World Championship Qualifiers EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Scott Donaldson

On Wednesday Scott Donaldson will begin his bid to qualify for The Crucible against Ahmed Saif in the first of a possible 4 matches if he is to make into the Last 32 of the World Championships, so it was really nice of him to take some time out of his preparations to do an interview for the blog.


This is what Scott had to say:

Thanks very much for agreeing to do the interview Scott. First up, your season started off very well, and you’ve played pretty good snooker all season long. So, how do you rate your chances of finishing the season off in style by qualifying for The Crucible?

Well - I'll just be playing it like every other tournament I have. Try to put a performance in and see how it goes, who knows what might happen! I rate my chances of course but there are too many good players to say what you will and won't do.

In the space of about a week back in June you reached the quarter-finals of the first European Tour event, and the semi-finals of the first Asian Tour event. How pleasing was that for you, and how much of a boost did that give you for the rest of the season?

Yes it was a boost of course, I played well & done it at the right times. It took a bit of pressure of me as that was going to help my standings in the European Merit for staying on the tour.

Your performances in the Asian Tour events earned you a place in the Players Championship Grand Finals, was that a big target of yours at the seasons start?

It never really crossed my mind to be honest, once I had both of the runs in the European & Asian tours someone mentioned a good chance to get to the grand finals. So my answer would be yeah it was great to be involved although I played poorly. A proud achievement to get there though.

You then went on to make your best ranking performance of the Last 16 at the Wuxi Classic, and recently matched that again at the Welsh Open with wins over Robert Milkins, David Gilbert and Andrew Higginson. How much belief in particular did that performance at Newport give you, knowing you can beat good experienced players on the big stage?

To be honest with you Michael, I have played quite well all season - even the games I lost. Although yes I suppose it was nice to play in arena and get some wins.

Do you have any big outstanding memories of watching the World Championships on TV as a kid, or visiting the Crucible at all?

I remember Shaun Murphy beating Matthew Stevens in the 2005 final and I think I watched it every other year after that. John Higgins was the one I was always cheering on, what a guy.

At what ages did you: start playing snooker, realise you could turn professional and start dreaming of playing in the World Championships at The Crucible?

I don't really know which age exactly, but I was at my child-minders one day and when my father came to pick me up from their house he seen me playing on a tiny little snooker table on the floor. He was amazed how I grasped how to play it and hold the cue. Then soon after we got a small snooker table in the living room in our house, and my dad said he could see a serious talent in me. Soon after that he took me to the local club to see a full size table and from then on it kept progressing and progressing. I seemed to have a lot of knowledge about the game.

Despite reaching the latter stages of Tour events this season, would qualifying for the Crucible be the biggest achievement of your career so far, and would it be a dream come true?

Of course, it's what snooker is all about.

At the time of writing you’re sitting nicely in 61^st on the end of season money list to survive for another year, but you would also get another 2 year tour card via the European order of merit if you dropped outside of the Top 64. Which of those 2 methods of tour survival would be your preference?

Top 64 because you keep your money rather than lose everything & get two years.

Would you put the switch to the Flat 128 structure down to your improved performances this year, or do you think that it is that just a secondary factor?

No, definitely not the reason. Just a secondary factor.

Following on from Scots like Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Graeme Dott and Alan McManus, is it easy for you to find sources of inspiration in your career?

Yes, Scotland has been the place for professional snooker in recent years, so it's good to hear the thoughts and get some advice of the other guys.

As I hinted at there, there are hardly a shortage of Scottish players on the tour so do you find it easy to find good practice partners, people to go for some advice, and (the big one really) people to get a lift with when it comes to travelling to tournaments?

Yes, a great practice match is certainly not far away. I mentioned the advice aspect in the previous question and is the same for this one. Yeah, I'm always hatching lifts off everyone!

There was a European Tour event in Scotland in your first season on tour, but that wasn’t staged again this season. How good was it for you to play in front of your home fans, and do you hope that snooker can return to Scotland in the near future?

It was great, mainly because I could sleep in my own bed! I'd love an event back in Scotland, there should definitely be at least one per year.

Do you have many friends on the Pro Tour, and do you find it more difficult when you have to play a friend in a competitive tournament?

Yes I do have a lot of friends, but when it comes to going on the table - you treat everyone the same.

Is there much that you enjoy doing away from the game of snooker? (When you get the chance that is!)

I'm a very chilled out person so I will just relax when I'm off the snooker but I'm really sporty. I love watching all the big sporting events throughout the year, and also I go and support St. Johnstone when I can.

Having just passed your 20^th birthday Scott you have your entire career in front of you. Therefore, what are your aims (in the short term) for the next couple of seasons and (looking further ahead) what do you want to want to and believe you can achieve before the end of your career?

My aim is just to enjoy playing snooker, and see how far it takes me. There are a lot more important things in life than snooker.

Thanks very much to Scott there for doing the interview and some very interesting comments. Look out later on for what I make of his chances of qualifying in my World Championship Qualifiers preview.

Also, keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks as i'll hopefully have some more interviews to bring you as part of the World Championship season on the blog.

Ding and Robertson to contest Beijing final after comprehensive wins

Ding Junhui and Neil Robertson will contest the China Open final tomorrow after both handed out semi-final thrashings to Mike Dunn and Ali Carter, to keep their hopes alive of winning the final ranking event ahead of the World Championships.


Neil Robertson went 2-0 up early on against the twice World Championship runner-up, starting off with breaks of 69 and 79, before Carter had a chance to steal the third after Robertson missed frame ball, but Carter missed the final pink on 62 and went 3-0 behind. It didn't get much better for Ali as he went into the interval 4-0 down, Neil making a break of 70 to take a commanding lead. The Aussie looked like making it 5-0 before missing a routine red on 59. Carter then made 57, but missed the final black, but Neil missed a long shot on it and Ali made a nice long pot to make it 1-4. Carter then got it back to 2-4 with a century, before a good 67 put Robertson one from victory at 5-2. Carter was in charge for much of the sixth frame but then he gave away several fouls, before eventually letting Neil in, and he made a 41 break to clinch the match 6-2.


Ding Junhui hammered Mike Dunn 6-0 in the second semi-final, despite it not being a vintage performance from Ding Junhui by any means. After Dunn had a chance to win a scrappy opener, things just didn't seem to happen for him, as Ding made breaks of 40, 42, 49 and 48 on the way to winning the next 3 frames and make it 4-0 at the mid-session break. A break of 54 was enough to put Ding one away at 5-0, before he then overturned a 43 point deficit in the 6th frame to win it on the colours and complete the whitewash.


Final Preview:


Neil Robertson Vs Ding Junhui - Both players have played some good snooker, not just this week, but throughout the season overall, with Ding Junhui going for his 5th ranking win of the season and Neil Robertson his 3rd. Neil Robertson has hardly been at his best this week, but he has improved as every match has gone on, and it's about time he made his 93rd century of the season, so I'm sure that that will be tomorrow. If he can go up another notch tomorrow then he has a brilliant chance of winning the tournament in very unlikely style. As for Ding, he's played well but not been entirely at his best. He has improved in the latter stages of the event, compared to his performances in the World Open and Players Championship, however he didn't quite produce the same stuff today against Mike Dunn, but he also didn't have much of a challenge it has to be said. Tomorrow though, it will be a fantastically close match between 2 players that have produced great snooker all year, and I'm sure that they will bring each others standard up tomorrow throughout.


Prediction: 10-7 to Ding Junhui.


It's been a good week of snooker this week and we have the perfect final to finish the week off, and I'm sure it will increase the excitement and the anticipation for the World Championships starting in 2 weeks time.

Ding, Robertson and Carter into Beijing semi-finals. Dunn stuns Selby to join them.

Mike Dunn stunned current world No.2 Mark Selby today in the China Open quarter-finals beating him 5-3 to reach his first ever ranking event semi-final which is a brilliant performance for Mike, even if Selby was massively out of sorts. Mike will now play home hero Ding Junhui who saw off Mark King without much trouble, not quite playing at his best, but still showing signs of better form than that displayed at the Players Championship or World Open.


Neil Robertson continues to battle on in this event also, seeing off the incredibly gritty Graeme Dott earlier on today as he seemed to improve once again this week, having started the week off badly suffering badly from a virus, which is also improving. Neil will now play Ali Carter who looked to be cueing well against Ricky Walden, in a match that ended with some controversy over a poor refereeing decision that was soon overturned after the players found Jan Verhaas and asked him for a 2nd opinion.


Quarter-final Results:
Neil Robertson 5-3 Graeme Dott
Ali Carter 5-3 Ricky Walden
Ding Junhui 5-2 Mark King
Mike Dunn 5-3 Mark Selby


Semi-Final Preview: (Picks in bold)


Neil Robertson Vs Ali Carter - Both of these 2 guys have gradually improved as the week has gone, scrapping out the odd match when they've had to, digging in and playing some decent snooker at other times. You get the feeling that given this weeks form, this should be an even contest which you would expect from these 2 players, with one having to go up another gear to beat the other. Carter seemed to be cueing very well today against Ricky Walden, while Robertson's wins while being taxed by a virus will give him a lot of confidence as he has gradually improved as the week has gone on. If Robertson can improve again for tomorrow, I fancy that he will just edge this one.


Ding Junhui Vs Mike Dunn - On paper this looks like an enormous miss-match and one that you would expect Ding Junhui to win quite comfortably over a best-of-11 format. However, last weekend at the Players Championship grand finals we saw Gerard Greene reach his first ever ranking final, after a very unlikely win against Marco Fu (who was in good form coming into that match). Ding however, has been the dominant player this season and is probably now the tournament favourite with the draw he has now. The home favourite has also improved as the week has gone on, putting some poor form in the PC Grand Finals and World Open behind him, as he seeks some valuable momentum ahead of his World Championship bid. Sorry Mike, you've fantastically to get here this week and seen your incredibly hard work pay off, but I just can't see you making the final.




So then, it should be a nice conclusion to the week of snooker in Beijing, despite the damp feeling that this event certainly has as the attentions of many (including myself) has undoubtedly began to switch to the upcoming World Championship qualifiers starting next week, and then the main event itself at the Crucible theatre.

Selby and Ding comfortably into China quarters, Murphy out, Robertson battles on.

Mark Selby and Ding Junhui had comfortable victories in todays last 16 games against Jimmy White and John Higgins, while Neil Robertson had to come through another decider, this time against Yu De Lu, despite still suffering from illness out in Beijing.


Shaun Murphy was probably the biggest casualty of the day losing to one of his good friends Ricky Walden 5-3, while China Open specialist Peter Ebdon's campaign was brought to an end by Ali Carter and Mike Dunn managed another crucial win for his tour survival hopes against Craig Steadman.


Last 16 results:


Neil Robertson 5-4 Yu De Lu
Graeme Dott 5-2 Luca Brecel
Ricky Walden 5-3 Shaun Murphy
Ali Carter 5-3 Peter Ebdon
Ding Junhui 5-2 John Higgins
Mark King 5-3 Jamie O'Neill
Mike Dunn 5-3 Craig Steadman
Mark Selby 5-1 Jimmy White


Quarter-final Preview: (Picks in bold)


Neil Robertson Vs Graeme Dott - Neil Robertson has been battling superbly this week clearly suffering badly from illness throughout the week, and having to come through 3 deciding frames is some feat when you're not 100% fit and healthy. However, he does seem to have oddly improved within his game from match to match, despite his still obvious struggles. As for Graeme, he's not been quite at his best this week either, struggling through some matches that have been much easier on paper than tomorrow's against Neil Robertson will be, and you feel that Dott may well have his work cut out for him here, but I still expect it to be a very close match.


Ricky Walden Vs Ali Carter - Neither of these 2 players seem to have been at their best this week, with Walden only beating Murphy 5-3 despite Murphy being off colour and making a high break of just 47. Walden hasn't been at his best for some time in fact, just being able to scrap through matches against poor or out of form players. Carter hasn't been much better this week, and with only a high break of 59 all week to boast this could well be a very close match defined on the tactical battles. If so you'd have to say that Carter is a much better tactical player (as he displayed in his 2012 Crucible run) than Walden and I fancy Ali just to edge it.


Ding Junhui Vs Mark King - Ding looked to rediscover his spark today against Higgins after a couple of indifferent weeks on the table, and that could just be at the right time with the Crucible in his sights. If he can carry on going this week it would be a nice warm up for the biggest tournament of them all, and if he's at his best for the remainder of the week, I'm not sure anyone will be able to stand in the way of his 5th ranking title of the season. However, Mark King has had another good week on the table and will certainly give Ding Junhui a challenge tomorrow, but I'm not sure how much of a challenge he can offer to the Chinaman if he's on top form.


Mark Selby Vs Mike Dunn - Firstly, well done to Mike Dunn for reaching the quarter-finals of this event knowing that he had to have a very good run this week to have any chance of retaining his tour spot for next year. His tactic of staying in China after the World Open has really paid off for him, and that could be something some players will look at more in the future. However, this match against Mark Selby could well be a step too far for Mike. Selby seemed to throw in one of his better performances today against Jimmy White and if he does that again tomorrow against Mike, I doubt that he will have much answer despite the superb week that he has had.




It is a brilliant line-up though for the quarter-finals with all of the top 3 players in the world left battling out for the title, we will certainly see some good snooker between now and the conclusion of the event on Sunday.

Selby and Murphy ease through, Robbo comes through another decider in Beijing

Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy eased into the Last 16 of the China Open with comfortable wins over Nigel Bond and Dechawat Poomjaeng, while defending champion Neil Robertson came through another deciding frame, this time against Mark Williams. Judd Trump was knocked out though by Beijing specialist Peter Ebdon and Marco Fu was beaten by Mark King.


There were good wins though for Graeme Dott 5-4 over Dave Harold and Ali Carter over Matt Selt, while Mike Dunn and Luca Brecel both got important wins for their end of season money list standings. Todays other winners included Ding Junhui who beat Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, John Higgins who thrashed Michael White, and Ali Carter who had a top break of 39 against Matt Selt.


Last 32 Results:


Neil Robertson 5-4 Mark Williams
Yu De Lu 5-1 James Wattana
Luca Brecel 5-1 Dominic Dale
Graeme Dott 5-4 Dave Harold
Shaun Murphy 5-0 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Ricky Walden 5-3 Xiao Guodong
Ali Carter 5-2 Matt Selt
Peter Ebdon 5-4 Judd Trump
Ding Junhui 5-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
John Higgins 5-1 Michael White
Mark King 5-3 Marco Fu
Jamie O'Neill 5-2 Fergal O'Brien
Craig Steadman 5-4 Martin O'Donnell
Mike Dunn 5-3 Tian Pengfei
Jimmy White 5-3 Alfie Burden
Mark Selby 5-1 Nigel Bond


Last 16 Preview: (Picks in Bold)


Neil Robertson Vs Yu De Lu - Neil Robertson has battled well through the week so far despite having a nasty virus to contend with, and he hasn't actually played that badly for someone as ill as he has been. If he is starting to recover nicely his form should soon start to return as well. As for De Lu, his form has been nice in the few weeks, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan to make the PC quarter-finals, but I don't know with so many matches in a short period, that this might be a step too far.


Graeme Dott Vs Luca Brecel - Luca had a walkover in the Last 64 after winning his wildcard match, and it seems like he played alright in beating Dominic Dale and he is a player that can certainly be very dangerous when he reaches top form as his run to the 2012 UK quarter-finals showed. Graeme Dott will certainly have his hands full, and he's already had to come through 2 more against Rory McLeod and Dave Harold, so tomorrow's contest may well be another close one. This one could well come down to experience, and with Graeme Dott being a much better tactical player here, that could make the difference.


Shaun Murphy Vs Ricky Walden - Shaun seems to have kept his brilliant form going this week only dropping one frame so far and playing some decent snooker to keep going since his World Open victory, and he'll be feeling confident against for this one. Ricky meanwhile has not showed anything near his best, playing some reasonable but hardly sparkling stuff so far. Walden will certainly to improve to have a chance of victory, but playing against one of his good friends - you'd always expect him to get a few chances, it'll just be about whether Ricky can be more clinical.


Ali Carter Vs Peter Ebdon - Ali has hardly been fantastic this week, beating Selt 5-2 today with a high break of 39, but he's done what he's had to so far, but playing Peter tomorrow will be another test for him, especially as Ebdon has a brilliant record at the China Open and he knows Carter's game well being in his corner for the 2012 World Championships previously. Peter always seems to play well in China, and he has become something of a China Open specialist over the years. Another couple of wins this week would give him a lot of confidence as well for the World Championship qualifiers. I fancy that Ebdon will just edge this one, with his great China form.


Ding Junhui Vs John Higgins - As I mentioned in my preview, Higgins has been fairly consistent in the last couple of events, getting to a few quarter-finals but failing to kick on. He's played some decent stuff so far this week, and if he could win this match it may push him along to much bigger things. Ding Junhui has been far from convincing so far this week, and in the few weeks leading up to this which could be a sign of him relaxing a bit ahead of the World's or just feeling a bit tired after a very long season for him. If Ding isn't at his best tomorrow, I like John's chances of being able to capitalise.


Mark King Vs Jamie O'Neill - Mark King had a very good win today against Marco Fu, and he's one of those players that consistently gets a good win every now and again, as a player he's often underrated and his playing style has come under some criticism, but he certainly has the capabilities and this week could well be his breakthrough week. As for O'Neill, he's had a brilliant couple of wins against O'Brien and Kyren Wilson so he will be full of confidence tomorrow and he has every chance of beating King, but he will have to continue to play well.


Mike Dunn Vs Craig Steadman - Both of these 2 guys have had 2 very important wins so far this week, and Mike Dunn seems to be reaping the rewards of staying in China after the World Open to practice ready for this event. He's now got up to 65th on the end of season money list, so will certainly be inspired to get another win tomorrow. As for Craig, it would be easy to underestimate how much better he seems to be playing lately and he has a very good chance of getting another victory here. It will certainly be another close match with a lot on the line in terms of tour survival, Dunn's acclimatization could be the key here.


Mark Selby Vs Jimmy White - Jimmy has had a couple of decent wins this week, but it also doesn't seem as though he's been tested much in his opening 2 matches so far. With tour survival basically secure for another year he will probably relax a bit more before this match, though it will also be a much sterner test, and his record against the top players is nowhere near what it used to be. As for Selby, it's hardly been vintage stuff, but you didn't feel it would need to be for him to get through this quarter, by which time he'd have played himself into the tournament more. Selby's been doing what he's had to to win again this week, and you feel he will do the same again.




It's a decent line-up then for the latter stages of the China Open, and there should be some good snooker to come in the next few days. It will certainly be interesting to see how things go in the Last 16 tomorrow with some important matches still to come.

China Open Preview

One week of snooker has just finished in Preston at the Players Championship Grand Finals with Barry Hawkins taking the title and the £100,000 winners cheque last night, and another week of snooker begins tomorrow in the early hours with the China Open in Beijing, as the build-up to the World Championships continues, and we get our final little guide as to how things might go at the Crucible this year, not that the China Open has ever provided much of a guide in recent years.


Time to have a look at how things could shape up in Beijing this week:

Quarter 1

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Anthony Hamilton
Mark Williams Vs Anthony McGill
James Wattana Vs Mark Joyce
Duane Jones Vs Yu De Lu/Chen Zifan
Mark Allen Vs Luca Brecel/Yuan Sijun
Jack Lisowski Vs Dominic Dale
Graeme Dott Vs Rory McLeod
Dave Harold w/o Stephen Maguire


This quarter sees the likes of Neil Robertson, Mark Allen, Graeme Dott and Mark Williams battling for a place in the semi-finals, and Stephen Maguire was meant to be in this section before his withdrawal from the event due to a bad back.


Neil Robertson's form has gone missing a little bit in recent times, failing to get past the Last 16 of a ranking event since winning the UK Championships, and it's hard to work out why since he has made 92 centuries this season, which points to consistent performances in ranking events across the whole season. However, it could be said that he's maybe started to concentrate to heavily on the 100 centuries landmark, and this could have put a little bit of extra pressure on him, which may have showed at certain times. I still make him a clear favourite for this quarter because he is probably the best and most consistent performer in it.


Mark Allen will be up there for this quarter, having made the recent World Open semi-finals and Players Championship quarter-finals. However, he would've been incredibly disappointed to lose to Gerard Greene in the quarter's and it showed some of the inconsistencies that are present in his game, having played so well in the Last 32 and the Last 16 to then play so poorly in the quarter-finals. With such an inconsistent game it is tough to try and tip him for big things in this event, especially after a short turnaround for him since the Players Championship. The likes of Mark Williams and Graeme Dott will certainly cause problems for Robertson and Allen, but again they aren't quite the consistent performers they used to be, though you wouldn't put it past Graeme Dott to go on and make the quarter-finals with the draw that is in front of him.


Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson

Quarter 2

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Jamie Cope
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs David Grace
Xiao Guodong Vs Hammad Miah
Ricky Walden Vs Pankaj Advani
Ali Carter Vs Jamie Jones
Ryan Day Vs Matt Selt
Peter Ebdon Vs Jimmy Robertson
Judd Trump Vs Kurt Maflin


This quarter sees the likes of recent World Open champion Shaun Murphy, Championship League winner Judd Trump, Ricky Walden, Ali Carter, Ryan Day and Xiao Guodong all battling for a semi-final place, but not all of these guys are in the best form of late.


Shaun Murphy is probably in the best form of any of the players in this quarter having just won the Haikou World Open before then beating Neil Robertson in the first round of the Players Championship, and Murphy's confidence has well and truly returned to him at the right time with tournaments coming thick and fast. He has a nice little draw to start him off here, and I don't think he'll have a problem here so he can build himself into the tournament nicely, saving his energy for both the final stages of the tournament and the upcoming World Championships.


Judd Trump is also in good form at the moment, but he has had a very short turnaround having played in the semi-finals yesterday at the Players Championship and he hardly has an easy draw playing Kurt Maflin in the first round, with a possible Last 32 match with Peter Ebdon (who has a great record in Beijing) and then a possible Last 16 match with possibly Ryan Day or Ali Carter. Another good run for Trump then doesn't look as likely here and I think he will probably be beaten in one of the early rounds.


Some of the other guys like Walden and Carter aren't in the best of form at the moment, but if they soon re-discover something near their respective bests they too could make a challenge for the quarter win.


Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 3

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ding Junhui Vs John Astley/Yan Bingtao
Ken Doherty Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Michael White Vs Sam Baird/Zhao Xintong
John Higgins Vs Michael Wasley
Marco Fu Vs Li Hang
Aditya Mehta Vs Mark King
Kyren Wilson Vs Jamie O'Neill
Barry Hawkins Vs Fergal O'Brien


This quarter sees the 3 guys that all reached the latter stages of the Players Championship with John Higgins making the quarter-finals there, and at the World Open and Welsh Open recently, while Marco Fu was knocked out in the semi-finals at both Preston and in Haikou, while Barry Hawkins won the title last night. One thing that that does mean is that 4 times ranking winner of this season Ding Junhui does have a slight advantage in this quarter, having less of a short turnaround after being knocked out of the PC Grand Finals on Tuesday afternoon.


Ding's form has just dipped a fraction since the Welsh Open, only making the Last 16 of the World Open, and the Last 32 at the Guildhall last week, but that could well be a sign of him relaxing a bit ahead of the World Championships after a long season where he's already won 4 big events. However, I think he'll be slightly more focussed this week for one of his big home events, as he tries to entertain his home crowd, and more importantly, build up some more momentum going into the World Championships in less than 3 weeks time. Therefore, he is one of my favourites for the quarter.


Barry Hawkins and Marco Fu will both fancy their chances after good runs in the Players Championship, but it will be tough for the pair of them flying out today and then having to play everyday from Tuesday if they are to have a decent run in the event. Fu has reached the semi-finals of the last 2 events, but has also continued to show why he is such an inconsistent performer, having played so well in both events to reach the semi's but then perform so badly in both of those Last 4 ties and end up not offering much of a challenge. As for Hawkins, his Players Championship win will give him a much needed boost ahead of the World Championships, but also relax him a bit for this event - which is clearly not as important to him and many other players ahead of the big one. That kind of approach could lend itself to an early exit or a deep run, but if tiredness kicks in after a busy week or so, then it's more likely to be an early exit for both men.


One man that could be a dark horse in this quarter is John Higgins who seems to be improving slowly but surely ahead of The Crucible having made the quarter-finals of the last 3 events in a row, and played brilliantly in Haikou to defeat Judd Trump. If he can replicate that kind of form again this week there is no reason why he couldn't have a good run of his own this week, and begin to build his case for another possible World Title. Whether he still has the consistency for it is another question entirely.


Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui

Quarter 4

Last 64 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Martin O'Donnell W/O Stuart Bingham
Michael Holt Vs Craig Steadman
Mike Dunn Vs Peter Lines
Tian Pengfei Vs Gary Wilson
David Morris Vs Jimmy White
Alfie Burden W/O Tony Drago
Nigel Bond Vs Barry Pinches
Mark Selby Vs Stuart Carrington


After certain results in the Last 128 round of this in Gloucester back in February, and Stuart Bingham pulling out due to a family funeral during the week, I can only see 2 plays that you'd really want to back to win the quarter and they are Mark Selby and Michael Holt, and even Michael is a long shot with his form not being great at the moment. However, there are a lot of matches in this quarter that can have a big effect on the end of season money list.


One Last 64 game of big importance is Mike Dunn Vs Peter Lines. While Peter should be safe now really in 59th place, Mike is in a significantly worse off position though sitting 69th on the money list and around £4,000 from safety, so he could do with a win or 2 this week. The winner of that match would then play the winner of Tian Pengfei Vs Gary Wilson. Importantly, Wilson is in the 64th position (despite this being the first year of his 2 year card) £100 ahead of Steve Davis who will be cheering on Tian Pengfei who is 67th position, and around £2,000 behind the 64th spot and tour safety. Another important clash here sees David Morris take on Jimmy White. Jimmy is in 62nd currently and around £1,000 clear, but if he were to lose here he could be pushed down into the "relegation zone" if other results went against him. If David Morris won a couple of matches this week though (despite being on the first year of his card) he could spell trouble for others as he is in 66th, and less than £2,000 behind Gary Wilson in 64th, but more importantly he's exactly £2,000 from Sam Baird in 63rd and if he were pushed back into the "relegation zone" that would have big implications on who qualifies via the European order of merit.


In terms of the winning of this quarter, it's hard to see past Mark Selby winning it (though stranger things have happened). He's reached the World Open final, Masters final and the UK Championship final this season but he has been lacking that major title, having not won a ranking event since December 2012, which is really too long a drought for someone with his ability. One thing being in the quarter could well allow him is a few easier games early on so that he doesn't use up a lot of mental and physical energy if he's playing well enough. He could also play himself into some good form, which would be important come the latter stages of the event as he really does need to start playing better if he has any plans of winning both this event, and then the World Championships.


Quarter Winner: Mark Selby


Tournament runner-up: Neil Robertson


Tournament Winner: Mark Selby


Whatever the outcome of the tournament, it should be a nice week of snooker as the top players look to either find some form or continue gathering valuable momentum for the big one starting at the Crucible on the 19th April, I don't think there will really be that much emphasis on the title this week as you would expect, with a much more valuable title at stake in the weeks to come. Therefore, a mixture of gaining momentum, building form and conserving energy will be the order of the day in Beijing.

Players Championship Grand Finals Preview

After a much needed week off from snooker for the players (and for the bloggers it has to be said) since the Haikou World Open, snooker is back with a bang this week as we return to the UK and the Guildhall at Preston for the Players Championship (PTC) Grand Finals. The Grand Finals were due to be in Thailand but after some unrest in the country they were moved back to the UK, which doesn't make things easy for the players in both this and the China Open, which kicks off in Beijing just 2 days after the semi-finals and final next Saturday in Preston. So, with the World Championships in mind, it wouldn't be the worst thing for some of the players if they had an early exit.


So lets have a look ahead at what to expect in this weeks best-of-7 frames PC Grand Finals:

Quarter 1

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Allen Vs Jamie Jones
Fergal O'Brien Vs Michael Holt
Sam Baird Vs Anthony Hamilton
Ricky Walden Vs Gerard Greene


At first glance, it could be said that this quarter looks a little bit bare in terms of the big names, in comparison to the other quarters of the draw, but there are still plenty of experienced names that could win the quarter, and even go on and win the event. The likes of Mark Allen and Ricky Walden will be the favourites to win this quarter, but Michael Holt, Fergal O'Brien and Anthony Hamilton all have the ability to have a great run in this event over the short format.


Mark Allen is my clear favourite to win this quarter as the top seed, having won 2 of the 8 European tour events during the season and coming into this event with decent form after making the semi-finals of the World Open. He's well overdue a tournament win and this could well be his week, especially as I feel he enjoys the UK tournaments more than the overseas events and enjoys the shorter formats as well, as he showed winning the ET5 and ET6 at the back end of 2013. Ricky Walden meanwhile is not in great form at the moment, but has been unlucky at times this year with some of his draws and he will certainly be a match for Allen having won a ET event of his won in the Uk this season, winning ET3 in Doncaster in August. From the rest, Holt and O'Brien certainly have abilities showing that with runner-up performances on either the European or Asian Tour this season, but I'm not sure either one has the form to challenge Allen for the quarter win, but that will certainly make for a brilliant Last 32 match.


Quarter Winner: Mark Allen

Quarter 2

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
John Higgins Vs Jimmy Robertson
Ding Junhui Vs Ben Woollaston
Marco Fu Vs Gary Wilson
Mark Williams Vs Lu Haotian


This quarter sees 2 ranking event winners from this season, with Australian Open champion Marco Fu and 4 times ranking winner of the season Ding Junhui, while we also have 2 Euro Tour winners from this season with John Higgins winning ET1 and Mark Williams winning ET2. Meanwhile, young Lu Haotian was the runner-up of AT3 and Gary Wilson could cause an upset having had a brilliant season so far.


Ding Junhui will be one of the favourites for the quarter and the event having won 4 ranking events this season, and he's as good in the short format (winning the Indian Open with that being best-of-7 until the best-of-9 final) as he is in any other format, and he's played brilliantly all season through in all conditions, and form like that will make him very hard to beat again this week. As for Marco Fu, he has been a little inconsistent at times this year with a Last 128 exit in the UK Championship and a Last 64 exit at the German Masters being spread out with his Australian Open win, International Championship final place, and a semi-final appearance in the recent Haikou World Open. He could be vulnerable in the opening round to Gary Wilson, but if he can get through that he will be a massive challenge to Ding Junhui in this quarter, as he was in the International final where he only just fell short. It would be very easy to underestimate John Higgins and Mark Williams in this quarter, with the feeling now certainly being that their best days are behind them, but John showed glimpses of his former self in victories at both the Welsh Open and World Open against Judd Trump, while Mark Williams highlighted how dangerous he can still be when he beat Neil Robertson in his home event. Both of those men could certainly win this quarter, but these days it is about consistency, which seems to be one of the things that these 2 have lost nowadays.


Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui

Quarter 3

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Scott Donaldson
Liang Wenbo Vs Yu DeLu
Stephen Maguire Vs Barry Hawkins
Stuart Bingham Vs Ryan Day


This quarter looks incredibly tasty with the likes of current World, Masters, Welsh Open and ET4 Paul Hunter Classic champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, AT3 winner Liang Wenbo, AT4 winner Stuart Bingham, AT4 semi-finalist Yu DeLu, Welsh Open semi-finalist Barry Hawkins, German Masters semi-finalist Ryan Day, Stephen Maguire and young prospect Scott Donaldson completing a section packed with potential quarter and event winners.


Ronnie O'Sullivan is always favourite by a mile for any tournament he enters these days and deservedly so as he is playing some of the best snooker of his life right now, with nobody being able to come close to him when he's on top form. The only chance there is of anyone beating him this week is that anything can happen in the shorter best-of-7 format, not that that has had much effect in the ET events he has entered this season, nor did it have an effect in the Welsh Open. Meanwhile, Liang Wenbo will fancy his chances of first beating DeLu and then beating Ronnie as he did at the International Championship, and Wenbo's game has seen particular improvements this season after he went off of the boil after the previous few seasons. He could be a dark horse in this section.


Stuart Bingham is another man coming back to form having won the AT4 event recently, and he's now into the top 4 in the rankings which shows how far he has come in the last 2 seasons, but he has a very tough draw here and with possible distractions away from snooker Ryan Day, who has been playing very well since the turn of the year, will definetly think he has a good chance of victory. Stephen Maguire and Barry Hawkins looks another spicy Last 32 encounter between 2 men who are very evenly matched and could easily go on and win the quarter. Maguire has been a little inconsistent this season, but I don't think that Hawkins enjoys the shorter format as much as Maguire after he only just made it here thanks to Bingham winning the AT4 spot and the extra spot on the European Order of merit going to Barry, however that could well spur him on, despite his own inconsistency and possible lack of motivation this season.


Quarter Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Quarter 4

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Neil Robertson
Judd Trump Vs Ju Reti
Joe Perry Vs Mark Davis
Mark Selby Vs David Gilbert


This quarter sees some incredibly big names, but also a lot of guys in form in what is certainly the quarter of death. We have recent Haikou World Open and Gdynia Open champion Shaun Murphy, UK Champion Neil Robertson, Asian Tour 1 winner Joe Perry, Antwerp Open winner, UK, Masters and World Open runner-up Mark Selby, AT2 winner and amateur Ju Reti, Mark Davis and David Gilbert.


Shaun Murphy has to be the form man coming into the event, but that really means nothing in a short best-of-7 format where he has Neil Robertson in the first round in what would be one of the matches over a longer format. Neil's recent record against Shaun is superb, but Murphy will have a lot of friends and family behind him in what is effectively his home tournament which could spur him on or add to the pressure. Either way that looks a very tough game.


Judd Trump should really beat Ju Reti in the opening round, but his Last 16 will be very tough so he'll want to not use up too much energy beating Ju if he can. His form has been decent in the second half of the season, but he just hasn't had the luck that you need sometimes to go and win the bigger events, but if that could turn around this week, his game is in a very good shape for him to have a good week. The short format is also good for Trump as it means that he can breeze through matches pretty quickly if he's playing at his very best, which he will need to do in order to win this section.


Mark Selby has had some good results recently without playing at his best all the time, and grinding out a lot of results, and I don't suspect that he can get away with such a thing in a quarter filled with top stars, if he has big aims for the week. However, I saw someone suggest during the World Open that Selby's so called "B Game" of grinding out results has actually become his "A Game" now because what used to be his best is shown so little that you could actually forget it exists, and that he is truly at his best when his safety game is on form and he is able to grind wins out.


Joe Perry's game with Mark Davis will be another interesting game, but one that I have a very clear favourite for on the seasons performances. Joe has improved so much this season, and it seems like he has re-discovered his best form again and is looking very confident. However, despite the start to the season Mark made and the improvements to his game in the last couple of years, he has had quite a poor few months on the table, losing games you would have expected him to win 12 months ago and not showing any kind of form. If Davis can't improve that this week, there is only one winner here.


Quarter Winner: Think Judd Trump can do the business in the short format.


Predicted runner-up: Ding Junhui


Predicted Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan




Whatever the outcome at the end of the week, it will be another quality week of snooker, with a lot of brilliant matches to look forward, just in the Last 32 alone, and a bottom half packed with great players lends itself to a thrilling and fast-paced event. I'm really looking forward to this one, and I'm sure the people of Preston are too on snookers return to the area.