highfield with a really confident break, striding round the table on the way to a stunning break of 140 to keep himself in the contest but still trailing 2-3.

Frame 5 - A missed long red from Liang this time leaves Highfield with the opening chance in the fifth frame and it is certainly a good early opportunity to get back into this match.

Frame Liang - It certainly wasn't plain sailing to the line in this frame for Liang as his break went on to feature an excellent long pink followed by a missed long red which would end up falling in the opposite corner. Highfield played on for a snooker this time but again no inroads were made and Liang is one away from victory now at 3-1.

Liang then has another chance after potting a long red but fails his attempt on the blue to the yellow pocket, only for Highfield not to take advantage. That allows Liang back but he loses position again after the opening red, but pots a great recovery pink with the rest and now has an excellent chance to regain his two frame advantage.

Frame 4 - Liang gets the first chance in the fourth frame straight from the break off as Highfield leaves a red to the middle. However, he loses position on just 10 before playing safe.

Frame Highfield - Another quick frame comes and goes as Highfield makes a break of 72 to leave Liang needing snookers in just a few minutes. Liang plays on for the snookers in an exercise that takes longer than the period prior to him needing snookers, but Highfield still ends up taking the frame to reduce the deficit at 1-2.

Frame 3 - Highfield is in first this time round after a good long red sees the cue ball stop just in time to leave him a cut on the brown. A good red to run through the bunch on 19 now makes this an excellent opportunity to get a frame back.

Frame Liang - After a longer opener the second frame in it's entirety only took eight and a half minutes as a good break of 76 from Liang sees him look very comfortable in doubling his lead. A good start for Liang as he moves 2-0 up.

This is turning into a golden chance now for Liang as he heads into the forties on this break with further reds opened up. He'd be disappointed not to double his lead from here.

Frame 2 - When Liang misses a long pot at the start of the second he leaves a half chance for Highfield, though the Englishman misses the black and has now let Liang in with a good early opportunity.

Frame Liang - Liang was looking good for the opener until landing the wrong side of the blue, over hitting his position for the pink and missing it into the middle. In the process though he flukes a snooker and when Highfield misses he concedes the frame. 1-0 Liang.

Highfield plays safe on 27, not happy with the angle he left on the red on the bottom cushion. Slightly surprised he didn't play it and with Liang knocking a long one in now he could be punished.

After another good safety battle, a snooker from Highfield sees Liang leave a red over the corner and allow Highfield back in. The table has opened up quite a bit now but two reds near cushions do not make this an easy frame winner here.

Highfield misses a testing red trying to hold for the black and that has left Liang in now with a decent chance. If he can clear the two reds closest to the black then it will make the break a lot easier. He just runs out of position slightly though and misses a red on 13.

Frame 1 - After a long period of safety to start the opening frame, Highfield has picked out a beauty of a long red and landed on the black to give him the first real chance. Quite a few reds are open but the pink and black are awkward at this early stage.

Second live blog of the day comes from the 1pm session and a good looking match up between Liang Wenbo and Liam Highfield.

Highfield reached the last 16 in Cardiff last year while Liang is a former Home Nations event winner.

The best result Liang has had this season is a couple of last 16 appearances, though the last of those was in early October so he's not had the best of times in recent months.

Highfield meanwhile has only gone beyond the last 64 once all season but both players are capable of doing a lot better on the day than their recent results demonstrate. Expect a pretty attacking contest between two aggressive and heavy scoring players.

LIVE BLOG: Mark King Vs Sam Craigie

Sam Craigie 4-0 Mark King - Have to say that was very good today from Sam Craigie. A player who is good enough to make a break through when he puts it all together. King though was nowhere near his best and did make life pretty easy for Craigie at times, though the young man's scoring and ability to severely punish those errors is why it was such an easy morning. He's the first man into the last 64 here in Cardiff with an impressive whitewash win.

Having built a lead of 51 with five reds left Craigie loses position and has to play safe. King is now firmly at last chance saloon stage but again fails to do any damage after getting in with a good red to middle. Craigie is now about to wrap this up.

After a period of safety play that King was controlling he earns his chance only to miss the opening red and leave Craigie in yet again. Hard to see any way back for King playing as he is today and he may have already played his last shot. Good opening here for Craigie to score heavy again.

Frame 4 - Craigie is making very light work of this today even if King is not quite on top of his game. Craigie certainly is and he is back in amongst them here. His pack split attempt on the brown fails to make contact though and he's going to have to run for safety this time on just 16.

Frame Craigie - It looked for a second like Craigie had lost position on frame ball red but he keeps the break going with a good pot and has really taken control. He looks really confident and calm out here today and goes on to clear the table for an excellent break of 103 to lead King 3-0.

Craigie is still going strong here. A nicely judged plant kept his break going and he played another nice red after opening the bunch up so this is now a chance to really stretch his lead in this match.

King just is not firing so far today having been largely shut out by Craigie in the opening stages. He misses a red to middle on 24, then after Craigie misses to the same pocket he fails with a red to the green pocket and allows Craigie back to the table with an opportunity once again

Frame 3 - This could be just the let off that King needs. Craigie gets in first with a great red, just running through an inch to get on the black but misses a tricky second red into the green pocket, allowing King his first really good opening of this contest.

Frame Craigie - After a short battle, Craigie ends up getting King snookered and his failure to escape leads to the frame concession. So in the end that break of 65 from Craigie was enough to clinch the frame. 2-0

A break of 65 from Craigie was certainly well made but a miss on frame ball red gives King at least half a chance. He needed blacks with every red though and fails to get around the table from the first red so lays a snooker, needing two to have any chance of winning the frame.

Frame 2 - Craigie is in first again in the second frame as he looks to take charge. He goes into the pack from the blue in the twenties of the break and gets a nice split so he will definitely back himself to win the frame from here.

Frame Craigie - Craigie took his opportunity comfortably and never looked in any trouble in the break of 57 that gave him the opening frame. The shot to get in behind frame ball red into the middle was probably the pick, but he was never out of position. Feel like it was important to win that first frame like that and set his stall out. 1-0 Craigie.

King again gets the next chance but after potting a thin black he leaves the next red from distance, misses and leaves Craigie right in amongst them with an excellent opportunity.

Frame 1 - King had the first chance in this opening frame after a loose safety from Craigie, but only made four before missing a red to middle. Craigie does not take advantage though, missing on seven but fortunately he leaves nothing for King who has to play safe.

The first live blog of the week here in Cardiff comes from this morning's contest between Mark King and Sam Craigie.

For me this is by far the best match on the outside tables in the 10am session. King will go in as favourite and rightly so but Craigie is a dangerous player and a heavy scorer wheb on top of this game.

While Craigie has had some good wins so far this season he has not gone beyond the last 64 in any event, though he has lost a number of close games.

That bodes well for King as his best finish this season was a semi-final in Lommel in October, helping him qualify for last week's World Grand Prix. Craigie meanwhile is one of many players here this week playing for the first time since Christmas but hopefully for his sake that lack of match time does not impact today's outcome.

Gary Wilson hoping for bigger things ahead of the Welsh Open

When you think of players that have a good record at the Welsh Open, Gary Wilson probably is not automatically at the top of your list, but in the last four years this event has been the scene of his maiden ranking quarter-final in 2015 and another semi-final 12 months ago.

The first of those runs set up his best week yet back in April 2015 as he reached the China Open final and now well established at world number 34, Wilson is hoping to go one step further and win his maiden ranking title.

It would almost be fitting for Wilson if such a feat were to be achieved at the Welsh Open, an event that has already offered career highlights as well as memories from a much younger age.

"I grew up watching the Welsh Open on Sky and remember Paul Hunter winning it. As an event it's better than the other Home Nations events and feels more like a stand alone ranking event as I would not put the others in the same bracket as it yet. For me, it should never leave the calendar it is that good an event and it would be sorely missed if there was no event in Wales", Wilson exclaimed.

All good runs have to start somewhere and Wilson's 2019 Cardiff campaign gets underway on Tuesday afternoon when he takes on Finland's Robin Hull, with Hull winning their only previous tour meeting 4-3 back in 2016.

"He's a tough player. Always a tough player. He's not been playing much through illness but you can't go into a game thinking about whether a player is fit or not. You have no idea what's going on and he could bit as fit as a fiddle for all I know, so it's just another game on tour".

The two runs that Wilson has had in Wales since the tournament moved to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff back in 2015 may be entirely coincidental, but the 2018 semi-finalist does believe he is more relaxed in the Welsh capital.

"It's a very good venue and having the BBC surrounding it makes it feel like a proper event, especially if you get to play on the main match table. I do seem to feel more relaxed in Cardiff. It's walking distance from the hotel to the venue and everything's on your doorstep which just makes everything easier and means there's no messing around getting a taxi everywhere. So maybe subconsciously that helps me to relax".

That 2015 run specifically was a big moment for Wilson at the time, overcoming the likes of Joe Perry and Neil Robertson to make his maiden ranking event quarter-final and Wilson remembers it fondly because of what it would lead to.

"That run felt like a stepping stone to go on and reach the China Open final. I don't know if I would have been able to do one without the other. It gave me the confidence that I could reach the latter stages without even playing that well. Before the event I remember a technical change I made. I had held the cue the same way for my whole career and about three or four days before the event I decided to flip it so that the arrows in the grain were facing upwards, how most players have them. It may only be a small change but it completely changes how the cue plays. I had really been struggling for a while so was desperately trying anything to turn my game around. It may be a little change but it made a big difference".

For Wilson that technical change may have also been a career changing one as it took just two months for him to go on and reach a ranking event final, beating Ricky Walden, Liang Wenbo, Barry Hawkins and Ding Junhui in the 2015 China Open before losing out to Mark Selby. Like the Cardiff quarter-final though, Wilson still feels that he did not play that well for much of the run.

"I'm obviously really proud of it but it has not led to as much as I had hoped. I don't really feel like I have kicked on as much as I thought I would. I only felt I played well against Ding in the semi-final, I had been playing solid stuff but no better than normal, I had just been getting through. I didn't even play that well against Hawkins and thought that one good performance in the semi's could get me into a final and that was exactly what happened".

While progress in the seasons since then may have been slower than Wilson himself anticipated, he has still had some good moments and last year's Welsh Open was another as he reached the last four before losing out to eventual winner John Higgins.

"There are not many tougher semi opponents that John Higgins. It had been a good while since I had been in the latter stages. It did not feel like I had been playing with true form. There was a good run here or there because I was bound to have one eventually as I definitely feel like I'm good enough. I still don't feel like I necessarily played that well to make the latter stages that week".

Believing as he does that the best is yet then Wilson could well one day be a ranking event winner and with a number of first time ranking event winners coming through in recent years, like Jimmy Robertson in this season's European Masters, then you feel that there is still plenty of time for him to make it happen.

"I do believe that I can win one. I have struggled quite a bit but I think I am very capable of winning. It's just getting everything to click altogether. Getting to the latter stages as I have done without playing well shows I can do it. Seeing Jimmy Robertson win, having grown up playing against him and getting on well with him, it feels like there is no reason why I can't win either".

The 2018/2019 season itself started strongly for Wilson as he made it through to the quarter-finals of the World Open in China in the summer and based on previous seasons, it was a flying start to the campaign.

"I have never felt like I'd had a good start to the season for the last 5 or 6 years so it was a little boost straight away making a quarter-final. Making that quarter-final was really the only reason I was in the World Grand Prix. It was probably the best I had played since China in 2015. I was just trying my best and it started coming together. When I beat Judd Trump I did not give him much and won a lot of frames in 1 visit to not give him a shot".

That run was as Wilson mentions the large contributing factor as he qualified for the recent World Grand Prix, after results went his way during the German Masters a week earlier and because of that Wilson sees it as a bonus.

"I was having a look at the results but that's just me, I like to know what is going on. I was just looking mainly because of the short turnaround so that I could sort a hotel and plan a bit. Getting in was a bonus and if I would have missed out it did not feel like I would have deserved to have made it. The game against Allen was an embarrassment. A real embarrassment. I let myself down on TV there but I just have to go home and start again for the Welsh".

Soon following the Welsh Open is the controversial Snooker Shoot-Out, an event that divides public opinion, particularly since it gained ranking status in 2017. While Wilson has no problem with it being a ranking event in theory, the actual practice of the world ranking system is something he believes should be addressed.

"My opinion on the Shoot-Out has a few factors. It all revolves around whether you have a points or money ranking system. Now we have a money ranking system and it needs rectifying because it isn't the best way in my opinion. I have no problem with the Shoot-Out being a ranking event, every tournament can be as there is so many now. It does need scaling though so there's not ridiculous gains for the players. There should really be 3 or 4 tiers of ranking events so it is fair for everyone".

It's not just the rankings Wilson thinks could be changed though as the current seeding system in certain tournaments delivers confusion, with events like the Welsh Open having the top 16 seeded, while the Chinese events have the top 64 seeded and other events are completely unseeded.

"The seeding structure is different for a lot of tournaments now. You want a bit of variance so I can see that viewpoint. It seems daft from a playing perspective but seems good business wise. I think they should pick 1 way for all tournaments and stick with it. The ones that are completely unseeded need looking at because that does not seem right at all. The rankings need to mean something. It does for the top 16 so why should it not for everyone?"

Also on the horizon is the World Championship and Wilson made his Crucible debut back in 2017, coming through the qualifiers before losing out to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 32 and for Wilson this was a major moment.

"I said this at the time but to me that was better than reaching the China Open final. To finally do that is what snooker players dream of and I was really happy to get there. It was the dream draw against Ronnie so I was really happy, it was just missing the icing on the cake which would have been pushing Ronnie a bit more. I played solid in the qualifiers. I made a 147 and three tons against Josh Boileau and made eight tons overall. All three rounds I felt I was playing solid".

While this is not a worry now, back in 2017 Wilson would have fallen out of the top 64 had he lost the deciding frame of his first qualifier against Boileau and the World Championship qualifiers do bring a unique level of nerves and tension.

"My first round match against Boileau saved my tour place to stay in the top 64, otherwise I would have had to start again from 0 on the ranking list the following season. It was very nervy for me at some points and I fell apart in the middle of the match (had led 5-0 and 7-2 before Boileau fought back). I didn't have a shot for a couple of frames and then had to make a break in the decider to win it. It was a proud and very nervy moment as a defeat could have changed my whole career. John Astley and Elliot Slessor who I know well were in the same situation last year and it all must go through a players head in these qualifiers".

Now Wilson is able to aim a lot higher though and he does so with his two goals for the remainder of the season, admitting that he has had these targets for a while.

"My goals are to win an event and to make it back to the Crucible. I used to have ranking related goals but because of the seeding structure the rankings are not as important so there's no real target there".


Whether or not Wilson goes on to achieve his big goals and dreams in the future remains to be seen but playing more consistently and sitting in a stronger ranking position these days he should certainly be a lot more hopeful.

Thanks to Gary Wilson for giving up his time to do this interview and I would like to wish him all the best of luck for next week's Welsh Open and the remainder of the 2018/2019 season.

Welsh Open Preview

The busy period of snooker on the tour continues on Monday as the fourth and final Home Nations event takes place, with the Welsh Open getting underway in Cardiff.

Immediately following the conclusion of the World Grand Prix on Sunday night in Cheltenham, this is one of my favourite weeks of the season and one that I will be attending once again for the fourth year in a row.

It's also a favourite with the players, as the entries show with all of the world's best players descending on the Motorpoint Arena with their sights set on the Ray Reardon trophy. The defending champion this week is John Higgins after he overcame Barry Hawkins in last year's final and it will also be a special week on home turf for World Champion Mark Williams.

Williams is one of 13 Welsh players in the field which includes two amateur invites in Alex Taubman and Jackson Page, who made a name for himself in this event two years ago, while those 13 also include German Masters semi-finalist Duane Jones, Scottish Open semi-finalist Daniel Wells and this season's International Championship semi-finalist Matthew Stevens, giving Welsh fans hope of a home player going deep this week.

Last year, the leading Welsh player was Matthew Stevens who exited in the last 16, while Lee Walker was leading Welshman in 2017 making the same stage, while Michael White made the quarter-finals. Mark Williams was a semi-finalist in 2015 and is the only Welsh player to get beyond the quarter-finals of their national open since Dominic Dale in 2004, while Williams was the last Welsh finalist in 2003.

The fact that only the top 16 are seeded in Home Nations events makes for some very tough first round matches and that is the case again here right from the top of the draw.

Quarter 1

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold) 

John Higgins Vs Graeme Dott

Dominic Dale Vs Li Yuan

Soheil Vahedi Vs Chen Feilong

Alfie Burden Vs Craig Steadman 

Jack Lisowski Vs Niu Zhuang 

Marco Fu Vs Tian Pengfei

Ken Doherty Vs Sean O'Sullivan

Mark King Vs Sam Craigie

Chris Wakelin Vs Hammad Miah

Joe Perry Vs Mark Davis

Fergal O'Brien Vs Oliver Lines

Ding Junhui Vs Chris Totten

Matthew Stevens Vs Jak Jones

Michael White Vs Peter Lines 

Joe O'Connor Vs Rhys Clark

Kyren Wilson Vs Andy Lee

Defending champion John Higgins faces a very tough opener against fellow Scot Graeme Dott. Higgins is far from having fun on the table at the moment, which has been clear for a while and will have been added to by a first round exit to Noppon Saengkham in the World Grand Prix. One thing that is certainly worth noting though is his record in Wales though because it is exceptional. Perhaps coming back to a big event that he has a lot of good memories of playing in will help spark a revival, even if recent results make that seem unlikely. If the five-time Welsh Open winner carries on as he has been he will be vulnerable once again here, even though Dott may be having a quiet season as well. The 2006 World champion is hardly in the same form the was around this time last year when he made the final of the German Masters and the Shoot-Out in back-to-back weeks, though those results show he is still more than capable of competing on the big stage and taking down the defending champion.  

Jack Lisowski and Marco Fu are two players that many will be looking out for this week. Lisowski however is going through a quiet spell after a consistently good first half to the season. It is highly unlikely that a player is going to play well all the way through a long season, so his first round exit at the Masters to Ding, last 32 exit in Berlin to Duane Jones and first round exit in the World Grand Prix against Ding (again) are hardly anything to panic about and after a week off he could be ready to fire on all cylinders again in Cardiff. However, the twist is a potential last 64 tie against Marco Fu, who showed some signs of a turn up in form by beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round of the World Grand Prix. However, he failed to reach that high again in the next round and his results prior to that do not provide much to write home about. That could still make him vulnerable here, especially in round one against Tian Pengfei, who has won all of their three previous outings and defeated the likes of Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham this season over the best-of-7 frames. In all, Lisowski is the mostly likely one to progress to the last 32 but if he is to win this quarter he'll need to improve on the last three tournaments. 

Kyren Wilson is certainly a man in good form at the moment having won the recent German Masters title and then making the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix despite the short turnaround. His exit there to Barry Hawkins allows him a couple of days off before he gets underway in Cardiff which will certainly be beneficial after the last couple of weeks. Looking at the draw, defeat in either of the first two rounds would be a major upset, but then there is a 75% chance of him taking on a home hope in the last 32. Michael White may not be in the best form as he heads in to a tricky first round tie with Peter Lines, but the winner of that would then meet the winner of the all-Welsh tie between Matthew Stevens and Jak Jones. Stevens would certainly be the favourite of those four to meet Wilson in the last 32, which is an interesting dynamic after their last 32 tie in Cheltenham. Wilson was down and out at 3-0 down but fought back hard to make a decider, though his fate was out of his hands as Stevens looked to be clearing the colours for a 4-3 victory, only to leave the final black thinner than he would like - and ultimately leaving it in the jaws for a certain Wilson win. Should the pair meet again in Wales the crowd will certainly be on Stevens side and he will have a point to prove after letting the Grand Prix meeting slip away. Plus over the best-of-7 frames any mental tiredness from a couple of busy weeks for Wilson could well lead to an earlier exit than expected. 

That leaves Ding Junhui once again as my opening quarter choice of the week. Every time he has played this year there have been signs to me that he is getting closer and closer to having a really big week. I was impressed at the Masters where he has had a bad record in recent years and then if he would have killed off his match against Duane Jones from 3-1 up in the quarter-finals of the German Masters you would have made him tournament favourite. At the Grand Prix he overcame Lisowski in round one 4-1 and looked really sharp and was scoring well, but then ran into a brick wall as David Gilbert played outstanding snooker to win that last 16 tie 4-0. He may have had a couple of earlier exits here in recent years, but prior to that he had made at least the quarter-finals in the Welsh Open in five of the six years between 2011 and 2016, winning the title in 2012 and making the final again in 2014, as well as making a 147 in a losing quarter-final in 2016. There are certainly some banana skins in the draw, but that is always the case over the best-of-7 frames anyway, but for me he is the player that stands out when you look at this section overall. 

Best of the rest: Jack Lisowski

Quarter choice: Ding Junhui

Quarter 2

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Judd Trump Vs Harvey Chandler

Xiao Guodong Vs Duane Jones

Robbie Williams Vs Rod Lawler

Anthony Hamilton Vs Sam Baird

Stuart Bingham Vs Ali Carter

Matthew Selt Vs Jamie Clarke

Martin O'Donnell Vs Hamza Akbar

Ricky Walden Vs Lee Walker

David Gilbert Vs Jimmy Robertson

Alan McManus Vs Nigel Bond

Zhao Xintong Vs Jackson Page

Stephen Maguire Vs Zhou Yuelong

Zhang Jiankang Vs Fan Zhengyi

Yan Bingtao Vs Alexander Ursenbacher

Yuan Sijun Vs Allan Taylor

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Sanderson Lam 

Judd Trump is certainly one of the headliners in this second section. The Masters champion could well be the World Grand Prix champion too when he arrives in Cardiff, as he is currently in the semi-finals of the tournament at the time of writing, gearing up to face Barry Hawkins. It's clear that he is in the form of his life after that Masters win and he is certainly the favourite to go on and win the Grand Prix this weekend, which shows that he is hungry for more success in all shapes and sizes. Whether the short turnaround to this event from Cheltenham will have any effect on him remains to be seen of course, especially if a very tricky potential last 64 tie against Xiao Guodong were to materialise. Xiao has just made it to the semi-finals himself in Cheltenham, losing to Ali Carter and he could prove a major threat to Trump over a short best-of-7 frame format. Also lurking in this section of the draw is Scottish Open quarter-finalist Sam Baird who can certainly cause problems in what sets up as a really tough section of the draw. However, if Trump keeps the ball rolling from the Grand Prix straight to Cardiff then once again he is one of the very top contenders. 

Ronnie O'Sullivan being in the same quarter as Trump offers a very interesting dynamic to the draw, given that the pair are the two favourites to win this title. O'Sullivan had been on a sensational run of making the semi-finals in every event he had entered in the 2018/2019 season but that came to an abrupt end as he suffered a 4-2 first round loss to Marco Fu in the Grand Prix. That was the first we had seen of the Rocket since the thrashing handed out to him by Trump in the Masters final and you wonder perhaps if that loss has affected his game a little, but it is hard to judge that until a few more tournaments have passed. Like Trump, he could face a potentially tricky last 64 tie against Yuan Sijun, who reached the Grand Prix quarter-finals after wins over Mark Williams and Stephen Maguire, adding to victories over John Higgins, Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson and Ding Junhui that he has had this season and adding the name of O'Sullivan to that list would be a major feather in the young man's cap. Again there is further potential danger with Yan Bingtao lurking in Ronnie's section, though Yan has not had as many big name victories so far this season. Like Higgins, O'Sullivan has a great record in Wales having won this title four times and the motivation for him to win this week may be the opportunity to level up with Higgins on five Welsh Open titles but there are a lot of guys in this quarter that will have something to say about that. 

Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter is a mammoth opening round tie. These two met earlier in the season with Bingham coming out on top at the quarter-final stage of the English Open and Carter at the time of writing is into the final of the World Grand Prix. On the provisional ranking list that means Carter is guaranteed to move up to 18th, while Bingham is 12th showing how little there is between the two and how hard it is to believe that this is a first round tie. If Carter were to win the title he would move right up to 13th, and on the provisional Crucible seeding list Carter is 19th with Bingham 17th, making this a potentially big match for both guys, though obviously less so for Carter if he does triumph in Cheltenham. Despite being English Open champion, Bingham may be feeling the pressure of securing a top 16 place at the World Championship having been whitewashed in the last 16 of the last two tournaments and playing below par in both games. As two former winners of this title, this is the tie of the first round in my view and the winner could well be on course for a deep run this week. 

Stephen Maguire is another player with a good record in this event. He may have lost early on in the last three years to scupper that record slightly but in the nine years between 2007 and 2015, he won this title, made a further final, two further semi-finals and three more quarter-finals on top of all that. This season on the whole has been a good one for Maguire, with three semi-finals overall including one recently in Germany, a UK Championship quarter-final and a return to the top 16. The only thing missing from all of that is a final and of course his first big ranking title since he won this title six years ago. Like those already mentioned in this section, Maguire's draw is littered with tough opponents though, opening up against China's Zhou Yuelong before a potential last 64 match against the dangerous Zhao Xintong or indeed young Welshman Jackson Page. Come through all of that and he could be awaiting a last 32 clash with recent German Masters finalist David Gilbert or European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson. A tough draw to say the least for the Scot. 

David Gilbert is my second quarter choice for this week. Gilbert is on a rich run of form at the moment having bounced back from the disappointment of last summer's World Open final by making the final in Berlin recently, losing narrowly again though to Kyren Wilson. He bounced back quickly though with 4-0 wins against Yan Bingtao and a sublime display against Ding Junhui to make the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix, before running out of steam against Carter. Like all of the other big names in this section he faces some tough opening fixtures, starting off against Jimmy Robertson. The European Masters winner has not really repeated that form since and recently lost in the opening round of the Grand Prix to Mark Davis, but nonetheless he is a threat to Gilbert here. Then, as mentioned already, Maguire and O'Sullivan stand in between him and the quarter-finals, but the way he is playing and striking the ball right now he has no reason to fear any of these players. 

Best of the rest: Ali Carter

Quarter choice: David Gilbert

Quarter 3

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Selby Vs Anthony McGill 

Zhang Yong Vs Adam Duffy

Eden Sharav Vs Xu Si

Noppon Saengkham Vs Stuart Carrington

Ryan Day Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Peter Ebdon Vs Lukas Kleckers

Hossein Vafei Vs Ashley Hugill

Daniel Wells Vs Ross Muir

Scott Donaldson Vs John Astley

Li Hang Vs Joe Swail

Gerard Greene Vs James Cahill

Shaun Murphy Vs Adam Stefanow

Ian Burns Vs Luo Honghao

Liang Wenbo Vs Liam Highfield

Michael Holt Vs Mei Xiwen

Mark Allen Vs Mark Joyce 

Quarter three is another incredibly tough quarter to call and it is not helped by more very tough draws for the top players. To make that point I'm actually going to talk about my slightly reluctant quarter choice Mark Selby first as he faces Anthony McGill. Now on paper this would have been a much tougher draw 12 months ago. McGill has struggled badly this season and missed out on World Grand Prix qualification by a wide margin. What this all means is that he has had a lot of time off since Christmas and that break may help him come back fresh and motivated to turn this season around. He's beaten Selby before on the biggest stage of them all so in that respect he should not fear the world number one as much as relishing the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. Selby meanwhile will just be happy not to see the name Judd Trump in this quarter, having lost to him in both the Grand Prix and Masters quarter-finals. As I have mentioned in previous previews his form over the last couple of months has not been as consistent as he may like but that does not mean he will not go far this week. Further tough ties could be ahead though if he beats McGill with a potential last 32 tie with Noppon Saengkham, Stuart Carrington or even Eden Sharav - all of whom have made ranking event semi-finals this season. In a very uncertain quarter Selby is a solid selection, though this is the section most likely to provide the 'out of nowhere' semi-finalist which usually occurs in every home nations event. 

Ryan Day is one of the main home hopes this week, but that tag has not been favourable in the past, having only twice reached a Welsh Open quarter-final, the last of which was in 2010 and he has only gone beyond the last 64 once since the event switched to a completely flat draw back in 2014. Thepchiaya Un-Nooh is his first round opponent this week and a very dangerous player who could help continue that miserable run. Un-Nooh has been a Home Nations quarter-finalist already this season in Northern Ireland and while Day has been a quarter-finalist in each of the Home Nations events this season, it is his record at this event specifically that will worry his supporters. 

Another man with a worrying record at this event is Shaun Murphy. In his first four appearances at the Welsh Open he made at least the quarter-final each time, but since 2009 he has only made it beyond the last 32 once, as a semi-finalist back in 2012. The low point in will have been a 4-0 first round loss to Gerard Greene last year and if he can negotiate a round one tie this year against Adam Stefanow, it is Greene that could be waiting for him again in the last 64. Not only that but Murphy's form has headed South this season, as mentioned in previous previews, and that continued at the Grand Prix with a first round exit, albeit he was facing Mark Selby due to his low seeding. If his form picks up like it did in the last Home Nations event in Scotland and he can put his Welsh record behind him then he could get on a real run this week, but there are also a lot of reasons why that will not happen. 

Mark Allen would probably have been my quarter choice here right up until the moment he walked out of his last 16 match against Ali Carter in the Grand Prix, at 3-1 down and in the fairly early stages of frame five when he could still easily win. A one off moment it may be, but it is still highly unexpected and definitely not a good sign with this event coming around so quickly afterwards. The interesting dynamic to add to that is his first round draw against Mark Joyce. A pretty innocuous draw on paper given Joyce's poor form but of course there is history between these two. In fact Allen has been very open in his sheer hatred of Joyce, commenting after their last meeting that he was "not a good player" and "not a nice person". Now whatever happened at the Grand Prix may have been a moment of madness never to be repeated, but the passionate hatred he has for Joyce could cause him to boil over again here if his head is not quite in the right place. Before all of this, Allen had been enjoying the best season of his career winning two ranking titles and making the UK final and hopefully for his sake he can get back into that good place as soon as possible. 

Best of the rest: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Quarter choice: Mark Selby

Quarter 4

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Barry Hawkins Vs Akani Songsermsawad

Ben Woollaston Vs Lu Ning

Michael Georgiou Vs David Lilley

Andrew Higginson Vs Jimmy White

Neil Robertson Vs Jordan Brown 

Gary Wilson Vs Robin Hull

Rory McLeod Vs Thor Chuan Leong

Lu Haotian Vs Paul Davison

Robert Milkins Vs Mike Dunn

Chen Zifan Vs James Wattana

Billy Castle Vs Simon Lichtenberg

Luca Brecel Vs Kurt Maflin 

Elliot Slessor Vs Alex Taubman

Tom Ford Vs Ashley Carty

Martin Gould Vs Zhang Anda

Mark Williams Vs Kishan Hirani 

Neil Robertson was my tournament tip last week at the World Grand Prix and while he was 3-1 up in his first round tie against Xiao Guodong he would go on to lose out 4-3 and join the top players that exited in round one. He also relinquished a 3-1 lead in the quarter-finals of the German Masters against David Gilbert so will hope that is not becoming a trend as he attempts to go deep this week. So far this season, the Home Nations events have not been as kind as other events to the Australian, with a last 16 exit in Crawley followed by a last 32 exit in Belfast and a last 64 loss in Glasgow. He may be a former winner of this title from back in 2007 as well as making the final again in 2016, but he has only gone beyond the last 16 stage in this event two further times from a total of 14 appearances. Both of the last two years have seen him lose in the last 64 despite playing well in both of the those games. With a potentially tough last 64 against last year's semi-finalist and a man that overcame him on the way to the quarters in 2015 in Gary Wilson, there is certainly a danger of history repeating itself again for Robertson. 

Mark Williams is the main man in this section. Not only is he the highest ranked Welsh player but he is of course returning to his home event as champion of the world. After a quieter period of tournaments that have seen some earlier exits as mentioned in recent previews he showed some very positive signs despite ultimately heading to a first round exit in the Grand Prix 4-3 against Yuan Sijun. If he plays as he did in that game here in Cardiff then he could well be on for his best run since winning the World Open in the summer. Like so many others this week there are tough ties in the offing for Williams. Last year he lost in the last 32 to Martin Gould and he could face the same opponent a round earlier this year, while UK semi-finalist Tom Ford is also lurking in this section. The one obvious point that stands in the way of Williams and all of the home hopes this week is the expectation and pressure, which is probably the reason behind the stat on Welsh players in this event that I mentioned in the intro.

Luca Brecel is a former semi-finalist at this event back in 2015 and reached the last 16 the following year in Cardiff. After a poor season so far, that has seen him miss out on World Grand Prix qualification, there were positive signs at the Masters as overcame Mark Allen in an excellent tie before falling just short against Ding Junhui at the quarter-final stage. The fact remains though that he has not reached a ranking event quarter-final since the Shanghai Masters in November 2017 and he has failed to produce much form in that period since. This week he faces a tough tie against Kurt Maflin in round one and he will know that if the Norwegian is scoring well then he will need to do the same, which prior to the Masters had been a large contributor to his poor form. Get beyond that early test though and it could sharpen him up for the rest of the tournament and a long overdue deep run in an event. 

Last year's runner-up Barry Hawkins is my fourth and final quarter choice for this week in Wales. At the time of writing Hawkins is into the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix and once again it looks like his game could be warming in February. As well as being a runner-up here a year ago, he was a quarter-finalist in 2017 after winning the Grand Prix. He was also a semi-finalist back in 2014 and was a back-to-back Welsh Open semi-finalist in 2005 and 2006 so he certainly has some good memories of this event. Hawkins is having a much better season than he was at the same point last year, having made a good start in the early season Chinese events, before going a little quiet. This week though he has beaten Ryan Day, Marco Fu and Kyren Wilson to make the last four in Cheltenham and the signs are certainly there that this could be the start of Hawkins building his form up for another run at the World Championships. In my view his toughest early round match this week could be an opener with Akani Songsermsawad and if he can win that I can't see anyone else troubling him until at least the last 16. 

Best of the rest: Luca Brecel

Quarter choice: Barry Hawkins

Tournament winner selection: Ding Junhui

As with all the home nations events the action this week will be broadcast on Eurosport TV and the Eurosport Player as well as selected sessions being shown on freeview channel Quest. With this being the Welsh Open though there is the added bonus of BBC TV coverage with BBC 2 Wales showing the event as well. The format is the same as all previous home nations series events too along with the prize money, with Sunday's champion taking home £70,000.

Keep an eye on the blog throughout the week though for live blog coverage from Cardiff, with selected non-TV matches being covered on here while further updates will be tweeted @CueActionBlog 

World Grand Prix Preview

Following Kyren Wilson's dramatic 9-7 victory over David Gilbert to win the German Masters title, both players will join 30 other players in battling it out for the World Grand Prix title this week in Cheltenham.

It is a new venue for the World Snooker tour at Cheltenham Racecourse, but the format for this tournament remains the same. Starting on Monday evening with the 32 highest ranked players on this season's money list, Mark Allen will be the man to beat as the clear number one seed having won two titles and reached the UK final in this 2018/2019 season.

All of the other big guns will also be in the South West of England this week including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams and Mark Selby, with Luca Brecel, Graeme Dott and Anthony McGill being the three highest ranked players not to qualify.

While it may be for the top 32 on the one-season list, that does not automatically mean all of the players will be in or around the top 32 on the two-year rankings. Zhao Xintong is the lowest ranked qualifier, provisionally outside of the top 64, but having only one-season of ranking points to his name. Yuan Sijun, Martin O'Donnell and Matthew Stevens are all also outside of the provisional top 40 on the main ranking list, while Stuart Carrington is provisionally 38th and both Gary Wilson and Mark Davis are on the fringes of making it into the 32, provisionally sitting 33rd and 34th respectively.

As always, this event is broadcast on ITV4 and is the first of a new three-part end of series with the following Players Championship for the top 16 on the one-year list now being joined by the Tour Championship in late March, for the top 8 on the one-year list so there is plenty to play for both this week and in the tournaments to come.

Quarter 1

Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Allen Vs Gary Wilson

Martin O'Donnell Vs Ali Carter 

David Gilbert Vs Yan Bingtao 

Jack Lisowski Vs Ding Junhui

Mark Allen opens up the tournament as number one seed by taking on Gary Wilson, who dodged a few bullets in the recent German Masters to take his place in this event. Wilson has Stephen Maguire to thank mainly for beating Robert Milkins in a match that would have seen Milkins overtake Wilson had he been victorious. Wilson is largely in the Grand Prix thanks to making the World Open quarter-finals at the start of the season and playing solidly enough since then. Allen meanwhile is International champion, Scottish Open champion and reached the UK Championship final to come here as number one seed and he will have another great chance to do well this week if he keeps playing in the same vein. The last time these two met was just under a year ago at the Welsh Open, with Wilson coming out on top 4-3 on the way to making the semi-finals, so Allen knows that he is a threat and won't be taking this one for granted. If he has his scoring boots on again this week, Allen is clearly one of the favourites.

Martin O'Donnell is one of the slight surprise packages in this year's Grand Prix based on his ranking coming into the 2018/2019 season, but as the 16th seed ahead of a lot of quality players he has certainly earned his right to be here and qualified comfortably. In a consistent season, O'Donnell has made quarter-finals in the China Championship, International Championship and UK Championship each earning him at least £20,000. On his way he has beaten some quality players and is certainly more than capable of overcoming Ali Carter in round one here. Carter's season has been solid if not spectacular, making quarter-finals at the English Open and International Championship as well as a few last 16 appearances. For me though, Carter has been vulnerable this season in the early rounds and O'Donnell is more than capable of getting another good win here.

David Gilbert will be hoping to bounce back quickly when he takes on young Yan Bingtao. Gilbert is the eighth seed having made the World Open final and of course last week's German Masters final. Losing another close final having been in front though must leave him feeling like his heart has been ripped out of his chest so it would hardly be a surprise if it takes him a couple of tournaments to really bounce back. Yan has had a decent season, reaching the last 16 on a few occasions and while he is not making headlines as often as he was in his first couple of professional seasons, he also isn't slipping down the rankings or playing badly. The threat he offers here, coupled with more heartbreak for Gilbert could see Yan come out on top in this one. If Gilbert is right mentally though, he could forge another title challenge.

Finally, there is a repeat of the first round clash from this year's Masters as Jack Lisowski takes on Ding Junhui. Lisowski is the ninth seed in Cheltenham having reached the Riga Masters final, International Championship semi-final and various quarter-finals over the course of the season. In recent times he has dipped slightly, losing 6-1 to Ding in the Masters and playing well below par there, before then losing in the last 32 of the German Masters 5-2 against Duane Jones in what was a huge surprise. What was more surprising though was that Jones went on to beat Ding in the quarter-finals of the same event. It highlights the fact that Ding is getting closer to his best form but is not quite there yet. Having been 3-1 up in that quarter-final he will be disappointed not to get over the line, but having reached the semi-finals of the Masters there is certainly progress for him and this week is another good opportunity to have a deep run. 

Best of the rest: Mark Allen

Quarter winner: Ding Junhui 

Quarter 2

Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold)

Neil Robertson Vs Xiao Guodong 

Jimmy Robertson Vs Mark Davis 

Stephen Maguire Vs Mark King

Mark Williams Vs Yuan Sijun

World champion Mark Williams is the fourth seed in this year's World Grand Prix, despite not having as good a season as he had last year. 75% of his ranking money has come from the World Open win in the summer and even though he made the quarters last week in Berlin and the last 16 of the UK Championship there have also been some early exits in there and he could suffer another this week. His opponent Yuan Sijun is a big threat here, especially after beating John Higgins in the German Masters to add to his list of big name scalps this season. In all he has reached a quarter-final at the China Championship as well as the last 16 of the International Championship and last week in Berlin. Over the best-of-7 frames upsets will certainly be on the cards this week and this match could certainly provide one.

Jimmy Robertson and Mark Davis is a draw between two players that know each other well and got to ranking finals in back-to-back weeks in October. Robertson won his at the European Masters to claim his first ranking title, while Davis just missed out in a tight final against Stuart Bingham at the English Open. Neither player has earned more than £5,000 in an event since then and with both players guaranteed £5,000 just for qualifying, while the winner will move on to a guaranteed £7,500, that will change this week. In all, this shapes up to be a really tight match which really could be a coin flip between the two players.

Stephen Maguire is worth keeping an eye on this week. The 13th seed comes into this event off the back of a semi-final in the German Masters, having already made semi-finals this season in the Riga Masters and English Open as well as another UK quarter-final. It may be six years since he last won a ranking title but he has now started working with a coach and seems to be knocking on the door more and more all the time and a player as good as Maguire has to knock that door back down eventually if he keeps on getting close. His first round opponent Mark King has had a good season, making the European Masters semi-finals for his biggest payday of the campaign, but unless he is on absolutely top form then he will need Maguire to have an off day because the Scot is playing good stuff at the moment.

Neil Robertson is definitely a title contender again this week. The number five seed for this week has had a great season, already earning £180,500 in ranking events prior to this week. Much like my first quarter choice Ding, he comes into this event off the back of a Masters semi-final, which he lost to eventual winner Judd Trump, and a quarter-final in the German Masters where he led 3-1 against David Gilbert, with Gilbert going on to make the final. I said in my preview for Berlin that I still think he will win a second ranking title this season and if he plays well then I don't think he will have any problem making the latter stages of this tournament, especially if he is scoring heavily. His first round opponent Xiao Guodong seemed to scoring heavily himself in Berlin, thrashing Ryan Day 5-1 before fighting back against Ding in the last 16 only to lose out 5-4. That is certainly a test for Robertson and one that will force the Australian to play well if he is to come through and if he manages that it should set him up really well for the week ahead. 

Best of the rest: Stephen Maguire

Quarter winner: Neil Robertson 

Quarter 3

Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Selby Vs Shaun Murphy 

John Higgins Vs Noppon Saengkham

Joe Perry Vs Tom Ford

Judd Trump Vs Stuart Carrington

The headline grabbing tie in the third quarter and certainly one of the top ties of the round is world number one Mark Selby taking on Shaun Murphy. The reason this tie has come about is because Murphy is only seeded 30 this week in Cheltenham after a poor season on the baize. The only reason he has edged into the top 32 is thanks to the final he made in Scotland prior to Christmas with that making up well over 50% of his ranking money for the season. Selby meanwhile is the third seed after winning the China Championship early in the season, while also making the International Championship quarter-finals and the semi-finals in Northern Ireland, with those three events making up most of his money for the season. Murphy lost in round of the Masters and in the last 32 of the German Masters last week so is still looking for his first win in 2019 while Selby has been pretty inconsistent of late. In both the Masters and German Masters he made three centuries in comfortable first round wins, before then losing in the next round and playing well below the standard he had set just a round previously - not what you would usually expect from him. You still have to make Selby a big favourite for this one given Murphy's form, but with Higgins and Trump also lurking in this section it will not be an easy route to glory for Selby this week.

Having said that, Higgins is another out of form man at the moment who, like Murphy lost in round one of the Masters and the last 32 of the German Masters. Overall he is the 14th seed, having earned £96,000 in ranking money this season, though £75,000 of that came as got to the China Championship final in September. Since then it has been a rough run for Higgins who looks low confidence and sounds that way in his interviews week after week. Much like in Berlin, he opens his campaign here against a threatening young player - Thailand's Noppon Saengkham. The Thai is seeded 19th, largely thanks to his run in the World Open where he made the semi-finals, while he has also been a quarter-finalist this season at the English Open. He is not frightened of the top players, having beaten Selby this season on the way to that semi-final, while defeating Judd Trump around 12 months ago on the way to the Welsh Open semi-final. If Higgins does not find something for this game then it could well be another early bath for the Scotsman.

Elsewhere, Joe Perry will meet Tom Ford in a repeat of their UK Championship quarter-final from December. On that occasion, Ford came out on top comfortably before losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi's and that semi-final forms over half of his season's points tally and is the reason for his 22nd seeding. Perry meanwhile has also been a finalist at the European Masters, helping him to 11th in the seedings, though he will want to bounce back here in Cheltenham after taking a 5-0 thrashing off of Mark Williams in Berlin. Ford has only played a couple of games since that UK semi-final so that long break makes it tough to know what to expect from him and if there is any rust, Perry will certainly take advantage.

Judd Trump though is certainly the front runner once again in this quarter. The Masters champion may not have been at his absolute best at times as he fell to a quarter-final defeat last week in Berlin against Maguire, but the way this draw shapes up for him, I think he'll be going deep again this week. In all he is the sixth seed this week, having picked up £174,500 in ranking money, a figure you can more than double with his non-ranking Masters winnings added on. His first round opponent is Stuart Carrington, a player he knows well and has played a few times now. The latest of these was at the Scottish Open, where Trump came out on top at the quarter-final stage and unfortunately for Carrington, who was also a semi-finalist in the season opening Riga Masters, that is the tale of their head-to-head. Over the last few months Trump has really started to step up and his name stands out even more in the draw, because you know he could dominate the remainder of this season if he puts his mind to it. Another final could be on the horizon for him this week if he is close to top form here. 

Best of the rest: Mark Selby 

Quarter winner: Judd Trump 

Quarter 4

Last 32 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Kyren Wilson Vs Matthew Stevens

Stuart Bingham Vs Zhao Xintong

Barry Hawkins Vs Ryan Day 

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Marco Fu

The final quarter is packed with top players and stories this week. Starting with the new German Masters champion Kyren Wilson. He will be over the moon to have won another big title. There was a lot of talk after he won the Paul Hunter Classic as to whether or not it was a big ranking title, but you cannot argue about this one and he certainly deserves it. The win last week helps him up to seventh in the seedings this week and sees him face Matthew Stevens in round one. Stevens is back in the big time courtesy of a run to the semi-finals of the International Championship, a week where he really played some excellent snooker and if he keeps producing that sort of form he will be climbing up the rankings again in no time. The last meeting between these two was over the much longer format of the first round of the World Championships. There were reports that Stevens was not 100% well for that match, as he fell to a 10-3 loss but I expect him to prove more challenging for Stevens on this occasion. Again there is the question of whether Wilson having won last week will be able to go deep into an event two weeks in a row and in a challenging quarter it would be a big effort if he makes the semi-finals or beyond.

If Wilson does lose out early, Stuart Bingham could be the man to inflict such a defeat, if the pair meet in the last 16. Bingham is the tenth seed thanks to his English Open win in October and making the UK Championship semi-finals in December. Those two runs contribute £105,000 of his £125,500 ranking tally for the season so far, as there have also been some early exits in there for Bingham. He will want to bounce back quickly after being whitewashed by Neil Robertson in the last 16 of the German Masters, but he faces a very tricky first round tie against young talent Zhao Xintong. This of course is an immense achievement for Zhao who only won back his tour card in May and by September he was a ranking semi-finalist at the China Championships. He has put a lot of solid displays in since and had some very unlucky losses too which will help him to grow as a player and if he comes out of the blocks firing this week he really is capable of causing an upset or two.

Barry Hawkins takes on Ryan Day in what is another exciting tie. The pair are seeded 15th and 18th respectively, with Hawkins' best result of the season in ranking events coming in China early on in the season, while Day has had a string of quarter-finals, especially in the home nations events. Last week, both players fell at the last 32 stage in Berlin, having also lost at the quarter-final stage of the Masters. To show just how good this is as a first round tie, it has only been two years since the pair contested the World Grand Final, with Hawkins coming out on top 10-7. Day has won their three meetings since then, which have all been over the same best-of-7 frame format that the pair will contest this match over. On paper, most will be expecting a really tight match between these two, but the recent head-to-head may give Day the very slightest of edges.

The 'reward' for the winner could be a last 16 tie against Ronnie O'Sullivan no less. Once again he will be the tournament favourite and when you look at his results when he has entered a tournament this season, it is easy to see why this is still the case. Having played in the Shanghai Masters, Champion of Champions and January's Masters as invitationals, making the final in all three and winning the first two of those, he has also made the final in Northern Ireland, won the UK Championship and his worst result out of six this season is a semi-final at the English Open. From just three ranking event starts he has managed to elevate himself to number two on the one-season list and as such he takes on 31st seed Marco Fu in round one. Fu is not someone you would expect to be as low as 31 on the one-season list, but that is a reflection on the struggle he has suffered since returning from eye surgery last year. His World Open quarter-final is the main reason he is even here, with a number of early exits being suffered since then and this draw hardly gives Fu fans hope of a big run this week to turn the tide. The head-to-head does not make pretty reading either, with this match coming just two weeks shy of the 10 year anniversary of Fu's last win over O'Sullivan, with a Premier League 3-3 draw in 2010 his best showing in 12 meetings since then in all competitions. If O'Sullivan turns up in the same form he has done throughout this season, then once more he will be expected to line-up in the latter stages. 

Best of the rest: Stuart Bingham 

Quarter winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Tournament winner selection: Neil Robertson 


The first two rounds of play this week take place over the best-of-7 frames with the first round ending on Wednesday afternoon, while the last 16 will take place over Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening and Friday afternoon will play host to the best-of-9 frame quarter-finals before the best-of-11 frame semi-finals on Friday and Saturday evening sessions, with all this culminating in a best-of-19 final on Sunday. 

Mark Selby misses out on 147 but progresses to German Masters last 16

World number one Mark Selby is into the last 16 of the German Masters after an exceptional performance in beating Ricky Walden 5-1.

Selby started as he meant to go on by winning the first frame with a run of 71, before making the first of his three century breaks in the second frame with a break of 106. The third frame offered Walden some hope as Selby broke down on 53 and later offered Walden the chance to clear, which he did with a 61 to make it 1-2.

From there he would not score another point in the entire match as Selby dominated frame four, the only frame where he did not make a break of above 50, before attempting a maximum in the first frame after the break. An excellent shot from the black to get on the yellow, which was on the baulk cushion, gave him the opportunity with the remaining colours out in the open, but the yellow rattled and he was forced to settle for a break of 120. That was followed by a stunning break of 127 in the sixth and final frame, showing no hangover of the frame previously and clinching an impressive win.

The same could not be said for third seed John Higgins, who suffered a black ball defeat to Chinese teenager Yuan Sijun, having been 3-1 in front early on in the match. In what was a scrappy opening four frames with both players having more than their fair share of opportunities, Yuan could easily have been 3-1 or even 4-0 ahead himself and must have wondered how on earth he was 3-1 adrift, having lost frames two, three and four on the colours after golden opportunities went begging.

One thing that would have done for Yuan is given him hope that if he raised his game he could get back into the contest after the mid-session interval, and that is exactly what happened. Runs of 68, 54 and 51 helped him to win all of the next three frames after the break and from 3-1 down he moved 4-3 in front. An excellent long pot from Higgins in the eighth got him in first and for the first time in the match he took advantage with a break of 93 forcing the decider. He also had the first opportunity in the decider, and after building a nice lead, he missed a simple enough red into the middle pocket and allowed Yuan back in. Eventually the frame would again come down to the colours, with Yuan forcing the mistake on the pink and potting it well, before adding the black with the rest to win it.

There was controversy though as it was later spotted that the cue ball made contact with the rest after Yuan potted the black, which would have been a foul had the referee noticed. Neither player noticed either as Higgins had offered his hand of congratulations to Yuan before the cue ball made contact with the rest and Yuan had already turned away from the table.


Elsewhere, Duane Jones produced a big upset as he defeated Jack Lisowski 5-2. Jones made two breaks of 62 and a match high of 129 in clinching his last 16 spot, making this stage of a ranking event for the first time in his career.

Another top 16 casualty was Ryan Day as he sat and watched a break building masterclass from Xiao Guodong. Breaks of 53, 57, 66, 102 and 105 saw Xiao thrash Day 5-1. That sets up an all-Chinese clash with Ding Junhui after he battled back from 2-0 down to defeat Fergal O'Brien 5-3. O'Brien opened the contest with a match high 130 break, while Ding made breaks of 51, 65 and 73 after the break to take the match from 2-2 to 5-3.

Neil Robertson was a 5-1 winner against Kurt Maflin, with high breaks of 56, 60, 65 and 78 and will now face Stuart Bingham who overcame European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson 5-2 with a high break of 130 in the opening frame.


Last 32 results: (Bottom half) 

Yuan Sijun 5-4 John Higgins
Duane Jones 5-2 Jack Lisowski
Xiao Guodong 5-1 Ryan Day
Ding Junhui 5-3 Fergal O'Brien
Neil Robertson 5-1 Kurt Maflin
Stuart Bingham 5-2 Jimmy Robertson
David Gilbert 5-2 Ben Woollaston
Mark Selby 5-1 Ricky Walden

Last 16 draw: (Bottom half) (Picks in bold) 

Yuan Sijun Vs Duane Jones
Ding Junhui Vs Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson Vs Stuart Bingham
Mark Selby Vs David Gilbert


The second half of last 16 games take place on Friday afternoon which means these players will have to play twice on the day, with all four quarter-finals taking place on Friday evening.

Yuan Sijun will start a big favourite against Duane Jones, as Yuan eyes his second quarter-final of the season, while Jones is into the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time in his career. Yuan is also now safely into next week's World Grand Prix which shows how good his season has been and how much of a hot prospect he is in the snooker world and will be for year's to come. Jones' victory against Lisowski really came out of nowhere as he had not done too much to write home about this season on tour but this run will now surely give him confidence for what remains of the season. If Yuan plays how he did in the first four frames against Higgins then there is a chance for Jones, but if he carries on from where he left off in the second half then the teenager should go through.

Then there is an all-Chinese clash as Ding Junhui meets Xiao Guodong. This is not an easy one to call after Xiao thrashed Ding's nemesis Ryan Day 5-1 in the opening round with some excellent scoring throughout the match. Ding though had to dig deep against O'Brien who started strongly in that one taking a 2-0 lead and given O'Brien's nature, it was always going to be a really hard fought game from there, so it's a great sign for Ding that he had the strength to come through. Ding was also a semi-finalist recently at the Masters and looked in much better form there, while he has won all of the last six meetings against Xiao including three times in 2018, with the UK Championships being the most recent. That one was a hard fought 6-4 triumph for Ding and this match could another close game once again.

Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham is another tough clash to call either way. Both have been in the winner's circle again this season and are in good form on the whole, with Bingham making the UK semi-finals while Robertson was in the Masters semi-finals recently. In round one both players played pretty well and had comfortable victories making it tough to choose a winner between the two on present form over a best-of-9 frame contest. Either player could come out of the blocks quickly with some heavy scoring and blow the other away. In terms of the head-to-head, Robertson won their most recent meeting 6-0 in the China Open quarter-finals last season, but Bingham had won the two non-Championship League meetings prior to that and leads the head-to-head overall which is possibly a start you would have expected to be the opposite way around. Either way, this is a very tight call on paper and is worthy of being the TV match.

On the stream table, world number one Mark Selby takes on David Gilbert. Both players were comfortable winners in round one in terms of scoreline but in terms of their break-building stats from those matches, they were poles apart. Selby had three centuries, while Gilbert only managed one 50+ contribution in a match that was filled with tight frames against Ben Woollaston. Before you right off Gilbert's chances though, Selby opened up his Masters campaign against Stephen Maguire with three centuries and looked in supreme form, but in his next match against Judd Trump he looked like a different man and fell away rapidly. If he is to go far in this event he will need to show more consistency and Gilbert is a tough opponent having been to a ranking final again this season and made a further quarter-final since then. The head-to-head does not say much for Gilbert as he has only beaten Selby once outside of the Championship League, though that CL group match victory did come last week, but it will still be a push to read anything into it. On the day, if Selby repeats his form from the Walden game than Gilbert will be firmly in trouble.