Snooker World Cup Preview

This week it is time for something different on the snooker tour as the bi-annual World Cup returns with 24 nations represented by their best players, all with dreams of making their country proud.

Anything is possible in this event as the China B pairing of Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong showed two years ago when they stormed to the title despite their combined age being less than half of the individuals playing in the event.

As you would expect with certain nations only having one professional on the tour there are a total of 15 amateur players out of the 48 that are involved.

As for the rules and format, each match in the group stages is best of five frames played over two initial singles, an alternate shot doubles frame and then the two reverse singles frames. All frames in the group stages must be played as points in the group standings are awarded for frames won.

In the knockout stages, matches are best-of-7 frames with two singles frames, an alternate shot doubles frame, the two reverse singles and then a second alternate shot doubles frame. If the match goes to a seventh and deciding frame, this will be played as a "sudden death" frame with the players being nominated by the captain beforehand.

With the top two in each group going through to the quarter-finals, these games will be played as Winner of Group A Vs Runner-up Group B etc.

Monday 3 July to Friday 7 July will see each individual round of group matches being played before the quarter-finals are played on Saturday and the semi-finals and final are both played on Sunday. So, these are the nations and pairings that will be battling for the right to call themselves World Cup winners.

Group A: 

China B: Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao (Seed 1) 

Wales: Mark Williams and Ryan Day (Seed 8)
Norway: Kurt Maflin and Christopher Watts
Finland: Robin Hull and Heikki Niva
Malaysia: Thor Chuan Leong and Moh Keen Ho
Brazil: Igor Figueiredo and Itaro Santos

In this group we start with the defending champions China B who are made up of the same winning players in Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong. The win was by no means a fluke as both players have individual success on the tour since. In 2015 they topped the group of death with England, Thailand and the Republic of Ireland so certainly had to do it the hard way. However, this year there is more pressure and expectation as there opponents will all want to claim the scalps of the successful duo.

Eighth seeds Wales have a new partnership that will be full of confidence following the recent Riga Masters. Ryan Day outranks Michael White for Wales this time around and will therefore partner Mark Williams. Day has just captured his first title at the Riga Masters where he beat Williams 5-4 in the semi-finals. They're both in good form and should be able to form a good partnership as well. Williams and White reached the semi-finals in 2015 and topped their group, and I expect them to at least reach those same heights again.

Then on to the unseeded nations, and we have a newbie as Finland join the World Cup. Their lone tour player Robin Hull is partnered by Heikki Niva. Long time readers of my blog or Twitter feed will know of my support for Hull as I recognise exactly what he can do and achieve. If Hull is on form, Finland could be one of the dark horses in this group. At the end of the day, his heavy scoring his good enough to win any frame against any opponent which could see them pick up plenty of vital points. Heikki Niva is not someone I know a great deal about. I actually thought that Finnish amateur champion Patrik Tiihonen would get the gig here, while Niva was only a quarter-finalist in the 2017 national championships. Niva did enter this year's Q School without a huge amount of success along with entering the European amateur where he lost in the Last 64.

Kurt Maflin and Norway have a new partner for this year as Anita Maflin has made way for Norwegian amateur champion Christopher Watts. Maflin, in the same vein as Hull, is someone who can win any frame against any player with his heavy scoring and can therefore cause a lot of problems for players in this event. Watts should be a solid partner for Maflin and I think they will finish better than 2015 when, as a seeded team, Mr and Mrs Maflin ended up fifth in the group.

Malaysia come into the 2015 world cup with a new partner for Thor Chuan Leong who with his previous, finished bottom of their group two years ago. I think they could be the weak links again this year and end up bottom of this group too with little success.

Meanwhile, Brazil are back with the same partnership that they had in 2015, although both players are now off of the tour. They came fourth in their group two years ago behind the likes of Scotland, Hong Kong and Belgium, so there is no reason why they could not do well this time around. Figueiredo is the stronger of the two and if he is not on good form they could flop to the bottom of this table rather quickly.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: Wales
2nd: China B
3rd: Finland
4th: Norway
5th: Brazil
6th: Malaysia 

Group B: 

China A: Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo (Seed 4) 

Hong Kong: Marco Fu and Au Chi Wai (Seed 5)
Republic of Ireland: Fergal O'Brien and Ken Doherty
Belgium: Luca Brecel and Jeff Jacobs
Germany: Lukas Kleckers and Simon Lichtenberg
Egypt: Hatem Yassen and Basem Eltahhan

The top seeds in this group are the China A team where, on this occasion, Liang Wenbo outranks Xiao Guodong to make the team. Two years ago they topped their group before losing to runners-up Scotland in the quarter-finals, while the Ding and Liang partnership is a tried and tested one that had the ultimate success in 2011 when they won that World Cup. On home soil they should thrive with a lot of support and for me they should be the clear favourites to capture this title as such a strong pairing.

Marco Fu and Hong Kong have the same partner for this year in 47 year-old Au Chi Wai. The pair finished third in their group in 2015 and in a very strong group again this time, Fu will need to be on top form if they are to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals. My gut says that Au Chi Wai will struggle against the pro players with greater experience on the big stage and that could be the thing to let their side down.

It is also the same partnership for Republic of Ireland though both men will be higher on confidence this time around. They finished fourth in the group in 2015 but were in the group containing China B, England and Thailand which you have to say is more difficult than what they face this year. The pair also played in the 2011 edition, making the quarter-finals before losing to China. Ken Doherty will be high on confidence after playing well to reach the semi-finals of the Riga Masters last week. Fergal O'Brien has also been playing solid snooker, qualifying for the Crucible in April and beating Barry Hawkins in the 2016 UK Championships with that unforgettable five century performance. For me this pair are one of two major dark horses to keep an eye on.

Belgium have a new partner for Luca Brecel this year as young Jeff Jacobs replaces Tomasz Skalski despite Skalski helping Brecel to top their group in 2015 ahead of Scotland and Hong Kong. They eventually lost in the quarter-finals to India but this all helps to further the career of Brecel in my opinion. Invaluable experience playing in Asia for Brecel will help him later in his career, but for this week he will have to be on top form you feel if Belgium are to progress beyond the group stages in a very difficult group.

Germany also have new partner for new pro Lukas Kleckers as Simon Litchenberg replaces Felix Frede. Frede and Kleckers finished fifth in the group of death in 2015 and Kleckers will have to be on top form with Litchenberg in order for them to break into the top four of this group, while the the top and qualification for the quarter-finals is probably beyond their reach. Still, Kleckers will have confidence having made the last 32 in Riga last week after defeating defending champion Neil Robertson on the way.

Egypt is a new team for the 2017 event with recently relegated Hatem Yassen who failed to make any impact as a professional and new pro Basem Eltahhan who won the African Championships in the late spring. In a very competitive group they are going to have their work cut out for them, and you would have to make them favourites to pick up the Group B wooden spoon.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: China A
2nd: Republic of Ireland
3rd: Belgium
4th: Hong Kong
5th: Germany
6th: Egypt 

Group C: 

England: Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins (Seed 3)
Australia: Neil Robertson and Kurt Dunham (Seed 6)
Iran: Hossein Vafei and Soheil Vahedi
Switzerland: Alexander Ursenbacher and Darren Paris
Malta: Alex Borg and Duncan Bezzina
Pakistan: Hamza Akbar and Shahram Changezi

Group C is led by a completely new World Cup partnership for England. Selby and Bingham were the two representatives for 2015 though they missed out on the quarter-finals on head to head to Thailand. This year Selby has chosen not to take his place and instead England will be led by Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins. The left handed duo look chalk and cheese in their approaches with Trump's ultra-aggressive style while Hawkins is very solid and on any kind of form makes very few mistakes. As a completely new pairing it is tough to tell how they will go though for me I think they could be vulnerable if some of the dark horses of this group find form. The bookies make them tournament favourites but I would put them second or third in the betting behind China A and Wales perhaps.

Neil Robertson has a new partner as Kurt Dunham replaces Vinnie Calabrese from 2015 for Australia. Robertson just about carried Calabrese into the quarter-finals in 2015 before losing to China B in the quarter-finals and you feel that Robertson may have to be on top form if they are to get any further this time around. As practice partners and two guys that seem to get on well, Dunham and Robertson should forge a decent doubles partnership which may help them into the quarter-finals.

Hossein Vafei has a new partner for this year's World Cup and he will also have endlessly more confidence after last seasons escapades. A run of fine results helped him climb the rankings and show that he could be a force for the future, and there's no reason after his run to the China Open semi-finals that he could have similar success on Chinese soil this week. Soheil Vahedi is new to the tour after winning the World Amateur Championship and is actually staying with Hossein Vafei to base himself in the UK now he's on the tour. The pair have known each other since their childhood days which will make for a great partnership for the doubles and they will be able to take confidence from each other, and know what to say to get the best out of each other. For me they are the big dark horses for this event and I think they could do very well.

Switzerland are a new team for 2017 with the re-emerging pro Alexander Ursenbacher leading for them. Ursenbacher made the final round of World qualifying in April and showed some form before a last 32 exit in Latvia last week in a stunning last 64 win over Elliot Slessor where Slessor only scored four points. However, I'm not sure how far he and Darren Paris can go as a partnership but the top four is definitely a possibility, though the quarter-finals is probably a bridge too far.

There is also a new partnership for Malta as Tony Drago will not join Alex Borg, which makes them a quite weak pairing for this season in my view. The pair had played well in previous World Cup's but it is unlikely Borg will be able to find the same magic without Drago and they are unlikely to challenge for a place in the top two.

Hamza Akbar has a new partner for the Pakistan team this year, despite a strong previous partnership had seen them finish third in their 2015 group and only a frame from qualifying for the quarter-finals ahead of Australia. In a particular highlight they were able to beat the Northern Irish pairing of Swail and Greene 4-1 as well as beating Australia 3-2. If Akbar can create the same magic with his new partner they could break into the top four, although the top two is probably just out of reach once again.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: England
2nd: Iran
3rd: Australia
4th: Switzerland
5th: Pakistan
6th: Malta

Group D: 

Scotland: John Higgins and Anthony McGill (Seed 2)
Northern Ireland: Mark Allen and Joe Swail (Seed 6)
Thailand: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Noppon Saengkham
India: Aditya Mehta and Brijesh Damani
Cyprus: Michael Georgiou and Antonis Poullos
Israel: Eden Sharav and Shachar Ruberg

Scotland have a new pairing from when they finished as runner-up in 2015. John Higgins remains the front man for the Scottish team but this time he plays alongside Anthony McGill instead of previous 2011 and 2015 partner Stephen Maguire. McGill reached the quarter-finals in Riga but ironically Maguire made the final. The gap in rankings between McGill and Maguire was a lot bigger prior to Riga and while McGill is still ahead it is only now by one spot. It is going to be very difficult for McGill and Higgins to share the same chemistry that Higgins and Maguire did having been so close for a number of years, but the Scottish players all seem to be very close which stands them in good stead.

Good friends Mark Allen and Joe Swail form another new pairing for Northern Ireland. Allen did not play in 2015 as Swail and Greene did not make it out of the group stages falling just short after the 4-1 defeat to Pakistan. When Allen did appear back in 2011 he made it all the way to the final with Gerard Greene and with someone he is very close to he should form a good doubles partnership and the pair should be able to spur each other on. You will notice that throughout the preview I have referred to pairings and good partnerships being the key rather than individuals being able to do it on their own, and for me this is one of the strongest partnerships in the draw.

Thailand too have a new partnership as Noppon Saengkham joins Thepchaiya Un-Nooh for this year in replacement for Dechawat Poomjaeng who has dropped off tour since the 2015 edition. Thailand will again hope to upset the odds as they did two years ago when they made it to the quarter-finals ahead of an England team that was made up of the two highest ranked players in the world. However, two very streaky players such as Thepchaiya and Noppon could either did incredibly well or fall down the table rapidly and is difficult to tell which will happen ahead of time. For me though in a pretty strong group I think they will end up in the mid-table, just short of the quarter-finals.

The India team for 2017 has suffered a huge blow in that Pankaj Advani will not be teaming up with Aditya Mehta again. The 2015 semi-finalists played brilliantly to finish just behind China A in their group that year before beating Belgium and narrowly losing out to Scotland. However, I now expect them to struggle a little more in Pankaj's absence as him and Aditya Mehta had a partnership that will be tough to replicate.

Cyrprus is a new team for the 2017 World Cup. Michael Georgiou leads the team here having decided to represent Cyprus as his "sporting country" in 2016 having previous been a representative of England. Georgiou scored a nice win against Kyren Wilson in the China Championship last 128 and can beat anyone over one frame which could mean they could cause a surprise along the way. His partner is not someone I have heard a lot about and that potentially means most of the points will come from Georgiou's cue during the group stages.

In a similar vein Israel is a new team for 2017 with Eden Sharav being the front man for them. Sharav had previously been a representative for Scotland as his "sporting country". However, Sharav was born in Israel and will be keen to do his home country proud. His partner Shachar Ruberg has slightly more experience in tournament play I would say, having been a fixture in Q School over the years and appearing in the Six Reds tournaments where he has played well in the past. Sharav himself has had improved results in the last few months and can do some damage over one frame against other professionals. The top four is certainly on and they may be very big outsiders to make it into the quarter-finals.

Predicted Group Finishes: 

1st: Northern Ireland
2nd: Scotland
3rd: Thailand
4th: Israel
5th: Cyprus
6th: India

Tournament Runner-Up: China A
Tournament Winner: Northern Ireland


This tournament is all set to be broadcast in full on Eurosport TV and the Eurosport Player for those with subscriptions to that service. Events like this that differ from the norm are exciting and I am looking forward to how it all unfolds over the next week.

Ryan's ranker in Riga

Ryan Day has beaten Stephen Maguire in the final of the Riga Masters to claim his first ever ranking title. Ten years on from his first two ranking event finals, the Welshman also overcame Barry Hawkins (who denied him victory in the World Grand Prix final), Robert Milkins, Kyren Wilson, Joe Perry and his soon to be World Cup partner Mark Williams on the way to the final.

Day has been knocking on the door of winning a ranking event for some time with fine form in 2017 so far. A spell of play in February and March saw Day reach the German Masters quarter-finals, Gibraltar Open semi-finals and the aforementioned World Grand Prix final.

With the pressure of winning a ranking event finally unloaded from the 37 year-old it would now be no surprise if he soared and collected even bigger titles as well as making it back somewhere close to his highest career ranking of 6, after victory in Latvia has positioned him at 15 in the current rankings and 13 in the early provisional end-of-season list.

In the final, Day surged into an early lead and put Maguire on the back foot very early on. After an error from the Scot in the opener, Day made a break of 59 to take the 1-0 advantage. Maguire then had several chances to win the second frame after a couple of misses and safety mistakes from the Welshman, but after errors himself with three reds remaining and then a miss on the green shortly after, Day was able to win the battle on the green and clear to double his lead.

Day then seized his opportunity in the third with a good pot into the middle giving him the first chance, and he made it count as a break of 77 saw him take the frame in one visit to move 3-0 ahead in little over 40 minutes of playing time. At this stage Maguire was looking very shaky and becoming frustrated by his lack of form in the final. This time he missed a sitter of a red when in with a golden opening to get his first frame on the board. After following that up with critical safety errors, Day was able to clear the last red and colours with a marvellous pot on the brown along the way to stretching his lead to four and positioning himself within a frame of the title.

However, he then had a short mid-session interval to think about what he was about to achieve and naturally some pressure started to come back onto his shoulders. He very narrowly missed a red early in the fifth and left the opportunity for Maguire, who this time was able to grab it with both hands as he waded in with a run of 119 (the highest of the final) to get his first frame on the board. The four times ranking runner-up was made to wait even longer as critical safety mistakes left chances for Maguire who dominated the sixth frame and got another one back at 2-4.

The pressure would now be mounting on Day, while Maguire would have been aware that getting a third frame back may forge a collapse from his opponent and fully open the door for a comeback victory. Although, the former UK Champion took a big risk early in frame seven as he made Day play from where the cue ball had finished, following a foul from the Welshman. A pot was on for Day along the cushion with the spider that, while difficult enough for Maguire to refuse it, was still very much one you would give Day a good chance of potting. That is exactly what he did and soon, in the frame needed for victory, Day had put together a break of 58 before failing with a cannon into reds just a few pots from taking the title. He would soon be feeling it once again as Maguire took on a long red and fluked it into the adjacent corner and gifting him an opening to get right back into the frame.

The last two reds proved illusive in their position on the cushion, but Maguire's safety was not up to scratch as he left a red over the corner which Day potted along with the pink to leave his opponent requiring a snooker to stay in the match. A long battle ensued as the Scot put Day in some very difficult snookers, but after eventually potting yellow and green the 5-2 victory and title of Riga Masters champion was in the bag.

"Fair play to Ryan, I'm glad that he's won a tournament because he should have won one years ago." Maguire stated after expressing the disappointment of not being able to bring his best game to the big occasion. The 36 year-old will continue to wait for his sixth ranking title, four and a half years after winning the 2013 Welsh Open - which is also his only full ranking event win since 2008 when he lifted the China Open. A return of one full ranking event in nine years is not even close to fulfilment of potential for the former world number two.

"I was lucky, Stephen did not play his best in the final, but this means a lot to me. It has been a long time coming, so it is nice to get a trophy". Day meanwhile portrayed his relief as well as sheer delight at the Trophy presentation, as he finally gets his hands on some major silverware.

"It's pretty cool (to win) I played pretty well all weekend and the final was probably the worst I played, but I could not care less."

After several first time ranking winners in the last 12 months, Day was widely regarded as the best not to have put his name up there alongside the other full ranking event winners. The debate now rumbles on to who is now the leader of that list but the Welshman will not care one bit as he goes home with £50,000 in his back pocket and a trophy by his side.

He will now join Mark Williams to represent Wales in the Snooker World Cup that starts next Monday, July 3 in China, as China B of Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong defend the title they won two years ago.


Special mention is also needed for Ken Doherty who, after dropping off tour at the end of last season and now playing as an invitational tour card holder, made it all the way to the semi-finals in Latvia and a blog with further details on his Riga rise will follow later in the week.

Riga Masters Preview

The first full snooker event of the 2017/2018 arrives on Friday in Latvia as 66 players battle it out for the Riga Masters title.

Neil Robertson is the defending champion after beating Michael Holt in the final a year ago, and as such his Last 128 tie with Daniel Ward has been held over to the 'Arena Riga'. World Champion Mark Selby's Last 128 tie with Alex Borg had also been saved for the venue, but Selby has since withdrawn after breaking his big toe by dropping glass onto it. Alex Borg therefore goes into the Last 64.

Along with this, there are two further held over matches to take care of on Friday morning with the two Latvia wildcards. Tatjana Vasiljeva will take on Anthony McGill while Rodion Judin faces Chen Zhe.

There are a few top players that chose not to enter this event as the first of the season, while a couple of others did not come through the last 128 stage that was held in Preston three weeks ago. Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ali Carter and Liang Wenbo were all non-entries while Shaun Murphy lost out to Luca Brecel at the Guildhall while Mark Allen fell to Jack Lisowski.

Last year's runner-up Holt did not make it through either, though he had a rather tough draw against Barry Hawkins. Young Chinese Yan Bingtao and former German Masters champion Martin Gould did not make it either, while Ricky Walden was whitewashed in both last 128 ties he played that week.

With so many players missing and a draw that was completely unseeded for the event it offers big opportunities for guys down the rankings to have a good week, collect some much needed prize money and a first-time ranking winner is also a big possibility.

Quarter 1 

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Michael Georgiou 

Anthony McGill or Tatjana Vasiljeva Vs Stuart Carrington

Kurt Maflin Vs Alan McManus 

Eden Sharav Vs Jimmy White 

Gary Wilson Vs Ken Doherty

Robin Hull Vs Chen Zhe or Rodion Judin

Zhang Anda Vs Alex Borg

Tom Ford Vs Hammad Miah 

This is clearly the most open quarter of the draw, especially now that Mark Selby has withdrawn. Anthony McGill has the advantage of getting some match practice in and getting to know the conditions in Riga before the main stages. He has a decent record in this event as well making the semi-finals in 2014 and the quarter-finals last year. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is certainly a contender every time he brings his best game, but his inconsistency is often the issue, and it showed last season as he finished 67th on the one season money list despite making two semi-finals. I think he could find trouble against Michael Georgiou who scored a big victory against Kyren Wilson in the China Championship last 128 round. Zhang Anda is another name that could come through the draw, but he seems to struggle for consistency in his game. A heavy scorer on his day, but often he cannot back up big breaks, as he showed by making the highest break of the China Championship last 128 round but losing 5-2 to Shaun Murphy.

I have picked out two European players in this section though that could certainly get on a good run this week and make the semi-finals. The first is a firm favourite of the blog in Robin Hull. Watching Hull in the China Championship up close he did very little wrong in defeat to an increasingly solid Anthony Hamilton. I think this could be a very good tournament and start off a good season for the Finnish potter, with two new sponsors on board and offering support that should see him enter as many events as possible. Starting from £0 on the ranking list is easier than it would have been two or three years ago before events like this and the home nations along with other events that are largely unseeded. It shows that, as long as players have a certain quality, they can come through quickly as the likes of Anthony Hamilton, Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson demonstrated by shooting up the rankings last season. Hull certainly has the quality to do the same.

Kurt Maflin is the other who often performs well in making the last 16 or quarter-finals of events without kicking on and fulfilling his potential as someone who could become a ranking winner. A tough draw against Alan McManus in round one is not necessarily what you would want, but McManus struggled last season and is certainly not unbeatable. I would expect him to make the last 16 if he beats McManus and if he plays well he could certainly go a long way beyond that too.

My opening quarter choice though is Tom Ford. Ford was a runner-up here in 2015 to Barry Hawkins and early on last season he took advantage of top player absentees by performing well to make the final of the Paul Hunter Classic. Ford certainly has the talent to win a ranking title, and these results show that he is perhaps edging closer to making that a reality. At times his demeanour at the table when things are not going well allows opponents to take full advantage, rather than knuckling down and grinding out the result. If he is on top scoring though, he is certainly a contender for the title, just as he was two years ago.

Best of the Rest: Robin Hull and Kurt Maflin

Quarter Choice: Tom Ford 

Quarter 2

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold)

Jimmy Robertson Vs John Astley

Andrew Higginson Vs Jamie Barrett 

Stuart Bingham Vs Mark Davis

Jamie Jones Vs Sam Craigie

Jack Lisowski Vs Matthew Stevens 

Neil Robertson or Daniel Ward Vs Lukas Kleckers

Oli Lines Vs Christopher Keogan 

Stephen Maguire Vs Gerard Greene

This quarter is also filled with quality starting with 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham. Bingham has a tough first task against Mark Davis, but if he gets through that he could well get on a big run this week, as he strikes me as one of the players who will be prepared to his the ground running. Jack Lisowski overcame Mark Allen to make it to Riga and he needs these positive results to continue after finishing 75th on the one season money list after the 2017 World Championships. However, despite these promising signs against Allen he could not back it up against Allan Taylor in the China Championship last 128 round shortly after. Matthew Stevens is now with a new cue after the one he used for his entire professional career to this point was stolen in the off season. How he adapts to the new cue will be key to how things go in the new season. It could offer the Welshman a fresh start and improved results, or it could take him some time to adapt such was his lengthy relationship with the former cue. Stephen Maguire meanwhile will be wanting to build on a quarter-final at the World Championships to close out a season that was largely disappointing and saw him drift down the ranking list and well outside of the top 16. Maguire is long overdue a ranking success and this may be the week that things turn in his favour.

My dark horse of the second quarter is Jimmy Robertson. Robertson made three centuries in nine frames won at the Preston qualifiers as he made it through to Latvia as well as the China Championship final stages. Robertson did make it to the last 16 of this tournament 12 months ago, before going to have a hit and miss season. However, it did end with a little success as he qualified for the Crucible once again. His heavy scoring best can make him a match for most, and the draw has offered him a route to the last 16 that does not involve playing any of the world's top stars, and I think he has the tools to take advantage and maybe go on further and challenge for the title, as a former European Tour semi-finalist.

Another Robertson is my second quarter choice, defending Riga Masters champion Neil Robertson. The Australian having his last 128 round match held over could again offer an advantage to him. You would certainly not expect him to lose that match, so it should offer extra match practice and a chance to adapt to the playing conditions that the players will face over the weekend. From there I think Stephen Maguire will be his main challenger for the quarter, and after a season that did not necessarily pan out the way he would have liked after the early season victory in Latvia, Robertson will be prepared and determined to kick things off in style, just as he did a year ago. 

Best of the Rest: Jimmy Robertson

Quarter Choice: Neil Robertson

Quarter 3

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Mark King Vs Hossein Vafei

Zhou Yuelong Vs Paul Davison

Joe Perry Vs David Gilbert

Tian Pengfei Vs Ben Jones

Robert Milkins W/O Wang Yuchen 

Barry Hawkins Vs Ryan Day

Craig Steadman Vs Chen Zifan 

Kyren Wilson Vs Ben Woollaston 

As we move into the bottom half of the draw, this is the quarter that looks to have the most quality players. Robert Milkins is the beneficiary of a walkover that means he will not have to play until the last 32 on Saturday. Milkins should arrive in Riga with some confidence having won the Pink Ribbon pro-am event a couple of weeks ago, after a poor end to last season that saw him fall in the first round of world qualifying. Mark King faces Hossein Vafei in a repeat of the Northern Irish open quarter-final from last season. That one was an interesting affair to say the least and Hossein has come on in strides since then. A good end to last season for the Iranian will give him a lot of confidence and I could see him being a serious title contender by the end of this campaign. Joe Perry will be looking to get back into the top 16 after failing to reach the Crucible in April. Perry faces a tough last 64 draw against David Gilbert who himself has been edging closer to the 16 and the winner of that match could easily be the quarter winner. Ryan Day also has a tasty tie against Barry Hawkins who we will come to later on. That one is a repeat of the World Grand Prix final where Day came close again to breaking his ranking title duck, and if we get two or three first time ranking winners this season, I would expect him to finally get on that list.

The outsider I have my eye on here though is Chinese Zhou Yuelong. Zhou finished 24th on the one year money list last season after qualifying for the Crucible and making the Welsh Open quarter-finals. That remains his best finish in a ranking event, and after a few years on tour now I think he will kick on and potentially make a semi-final or final. The close relationship that some of the young Chinese players have, thanks as well to being looked after by the Victoria Snooker Academy, is helping all of them grow and I can only see their steady progression continuing along with this.

My next quarter choice though is another former winner of this title in 2015 champion Barry Hawkins. Hawkins continues to quietly go about his business and impress in a number of tournaments. Last season he was the fifth best money earner and only £12,000 behind third place John Higgins who he fell to in the World Championship semi-finals. He added to his ranking title tally in February in what was a pretty dominant display at the World Grand Prix and one of the most impressive performances of the whole season in my view. Add to that one more final, three semi-finals including the World's and two further quarter-finals and Hawkins is displaying that he is much more than simply the solid player that he is seen as. In a venue where he has reached the semi-finals and won the tournament on his only two visits I expect him to start this season as he means to go on and challenge for the silverware. 

Best of the Rest: Zhou Yuelong

Quarter Choice: Barry Hawkins

Quarter 4 

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Nigel Bond Vs Jackson Page 

Xiao Guodong Vs Mark Joyce

Noppon Saengkham Vs Cao Yupeng

Michael White Vs Sam Baird

Elliot Slessor Vs Alexander Ursenbacher

Robbie Williams Vs Ashley Carty

Mark Williams Vs Peter Ebdon 

Luca Brecel Vs Lee Walker

Finally, the concluding quarter of the draw is again a little light on top stars. Mark Williams is the biggest name of the 16 here by far and he will be hoping to back up April's China Open final with a solid start here in Latvia, where he made the semi-finals last season. Williams has made the switch to SightRight coaching techniques, possibly after persuasion from practice partner Lee Walker (who could meet Williams in the last 32) and will be keen to make a telling start to the season with this in mind. Fellow Welshman Michael White is the second highest ranked player in this quarter but faces a dodgy opener against Sam Baird in Riga. Baird has won the last three meetings between the pair, all of which came in 2016 and included wins at the World and International Championships. White has not quite kicked on as many would have expected him to after he won the Indian Open in 2015, and perhaps this season will be one where he can put some much more consistently impressive results together. Thai Noppon Saengkham qualified for the Crucible in April to avoid slipping through the tours trap door, and he has a reasonable draw that could see the former China Open quarter-finalist pick up a few wins this week. It is also worth giving a special mention to Jackson Page who won his last 128 match against a fellow Q-School top-up and will learn a lot from these experiences this season. Whatever the result, he will probably be able to pick up something playing an experienced pro in Nigel Bond, and it would not be a surprise to see him come through.

The best of the rest for this section is Xiao Guodong. The Chinese player had a resurgence last year as he made the last 16 of the World Championships in April and finished last season at 25th on the one year money list. Xiao also started the season by making the quarter-finals last season in Riga before losing out to Darren Morgan and that set him on the way. Xiao also made the Shoot-Out final for the second time, having never recovering from the manner in which he lost the first in 2015. Say what you like about the tournament, but defeat in 2015's dying seconds saw him go on a downturn of form that saw him finish some 45 places lower on the one year money list in 2015/2016 than he did last season.

Someone else who I expect to learn a lot from disappointment and move forward to better things is Luca Brecel. Defeat from 7-1 up in the last 32 of the World Championship could be a potentially big learning curve and career changing moment for Brecel. From such a turnaround I think he'll be able to identify much more easily the improvements that are needed to become a better player and close out these big matches in the best tournaments against the top players. He has recovered at the start of this season by scoring another win against Shaun Murphy to make the last 64 here and coming through comfortably in the last 128 of the China Championship a couple of days afterwards. Brecel is also someone who has not quite kicked on from making the German Masters and Shoot-Out finals of 2016, but defeat at the Crucible may be the wake-up call he needs to kick on and continue climbing the rankings. The Belgian finished outside of the top 40 in last years money list despite Crucible qualification and a run to the UK Championship quarter-finals for the second time. Therefore, this year is going to be one where he needs to find greater consistency in order to stay in the world's top 32. Good early signs in Preston three weeks ago suggest no reason why he cannot have a deep run in the draw in Latvia.

Best of the Rest: Xiao Guodong
Quarter Choice: Luca Brecel

Tournament Winner Selection: Barry Hawkins


Coverage of this event on Eurosport TV is a little hit and miss but it will be on Eurosport Player throughout the three days. Matches are played over the best-of-7 frames up until the semi-finals and final which are the best-of-9 as the players ease themselves into the 2017/2018 snooker campaign.

THE ALTERNATIVE VIEW: Will Hardy's Preston Qualifiers Preview

In a new addition to Cue Action Snooker, young William Hardy will occasionally be contributing to the blog with "The Alternative View" which will offer some tournament previews and reviews along with any other ideas that Will brings to the table. You can follow William Hardy on Twitter @willhardyx 

So, to kick off the season, we have the alternative view on the upcoming qualifiers for the Riga Masters and China Championship getting underway on May 31 in Preston: 

It's only been just over 4 weeks since the memorable World Snooker Championship final, battled out between two respectable greats of the game, but after 29 days that felt almost like months - snooker finally returns to the calendars of hardcore fans, reappearing cueists, and the new faces of the professional game that earned tour cards in the sport's very own holidays.

A qualifying double-bill is set to hit one of the most established venues at the Preston Guild Hall in the coming days. Most players will play twice throughout the next week in order to qualify for the ever-growing Riga Masters and the brand-new layout for the incredible China Championship. Snooker fans have become accustomed to the game's only event in Latvia since 2014 when the 'Riga Open' featured on the European Tour.

Since that year, when Mark Selby beat Mark Allen in a deciding frame in the final, Barry Hawkins (£20,000) and Neil Robertson (£37,500) have also picked up sizeable cheques. After the ridding of the European Tour two seasons ago, the tours 128 players now partake in a full-ranking event in the Riga Masters, therefore attracting some of the games highest-paid professionals.

Elsewhere in the China Championship, prize money is the centre of attention with the event boasting a total prize fund of £650,000 - only smaller than the World and UK Championship. Last year was the tournament's first instalment where the 16 invitees needed to win just 3 matches in order to reach the final in Guangzhou. John Higgins went home with a cash sum of £200,000 and his first victory of the season. Changes to the tournament's set up mean it's no longer just an invitational event and 128 players will get the opportunity to claim the trophy, with one win needed to secure a trip to China.

Amateurs will no doubt have a big part to play in qualification for Riga this week as 10 aspiring players hope to repeat the actions of Welsh Wizard and former-pro Darren Morgan from last year's event, who beat Adam Stefanow, Zhao Xintong, Ken Doherty and Xiao Guodong to reach a Semi-Final with Neil Robertson in a tournament he was close to not entering. 15-year old Jackson Page, who made heads turn last season when he secured 2 wins in the Welsh Open, will play fellow Q- School top-up James Silverwood.

Jamie Rhys Clarke will be looking for a repeat of last year too, as he got through qualifying at the Gibraltar Open, when he plays David Grace. Ben Jones, who missed out of Q-School graduation by just one win, takes on Mike Dunn. Other amateurs haven't been quite as lucky with the draw in Preston as William Lemons plays Alan McManus, Charlie Walters faces David Gilbert, and Daniel Ward has the task of overcoming Neil Robertson in a game that will take place at Arena Riga before Round one. Seemingly, because the majority players with tour cards have taken up the opportunity to play in Guangzhou this year, there's no amateurs on that specific schedule.

For most snooker fans, this week will be a chance to check out the 2017 graduates of Q-School from less than two weeks ago in Preston, or players who guaranteed their two-year tour cards via other competitions and nominations. Some familiar faces will be returning to the snooker tour this year as Gerard Greene is set to face Zhang Yong and Neil Robertson, and World Seniors Champion Peter Lines will challenge Ken Doherty and Matthew Selt in the respective events, after both secured tour cards through the EBSA play-offs.

Those qualifying this year through the Q-School Order of Merit will also have previous memories and triumphs of the professional game, as Joe Swail returns to play Li Hang next Tuesday (he is the only member of Q-School who has not taken up the option to enter Riga), Sean O'Sullivan has drawn Christopher Keogan and Belgian Bullet Luca Brecel, while Martin O'Donnell, who took home the highest break prize of last year's Riga Masters, will play Jimmy Robertson and Michael White over the next seven days.

The only other successful player on the Q-School Order of Merit, Zhang Yong, will experience the test of Ronnie O'Sullivan in his first match of the 2017/18 season at the China Championship. Sanderson Lam, Paul S Davison, Ashley Hugill, Duane Jones and Allan Taylor are also names that got through the tension of Q-School and featured regularly last season. Lesser known players can always make a huge impact nevertheless as Lukas Kleckers (vs Li Yuan and Ben Woolaston), Billy Joe Castle (vs Alexander Ursenbacher and Stuart Bingham) and Chen Zifan (vs Ross Muir and Dominic Dale) are all more than capable of shocks. It's also notable that Hamza Akbar, Soheil Vahedi, Yuan Sijun, Chris Totten, Xu Si and Lyu Hoatian who gained two-year invites from World Snooker via various routes are also all in action twice this week.

Aside from those looking to plant their feet in the future of snooker for decades to come, or those that may struggle to stay on the tour before retirement in the coming years, these two tournaments attract the very best of snooker players worldwide. New three-time world champion Mark Selby will have to wait to kick-off his 2017/18 season however as both of his qualifying games are to take place at the main venues before round one. Anthony McGill and Chen Zhe were lucky in the draw to have their qualifying games held over to Riga, whilst the same fell to Andrew Higginson, Daniel Wells and Tian Pengfei by drawing wildcards in the China Championship.

Mark Allen starts this season, without coach Terry Griffiths, by facing Jack Lisowski and Lee Walker, although Michael Holt and Ding Junhui look for victory under Griffith's watchful eye yet again. More names who look to get on the TV table in the Riga Masters include Martin Gould, Stuart Bingham, Stephen Maguire, Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy who'll go in as favourites against Kurt Maflin, Li Hang, Ian Burns, Alfie Burden and Luca Brecel respectively.

They'll also be eyeing up a large chunk of the cash in the China Championship and start that tournament facing Adam Duffy, Billy Joe Castle, Jamie Barrett, Michael Georgiou and Zhang Anda, who will all have hoped for easier draws. Mark Williams is, impressively, kicking off his 25th season as a professional in Preston this week and told World Snooker during the break that he 'really thought hard about retiring', at the end of last season and insists if he is going to carry on playing he'll have to 'try something completely different'. His campaign begins sitting 15th in the world rankings, versus Yu Delu on Friday and Jak Jones on Saturday.

Finally, there's no doubt the name's crowds from all around the globe will flock to the Preston Guildhall to see will be those fulfilling their invitational tour card's for the first time. These were awarded to Jimmy White and Ken Doherty before the World Championships in the 40th Anniversary celebrations at the Crucible. The Whirlwind is set to enjoy his 37th year on the tour, after he narrowly fell off during a heart-breaking 10-7 defeat to Jack Lisowski at Ponds Forge in April. Jimmy told Barry Hearn he will be looking to regain a place on the tour, starting with fixtures against Jak Jones tomorrow (Wednesday) and Ryan Day next Tuesday.

The second player to be handed an invitation back to the snooker tour is the 1997 world champion, who lost his place at Ponds Forge following defeat in round two of world qualifying against Ben Woollaston. The ‘Darlin’ of Dublin’ has drawn Peter Lines and Gary Wilson in the two qualifiers, who he'll play tomorrow (Wednesday) and on Saturday.

All entrants need just one win in both competitions this week to ensure a place in the Riga Masters (23-25 July) and China Championship (16-22 August), but more importantly to guarantee a solid start to the long awaited 2017/2018 season.

2017/2018 Season Preview

Another season of snooker is upon us and with Qualifying School completed and the full field of tour players set for the new campaign, everything is ready to get underway with the Riga Masters qualifiers on Wednesday.

The first full tournament of the season will then be the final stages of the Riga Masters from June 23-25, so there is still quite a bit of time to wait before the first silverware is lifted.

Where 2016/2017 left off

Mark Selby was the man picking up trophies like it was nobodies business in the 2016/2017 season. He ended the season as World and UK Champion and is top of the world rankings having smashed the one million pound barrier over the last two seasons.

It's going to be very difficult to beat Selby this season in the big events, but there are still many other trophies to play for besides and despite Selby's dominance, Judd Trump was able to secure some success and ended the year ranked world number 3. World Championship runner-up John Higgins is second in the world, while China's Ding Junhui completes the world's top four. Barry Hawkins has climbed to number five after yet another World Championship semi-final, while Marco Fu is up to six with Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy very close together at seven and eight.

Stuart Bingham has fallen to number nine in the world with his World Championship prize money of 2015 coming off the money list. Ronnie O'Sullivan has fallen to 14, while Ricky Walden, Joe Perry and Stephen Maguire remain outside of the world's top 16 and will be aiming to fight there way back this year.

Riga Masters and China Championship Qualifiers

As indicated earlier, the qualifying rounds for the Riga Masters kick the season off on Wednesday and last for three days at the Preston Guildhall. Picking up from there on Saturday is the last 128 round for the new China Championship which then lasts Tuesday June 6 in Preston.

At a very early point in the season it is not always going to be the case that the entire tour are prepared to enter these two events. The Riga Masters is the one missing the most players with top players such as John Higgins, Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, Liang Wenbo, Ali Carter and Ronnie O'Sullivan all choosing to save their season openers for the China Championship.

A completely unseeded draw for Riga has offered some interesting last 128 ties though with Barry Hawkins taking on Michael Holt, while Shaun Murphy faces Belgian Luca Brecel. Selected matches have been held over to the main venue, including that of defending champion Neil Robertson and world champion Mark Selby. Anthony McGill and Chen Zhe also have holdovers as they have been drawn to play two unconfirmed wildcard players.

A number of Q School top-ups have been used to fill the field and the random draw has seen two put up against each other, with 15 year-old Jackson Page facing James Silverwood.

The China Championship is an event that you may remember featuring on last season's calendar. Back in November 2016 it was played as a 16 man invitational tournament, almost as a Chinese version of the Masters. However, the powers that be have decided to make it the same as every other event with a flat 128 draw and full ranking status.

The event also sees a different wildcard system to the norm for Chinese events, with four wildcards coming straight into the last 128, leaving 124 spaces for professionals. On this occasion that has worked out fine but in the event that more than 124 of the tour players entered there would then be a pre-qualifying round to get down to the required 128.

Mark Selby, Andrew Higginson, Daniel Wells and Tian Pengfei have drawn the four wildcards (which are yet to be decided) and will have their last 128 fixtures held over to the main venue stages in August.

Selby's match would have been held back anyway as per the agreement that the world champion and defending champion of Chinese events and the top two Chinese players get to skip qualifying and play their first round games at the venue. This means that John Higgins who won the event when it was invitational in November, as well as China's number one and two Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo, will not have to travel to Preston.

Changes to the tour

We have already seen a couple of changes to the tour with the addition of the China Championship as a ranking event, and this change to the Chinese wildcard system. As yet it is unknown whether this applies to all Chinese events, and what the situation is with the Shanghai Masters which has still been played under a tiered qualifying system.

With it being the alternate year for it's staging, the World Cup returns after the China B team of Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong took the title in June 2015. The pairs of players and the countries that will be represented are yet to be confirmed with the event not kicking off until July 3.

The Indian Open has changed dates once more, as Anthony McGill will defend the title he won last summer in September this year, the week before the final stages of the Shanghai Masters. The qualifying rounds for both rounds will be played in early August.

In other date change news, it looks as though the Shoot-Out will change once again to an early February date that will come prior to the World Grand Prix this year, rather than following it. Meanwhile, the Welsh Open has been pushed right back to a late February date with the tournament set to conclude on March 4. However, these changes do mean that there will be a clear week before both the Grand Prix and Players Championship, which many people have been calling for. 

Players To Watch

A number of new players have once again joined the professional ranks, and just as I did last year, I have picked out a few players to keep an eye on for the next 12 months.

Xu Si  - My first player to watch for 2017/2018 is the IBSF under-21 champions Xu Si. Xu won that title by beating Alexander Ursenbacher in the final, which is a pretty good win as the Swiss player went on to win a tour card via the European under 21 championship at a later date. He also saw off Lukas Kleckers in the semi-finals, who was good enough to win a tour card this year via Q-School. The 19 year-old Chinese player competed in a few events last year as a wildcard, and impressively overcame a major player in Mark Williams 6-5 in the last 64 of the International Championship having already beaten Wang Yuchen in the wildcard round. Xu also claimed the scalp of James Wattana in the World Open last season, but it is the win over Williams which is most impressive of all given that this was also a major tournament. He is clearly a big young Chinese prospect who has earned his right to be on tour. 

Yuan Sijun - Yuan Sijun has also earned his place on tour, having come through the Asian Under 21 championship. Yuan was put on everybody's radar when he thrashed Martin Gould 5-0 in the 2016 China Open at the age of just 15, as well as beating Andrew Higginson in the wildcard round of that tournament. Gould is a top quality player who was also a ranking event winner by this time which makes this an unbelievable victory that also featured a century break. Although, he displayed that this was not just a one-off in last season's Shanghai Masters when put up against the same opponent, he was able to repeat the dosage. Yet another 5-0 win against Gould and making a century in the match once again is a sign that we have an incredibly promising player on our hands. Beating a player of Gould's class is one thing, but to do it by the margins and with the quality shown is a completely different accomplishment. On top of that he got another wildcard win in the International Championships against Ian Burns, with the scoreline being 6-3 on that occasion. His 17th birthday is on May 29 just two days before the Riga Masters qualifiers get underway making him even younger than Yan Bingtao, and his performances thus far show he could be just as big of a talent.

Ashley Hugill - My third and final player to watch is 22 year-old York potter Ashley Hugill. Hugill earned his place on tour via the first event of Q School. On the way he saw off another impressive player George Pragnall who I think could get on tour in the next couple of years, along with former pro's Steven Hallworth and Simon Bedford. He has had some notable victories in the past though, playing as a top-up in professional events. In China Open qualifying earlier this year he beat Anthony Hamilton 5-2, just a week or so before Hamilton would go on and win his first ranking title at the German Masters. In the Indian Open he beat Ross Muir, whilst triumphing in the first round of the European Masters against Mitchell Mann. If you go back even further to the 2015/2016 season then you will find Hugill's best win. The German Masters qualifiers just after the 2015 UK Championship saw the Englishman beat new UK Champion Neil Robertson 5-1. From what I have seen he looks like a very talented player and his results up to this point show that, and I think he will hit the ground running now that he has picked up his tour card.

Notable Mention: Lu Haotian - On top of my three to watch I will also make a special mention for returning pro Lu Haotian. Lu won the Asian snooker championship by defeating Pankaj Advani in the final, and despite the feeling that he has been around for a long time, he is still only 19. He was unable to survive when his two year tour card ran out at the conclusion of the 2014/2015 season, despite making the final of an Asian Tour event in his first season which really signified the talent that he has. It is much easier to come along and do the business as a wildcard in events under no pressure, but to make a final in his first few months on tour was very impressive. I did wonder, having heard little about him in the last year, if he would disappear from the game but was relieved when discovering that he had won the Asian title in April. Let's not forget that at the age of 14 he beat Marco Fu in the Shanghai Masters, before making the quarter-finals of the International Championship just a month or so later which was an unprecedented achievement at the time.

Plenty of other players have earned a tour place for the next two seasons, with a number of those bouncing straight back onto the tour or regaining places after a year away from the tour. However, as I mentioned earlier there is a return to tour for Alexander Ursenbacher. The swiss player did not have a great deal of success first time out on tour, but will have grown greatly in confidence from winning the European under 21 title and defeating Robert Milkins on the way to the final round of qualifying for this season's World Championships.

German Lukas Kleckers has gained a card through Q School, to offer the German fans a native player to support for the next two years. Success for him could see the game in Germany explode even further and do wonders for the tour throughout Europe, building on the foundations laid by Belgian Luca Brecel.

A second Iranian has joined the ranks, courtesy of Soheil Vahedi's win at the World Amateur Championship. Soheil can take a lot of confidence from the success of his fellow countryman Hossein Vafei over the last year, and had some blistering wins on the way to the amateur title. Andrew Pagett was dispatched 8-1 in the final, after a 7-6 win in the semi-finals against decent young Irishman Declan Brennan, as well as victories over Lukas Kleckers and Chris Totten in the earlier rounds.

The final player I want to mention is Chinese Chen Zifan. Chen only dropped five frames in his six event two wins that saw him get a tour card, and having witnessed his wins on the final day I thought he looked like a promising prospect. In event one he came pretty close to beating Jamie Cope but could not fall over the line. He did gain a scalp as a wildcard in the International Championships of 2016 by beating Tian Pengfei, before only narrowly losing out on the colours in a deciding frame to Liang Wenbo, having been 5-1 down in that particular game.

It all shapes up to be another exciting season of snooker with plenty of hot prospects joining the tour and plenty of tournaments in which to ply their trade, starting of course with the qualifiers in Preston coming up this week.

Dramatic final day for Q School qualifiers

The final day of qualifying school lived up to it's billing with plenty of twists and turns at the Guildhall in Preston. On the day, Paul Davison, Chen Zifan, Sanderson Lam and Duane Jones earned the tour cards for event two while Sean O'Sullivan, Zhang Yong, Joe Swail and Martin O'Donnell were confirmed as the four tour card winners from the order of merit.

The scene in Preston before the drama kicked in

It was a very tight race the entire way through as the 16 players competed for the spots with the likes of James Cahill and Jackson Page coming incredibly close to claiming tour spots. In all it means that eight out of the twelve cards given away in this years Q School went to players who were members of the tour during the 2016/2017 season.

Five of the eight matches in the penultimate round went down to the final frame just to increase the tension even further. Of those deciders, Hu Hao lost out to Duane Jones having led 3-1 and missing a tough cut back black in the decider to move 38 points in front with just 35 left. When Jones' chance came though he cleared with ease and let out a fist pump just to show what it meant.

If Duane dodged a big bullet then so too did Sanderson Lam. Lam's deciding frame with Lu Ning went down to the final pink. After missing match ball brown Lam had to sit and watch as Lu attempted the clearance, but the Chinese players missed pink into the middle pocket left Lam a shot from range which he took to get into the final round.

The man he would face in the final round also had to come through the hard way. Joe Swail had to see off Joel Walker in a deciding frame to progress into the final round. The moment of the match came in frame four with Swail wading in with a break of 119 but it nearly mattered not when Walker was clearing in the decider. Missing a difficult red along the side cushion when screwing up for the blue proved the vital moment, as Walker could not win the subsequent safety battle on the final red and his chances of returning to the tour went with it.

The deciders did not end there as Alex Davies overcame Zhang Yong. Davies had led 3-1 in the match before Zhang played himself back into the contest with runs of 61 and 70 forced the final frame. Both players missed chances in the decider, but Zhang's proved the most costly when he found the jaws from close range on an easy red to the middle. The consolation for Zhang was that his three frames won on the morning were enough when combined with his tally for the rest of events one and two, to earn him one of the four order of merit cards.

One final decider was to come with James Cahill coming out the right side of a very close battle against Ashley Carty. This was a very entertaining match that saw twists and turns galore. A run of 56 was not enough to give Cahill the opener, as he had to sit and watch Carty clear the table in cool style with a 71. Cahill returned the favour in the second with a counter attack of 64 to square the match before taking the third frame to lead 2-1. Another 64 clearance came soon after and Cahill was one away from the final round at 3-1.

Carty would not give in and he came in with contributions of 62 in the fifth and a high pressured 73 after Cahill's chance to win was scuppered by a kick. Both players had chances in the final frame but it was Cahill who dominated at the key times and he was relieved to eventually come through a tense battle.

Cahill could not keep a bright start going in the final round

In the final round it just became too much for the 21 year-old with an early 2-0 lead against Paul Davison being squandered. Davison had much more time off before the final round after beating Thomas Dowling 4-0 in pretty quick time. However, it was Cahill that took the momentum of his previous match forward as he got off to a perfect start in the opening couple of frames. 

It did not last long though as the York potter heeped the pressure back on with a flawless 111 break in the third being quickly backed up with a 72 contribution to level the contest at 2-2. From here the pressure really seemed to get on top of his young opponent, who could be seen rehearsing his cue action at the back of the table between shots. He had cause to bemoan his luck and look to the heavens on a couple of occasions with an unlucky in-off featuring in the closing frame when he had a good chance to score. 

After losing a disappointing fifth frame Cahill threw his cue on to the table in disgust before heading out of the arena, and he struggled to recover. His best chance in frame six came after snookering Davison on the final red which yielded a foul and a free ball. Taking the pink as the "free red" sent him back up the table perfectly for the yellow to play on the final red which was in the baulk end and with the remaining colours in the middle of the table, Cahill could easily have forced the decider. However, stretching slightly on the yellow appeared to cause the mistake as he faltered on what seemed a simple enough shot and landing perfectly on the red meant it was a costly mistake indeed. Davison's victory meant that Martin O'Donnell was given the final order of merit card. 

Davison capitalised while Cahill toiled

It was to be heartbreak though for Jackson Page who missed out on an order of merit tour card despite winning the same number of frames as O'Donnell. Page lost out 4-1 in round five and just by winning a second frame, which he certainly had chances to, he would have overtaken O'Donnell and secured a place on tour for the next two seasons. Had Joe Swail beaten Sanderson Lam in the final round Page would have gotten the order of merit card that subsequently went to Swail upon his defeat, with Page watching on in the arena all afternoon hoping results would go his way. 

Duane Jones contest with Alex Davies was the only one of the final four that did not have order of merit repercussions, and having dodged a major bullet earlier in the day, Jones pounced on his opponents errors and just about managed to avoid going to a final frame decider with a run of 65. A top run of 83 in the fourth put the Welshman in charge of the tie at 3-1 before he eventually closed out a 4-2 triumph. 

Special mention should go to China's Chen Zifan who earned his tour card outright on the final day for the loss of only one frame from his final two matches, and only conceding five frames in the six matches he played in event two. Taking early leads proved the key to both matches as he had his opponents under pressure early on, and played fairly solid snooker overall as well as showing off some good long range potting. 

Sanderson Lam had to dig in and fight hard to earn his tour card against Joe Swail. Runs of 67, 63 and 53 proved too much for the Irishman who had secured an order of merit tour card after winning the third frame to lead 2-1. It did not look as though he was aware of his situation though, with the multi-table set-up and short turnaround between matches, sitting in the arena with his head in his hands after the fifth frame. 

One has to wonder if World Snooker and the WPBSA could find room to give Jackson Page a tour card. Having won the same amount of frames on the order of merit as O'Donnell, he is also the current holder of both the World and European Under 18 titles. The winner of the World and European Under 21 titles both get a card, while Page was the European Under 21 runner-up. A case could be made for him taking up the cards of either Rouzi Maimaiti or Leo Fernandez. 

Both are halfway through tour cards and are published as such on the official ranking list. Fernandez though is still under suspension and if this remains the case he will not be entering any events in the next season. Meanwhile, Maimaiti has not entered a single event in the first season of his card, which is a similar case as when he was on the circuit in the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 seasons when he did not show up or enter any tournaments outside of the Asian Tour. If World Snooker can justify the room for these players, and concede that Page would most likely play in a number of events this season anyway as the number one Q School top-up player, then there is certainly justification for granting him full professional status. 

This idea is most likely pushing its luck a bit though and at the age of 15, while this would give great publicity for the game of snooker and a boost to grassroots snooker in the UK, he has also got plenty of time to come back stronger and earn his tour place by right. 

Congratulations to all of those players who have earned playing privileges for the next two seasons, and it is not long until the new campaign gets underway with Riga Masters qualifiers commencing at the Preston Guildhall on May 31. 

Prior to that I will have my full preview of the new season and players to watch for 2017/2018 up on the blog so keep on the look out for that.  

Thrilling final day ahead for snooker's Q School

Qualifying School at the Preston Guildhall has seen some of the top amateurs in the game competing for places on the professional snooker tour for almost two weeks, and now the final day is upon us.

The conclusion of event two will see four tour cards awarded to the quarter-final winners and another four to those who won the most frames over the two events without getting over the line. Ashley Hugill, Billy Joe Castle and German Lukas Kleckers earned places on the tour for the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 seasons, along with Allan Taylor who secures an immediate return having dropped off of the tour at the end of the 2016/2017 season.

Of the other former professionals in the draw, the likes of Sydney Wilson, Gareth Allen, Fraser Patrick, Jamie Cope, Darryl Hill, Michael Wild and Jason Weston have all failed to do enough to secure a similar return.

However, despite not making it through to the penultimate round in event two, a 4-3 loss in round two coupled with making the final round in event one should ensure that Sean O'Sullivan takes one of the four cards reserved for the aforementioned order of merit leaders.

As for Martin O'Donnell a 4-3 defeat for him in round four of event two may not be enough to secure an order of merit card after he was beaten by Kleckers in the final round of the opening event. O'Donnell is in fourth position in the order of merit currently with Sean O'Sullivan ahead of him. Also in front of him are Zhang Yong and Paul Davison who could both still earn tour cards outright in event two, with Davison currently leading the order of merit.

Just a frame behind O'Donnell though is 15 year old Jackson Page who is through to the penultimate round of event two, while impressive Chinese Chen Zifan is also just a frame adrift of O'Donnell and in the same section as Page. Victory in the penultimate round for Hu Hao would put him level on frames with O'Donnell and needing just one in the final round to overtake the former tour player, whilst Joe Swail is also still in the hunt. It seems highly unlikely that any other players have a chance on the order of merit so the position there seems much more clear cut.

EVENT TWO - FIFTH ROUND DRAW: 

Tour Card Section 1: 

Hu Hao Vs Duane Jones
Alex Davies Vs Zhang Yong

Tour Card Section 2:

Lu Ning Vs Sanderson Lam
Joel Walker Vs Joe Swail

Tour Card Section 3: 

Ashley Carty Vs James Cahill
Paul Davison Vs Thomas Dowling

Tour Card Section 4: 

Chen Zifan Vs Kishan Hirani
Jackson Page Vs Ben Jones


Plenty of intriguing matches to follow here starting with section one where three of the four players have previously been on tour. Duane Jones and Zhang Yong dropped off last year, while Alex Davies dropped off a couple of years ago. Hu Hao has also seemed to breeze through in event two making it a very tough call. For Zhang there is a little less pressure thanks to his favourable order of merit position.

Section two is even more jam-packed as all four players have been on tour at one time or another. Lu Ning has had a spell on tour and made his name as a wildcard player in some of the Chinese ranking events where his scalps include that of Shaun Murphy back in the 2012 China Open. Sanderson Lam dropped off at the end of the 2016/2017 season alongside the incredibly experienced Joe Swail. Joel Walker meanwhile is a very talented player who has previously reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open in 2014.

Then we come to section three where there again is plenty of potential. James Cahill may not have consistently showed what he can do, but his run in the 2014 UK Championships including victory over Ding Junhui is one that sticks in my mind and shows there is plenty more in his locker. Paul Davison has less pressure on with a tour card all but secure via the order of merit. Ashley Carty is the man who put an end to Martin O'Donnell's run and has had some success as an amateur in tour events. Carty is still only 21 and back in 2015 he reached the Last 32 in both the German Masters and Welsh Open despite not being on the tour. Thomas Dowling is not someone I know huge amounts about but he is flying the flag for Ireland this week and has already beaten former pro Gareth Allen to reach this stage.

Finally, we come to the section that includes "The Action" Jackson Page who does not even turn 16 until August. He is the current World and European Under 18 champion, as well as making the European Under 21 final earlier this year where he lost out to Alexander Ursenbacher. Victory in that final would have gotten Page on to the tour by that route but he showed by reaching the Last 32 at the Welsh Open, his first attempt in a professional event, that he is a very confident player. Meanwhile, Chen Zifan is another talented Chinese hope, who came close to defeating Liang Wenbo in the 2016 International Championship. Chen overcame Tian Pengfei in the wildcard round of that event.

Ben Jones competed in the EBSA play-off this season where he lost out to Peter Lines, having qualified by making it through the amateur qualifying of both the Paul Hunter Classic and Gibraltar Open. To reach this stage Jones avenged a 4-0 event one defeat to Charlie Walters by beating him 4-0 in round four of this event. Kishan Hirani meanwhile completes a trio of Welsh representatives in this bottom section. Hirani will have gained a little taste of what is required on tour by coming through the amateur qualifiers and into the Last 128 pro stages in four out of six European Tour events in both the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 seasons.


With the number of tour cards still available in this event it would be good to see some young and exciting talent come on to the tour, and there is plenty of potential for that looking at those who are still in the running.