This weekend sees us reach the halfway point on the snooker calendars European Tour as the players arrive in Mulheim for European Tour event 3: the Ruhr Open. I remember this event last year with a great deal of emotions because of both how the tournament played out and what happened and the sickness bug that I was feeling the effects of within 30 minutes of the final ending and that magical Murphy maximum break. So, Shaun is the defending champion after that resounding victory against Robert Milkins in the final, and those several failed maximum attempts on the Sunday.
As for this week, Ali Carter and Barry Hawkins come into it having won the opening two events, with Carter's being a particularly emotional win in the Paul Hunter Classic, beating this weeks defending champion in that final. Neil Robertson will play in his first European Tour event of the season having missed the first two, but the same cannot be said of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui who yet again are avoiding the European Tour like it's some sort of disease. The only other notable absentees are the two men that played out the Australian Open final this season, Martin Gould and John Higgins, which is a particularly dangerous tactic for both of their hopes of making the Players Championship finals.
Other than that, we should see some great snooker from the games top players that are present, and there are certainly a few guys out there with interesting points to prove after the International Championship qualifying round was played last week in Barnsley. The particular points to pick out were a 6-0 loss for Judd Trump against Michael Wild, and a 6-2 loss for Stephen Maguire against Noppon Saengkham.
The time for talk is over for now, and the time to look at the draw is now, so here it all is:
Quarter 1
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Ali Carter Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Marco Fu W/O Lu Ning
Stuart Bingham Vs Fergal O'Brien
Mark Davis Vs Amateur Qualifier
Luca Brecel Vs Ian Glover
Joel Walker Vs Jason Weston
Zak Surety Vs
Zhang Anda
Liang Wenbo Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ben Woollaston Vs Amateur Qualifier
Chris Wakelin Vs Tony Drago
Lee Walker Vs
Joe Swail
Thor Chuan Leong Vs Amateur Qualifier
Rory McLeod Vs
Craig Steadman
Jamie Jones Vs Michael Georgiou
Alfie Burden Vs Paul Davison
Mark King W/O Chris Melling
The very top section of this top quarter is packed with top players with Paul Hunter Classic champion Ali Carter, World Champion Stuart Bingham, Marco Fu and Mark Davis all featuring and with Liang Wenbo, Ben Woollaston and Mark King also featuring this could be a closely contested quarter.
Marco Fu has had a less than impressive start to this season, which has mainly been outlined by his picking and choosing of events, along with a first round exit at the Shanghai Masters for the second year running. His form doesn't quite seem to be present at the moment and with a really tough top section that he's in, a place in Sunday's Last 16 would be great going, even though he'd only have to win two games. In fact, a tough second round game makes that walkover bad news for Marco in the sense that he'll come into that match without the same grasp on playing conditions that his opponent will have, and that could so easily be a deciding factor.
Ali Carter's performance to win the Paul Hunter Classic was fantastic and no one in the game would say he doesn't deserve it. It's a great boost to his ranking, after his seeding was unfrozen at the start of the season, and I think he'll be back in the top 16 by the end of this season if he can keep this all going. When you look at Ali's tweets and you see what he's up to away from the table, both with writing his book and generally enjoying his life, he seems to be very happy with things right now and that will have an even more positive effect on his snooker. His section looks tough this week though, with an opening round match with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who is no pushover, and if he gets through Marco Fu with Stuart Bingham and Mark Davis two of his possible Last 32 opponents. I think if he gets past that mini section of the draw then he could so easily go all the way, but equally that is a big if.
Stuart Bingham is slowly building into his season after winning the World Championships, and you can't really blame him for that at all. It's such a huge achievement for him that it will still be sinking in and it's only natural to have a hangover from that. After showing little in the first few events of the season he started to look more like himself at the Shanghai Masters where he played out a good semi-final against Judd Trump and showed a lot of grit against Martin Gould the round previously. A decent run there might also have settled him down a little bit, and that sort of relaxed attitude could be the key to him freeing up and producing his best this weekend. His week so far has already seen him filming for Question of Sport and he'd love it to end by reminding us all of how he got that invite in the first place.
Quarter Winner: Stuart Bingham
Quarter 2
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Mark Williams Vs Amateur Qualifier
Rod Lawler Vs Amateur Qualifier
Aditya Mehta Vs Amateur Qualifier
Kyren Wilson Vs Xiao Guodong
Robbie Williams Vs Liam Highfield
Mark Selby Vs Michael Wasley
Anthony McGill Vs Amateur Qualifier
Matt Selt Vs Eden Sharav
Judd Trump Vs Amateur Qualifier
Daniel Wells Vs Amateur Qualifier
Mike Dunn Vs Nigel Bond
Sean O'Sullivan Vs Vinnie Calabrese
Jimmy Robertson Vs Mark Joyce
Andrew Higginson Vs Darryl Hill
Robert Milkins Vs Amateur Qualifier
Tom Ford W/O James Wattana
This second section is also overflowing with talented guys who can all do their fair share of damage in this draw. Shanghai Masters runner up Judd Trump is one man that jumps out along with those of Mark's Williams and Selby and Kyren Wilson who beat Judd in that Shanghai final. Robert Milkins, Anthony McGill and Matt Selt can also prove very dangerous if things go their way this weekend.
Matt Selt has been a dangerous man in these European Tour events for about 18 months now and he's toppled the top players on many occasions. Two quarter-final places in the Australian and Riga Open's suggest that there's plenty more to come, and he was so close to beating Judd Trump to reach the same stage in Shanghai. His run last year to the Lisbon Open final, is one that we can expect to see repeated at some stage very soon. His section doesn't look easy with the likes of Anthony McGill and Mark Selby to potentially overcome to make Sunday's Last 16 where the likes of Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams, but equally he won't be fazed by that such is the confidence he's gained in recent months.
Kyren Wilson is another man that would've gained hugely in confidence having grasped his first ever ranking win at the Shanghai Masters. He overcame plenty of top players in doing so showing his talent and determination and at such a young age there'll be plenty more in the tank. You have to wonder if there will be a small hangover from that achievement, but at the same time it would be wrong for us to start expecting him to perform at the same level in every event from now onwards. His win in the International qualifier by a comfortable margin suggests that he's got his head straight back down to business, and he'll be a danger to anyone in his path this weekend too.
Judd Trump has had quite a weird season so far, mainly because of one of the most surprising results in a few years that came last weekend in International Championship qualifying. In his first match since a 10-9 Shanghai Masters final defeat, you'd expect him to have no problems against Michael Wild. However, this wasn't the case and he lost 6-0 which is a stunning score line. People have tried to think of a reason for that loss, but more than likely it was just one of those bad days at the office, that was heightened by the fact that he's such a top player, and Michael is so far down the rankings. In the European Tour events this season he's had a Last 16 and quarter-final exit, so that's not bad by any means. I'm sure that after such a defeat as the one he suffered on Saturday, he'll be back out this week with a real point to prove.
Mark Williams is currently hanging on to his hopes of getting into the Champion of Champions by a thread. News that Ronnie O'Sullivan more than likely won't be showing, would put his Seniors win in the 16th qualifying place, if there are "repeat winners" of the Ruhr Open, Asian PTC event and International Championship all prior to Coventry. Equally, he could come out this weekend and win the title and all of this would be taken care of. So far Williams (like Judd) has had Last 16 and quarter-final exits in the Euro Tour events, and this came quite soon after shoulder surgery so he still wasn't a 100% fitness for snooker. A run to the quarter-finals in Shanghai was also very nice before being halted by Judd, but I have the feeling that MJ isn't too far from getting another title for his collection, and this weekends Ruhr Open could be just the one.
Quarter Winner: Mark Williams
Quarter 3
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs David Grace
Peter Lines Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ricky Walden Vs Gerard Greene
Ken Doherty Vs
Yu DeLu
Jamie Cope Vs Rhys Clark
Li Hang Vs Amateur Qualifier
Tian Pengfei Vs Sydney Wilson
Ian Burns Vs Gary Wilson
Alan McManus Vs Barry Pinches
Matthew Stevens Vs Sam Baird
Stephen Maguire Vs
Cao Yupeng
Michael White Vs Gareth Allen
Martin O'Donnell Vs Zhang Yong
Duane Jones Vs Amateur Qualifier
Dominic Dale Vs Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon
Graeme Dott Vs Amateur Qualifier
Defending champion and Paul Hunter Classic runner up Shaun Murphy is the big pull in this draw, joined by the names of Welshmen Matthew Stevens, Dominic Dale and Michael White, Scots Stephen Maguire, Alan McManus and Graeme Dott along with new Father Ricky Walden.
Stephen Maguire is one player that really is struggling for form at present. His run to the Australian open at the time papered over some cracks that are rapidly appearing in his overall game. It's not just being beaten in his first match of the Shanghai Masters and International Championship that will annoy him, it's the nature of those defeats. Winning just 3 frames for the loss of 11 suggests that he wasn't ever really in those matches and folded when he should have tried to hang on and fight. In fact it's this fight that is the ingredient of his game that has been missing at the moment and that highlights the struggle he's going through.
Ricky Walden hasn't had much of a season so far but for a different reason. With his wife due to give birth at some point around the Paul Hunter Classic, you wouldn't blame him for being at all distracted during his 4-3 defeat to Dechawat Poomjaeng. Then when his wife gave birth much later than anticipated, Ricky withdrew from Shanghai, so it'll be interesting to see what the new Father can put together this week. Both of his Riga and Australian open losses featured 140+ breaks so he wasn't playing badly, but obviously his practice time over recent weeks may also have been quite limited. Really this weekend could go either way for Walden, but deep down I don't think he'll have the very highest of expectations out of the guys in the field.
Michael White has also fallen away from his very best game recently. He struggled past Alfie Burden in his International Qualifier, and was soundly beaten by Mark Davis in the Shanghai Masters. He hasn't yet caught fire in either of the seasons ET events and will be looking for a more substantial run this weekend. His section isn't easy with the possibility of having to play Maguire and then McManus and Stevens (who beat Michael in Furth) just to make Sunday's Last 16. If White lightning is going to strike this weekend he'll have to do it the hard way.
Shaun Murphy has had a decent start to the season, making the final of the Paul Hunter Classic, losing out narrowly in a decider and Last 16 exits in both the Shanghai Masters and Riga Open resembled that he was outplayed on the day rather than playing badly. Murphy is up there now as one of the top 2 or 3 players in the world such is the way he's played in the last year or so, and his form in Germany particularly is very good. Murphy loves playing in Germany and a win at this event last year, coupled with runners ups in Furth and at the German Masters is the fruit of that. Murphy is now at the stage of his career where he needs to start cashing in on all of his hard work with titles, big and small, and a win this weekend could really send him on a fantastic run after 3 lost finals since winning the Masters in January. With the way he goes in these European Tour events you wouldn't put it past him.
Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 4
Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Michael Holt Vs Allan Taylor
Mitchel Mann W/O Hossein Vafei Ayouri
James Cahill Vs
Neil Robertson
David Gilbert Vs Noppon Saengkham
Oli Lines Vs Steven Hallworth
Peter Ebdon Vs Anthony Hamilton
Kurt Maflin Vs Amateur Qualifier
Ryan Day Vs Amateur Qualifier
Stuart Carrington Vs Amateur Qualifier
Joe Perry Vs David Morris
Jack Lisowski Vs Ross Muir
Mark Allen Vs Amateur Qualifier
Scott Donaldson Vs Lu Chenwei
Dechawat Poomjaeng Vs Michael Leslie
Fraser Patrick Vs
Sanderson Lam
Barry Hawkins Vs Jimmy White
The anchor quarter of the Ruhr Open looks just as high in quality as the previous three, featuring practice partners Neil Robertson and Joe Perry, Riga Open champion Barry Hawkins as well as Mark Allen, Michael Holt, Ryan Day and Peter Ebdon. With those names, the winner could easily come out of this section.
Mark Allen feels to me like he's warming up for a big run in an event very soon. In the Riga Open he made the Last 16 and his run to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters was good without being too special. Yet, in Bendigo and Furth he lost in the opening rounds and that just about sums up the inconsistency that most of the tour has shown in the beginnings of this new season, simply due to how spaced out the events have been. It's really tough to say who's going to have a good weekend in Mulheim, and who won't go so well because there's very little to judge the situation on and that shows clearest with Mark here. What I have seen with Mark's game over the last season or so is that he seems to tail off the further he goes on in an event. He was poor by his own admission in the Shanghai Masters semi-final and again in the previous years final, but his game is better suited to European Tour events in the sense that it's a shorter sharper burst of snooker. Having won this title two years ago, I wouldn't put it past him repeating that achievement.
Neil Robertson is another player who's not really started his season yet in the sense that he's missed the opening two European Tour events and lost 5-4 in both the Australian Open and Shanghai Masters Last 32 stages. Even in his International Qualifier he struggled against Kuldesh Johal despite winning 6-3. Neil hasn't been at his supreme best since the Masters, although he won in Gdynia and looked good in Sheffield. Perhaps Neil is going through a phase like he did in 2012 when he ended up turning to Stephen Hendry for advice. Without doubt he'll soon rediscover his form, he's too good not to, and he could easily win this weekend.
Barry Hawkins may have won the opening tour event in Riga, but since then he hasn't been playing world beating snooker by any means. A Last 64 exit in the Paul Hunter Classic to Kyren Wilson was unlucky, but in the Shanghai Masters first round loss to Martin Gould he was very poor and that sums up the mixed bag that has been Hawkins last 12 months. This week Hawkins draw doesn't look too horrifying for his chances of putting a few early wins together, but whether he can kick on again is another question. If there's one thing you could say about Barry it's that he's more likely to be a player that will win 1 tournament a season, and 2 or more would be a fantastic year, so to have one so early could provide both good and bad signs for him with regards to peaking too early in the season, but only time will tell.
Joe Perry has been quite quiet so far this season, having not had a horrendous start to the season, but it's been far from horrendous either. Last 64 exits in both of the European Tour events reflects the tough draws he's had more than anything else, losing to eventual finalist Tom Ford in Riga and Judd Trump in Furth. In the Last 32 of the Shanghai Masters he lost to eventual winner Kyren Wilson, so if he can get some good wins under his belt this weekend then we may well see how Joe's really playing. However, a possible Last 32 with Mark Allen and a possible Last 16 with Barry Hawkins again means it won't be a bed of roses if Joe is going to progress deep into this event, but I think he's due a great run, he's well capable of winning this event.
Michael Holt has had a really nice start to his 2015/2016 snooker campaign after getting some decent wins on the board, and so far it's taken some of the form players to beat him. In the Australian Open he lost in the Last 16 to runner-up Martin Gould, before losing in the Last 32 of the Riga to finalist Tom Ford. Then he played fantastic snooker beating Judd Trump on the way to the Paul Hunter Classic semi-finals before losing narrowly to eventual champion Carter. He then qualified for Shanghai and overcame Stephen Maguire comfortably before barely getting a look in in the Last 16 against Kyren Wilson, who again went on to win the event. Holt seems to be in a good place off of the table, and now that he's started working with Terry Griffiths it's certainly not too late for him to start achieving his potential. At the age of 37 he's still 2 years younger than the current world champion, and Bingham was considered a journeyman pro until 3 or 4 years ago. Sometimes you can sense when a player is not too far away from winning a big title, I sensed it with Joe Perry around the time of the Players Championship finals and have done with many others and different times too, and I have the same sense right now for Michael that a big title isn't far away, and if he could win this event, he'll really have the confidence required to quick on a lot further.
Quarter Winner: Michael Holt
Predicted Tournament Runner-Up: Stuart Bingham
Predicted Tournament Winner: Michael Holt
As always this event is televised on Eurosport both in the Uk and across the continent and the tournament will be covered in full you'll all be pleased to know, so no missing the final like the Shanghai Masters coverage offered. Other than that, it's going to be a brilliant weekend of snooker on tour yet again, so sit back relax and enjoy.
