The 2017/2018 snooker season has drawn to a close, as the curtain came down on Monday night with Mark Williams lifting the World Championship trophy at the Crucible. The season has been bigger and better than ever with tournaments all over the world, and the class of '92 have really dominated things and shown that they are far from done yet.
Over the next three days I'll be reviewing the snooker season from start to finish, looking at the major tournament winners and the big stories from the events. Today, part one will look back at the season opening Riga Masters up until the English Open in mid-October.
The Riga Masters in Latvia saw the realisation of a major ambition for Ryan Day as he collected his very first ranking title. It had been a long time coming for Day after a number of near misses, including at the World Grand Prix at the back end of the season previous. There were plenty of big stories from the event, starting with a first professional victory for Germany's Lukas Kleckers. He took care of defending champion Neil Robertson 4-3 to record a remarkable result, following a walkover from his last 128 qualifying match. Unfortunately for Kleckers this would prove to be his only victory in his debut season on the tour.
One man that threatened to steal the headlines at one point was Ken Doherty. The 1997 World Champion had fallen off the tour at the end of the season previous and was invited back by World Snooker on a two-year invitational tour card along with Jimmy White. From ball one Doherty was a man on a mission and would ultimately reach the semi-finals before narrowly falling 5-4 to Stephen Maguire. Ryan Day meanwhile was also a 5-4 winner in the semi-finals against fellow countryman and soon to be World Cup partner Mark Williams. Day had also overcome Barry Hawkins, Robert Milkins, Kyren Wilson and Joe Perry on the way to the final and showing that he was worthy of his first ranking title. Day surged into a 4-0 lead in the final against Maguire and would soon cross the line a 5-2 winner.
The players then paired up at the beginning of July for the World Cup in Wuxi. 24 countries took part with the best two from each nation being invited to represent their home nation and attempt to lift the title. The event is no stranger to surprises when in 2015 Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong shocked the snooker world when they triumphed for China B. The same pair lined up again with plenty more experience to attempt to defend this title and they came close. After sneaking through the group stages ahead of Brazil, they narrowly defeated a Belgium side that included Luca Brecel before falling short against England.
The runners up from 2015 Scotland failed to advance from the group stages along with Neil Robertson's Australia, Marco Fu's Hong Kong side and the Republic or Ireland featuring Ken Doherty and Fergal O'Brien. The quarter-finals were packed with quality though. The China A side of Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo saw off the Welsh duo of Day and Williams. Thailand looked strong as they saw off fellow underdogs Iran. The English pair of Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins needed a final frame to see off Northern Ireland's Mark Allen and Joe Swail.
Then in the semi's Ding and Liang would take care of business once more to knock out Thailand and set up a final with the other big favourites for the tournament in England. No-one could have been too surprised to see the two pairs battling out for the title, and despite falling 3-1 behind, Ding and Liang would forge a comeback to win 4-3 and make it back-to-back World Cup's for China since its re-introduction to the calendar.
After a couple of smaller invitationals on the calendar, a gold medal win Kyren Wilson at the World Games and some pre-qualifiers at the Preston Guildhall for events at the beginning of the Autumn, serious business returned in mid-August with the China Championship. This was the first time the event had been played as a ranking event, after John Higgins took the title in a 16-man invitational in 2016. A strong line-up headed to Guangzhou in search of glory but the top players did not show their best form. In a dramatic Friday's last 32 action, all of the top six seeds for the event were shown the exits as continued surprises meant that only one of the top 11 seeds for the event made it to the last 16.
That man was Shaun Murphy and he certainly took advantage blitzing Stephen Maguire 5-0 before overcoming Zhou Yuelong and 12th seed Ali Carter to make it through to the first big final of the year. The shocks continued though in the bottom half of the draw as Mark Williams fell to Li Hang and Luca Brecel came from behind to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in two dramatic quarter-finals. That left the two to battle for a place in the final, with both players eyeing a maiden ranking title. If you expected a nervy affair because of that you would have been absolutely right. It turned this way and that but eventually the Belgian would run out a 6-5 winner and book a meeting with Murphy in the final.
Given his pedigree and experience Murphy would have been the much fancied favourite coming into the contest, and this did show in the early stages as he took a 3-1 lead. Things did not continue going his way though and Brecel very quickly found his feet as Murphy seemed to run out of steam. Four straight frames put Brecel 5-3 up, though Murphy won a crucial black ball frame to end the first session just 5-4 behind. However, this did not faze the Belgian as he took the first two frames of the evening to lead 7-4, before Murphy pegged him back to 7-5. Then it was Brecel that took a crucial frame on the black to regain his three frame advantage and head to the interval 8-5 ahead and just two from the biggest win of his career. Those two frames were not a long time coming as the thirteenth frame really seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Magician and it was Brecel who took the title and a huge £150,000 first prize.
Murphy did not have long to lick his wounds though as he dashed back from China and headed to Furth for the Paul Hunter Classic just a few days after losing the final. Not as many big names were in attendance here but that did not stop the second seed surging through the field to make his second final in the space of a week. Murphy overcame Adam Stefanow, Sam Baird and Ken Doherty on the opening day to book his place in the last 16. On Saturday it was the turn of Mark Selby as he saw off Michael Holt, amateur Michael Williams and Joe Swail on the way to booking his spot in Sunday's draw. Joining him there was one of the amateur qualifiers in George Pragnall. After coming through the amateur rounds in the two days prior to the main stages getting underway, Pragnall received a walkover thanks to the withdrawal of Mark Williams. Following that he completed deciding frame wins against a former tour player Barry Pinches and seventh seed David Gilbert, before eventually falling short 4-1 in Sunday's last 16 to Mitchell Mann.
Mann was one of the surprise packages of the event as he made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing out to Michael White. The Welshman had already overcome top seed Selby and Ian Burns before beating Mann to book his place in the final. There he would meet Murphy who on the day overcame Zhao Xintong and Ben Woollaston before coming from 3-1 down to beat Jamie Jones 4-3 in the semi-finals, booking a second final appearance in the space of a week. Though as you will find out in part 3, Jones would have the last laugh when the pair met against at the Crucible.
Murphy again could not cross the final hurdle and was always chasing matters against White who led 2-0 and 3-1 before finishing with a run of 97 to complete a 4-2 win and take home his second ranking title.
Then it was back over to Asia as the tour headed out to the Indian Open via the World 6 Reds Championship in Thailand that was won by Mark Williams. Anthony McGill was the defending champion and he did a great job of defending the title. After defeating the home player Aditya Mehta in the heldover first round game, McGill took out Ashley Hugill, Rory McLeod, Hossein Vafei, Zhang Anda before completing a tight semi-final win against Mark King put him in back-to-back finals.
Meanwhile, of the eight quarter-finalists, four of them were competing in their very first ranking quarter-finals. Zhang Anda fell to McGill 4-0, Elliot Slessor was beaten 4-2 by Mark King but would soon go on to better his best ranking finish at the Northern Irish Open and Liam Highfield was whitewashed by John Higgins. Then there was Xu Si who was in his rookie season on tour and he thumped David Gilbert 4-0 to make it into his first semi-final.
The week though belonged to John Higgins. After a tight first round win against Zhao Xintong 4-3, Higgins went from strength to strength. Next up was a 4-2 win over Martin O'Donnell and a 4-1 win over Michael Holt to book his quarter-final place. After the whitewash of Liam Highfield, Higgins then ended the run of Xu Si with a 4-2 victory. Facing fellow Scot and defending champion Anthony McGill, Higgins ran out a comfortable 5-1 winner, securing his 29th career ranking title and getting his season off to a fine start.
The players then headed from India out to Yushan in China for the World Open and this time it was China's number one who ran out victorious. It was also another good week for Luca Brecel. After winning his first ranking title in China just a month earlier, Brecel got off to a flying start in Yushan with a 5-1 win over Mike Dunn. Deciding frame wins against Daniel Wells and Cao Yupeng followed before another 5-4 win against Indian Open runner-up McGill to get through to the semi-finals. Brecel gave it his all but came up short in the semi's against Ding Junhui, but it showed that his victory in Guangzhou was no accident.
Kyren Wilson showed the first signs of what was to come for the rest of his campaign as he surged through to the World Open final. After a last 64 walkover, Wilson overcame Michael Holt 5-3 and then beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh by the same scoreline. Then in the quarter-finals Wilson really hit top form. Taking on Mark Williams, he lost the first frame to a century from the Welshman who would not score another point in the match. Three centuries followed from Wilson and a further break of 71 in a sublime performance. The semi-finals saw him match up with Mark Allen for the first of many big meetings in the 2017/2018 season, and in an incredibly tight match it was Wilson who won a tense decider to book his place in the final.
Ding Junhui was just too strong though and never looked in trouble during a tournament that included a 5-1 win over Joe Perry, a whitewash of Xiao Guodong as well as a dominant 10-3 win against Kyren Wilson in the final to record his 13th major ranking title.
After some more qualifiers for the upcoming International Championship, the players were soon on their travels once again with the European Masters in Belgium. World number one Mark Selby got off to a flying start when he overcame Zhao Xintong 4-1 in the early rounds, making a century in every frame he won during the contest. Selby then saw off Lu Haotian and Jack Lisowski who would go on to become two of the big ranking movers by the time the campaign drew to a close. Stuart Bingham was to prove Selby's downfall but not before he had beaten the home favourite Luca Brecel in the last 16 as well. Those 4-2 wins helped to set up a semi-final clash with Zhou Yuelong who was in his very first ranking semi-final. Zhou produced a strong showing but just fell short in the end, with Bingham clinching the last three frames in a 6-4 win.
The week though would belong to defending champion Judd Trump. After two easy wins in the first two rounds, Trump had to survive a big scare against Martin O'Donnell, eventually coming through 4-3 to move into the last 16 and keep his defence on track. David Gilbert was Trump's next victim before an excellent quarter-final with Mark Allen see him hold off the Northern Irishman with another 4-3 win. Despite losing the opening frame, maximum comfort was soon reached in the semi-finals when he took on Cao Yupeng. Cao was in his first ever ranking semi-final and would later use the experience of this match to better effect in the Scottish Open. Trump though ran out a 6-1 winner this time to set up another final with Bingham, and was eyeing revenge for the 9-8 victory Bingham had inflicted on him in the Welsh Open final earlier in 2017.
In a tight final there was always very little in the contest but ultimately Trump would win back-to-back frames from 7-7 to take a 9-7 victory and defend the title he won 12 months previously in Romania.
Finally in part 1 of the season review, all 128 players on the tour took a trip to Barnsley for the opening home nations event, the English Open. This event was the first sign of the dominance that would follow at the back end of the year from Ronnie O'Sullivan. There were also some early upsets including a last 128 exit for Marco Fu, while Ding Junhui and Mark Allen would fall a round later at the last 64 stage alongside Barry Hawkins. It was also at this stage of the tournament when defending champion Liang Wenbo displayed some of the form that saw him lift the trophy in Manchester twelves months previously. A sublime 147 maximum break in his 4-3 second round victory against Tom Ford was an excellent moment that also earned him a £40,000 bonus.
His defence did not last much longer when he was thrashed 4-0 by young Yan Bingtao in the last 32. It was also in the third round that world number one Mark Selby's challenge ended. His 4-1 loss to Xiao Guodong was played out on one of the outside tables after earlier TV and streamed matches had over run and this was a decision he later remarked about on Twitter, though in fairly light-hearted fashion. There was also controversy in round three surrounding Stuart Bingham and Hossein Vafei. The Iranian came out on the right side of a deciding frame, but Bingham later used social media to criticise his opponents conduct. As it turned out, this would be Bingham's last match on tour until the end of January after he received a 3 month suspension for betting offences.
It was an excellent week in Barnsley for a couple of younger players. Jack Lisowski was one of these as he made the quarter-finals to equal his best run in a ranking event. Lisowski overcame his good friend Judd Trump and another left hander in Mark Williams on the way to the last eight, before falling 5-2 to O'Sullivan. Meanwhile, Switzerland's Alexander Ursenbacher proved to be a revelation as he made it all the way to the semi-finals. Starting out the week with a win against Anthony Hamilton, who was still struggling with a back problem, he would later defeat Shaun Murphy 4-1 in the last 16 before thumping Paul Hunter Classic champion Michael White 5-0 in the quarters. His run was eventually ended by Kyren Wilson who booked his place in a second final in the space of a month as his excellent form continued to build.
The week was all about O'Sullivan though. The Rocket made it to the last 16 for the loss of just three frames, but it was at the fourth round stage when he played out the first of many matches in the campaign with old foe John Higgins. The match went the distance but O'Sullivan had the edge required to win 4-3. After ending Lisowski's hopes he then held off Anthony McGill 6-4 to reach the final, where a sublime O'Sullivan rattled in four centuries to defeat Wilson 9-2 and draw back level with Higgins on 29 ranking titles.
So with wins for Ryan Day, good performances for the likes of Murphy, Wilson and Williams as well as victories for O'Sullivan and Higgins, the first third of the season was certainly a great teaser to what would follow when the biggest events came around.
Next up in part 2 we will look at the return of Mark Williams to the winners circle further victories for O'Sullivan, a dramatic Scottish Open as well as the first two triple crown events of the season.
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
Fantasy Snooker: 2017/2018 Results
With the conclusion of the 2018 World Championships brings the end of another season of the Fantasy Snooker League. Mark Williams held aloft the trophy but no one in the league was bold enough to pick him, while only a select few managed to pick any of the semi-finalists. Most players went in with the likes of Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan.
However, wise season picks on Jack Lisowski helped other players and ultimately it has made the difference at the top of the overall standings.
Here's how everything ended up in the Fantasy League table:
However, wise season picks on Jack Lisowski helped other players and ultimately it has made the difference at the top of the overall standings.
Here's how everything ended up in the Fantasy League table:
Kellie Barker: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Alex
Ursenbacher Points: 1349
Couge: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie Points: 1346
FAM147: SEASON: Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong Points: 1316
Protoursnooker: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Cao
Yupeng Points: 1306
Daniela Reich: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie Points: 1232
Isitan Bakar: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson Points: 1145
Phil Mudd: SEASON: Jimmy Robertson and Sam Craigie Points: 1116
Munraj: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Michael Georgiou Points: 1106
Andy Brooker: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie Points: 1090
Alex Abrahams: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley Points: 1076
TY: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Zhang Anda Points: 1044
TungstenDarts: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie Points: 1039
Rob Francis: SEASON: Mark Davis and Cao Yupeng Points: 1031
John McBride: SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Sam Craigie Points: 1020
Colin Delaney: SEASON: Ken Doherty and Yan Bingtao Points: 1014
Cluster of Reds: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley Points: 1005
Igor Snooker: SEASON: Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty Points: 976
Ben Summers: SEASON: Noppon Saengkham and Sam Craigie Points: 961
Kjetil: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and John Astley Points: 944
LTD: SEASON: Robert Milkins and Ken Doherty Points: 935
D. Muckian: SEASON: Tian Pengfei and Zhang Anda Points: 899
Anthony: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and Michael Georgiou Points: 889
Beat the Boss (Me):
SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Robin Hull
Points: 849
Mark Taylor: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie Points: 827
GaryOnCue: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie Points: 815
Matthew Lowson: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Alex
Ursenbacher Points: 794
Congratulations to Kellie for coming out victorious in the Fantasy League and thank you to everyone who was involved for making it another fun season.
All being well, the league will be back again next season and there may be a change coming to enhance the enjoyment and competition that the league brings, all will be revealed when the new season begins.
Thursday, 19 April 2018
THE BIG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
The 16 qualifiers are confirmed, the seeds are ready to go and snooker fans all over the world are set to take over Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in the next 17 days. That can only mean one thing, the World Championships are here and from Saturday morning 31 players will be aiming to take the trophy from the grasps of Mark Selby.
Selby is not only the defending champion but has won three of the last four World Championships to signal his domination of snooker's greatest test. Ronnie O'Sullivan however has dominated the 2017/2018 snooker season, winning five ranking events in all and topping the one-season money list by close to £210,000 of Selby, who remains number one on the two-year rankings.
Once more, Ding Junhui will be flying the flag for China as he aims to win his and the nation's first World Snooker Championship. Close calls in the last two years can only help the world number three to grow in his quest for the one title he desires. Scotland's John Higgins will be aiming to go one better than in 2017 where he fell just short of taking the trophy out of England for the first time since his 2011 victory.
Judd Trump could fulfil his promise by winning his maiden World title and silencing the many critics he had after his pre-tournament comments 12 months ago were only followed by a shock first round exit to Rory McLeod. Then there is Shaun Murphy, a five-time finalist this season, winning one at the Champion of Champions and hoping that 13 is a lucky number for him, as he plays his thirteenth Crucible Championship since taking the title in 2005. If he were to take the title it would smash the record for the longest gap between World Championship title wins, which currently belongs to 1972 and 1982 champion Alex Higgins.
There a plenty more contenders besides too in what could be one of the most fiercely contested World Championships for a number of years given the form of qualifiers like Ryan Day, a three time winner on tour this year.
With the strength of that draw from top to bottom I believe that this will be one of the strongest and most exciting World Championships for a number of years. So many players could walk away with the title, while plenty of the seeded players are in for a tough time in round one.
Sit back, relax and enjoy as the next 17 days of snooker could be very special indeed.
Selby is not only the defending champion but has won three of the last four World Championships to signal his domination of snooker's greatest test. Ronnie O'Sullivan however has dominated the 2017/2018 snooker season, winning five ranking events in all and topping the one-season money list by close to £210,000 of Selby, who remains number one on the two-year rankings.
Once more, Ding Junhui will be flying the flag for China as he aims to win his and the nation's first World Snooker Championship. Close calls in the last two years can only help the world number three to grow in his quest for the one title he desires. Scotland's John Higgins will be aiming to go one better than in 2017 where he fell just short of taking the trophy out of England for the first time since his 2011 victory.
Judd Trump could fulfil his promise by winning his maiden World title and silencing the many critics he had after his pre-tournament comments 12 months ago were only followed by a shock first round exit to Rory McLeod. Then there is Shaun Murphy, a five-time finalist this season, winning one at the Champion of Champions and hoping that 13 is a lucky number for him, as he plays his thirteenth Crucible Championship since taking the title in 2005. If he were to take the title it would smash the record for the longest gap between World Championship title wins, which currently belongs to 1972 and 1982 champion Alex Higgins.
There a plenty more contenders besides too in what could be one of the most fiercely contested World Championships for a number of years given the form of qualifiers like Ryan Day, a three time winner on tour this year.
Quarter 1
First Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Joe Perry (Saturday 21 April 10am and 7pm)
Mark Allen Vs Liam Highfield (Sunday 22 April and Monday 23 April 10am)
Kyren Wilson Vs Matthew Stevens (Saturday 21 April 2.30pm and Sunday 22 April 7pm)
Shaun Murphy Vs Jamie Jones (Sunday 22 April and Monday 23 April 2.30pm)
Mark Selby has a much tougher opener here than he did last year and has done for a while in the World Championships. You do not have to go back far to when Joe Perry was in the top 16 and reaching the final of the Masters. Things have not quite gone the way the gentleman would have wanted since that final last January, as he failed to qualify for the Crucible last year upon slipping out of the 16. This year he did have a good run to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, and if he plays how he did in beating Mark Allen in the last 16 in York, Selby has a tough task ahead of him.
Selby's season has certainly been a mixed one, winning the two biggest tournaments in China at the International Championships and the recent China Open, but there have been an equal share of early exits mixed in there too. You can take the other triple crown events as examples, a first round Masters exit and a last 64 exit in York. He has looked more vulnerable in the early rounds of a few competitions this season, including the ones he has done well in, and that should give hope to Perry and to the rest of the field that are trying to take the title from him. With a tough draw against Perry and another potentially tricky tie in the second round against Mark Allen, it is hard to say that an early exit is out of the question. On the other hand, if he gets through those first couple of rounds he will be an incredibly strong force and incredibly tough to beat, as he has proven to be at the Crucible over the last four years.
Mark Allen is certainly a contender for this title after breaking his major duck by winning January's Masters and that should give him so much more confidence to add to that tally now. In terms of the rankings, he sneaked in but that is more a reflection on the season he had last year and 12 months down the line I think he'll be back in the top eight. In Liam Highfield he has a first round opponent who is on debut at the Crucible, and naturally you would expect some nerves from Highfield. He is an incredibly talented player and Ali Carter has sung his praises on social media a few times recently - as someone who knows the tough times Highfield has had with Crohn's disease and what that is really like. This season has been a strong one for Highfield, who came to the qualifiers still not assured of his top 64 place but that is in the bag now.
His win over Tom Ford in the second qualifier was very impressive and I have been more and more impressed with him every time I watch him. If he settles quickly he is going to have a big chance of running Allen close, but as we know with Crucible debutants that is a big if. For Allen, finals at the World Open and International Championship on top of his Masters win this season show he is a force to be reckoned with, but he needs to do something about his Crucible record of exiting in the last 16 four years in a row and not making the quarter-finals since 2011.
Kyren Wilson is someone else that you have to admit has a very good chance this year at the Crucible. He may have only appeared here three times but after his debut in 2014 he has come back stronger making the quarter-final in both of the last two years and now he has the experience of being in a big final, after this year's Masters. He has taken to life in the big time like a Duck to water and he comes across as one of those characters who has no fear, and someone who will do whatever it takes to reach the top. He may not be one of those players in the draw that everyone thinks is ready, but having been to three finals this season I would not share that opinion.
In round one he faces Matthew Stevens and I think that is a draw that Wilson would quietly be pleased with. Stevens has a lot of Crucible experience having been in two finals before, and people including Neal Foulds think that he can certainly have a resurgence. There is still not getting away from the fact that he came into this World Championship outside of the top 50 in the world and as we sit here now in 2018, he is not in the same bracket as Wilson. The Welshman can certainly give Wilson a run for his money, but I think the seeded player will just be too good in the end.
Finally in this top quarter, we come to a five time finalist in the 2017/2018 season in Shaun Murphy. Coming in to these Championships people might look at his recent neck troubles and right Murphy off but the big thing to remember is that he reached the final of the Players Championship recently, beating Kyren Wilson, Anthony McGill and Mark Williams despite still being in quite a lot of discomfort. If he was still suffering in China when he lost 6-0 to Chris Wakelin you have to say that the travelling might not have helped him there. The two and a half weeks he would have had since last hitting a ball will surely help him and if he's fully fit is game is certainly good to go. Winning the Champion of Champions against Ronnie O'Sullivan was a huge moment for Murphy and he backed that up by reaching the UK Championship final. O'Sullivan was by far the best that week, but Murphy was the second best by a distance of anyone else, and at times this season that has certainly been the order of things.
In round one though he has an enormous test against Jamie Jones. The Welshman was a quarter-finalist on his Crucible debut and the man he beat in round one that year was Murphy. Jones comes in to this after beating Liang Wenbo 10-0 in the final qualifying round and that result alone will certainly make Murphy sit up and take notice if he was not already. Jones has had two other career wins over Murphy in the best-of-7 frames format and was unlucky not to beat him again earlier this season in the Paul Hunter Classic semi-finals as Murphy came from 3-1 down to win 4-3. If fully fit then I think Murphy might just edge this one and go on to have a big run at the Crucible this year, if not though Jones will be there to pounce.
Selby's season has certainly been a mixed one, winning the two biggest tournaments in China at the International Championships and the recent China Open, but there have been an equal share of early exits mixed in there too. You can take the other triple crown events as examples, a first round Masters exit and a last 64 exit in York. He has looked more vulnerable in the early rounds of a few competitions this season, including the ones he has done well in, and that should give hope to Perry and to the rest of the field that are trying to take the title from him. With a tough draw against Perry and another potentially tricky tie in the second round against Mark Allen, it is hard to say that an early exit is out of the question. On the other hand, if he gets through those first couple of rounds he will be an incredibly strong force and incredibly tough to beat, as he has proven to be at the Crucible over the last four years.
Mark Allen is certainly a contender for this title after breaking his major duck by winning January's Masters and that should give him so much more confidence to add to that tally now. In terms of the rankings, he sneaked in but that is more a reflection on the season he had last year and 12 months down the line I think he'll be back in the top eight. In Liam Highfield he has a first round opponent who is on debut at the Crucible, and naturally you would expect some nerves from Highfield. He is an incredibly talented player and Ali Carter has sung his praises on social media a few times recently - as someone who knows the tough times Highfield has had with Crohn's disease and what that is really like. This season has been a strong one for Highfield, who came to the qualifiers still not assured of his top 64 place but that is in the bag now.
His win over Tom Ford in the second qualifier was very impressive and I have been more and more impressed with him every time I watch him. If he settles quickly he is going to have a big chance of running Allen close, but as we know with Crucible debutants that is a big if. For Allen, finals at the World Open and International Championship on top of his Masters win this season show he is a force to be reckoned with, but he needs to do something about his Crucible record of exiting in the last 16 four years in a row and not making the quarter-finals since 2011.
Kyren Wilson is someone else that you have to admit has a very good chance this year at the Crucible. He may have only appeared here three times but after his debut in 2014 he has come back stronger making the quarter-final in both of the last two years and now he has the experience of being in a big final, after this year's Masters. He has taken to life in the big time like a Duck to water and he comes across as one of those characters who has no fear, and someone who will do whatever it takes to reach the top. He may not be one of those players in the draw that everyone thinks is ready, but having been to three finals this season I would not share that opinion.
In round one he faces Matthew Stevens and I think that is a draw that Wilson would quietly be pleased with. Stevens has a lot of Crucible experience having been in two finals before, and people including Neal Foulds think that he can certainly have a resurgence. There is still not getting away from the fact that he came into this World Championship outside of the top 50 in the world and as we sit here now in 2018, he is not in the same bracket as Wilson. The Welshman can certainly give Wilson a run for his money, but I think the seeded player will just be too good in the end.
Finally in this top quarter, we come to a five time finalist in the 2017/2018 season in Shaun Murphy. Coming in to these Championships people might look at his recent neck troubles and right Murphy off but the big thing to remember is that he reached the final of the Players Championship recently, beating Kyren Wilson, Anthony McGill and Mark Williams despite still being in quite a lot of discomfort. If he was still suffering in China when he lost 6-0 to Chris Wakelin you have to say that the travelling might not have helped him there. The two and a half weeks he would have had since last hitting a ball will surely help him and if he's fully fit is game is certainly good to go. Winning the Champion of Champions against Ronnie O'Sullivan was a huge moment for Murphy and he backed that up by reaching the UK Championship final. O'Sullivan was by far the best that week, but Murphy was the second best by a distance of anyone else, and at times this season that has certainly been the order of things.
In round one though he has an enormous test against Jamie Jones. The Welshman was a quarter-finalist on his Crucible debut and the man he beat in round one that year was Murphy. Jones comes in to this after beating Liang Wenbo 10-0 in the final qualifying round and that result alone will certainly make Murphy sit up and take notice if he was not already. Jones has had two other career wins over Murphy in the best-of-7 frames format and was unlucky not to beat him again earlier this season in the Paul Hunter Classic semi-finals as Murphy came from 3-1 down to win 4-3. If fully fit then I think Murphy might just edge this one and go on to have a big run at the Crucible this year, if not though Jones will be there to pounce.
Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 2
First Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
John Higgins Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Wednesday 25 April 10am and 7pm)
Stuart Bingham Vs Jack Lisowski (Tuesday 24 April 10am and 7pm)
Luca Brecel Vs Ricky Walden (Monday 23 April 7pm and Tuesday 24 April 2.30pm)
Judd Trump Vs Chris Wakelin (Wednesday 25 April 2.30pm and Thursday 26 April 7pm)
The first player that the eyes are draw to in the second quarter is the name Judd Trump. He was much fancied 12 months ago by many and suffered a shock exit to Rory McLeod and this seems to have added big question marks to his title winning credentials in the eyes of many. The fact is, Trump is only 28. He still has a lot of World Championships ahead of him even if he does not win this year or indeed next year. He should be fresh this year having failed to qualify for the China Open, an event that many used to skip in order to be fresh for the Crucible, before the big prize money change for this season. Trump has a title to his name earlier this season and despite some early exits in a few, he has also had a few semi-finals, though he still would have been disappointed with hos these turned out in Glasgow and at the Masters particularly.
In round one this year he faces another lower ranked player, but also someone with less experience than his opponent of 12 months previous. Chris Wakelin is on his Crucible debut, but he did come through the qualifiers emphatically, only losing nine frames across his three matches. As I mentioned with Highfield in quarter one and as I will with all the debutants, it is all going to be about how well they settle. If Wakelin gets a foothold early on in this contest then a contest it shall be. A man that has just defeated Shaun Murphy 6-0 in the run up to the Crucible is someone who should have a lot of confidence in his game, and if you look back through his season he has played quite a few top players and made a good account of himself in them on the whole. Still, you would expect an on form Trump to just be too strong for him given the occasion as well.
Luca Brecel and Ricky Walden looks like a very even contest on paper. Brecel will be looking to put last year's defeat from 7-1 up against Marco Fu completely out of his mind and move forward, and that was something he did early this season by winning the China Championship and putting himself in the top 16. The second half of this season though has not been a successful one for him. The Belgian lost in round one of the Masters, the World Grand Prix and also suffered early exits in Gibraltar, Wales and Beijing as well as messing around with different cues in that time. Despite being a seeded player this will only be his third Crucible appearance and to have an unhappy memory so early in your Crucible career is something that could play a factor on his return.
He will certainly need to find top form for his match up with Walden who nearly made a maximum in the final session of his final qualifying match with Andrew Higginson. The impressive thing for me was that Walden, who has also suffered with a back problem at the start of the season, mentioned that he was unwell during the qualifiers and yet he still got past three very experienced opponents and good match players who could easily have ground him down. He showed pretty good scoring form in the qualifiers though and if he keeps this up as well as his good battling qualities he is more than a match for Brecel.
Another very even match up puts Stuart Bingham against Jack Lisowski. Starting with Bingham, he will be quietly confident given the form he has shown in the last couple of events leading up to the Crucible. All the talk in this match will be about the dangerous Lisowski and I do not think he will mind that at all. Bingham knows what it takes at the Crucible having done it in 2015 and although he has not passed the second round in two attempts since, that experience will stay with him forever. A quarter-final in China following the Romanian Masters final is not bad and having missed a heavy chunk of the season through suspension he will be fresh and raring to go this year in Sheffield.
Jack Lisowski is one of the qualifiers that everyone's eye would have been on as one to avoid. He blitzed through his three qualifying games impressively, beating David Grace 10-3 in a match Grace needed to win for his tour place, before beating the incredibly experienced Alan McManus by the same score. We all know he can score heavily and he got his Crucible debut out of the way back in 2013 where he lost out to eventual runner-up Barry Hawkins. He spoke with good confidence after beating McManus and mentioned that his match play is improving, and it is good to hear him say that because it's recognition that this is the missing piece of the puzzle, and shows that he is working hard to fix that. Could he do what Trump did in 2011? Why not. Is he capable of winning a couple of games this year at the very least? Absolutely.
John Higgins was the runner-up at the Crucible last year and I think some of the consistency he has shown in the year since is a good sign that he can go one better in 2018. The Scotsman comes here having won the Welsh Open title a couple of months ago as well as defending the Championship League in March and winning the Indian Open title in September showing that he has played well for most of the year. The fifth seed has also made semi-finals at the Shanghai Masters, Scottish Open, the Masters and having played Ronnie O'Sullivan in a lot of tournaments, with a couple of successes too, he may well be pleased to see O'Sullivan is safely in the opposite half of the draw to him. The key for Higgins is stamina and that is something he has recognised himself in interviews so he may have made subtle changes in order to try and go one better. This may be looking far to far ahead, but given that I fancy Higgins to make it through the first two rounds steadily enough, his record against potential quarter-final opponent Judd Trump is excellent. Higgins has beaten Trump in all five matches they have played over a longer format than best-of-9 frames, with Trump's successes against Higgins largely coming in best-of-7 frames matches. He has won a few matches against Trump from behind such as in the 2014 World Open (5-4 from 4-0 down) and the 2016 Scottish Open (6-5 from from 5-1 down).
Higgins first round opponent is another of the debutants in Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. The Thai qualified after 10-8 wins against Alexander Ursenbacher and Alfie Burden with a simple victory against Adam Stefanow sandwiched in between. Despite his low ranking that means he did not actually have to play anyone ranked higher than him in order to qualify so this match agaisnt Higgins will be a huge test. Thepchaiya will give you plenty of chances but he will also make big breaks and not take long doing so and of all the qualifiers, I feel Thepchaiya is really one that has to settle quickly because of the style of game he plays. For Higgins, his experience and tactical superiority will be keys to this match, as they will be throughout the championship.
In round one this year he faces another lower ranked player, but also someone with less experience than his opponent of 12 months previous. Chris Wakelin is on his Crucible debut, but he did come through the qualifiers emphatically, only losing nine frames across his three matches. As I mentioned with Highfield in quarter one and as I will with all the debutants, it is all going to be about how well they settle. If Wakelin gets a foothold early on in this contest then a contest it shall be. A man that has just defeated Shaun Murphy 6-0 in the run up to the Crucible is someone who should have a lot of confidence in his game, and if you look back through his season he has played quite a few top players and made a good account of himself in them on the whole. Still, you would expect an on form Trump to just be too strong for him given the occasion as well.
Luca Brecel and Ricky Walden looks like a very even contest on paper. Brecel will be looking to put last year's defeat from 7-1 up against Marco Fu completely out of his mind and move forward, and that was something he did early this season by winning the China Championship and putting himself in the top 16. The second half of this season though has not been a successful one for him. The Belgian lost in round one of the Masters, the World Grand Prix and also suffered early exits in Gibraltar, Wales and Beijing as well as messing around with different cues in that time. Despite being a seeded player this will only be his third Crucible appearance and to have an unhappy memory so early in your Crucible career is something that could play a factor on his return.
He will certainly need to find top form for his match up with Walden who nearly made a maximum in the final session of his final qualifying match with Andrew Higginson. The impressive thing for me was that Walden, who has also suffered with a back problem at the start of the season, mentioned that he was unwell during the qualifiers and yet he still got past three very experienced opponents and good match players who could easily have ground him down. He showed pretty good scoring form in the qualifiers though and if he keeps this up as well as his good battling qualities he is more than a match for Brecel.
Another very even match up puts Stuart Bingham against Jack Lisowski. Starting with Bingham, he will be quietly confident given the form he has shown in the last couple of events leading up to the Crucible. All the talk in this match will be about the dangerous Lisowski and I do not think he will mind that at all. Bingham knows what it takes at the Crucible having done it in 2015 and although he has not passed the second round in two attempts since, that experience will stay with him forever. A quarter-final in China following the Romanian Masters final is not bad and having missed a heavy chunk of the season through suspension he will be fresh and raring to go this year in Sheffield.
Jack Lisowski is one of the qualifiers that everyone's eye would have been on as one to avoid. He blitzed through his three qualifying games impressively, beating David Grace 10-3 in a match Grace needed to win for his tour place, before beating the incredibly experienced Alan McManus by the same score. We all know he can score heavily and he got his Crucible debut out of the way back in 2013 where he lost out to eventual runner-up Barry Hawkins. He spoke with good confidence after beating McManus and mentioned that his match play is improving, and it is good to hear him say that because it's recognition that this is the missing piece of the puzzle, and shows that he is working hard to fix that. Could he do what Trump did in 2011? Why not. Is he capable of winning a couple of games this year at the very least? Absolutely.
John Higgins was the runner-up at the Crucible last year and I think some of the consistency he has shown in the year since is a good sign that he can go one better in 2018. The Scotsman comes here having won the Welsh Open title a couple of months ago as well as defending the Championship League in March and winning the Indian Open title in September showing that he has played well for most of the year. The fifth seed has also made semi-finals at the Shanghai Masters, Scottish Open, the Masters and having played Ronnie O'Sullivan in a lot of tournaments, with a couple of successes too, he may well be pleased to see O'Sullivan is safely in the opposite half of the draw to him. The key for Higgins is stamina and that is something he has recognised himself in interviews so he may have made subtle changes in order to try and go one better. This may be looking far to far ahead, but given that I fancy Higgins to make it through the first two rounds steadily enough, his record against potential quarter-final opponent Judd Trump is excellent. Higgins has beaten Trump in all five matches they have played over a longer format than best-of-9 frames, with Trump's successes against Higgins largely coming in best-of-7 frames matches. He has won a few matches against Trump from behind such as in the 2014 World Open (5-4 from 4-0 down) and the 2016 Scottish Open (6-5 from from 5-1 down).
Higgins first round opponent is another of the debutants in Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. The Thai qualified after 10-8 wins against Alexander Ursenbacher and Alfie Burden with a simple victory against Adam Stefanow sandwiched in between. Despite his low ranking that means he did not actually have to play anyone ranked higher than him in order to qualify so this match agaisnt Higgins will be a huge test. Thepchaiya will give you plenty of chances but he will also make big breaks and not take long doing so and of all the qualifiers, I feel Thepchaiya is really one that has to settle quickly because of the style of game he plays. For Higgins, his experience and tactical superiority will be keys to this match, as they will be throughout the championship.
Quarter Winner: John Higgins
Quarter 3
First Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ding Junhui Vs Xiao Guodong (Monday 23 April 2.30pm and Tuesday 24 April 10am)
Anthony McGill Vs Ryan Day (Wednesday 25 April 7pm and Thursday 26 April 1pm)
Marco Fu Vs Lu Haotian (Saturday 21 April 10am and Sunday 22 April 7pm)
Barry Hawkins Vs Stuart Carrington (Monday 23 April 10am and 7pm)
If form is anything to go by in recent years, I should just pick Barry Hawkins as the winner of this third quarter and go home. Hawkins has made the one table set up in four of the last five years, a narrow 2016 quarter-final loss to Marco Fu being the odd one out there. In that time he has defeated Mark Selby, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson, all players who have won this title and with his form picking up in the last couple of months, he is a big contender once again. There was very little to shout about for Hawkins until he made it to the Welsh Open final and narrowly losing out there to John Higgins. Then not too long after he made a second final of the season in Beijing, flying back up to world number 6 and avoiding being O'Sullivan and Selby's quarters in the process. Hawkins is always solid and he must come back to the Crucible with more and more confidence every year, and the achievement of someone like Stuart Bingham in 2015 should give Hawkins hope that he could walk away with the world title.
In round one he faces Stuart Carrington, who will be appearing at the Crucible for the third time. In his previous two appearances he has lost to Judd Trump and Liang Wenbo in a match he really could have won. However, when you are searching for your first win at the Crucible, drawing someone who has not lost in round since 2010 is probably not the best outcome. In the qualifiers, a late night 10-9 win against Nigel Bond, and hard fought 10-8 wins against Ben Woollaston and Zhang Anda will have taken a lot out of him and therefore, playing both sessions in one day here is again probably not the best draw for him either.
Marco Fu is someone nobody really knows how to judge for this year's tournament. Having not played since the Masters after eye surgery he will at the very least be fresh but perhaps not completely ready. When declaring he was playing at the Crucible he did not do so with confidence saying that his eyes are perhaps not as good as they could be. There is also a big difference between being fresh and being rusty, and Fu not playing under the bright TV lights for three months means that when he does it will be a big test for him.
In round one he faces another of the debutants but in my view, by far and away the best one. I have a lot of time for Lu Haotian. He broke through at a young age and had initial go on tour before dropping off after his two years. After taking a bit of time away from the game he has come back a lot stronger and is going to finish the year inside the top 64 despite only having one season's worth of points to his name. What a season it has been for Lu. A semi-final in Northern Ireland as well as making the last 16 in the UK Championships, beating Fu in the last 32 there. He may come across as a very small figure, but he has a certain confidence to his stride around the table, and this is matched when I have seen him walking around venues as well. Given the uncertainty with his opponent as well, I certainly think Lu has the best chance of getting a victory for the debutants.
Anthony McGill and Ryan Day is another very even match. McGill has been really unlucky again here I think. Last year he drew Stephen Maguire who was very much the qualifier to avoid and this year the same thing has happened. Things did not go well for him against Maguire last year losing quite convincingly and it would not be a huge shock if the same thing happened. McGill did play well at the Players Championship to beat John Higgins 6-0 before narrowly losing to Shaun Murphy but otherwise the second half to his season has been very hit and miss. This could be summed up nicely by him losing in the last 64 of the next tournament to a player that is not yet on the tour.
Day however must be on top of the world, having won three times this season and twice in the last couple of months overall. He also took down Mark Selby over the best-of-11 frames in the first round of the Players Championship, and even though he did get through the qualifiers with comfort, he still had to get past a very tough opponent in the final round by beating Peter Ebdon. Last season he was a seeded player and under that pressure he did not stand up losing easily to Xiao Guodong, but this year he has a lot of form and all the pressure is on McGill as the seed so this could be another match that goes the way of the qualifier. In fact, the 2008, 2009 and 2012 Crucible quarter-finalist is arguably playing his best snooker and given that he has favourable records against both of the front runners in this quarter (Ding and Hawkins) he could really have a big run here, and match his semi-final in this season's UK Championship.
My thoughts with Ding Junhui and the World Championships are similar to those on golfer Rory McIlroy and the Masters. This is the one tournament that interests Ding Junhui. 2016 was a huge reality check for Ding and the fact that he got to the final after coming through qualifying just shows that he is good enough to win this title in my view. In the last two years the fact is that Mark Selby was the only man that could stop him, beating him in the 2016 final and then again in the semi's last year, after Ding had played sublime snooker to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan a round previously. Had he beaten Selby in that incredibly close semi-final then you would have fancied him to beat Higgins in the final too in my opinion. The fact that he stated in the lead up to last year's World Championship that he wanted to win it for his Mum, who sadly passed away in early 2017, was a great sign. It showed huge determination and desire and this was matched when he got out onto the table. He displayed it to win a very tough match against Liang and then again when he played O'Sullivan. Arguably, this is one of the only things that Ding lacks because in some tournaments he seems as though he is not really that bothered. His season has been decent winning a title early in the season and then getting to the Grand Prix final in February, after suffering a bit of eye trouble in between times but that seems to be long gone now.
His first round opponent Xiao Guodong is a very dangerous player and he has improved further still since making the last 16 at the Crucible last year, reaching a few quarter-finals this season. Crucially though, Ding does have a very good record against Xiao so he will not be too unhappy with this draw. Ding was a convincing winner when the pair met recently at the China Open, and when Ding won the World Open earlier this season - beating Xiao at the last 32 stage of both competitions. Ding has also won their most major meeting, back in 2013 when they contested the Shanghai Masters final, and Xiao is now getting back to the form that took him to that final. For me though, Ding is a very strong contender for this title.
In round one he faces Stuart Carrington, who will be appearing at the Crucible for the third time. In his previous two appearances he has lost to Judd Trump and Liang Wenbo in a match he really could have won. However, when you are searching for your first win at the Crucible, drawing someone who has not lost in round since 2010 is probably not the best outcome. In the qualifiers, a late night 10-9 win against Nigel Bond, and hard fought 10-8 wins against Ben Woollaston and Zhang Anda will have taken a lot out of him and therefore, playing both sessions in one day here is again probably not the best draw for him either.
Marco Fu is someone nobody really knows how to judge for this year's tournament. Having not played since the Masters after eye surgery he will at the very least be fresh but perhaps not completely ready. When declaring he was playing at the Crucible he did not do so with confidence saying that his eyes are perhaps not as good as they could be. There is also a big difference between being fresh and being rusty, and Fu not playing under the bright TV lights for three months means that when he does it will be a big test for him.
In round one he faces another of the debutants but in my view, by far and away the best one. I have a lot of time for Lu Haotian. He broke through at a young age and had initial go on tour before dropping off after his two years. After taking a bit of time away from the game he has come back a lot stronger and is going to finish the year inside the top 64 despite only having one season's worth of points to his name. What a season it has been for Lu. A semi-final in Northern Ireland as well as making the last 16 in the UK Championships, beating Fu in the last 32 there. He may come across as a very small figure, but he has a certain confidence to his stride around the table, and this is matched when I have seen him walking around venues as well. Given the uncertainty with his opponent as well, I certainly think Lu has the best chance of getting a victory for the debutants.
Anthony McGill and Ryan Day is another very even match. McGill has been really unlucky again here I think. Last year he drew Stephen Maguire who was very much the qualifier to avoid and this year the same thing has happened. Things did not go well for him against Maguire last year losing quite convincingly and it would not be a huge shock if the same thing happened. McGill did play well at the Players Championship to beat John Higgins 6-0 before narrowly losing to Shaun Murphy but otherwise the second half to his season has been very hit and miss. This could be summed up nicely by him losing in the last 64 of the next tournament to a player that is not yet on the tour.
Day however must be on top of the world, having won three times this season and twice in the last couple of months overall. He also took down Mark Selby over the best-of-11 frames in the first round of the Players Championship, and even though he did get through the qualifiers with comfort, he still had to get past a very tough opponent in the final round by beating Peter Ebdon. Last season he was a seeded player and under that pressure he did not stand up losing easily to Xiao Guodong, but this year he has a lot of form and all the pressure is on McGill as the seed so this could be another match that goes the way of the qualifier. In fact, the 2008, 2009 and 2012 Crucible quarter-finalist is arguably playing his best snooker and given that he has favourable records against both of the front runners in this quarter (Ding and Hawkins) he could really have a big run here, and match his semi-final in this season's UK Championship.
My thoughts with Ding Junhui and the World Championships are similar to those on golfer Rory McIlroy and the Masters. This is the one tournament that interests Ding Junhui. 2016 was a huge reality check for Ding and the fact that he got to the final after coming through qualifying just shows that he is good enough to win this title in my view. In the last two years the fact is that Mark Selby was the only man that could stop him, beating him in the 2016 final and then again in the semi's last year, after Ding had played sublime snooker to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan a round previously. Had he beaten Selby in that incredibly close semi-final then you would have fancied him to beat Higgins in the final too in my opinion. The fact that he stated in the lead up to last year's World Championship that he wanted to win it for his Mum, who sadly passed away in early 2017, was a great sign. It showed huge determination and desire and this was matched when he got out onto the table. He displayed it to win a very tough match against Liang and then again when he played O'Sullivan. Arguably, this is one of the only things that Ding lacks because in some tournaments he seems as though he is not really that bothered. His season has been decent winning a title early in the season and then getting to the Grand Prix final in February, after suffering a bit of eye trouble in between times but that seems to be long gone now.
His first round opponent Xiao Guodong is a very dangerous player and he has improved further still since making the last 16 at the Crucible last year, reaching a few quarter-finals this season. Crucially though, Ding does have a very good record against Xiao so he will not be too unhappy with this draw. Ding was a convincing winner when the pair met recently at the China Open, and when Ding won the World Open earlier this season - beating Xiao at the last 32 stage of both competitions. Ding has also won their most major meeting, back in 2013 when they contested the Shanghai Masters final, and Xiao is now getting back to the form that took him to that final. For me though, Ding is a very strong contender for this title.
Quarter Winner: Ding Junhui
Quarter 4
First Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Williams Vs Jimmy Robertson (Tuesday 24 April 2.30pm and Wednesday 25 April 10am)
Neil Robertson Vs Robert Milkins (Tuesday 24 April 7pm and Wednesday 25 April 2.30pm)
Ali Carter Vs Graeme Dott (Saturday 21 April 7pm and Sunday 22 April 2.30pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Stephen Maguire (Saturday 21 April 2.30pm and Sunday 22 April 10am)
Mark Williams form this season has once again made him a Crucible contender as he seeks a third world title. The Welshman broke a long gap between ranking titles when he won at the Northern Ireland Open, a win that his start to the season suggested was always on the horizon, before only taking another two and a half months to win again as he breezed to the German Masters title. One thing that does stand out though for Williams is that he has only been to the one table set up once since he last won the title 15 years ago, as well as only reaching two quarter-finals in that period. However, his form across the season has been consistent and suggests that he is playing as well as he has done for a long time, so this may be the year that he has another big Crucible run. This could be especially so given that his recent World Championships record stated above will not bother him, because very little does, and this is the sort of mindset you need to do well in snooker's toughest test.
His first round opponent is Jimmy Robertson who is here at the Crucible for the fourth time but still searching for his first victory here. He is also searching for his first victory against Mark Williams having lost each of their previous six meetings, so victory here could be a big breakthrough for him. His route for qualifying started with an easy win against Alex Borg followed by back-to-back 10-7 wins against tough opponents in Sam Baird and Michael White. This has been one of Jimmy's best seasons ever, and he had his best ever run in a ranking event making the German Masters quarter-finals, a run Williams ended. While he has taken more frames each year of his three Crucible appearances to date, on this occasion he really has been handed a very tough task if he is to get that maiden success in the theatre of dreams.
Neil Robertson and Robert Milkins is a repeat of five years ago when Milkins overcame Robertson in the first round. I seem to remember that Robertson was quite heavily fancied that year and he still made the tournament high break despite losing to Milkins. The 2010 champion has only been back to the one table set up once in the seven years since that success, losing in the semi's to Selby in 2014. By contrast, he has lost in the first round three times, falling at the first hurdle in his 2011 defence when he played Trump, and in 2016 where Michael Holt got the better of him, as well as the 2013 exit. For a week in December Robertson had dipped out of the top 16, which was enough to keep him out of the Masters, following a last 32 exit at the UK Championships. The Australian went on to win the Scottish Open the next week, though that win was the first time he had made the semi-finals in a ranking event for nearly 15 months. He is now back up to 10 in the world rankings but it does not quite feel like he has kicked on, despite making the China Open semi-finals recently. Evidence of that would be heavy defeats to Mark Selby and Judd Trump in the World Grand Prix and Players Championships respectively.
Milkins came through qualifiers with easy wins against World Seniors winner Aaron Canavan and Michael Holt with a tough match against Scott Donaldson in between those two. He has nothing to lose here and I'm sure he will be happy enough to have drawn someone he has beaten on this stage before, as well as beating him earlier this season in the Northern Ireland Open. The pair also played a very even match in the 2015 Masters which Robertson narrowly won 6-4 before going on to make the final, and there is nothing to say that Milkins will not give Robertson another tough time here or even beat him again.
Speaking of repeats, you only have to cast your minds back one year to when Graeme Dott upset the odds and overcame Ali Carter at the Crucible. The victory for Dott on that occasion was 10-7 and after an improved season this time around he will certainly fancy the job again. In fact, when comparing their two seasons Dott is 15th on the provisional one season money list (including his guaranteed money for qualifying) while Carter is way down in 34th after a string of early exits throughout the season. These exits for Carter include at the last 64 stage of the China Open, Welsh Open, Scottish Open and the Northern Ireland Open as well as first round exits in the Masters, World Grand Prix and UK Championships.
Dott though has had one of his best season's for a long time. He was very impressive in making the final of the German Masters in February, as well as making the last 16 of the UK and China Championships with wins over Judd Trump in both. As well as his first round win last year against Carter as a qualifier, Dott has also had Crucible success as a qualifier in recent years when he overcame Ricky Walden in 2015 and as a former winner and two time runner-up there will be nothing but good memories when he enters the arena.
The same is also more than true for five time World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has been the best player this season by a mile but he now needs to back that up on the biggest stage of them all. Winning five ranking events this season will not mean as much to him if he is unable to win the World Championships. The key for O'Sullivan in his victories is that he has stepped up in the big events to take the UK Championships as well as the World Grand Prix and Players Championships, the last two of which he would describe as "numpty free zones". It may be five years since his last world title but in that time he lost in the final in 2014, as well as quarter-finals in 2015 and 2017. His last round one exit was in 2003 but this year he has a very tough opening obstacle in Stephen Maguire.
Maguire qualified with wins over Allan Taylor, Hammad Miah and a tough test against Hossein Vafei. The Scotsman looked decent in qualifying and proved dangerous as a qualifier last year when he then overcame Anthony McGill and Rory McLeod comfortably at the venue to make the quarter-finals. Maguire has also faced O'Sullivan twice this year in big matches, both semi-finals at the UK Championships and World Grand Prix and both times Maguire was on the wrong end of things. Overall, his record against O'Sullivan is not great but the same could be said of many a player, but that does not mean he cannot beat the Rocket in this one off encounter. On the whole though, everything about O'Sullivan's season suggests that he is well in the hunt for a sixth world title and if he's in the mood, he will take some serious stopping this year.
His first round opponent is Jimmy Robertson who is here at the Crucible for the fourth time but still searching for his first victory here. He is also searching for his first victory against Mark Williams having lost each of their previous six meetings, so victory here could be a big breakthrough for him. His route for qualifying started with an easy win against Alex Borg followed by back-to-back 10-7 wins against tough opponents in Sam Baird and Michael White. This has been one of Jimmy's best seasons ever, and he had his best ever run in a ranking event making the German Masters quarter-finals, a run Williams ended. While he has taken more frames each year of his three Crucible appearances to date, on this occasion he really has been handed a very tough task if he is to get that maiden success in the theatre of dreams.
Neil Robertson and Robert Milkins is a repeat of five years ago when Milkins overcame Robertson in the first round. I seem to remember that Robertson was quite heavily fancied that year and he still made the tournament high break despite losing to Milkins. The 2010 champion has only been back to the one table set up once in the seven years since that success, losing in the semi's to Selby in 2014. By contrast, he has lost in the first round three times, falling at the first hurdle in his 2011 defence when he played Trump, and in 2016 where Michael Holt got the better of him, as well as the 2013 exit. For a week in December Robertson had dipped out of the top 16, which was enough to keep him out of the Masters, following a last 32 exit at the UK Championships. The Australian went on to win the Scottish Open the next week, though that win was the first time he had made the semi-finals in a ranking event for nearly 15 months. He is now back up to 10 in the world rankings but it does not quite feel like he has kicked on, despite making the China Open semi-finals recently. Evidence of that would be heavy defeats to Mark Selby and Judd Trump in the World Grand Prix and Players Championships respectively.
Milkins came through qualifiers with easy wins against World Seniors winner Aaron Canavan and Michael Holt with a tough match against Scott Donaldson in between those two. He has nothing to lose here and I'm sure he will be happy enough to have drawn someone he has beaten on this stage before, as well as beating him earlier this season in the Northern Ireland Open. The pair also played a very even match in the 2015 Masters which Robertson narrowly won 6-4 before going on to make the final, and there is nothing to say that Milkins will not give Robertson another tough time here or even beat him again.
Speaking of repeats, you only have to cast your minds back one year to when Graeme Dott upset the odds and overcame Ali Carter at the Crucible. The victory for Dott on that occasion was 10-7 and after an improved season this time around he will certainly fancy the job again. In fact, when comparing their two seasons Dott is 15th on the provisional one season money list (including his guaranteed money for qualifying) while Carter is way down in 34th after a string of early exits throughout the season. These exits for Carter include at the last 64 stage of the China Open, Welsh Open, Scottish Open and the Northern Ireland Open as well as first round exits in the Masters, World Grand Prix and UK Championships.
Dott though has had one of his best season's for a long time. He was very impressive in making the final of the German Masters in February, as well as making the last 16 of the UK and China Championships with wins over Judd Trump in both. As well as his first round win last year against Carter as a qualifier, Dott has also had Crucible success as a qualifier in recent years when he overcame Ricky Walden in 2015 and as a former winner and two time runner-up there will be nothing but good memories when he enters the arena.
The same is also more than true for five time World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has been the best player this season by a mile but he now needs to back that up on the biggest stage of them all. Winning five ranking events this season will not mean as much to him if he is unable to win the World Championships. The key for O'Sullivan in his victories is that he has stepped up in the big events to take the UK Championships as well as the World Grand Prix and Players Championships, the last two of which he would describe as "numpty free zones". It may be five years since his last world title but in that time he lost in the final in 2014, as well as quarter-finals in 2015 and 2017. His last round one exit was in 2003 but this year he has a very tough opening obstacle in Stephen Maguire.
Maguire qualified with wins over Allan Taylor, Hammad Miah and a tough test against Hossein Vafei. The Scotsman looked decent in qualifying and proved dangerous as a qualifier last year when he then overcame Anthony McGill and Rory McLeod comfortably at the venue to make the quarter-finals. Maguire has also faced O'Sullivan twice this year in big matches, both semi-finals at the UK Championships and World Grand Prix and both times Maguire was on the wrong end of things. Overall, his record against O'Sullivan is not great but the same could be said of many a player, but that does not mean he cannot beat the Rocket in this one off encounter. On the whole though, everything about O'Sullivan's season suggests that he is well in the hunt for a sixth world title and if he's in the mood, he will take some serious stopping this year.
Quarter Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan
Predicted World Champion: John Higgins
With the strength of that draw from top to bottom I believe that this will be one of the strongest and most exciting World Championships for a number of years. So many players could walk away with the title, while plenty of the seeded players are in for a tough time in round one.
Sit back, relax and enjoy as the next 17 days of snooker could be very special indeed.
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
FANTASY SNOOKER: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The final event of the 2017/2018 Fantasy Snooker season is upon us and with the 32 man field for the World Championships all set it is time to get your picks in for the Crucible.
The lead at the top has been cut after events in the China Open and with this final event being a double points affair it is certainly all to play for.
Some players have been lucky enough to see their season picks qualify and for that they also get a handy points bonus. Any players that have selected a Crucible qualifier as one of their season picks at the start of the campaign have had that players points for the three qualifying matches added to their total, at the double points rate used for the rest of the Championships.
As you'll spot in the table the only players listed under those "previously selected" are ones which you cannot pick for the event having already done so three times. All other players are free for selection as long as they are not listed under your name.
So, here is how the table looks ahead of this season's finale:
All that's left to say is, don't forget to send your picks in to me via Twitter for the World Championships prior to the first matches on Saturday 21 April at 10am UK Time.
I will tweet my own Beat the Boss picks out after Thursday's first round draw. All the best to each of the players ahead of the final picks in this exciting season of fantasy snooker.
The lead at the top has been cut after events in the China Open and with this final event being a double points affair it is certainly all to play for.
Some players have been lucky enough to see their season picks qualify and for that they also get a handy points bonus. Any players that have selected a Crucible qualifier as one of their season picks at the start of the campaign have had that players points for the three qualifying matches added to their total, at the double points rate used for the rest of the Championships.
As you'll spot in the table the only players listed under those "previously selected" are ones which you cannot pick for the event having already done so three times. All other players are free for selection as long as they are not listed under your name.
So, here is how the table looks ahead of this season's finale:
Couge: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam
Craigie Points: 1316
PPS: Williams x3, Ding x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3,
Bingham x3, Trump x3, K. Wilson x3
Kellie Barker: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Alex
Ursenbacher Points: 1253
PPS: Allen x3, Higgins x3, Selby x3, Robertson x3
FAM147: SEASON: Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong Points: 1238
PPS: Selby x3, Trump x3, Robertson x3
Daniela Reich: SEASON: Yan Bingtao
and Sam Craigie Points: 1202
PPS: Ding x3, Murphy x3, Williams x3, Trump x3, Robertson x3
Protoursnooker: SEASON: Thepchaiya
Un-Nooh and Cao Yupeng Points: 1180
PPS: Murphy x3, Robertson x3, Higgins x3, O’Sullivan x3,
Trump x3, Bingham x3
Phil Mudd: SEASON: Jimmy Robertson and Sam Craigie Points: 1072
PPS: Ding x3, Allen x3, Robertson x3, Williams x3,
O’Sullivan x3
Munraj: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Michael Georgiou Points: 1038
PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x3
Alex Abrahams: SEASON: Yan Bingtao
and John Astley Points: 1028
PPS: Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Trump x3, Williams x3,
O’Sullivan x3, Robertson x3
TungstenDarts: SEASON: Yan Bingtao
and Sam Craigie Points: 1009
PPS: Fu x3, McGill x3, Allen x3, Robertson x3
Andy Brooker: SEASON: Yan Bingtao
and Sam Craigie Points: 1008
PPS: Higgins x3, O’Sullivan x3
TY: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Zhang
Anda Points: 970
PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x3, Higgins x3, Allen x3, Bingham
x3, Selby x3, Murphy x3
Cluster of Reds: SEASON: Yan Bingtao
and John Astley Points: 961
PPS: Allen x3, Murphy x3, O’Sullivan x3, Higgins x3
Isitan Bakar: SEASON: Yan Bingtao
and Scott Donaldson Points:
957
PPS: Robertson x3, Murphy x3, Bingham x3, Ding x3, Trump x3,
O’Sullivan x3
Rob Francis: SEASON: Mark Davis and
Cao Yupeng Points: 949
PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Wilson x3,
Trump x3, O’Sullivan x3
John McBride: SEASON: Hossein Vafei
and Sam Craigie Points: 942
PPS: Allen x3, Selby
x3, Williams x3, Robertson x3
Colin Delaney: SEASON: Ken Doherty
and Yan Bingtao Points: 932
PPS: Higgins x3, Trump x3, Robertson x3
Ben Summers: SEASON: Noppon Saengkham
and Sam Craigie Points: 913
PPS: Trump x3, Allen x3, Williams x3
Igor Snooker: SEASON: Matthew
Stevens and Ken Doherty Points: 902
PPS: Murphy x3, Selby x3, Robertson
x3, Williams x3
LTD: SEASON: Robert Milkins and
Ken Doherty Points:
891
PPS: Higgins x3, Hawkins x3, Perry x3, Selby x3
Anthony: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and Michael Georgiou Points:
845
PPS: Higgins x3, Maguire x3, Williams x3, O’Sullivan x3
Kjetil: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and John Astley Points: 810
GaryOnCue: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie Points: 807
PPS: Robertson x3, Maguire x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3,
O’Sullivan x3
D. Muckian: SEASON: Tian Pengfei and
Zhang Anda Points: 787
PPS: Ding x3, Allen X3, Selby x3
Mark Taylor: SEASON: Thepchaiya
Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie Points: 767
PPS: Selby x3
Matthew Lowson: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Alex
Ursenbacher Points: 704
PPS: Ding x3, Higgins x3, Murphy x3, Williams x3, O’Sullivan
x3, Allen x3
Beat the Boss (Me):
SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Robin Hull Points: 695
All that's left to say is, don't forget to send your picks in to me via Twitter for the World Championships prior to the first matches on Saturday 21 April at 10am UK Time.
I will tweet my own Beat the Boss picks out after Thursday's first round draw. All the best to each of the players ahead of the final picks in this exciting season of fantasy snooker.
Monday, 16 April 2018
Yan Bingtao crashes out in Second Round of World Championship Qualifying
Yan Bingtao has crashed out in the second round of qualifiers for the upcoming World Championship after losing out 10-9 to Tian Pengfei.
Yan had at one stage led 6-1 in the all-Chinese clash but could not keep going and soon found himself 8-7 behind in the final session. He won the sixteenth from behind to level at 8-8, only to fall behind again at 9-8. A break of 72 from Yan took the game to 9-9, only for Tian to produce the highest break of the match, a 127, and take the frame at one visit to progress.
Ryan Day benefited from a withdrawal when he took on Mitchell Mann. The pair played eight frames, after which Day was 7-1 up and this was the point that Mann chose to withdraw due to ill health. Having spoken in the past about his battles with mental health, and given that he was battling to stay on the professional tour in this game, I sincerely hope that whatever the true cause of his withdrawal was, he gets the help he needs to recover.
Meanwhile, the dreams of Jimmy White fans were dashed as he failed to back up victory over Sam Craigie, falling 10-5 to Joe Perry. The gentleman will now face Mark Davis who has recorded the only 10-0 win of these World Championships so far, whitewashing the Shoot-Out winner Michael Georgiou.
2006 World Champion Graeme Dott is also into the final round after a convincing 10-2 win against Akani Songsermsawad that has set up a final round tie with Mike Dunn. Another former World Champion in 1997 winner Ken Doherty has made it through to the final round. Doherty saw off Gerard Greene by a comfortable 10-4 margin, making high breaks of 102 and 133 in successive frames during the first session.
Doherty faces former World finalist Matthew Stevens in the final round after the Welshman won the final three frames from 9-7 adrift to overcome Yuan Sijun in a deciding frame. There was also defeat for another Chinese youngster as Zhao Xintong exited 10-5 against first round maximum man Liang Wenbo. Liang made two centuries in the contest, while defeat for Zhao now means he will have to go to Q School in May to regain his professional playing rights.
There was tour survival success though for Zhang Anda as he caused one of the rounds other big upsets by soundly defeating Martin Gould 10-4. Zhang compiled three centuries in the contest as he moved up to 66th on the provisional end-of-season list, just shy of the top 64, but inside the top eight on the one-season money list not already qualified for next season. Now, the 26-year-old will be looking to secure a fourth Crucible appearance after booking his place in the final round.
Alfie Burden has also taken a huge step towards tour survival after overcoming David Gilbert 10-9 in a late night thriller. Burden is now further inside the top eight on the one-year money list not already qualified for this season, after winning the final two frames from 9-8 down, despite leading 8-5 at one stage.
Lee Walker remains in a good position for tour survival despite losing 10-7 to formal World Championship semi-finalist Ricky Walden. Walker had led 6-4 at one stage but lost six of the last seven frames as Walden made two centuries in the match including a high of 135.
Second Round Results:
Ryan Day 10-1 Mitchell Mann
Peter Ebdon 10-5 Robbie Williams
Daniel Wells 10-8 Zhou Yuelong
Liam Highfield 10-6 Tom Ford
Adam Duffy 10-6 Matthew Selt
Xiao Guodong 10-4 Mei Xiwen
Stuart Carrington 10-8 Ben Woollaston
Zhang Anda 10-4 Martin Gould
Graeme Dott 10-2 Akani Songsermsawad
Mike Dunn 10-3 Dominic Dale
Michael Holt 10-7 Elliot Slessor
Robert Milkins 10-8 Scott Donaldson
Rory McLeod 10-9 Li Hang
Lu Haotian 10-9 Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens 10-9 Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty 10-4 Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo 10-5 Zhao Xintong
Jamie Jones 10-7 Yu De Lu
Jack Lisowski 10-3 David Grace
Alan McManus 10-9 Oliver Lines
Andrew Higginson 10-5 Robin Hull
Ricky Walden 10-7 Lee Walker
Mark Davis 10-0 Michael Georgiou
Joe Perry 10-5 Jimmy White
Tian Pengfei 10-9 Yan Bingtao
Chris Wakelin 10-4 Kurt Maflin
Alfie Burden 10-9 David Gilbert
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-4 Adam Stefanow
Jimmy Robertson 10-7 Sam Baird
Michael White 10-7 John Astley
Hossein Vafei 10-5 Noppon Saengkham
Stephen Maguire 10-4 Hammad Miah
Final Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ryan Day Vs Peter Ebdon
Daniel Wells Vs Liam Highfield
Xiao Guodong Vs Adam Duffy
Stuart Carrington Vs Zhang Anda
Graeme Dott Vs Mike Dunn
Michael Holt Vs Robert Milkins
Rory McLeod Vs Lu Haotian
Matthew Stevens Vs Ken Doherty
Liang Wenbo Vs Jamie Jones
Jack Lisowski Vs Alan McManus
Ricky Walden Vs Andrew Higginson
Joe Perry Vs Mark Davis
Chris Wakelin Vs Tian Pengfei
Thepchiaya Un-Nooh Vs Alfie Burden
Michael White Vs Jimmy Robertson
Stephen Maguire Vs Hossein Vafei
Ryan Day will be fresh coming into the final round here and he will need to be as he goes up against the experience of Peter Ebdon. Day has only played twenty frames after an easy round one victory followed by Mitchell Mann's withdrawal after eight frames. Ebdon meanwhile has taken care of James Wattana and Robbie Williams quite comfortably and seems to be coming into form at the perfect time once again. His huge experience is a big factor here but with Day in the form of his life at the moment it is still going to be an incredibly tough task for Ebdon here.
A Crucible debutant is guaranteed when Liam Highfield faces Daniel Wells. Highfield has played very solidly to defeat Chen Zhe comfortably and then overcome Tom Ford who would have been highly fancied for qualification. Wells meanwhile was a 10-6 winner against Kurt Dunham in round one before beating Zhou Yuelong 10-8. The pair have met three times in all with Highfield winning on each occasion, including at this season's UK Championship where Highfield ran out a 6-4 victor. Both are quality players on their day and only one place separates them in the seedings for this event so that is a sign that this could be a very close battle, especially given the nerves of trying to make their respective Crucible debuts. For me though, Highfield is the player I think is improving the most and is probably the most solid over the longer format.
Xiao Guodong stands between Adam Duffy and dreams of a Crucible debut, which would also make him the first man from Sheffield to compete at the Crucible. Duffy has had two very good wins this week so far defeating Mark Joyce 10-4 and then seeing off Matthew Selt 10-6. It is not so long ago that Duffy nearly qualified for the Crucible despite not being on the tour, but he faces a very tough task here against Xiao. The Chinese player has been terrific this season and really improved from around this time last year when he qualified for the Crucible and then thrashed Ryan Day at the venue. Xiao has also made easy work of his first two matches and if he scores as heavily as he has been this season then I can see this going a similar way.
Stuart Carrington and Zhang Anda are two players that you might not have necessarily expected to be meeting in the final qualifying round, despite both having qualified for the Crucible on more than one occasion. Carrington qualified last year and could have taken down Liang Wenbo in round one, so he will be looking to get back and put that right. Zhang Anda though has been very impressive this week. He has needed to win both of his opening two qualifiers in order to get into the top eight on the one season money list that were not already qualified for next season, in order to secure a new two year professional tour card. After beating Zhang Yong in round one he then took down Martin Gould very impressively and will be full of confidence here as he faces Carrington, looking for a fourth Crucible appearance. Zhang really seems to perform over the long format, and while a close match can be anticipated here, it may be the Chinese that has the edge.
Michael Holt and Robert Milkins are again two very experienced players with plenty of Crucible appearances under their belts. In the opening two rounds, Holt has had two 10-7 wins, battling back from 4-0 down to defeat Thor Chuan Leong, before then coming through in a tough tie against Elliot Slessor. Milkins meanwhile had an easy time in round against the World Seniors Champion, though was given much more of challenge in round two against Scott Donaldson before eventually coming through 10-8. There's very little between these two players and this could be one of those tense final round matches that needs a deciding frame to separate the two players. After a quiet season in all honesty, Holt should be able to take some confidence from his opening two wins, particularly given the position he was in early in round one.
Rory McLeod and Lu Haotian is certainly a match that you would put down as a clash of styles and that only plays into one mans hands. A lot of people seemed to write McLeod off prior to these qualifiers, despite the fact he qualified last year and defeated Judd Trump. Some bookies even foolishly had him as an underdog against Ian Burns in round one. He was a big outsider against Li Hang but showed his experience winning the final two frames for a 10-9 victory and he will very much fancy his chances of qualifying again. Lu Haotian has also had two very tough games to get to this stage. After defeating Fang Xiongman 10-8 he then produced a fantastic comeback from 9-5 down to defeat Martin O'Donnell in a final frame decider. As he seeks his Crucible debut though there will be added pressure on his shoulders and the experience of McLeod could prove vital once again.
Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty will do battle in a match that brings plenty of Crucible know-how to the table. Before the start of the qualifiers this is probably the final round match that I had picked out in my mind, before opting for Doherty as the predicted qualifier. After a tough 10-8 victory against Josh Boileau, the 1997 World Champion was excellent in beating Gerard Greene 10-4. Stevens meanwhile had to battle hard from 9-7 down to defeat Yuan Sijun and he will have to raise his game against much more experienced opponent than the first two he has faced to get this far.
Ricky Walden and Andrew Higginson is another tough match to call. Walden has really battled so far coming through 10-8 against Joe Swail before beating Lee Walker 10-7, peaking at the end in both contests which is a very good sign as he has held up well under pressure. For Higginson, his route has been with less drama. After an easy win against David John in round one he defeated Robin Hull 10-5 in a match that could have been much closer if the Finn had taken his chances. Higginson will not be able to afford to give Walden as many chances and I think the style of Higginson will suit Walden much more than his previous two, which could be the difference.
Once more, there is plenty of experience between Mark Davis and Joe Perry. No one has had an easier route than Davis in terms of frames lost this week. In round one he dispatched of Sanderson Lam 10-1 before whitewashing Michael Georgiou in round two, so he has plenty left in the tank for this final push. As for Perry, he too was a 10-1 winner in round one against Ross Muir, ahead of a 10-5 defeat of Jimmy White in which Perry really pulled away in the second half of the match. Perry has scored very well and he is the stronger player of the two in terms of form over the last few seasons so he could edge what sets up as a very close contest on paper.
The match between Chris Wakelin and Tian Pengfei guarantees a Crucible debutant. Wakelin has had two comfortable wins against difficult opposition in Xu Si and Kurt Maflin, while Tian came from 6-1 adrift to defeat Yan Bingtao. For me, Wakelin is in the better form of the two having also defeated Shaun Murphy 6-0 in the China Open recently and he will have plenty left in the tank after his first two matches. Meanwhile, Tian's second round fightback may have taken a bit more out of him, but with both eyeing a Crucible debut, the nerves and how both players handle them will be a much greater factor.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is another player eyeing a Crucible debut when he takes on Alfie Burden who has not appeared at the Crucible for 20 years. Burden has battled hard to be here with his tour card on the line in both games that he has faced so far against Jamie Curtis-Barrett and David Gilbert. Thepchaiya was also under a bit of pressure in round one and only just came through 10-8 against Alexander Ursenbacher, though things were much more comfortable in round two against Adam Stefanow. The worry for Burden fans would be how much mental energy he has left after fighting hard for his tour card, and you could see how much it meant when he potted match ball in the deciding frame against Gilbert, though equally he has had the extra day to recover for this one.
Michael White and Jimmy Robertson was another of the final qualifying round matches you would have predicted at the start of the qualifiers. Both players are very aggressive and heavy scoring players and plenty of high breaks can be expected here. When the draw came out I fancied Robertson given the fact I think he has been very consistent this year. After taking down Alex Borg in round one he overcame Sam Baird in a tough match 10-7. White has really had to fight hard seeing off Niu Zhuang in a decider and then defeating John Astley 10-7, two players that I would not necessarily expect to get near the Welshman at his very best so you sense that there is an extra gear left for him, and he may need to find it if he is to qualify.
Finally, Stephen Maguire faces a tough clash against Hossein Vafei. Maguire was obviously a hot favourite to qualify at the start of the week but he will be up against it here against Hossein. The Iranian overcame Jamie Cope in one of the toughest first round draws out there, before overcoming the in-form Noppon Saengkham in round two. After falling at the final fence last year against Tom Ford, he will be determined to make his Crucible debut this time around and that will make him a tricky opponent for Maguire. The Scot has had a 10-5 win against Allan Taylor and a 10-4 victory over Hammad Miah, but you would certainly expect the Iranian to make this a closer game for Maguire.
DON'T FORGET. The final round of qualifying will be streamed LIVE on both Facebook and YouTube with the excellent coverage fronted by Rob Walker and Neal Foulds who have done an excellent job in previous years. Both sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday at 11am and 5pm will be shown on the platform, with eight matches being played per session and all sixteen concluding over the two sessions on Wednesday. With so much on the line, the action is sure to provide plenty of tension and excitement as the 16 Crucible qualifiers are finalised.
Yan had at one stage led 6-1 in the all-Chinese clash but could not keep going and soon found himself 8-7 behind in the final session. He won the sixteenth from behind to level at 8-8, only to fall behind again at 9-8. A break of 72 from Yan took the game to 9-9, only for Tian to produce the highest break of the match, a 127, and take the frame at one visit to progress.
Ryan Day benefited from a withdrawal when he took on Mitchell Mann. The pair played eight frames, after which Day was 7-1 up and this was the point that Mann chose to withdraw due to ill health. Having spoken in the past about his battles with mental health, and given that he was battling to stay on the professional tour in this game, I sincerely hope that whatever the true cause of his withdrawal was, he gets the help he needs to recover.
Meanwhile, the dreams of Jimmy White fans were dashed as he failed to back up victory over Sam Craigie, falling 10-5 to Joe Perry. The gentleman will now face Mark Davis who has recorded the only 10-0 win of these World Championships so far, whitewashing the Shoot-Out winner Michael Georgiou.
2006 World Champion Graeme Dott is also into the final round after a convincing 10-2 win against Akani Songsermsawad that has set up a final round tie with Mike Dunn. Another former World Champion in 1997 winner Ken Doherty has made it through to the final round. Doherty saw off Gerard Greene by a comfortable 10-4 margin, making high breaks of 102 and 133 in successive frames during the first session.
Doherty faces former World finalist Matthew Stevens in the final round after the Welshman won the final three frames from 9-7 adrift to overcome Yuan Sijun in a deciding frame. There was also defeat for another Chinese youngster as Zhao Xintong exited 10-5 against first round maximum man Liang Wenbo. Liang made two centuries in the contest, while defeat for Zhao now means he will have to go to Q School in May to regain his professional playing rights.
There was tour survival success though for Zhang Anda as he caused one of the rounds other big upsets by soundly defeating Martin Gould 10-4. Zhang compiled three centuries in the contest as he moved up to 66th on the provisional end-of-season list, just shy of the top 64, but inside the top eight on the one-season money list not already qualified for next season. Now, the 26-year-old will be looking to secure a fourth Crucible appearance after booking his place in the final round.
Alfie Burden has also taken a huge step towards tour survival after overcoming David Gilbert 10-9 in a late night thriller. Burden is now further inside the top eight on the one-year money list not already qualified for this season, after winning the final two frames from 9-8 down, despite leading 8-5 at one stage.
Lee Walker remains in a good position for tour survival despite losing 10-7 to formal World Championship semi-finalist Ricky Walden. Walker had led 6-4 at one stage but lost six of the last seven frames as Walden made two centuries in the match including a high of 135.
Second Round Results:
Ryan Day 10-1 Mitchell Mann
Peter Ebdon 10-5 Robbie Williams
Daniel Wells 10-8 Zhou Yuelong
Liam Highfield 10-6 Tom Ford
Adam Duffy 10-6 Matthew Selt
Xiao Guodong 10-4 Mei Xiwen
Stuart Carrington 10-8 Ben Woollaston
Zhang Anda 10-4 Martin Gould
Graeme Dott 10-2 Akani Songsermsawad
Mike Dunn 10-3 Dominic Dale
Michael Holt 10-7 Elliot Slessor
Robert Milkins 10-8 Scott Donaldson
Rory McLeod 10-9 Li Hang
Lu Haotian 10-9 Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens 10-9 Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty 10-4 Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo 10-5 Zhao Xintong
Jamie Jones 10-7 Yu De Lu
Jack Lisowski 10-3 David Grace
Alan McManus 10-9 Oliver Lines
Andrew Higginson 10-5 Robin Hull
Ricky Walden 10-7 Lee Walker
Mark Davis 10-0 Michael Georgiou
Joe Perry 10-5 Jimmy White
Tian Pengfei 10-9 Yan Bingtao
Chris Wakelin 10-4 Kurt Maflin
Alfie Burden 10-9 David Gilbert
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-4 Adam Stefanow
Jimmy Robertson 10-7 Sam Baird
Michael White 10-7 John Astley
Hossein Vafei 10-5 Noppon Saengkham
Stephen Maguire 10-4 Hammad Miah
Final Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ryan Day Vs Peter Ebdon
Daniel Wells Vs Liam Highfield
Xiao Guodong Vs Adam Duffy
Stuart Carrington Vs Zhang Anda
Graeme Dott Vs Mike Dunn
Michael Holt Vs Robert Milkins
Rory McLeod Vs Lu Haotian
Matthew Stevens Vs Ken Doherty
Liang Wenbo Vs Jamie Jones
Jack Lisowski Vs Alan McManus
Ricky Walden Vs Andrew Higginson
Joe Perry Vs Mark Davis
Chris Wakelin Vs Tian Pengfei
Thepchiaya Un-Nooh Vs Alfie Burden
Michael White Vs Jimmy Robertson
Stephen Maguire Vs Hossein Vafei
Ryan Day will be fresh coming into the final round here and he will need to be as he goes up against the experience of Peter Ebdon. Day has only played twenty frames after an easy round one victory followed by Mitchell Mann's withdrawal after eight frames. Ebdon meanwhile has taken care of James Wattana and Robbie Williams quite comfortably and seems to be coming into form at the perfect time once again. His huge experience is a big factor here but with Day in the form of his life at the moment it is still going to be an incredibly tough task for Ebdon here.
A Crucible debutant is guaranteed when Liam Highfield faces Daniel Wells. Highfield has played very solidly to defeat Chen Zhe comfortably and then overcome Tom Ford who would have been highly fancied for qualification. Wells meanwhile was a 10-6 winner against Kurt Dunham in round one before beating Zhou Yuelong 10-8. The pair have met three times in all with Highfield winning on each occasion, including at this season's UK Championship where Highfield ran out a 6-4 victor. Both are quality players on their day and only one place separates them in the seedings for this event so that is a sign that this could be a very close battle, especially given the nerves of trying to make their respective Crucible debuts. For me though, Highfield is the player I think is improving the most and is probably the most solid over the longer format.
Xiao Guodong stands between Adam Duffy and dreams of a Crucible debut, which would also make him the first man from Sheffield to compete at the Crucible. Duffy has had two very good wins this week so far defeating Mark Joyce 10-4 and then seeing off Matthew Selt 10-6. It is not so long ago that Duffy nearly qualified for the Crucible despite not being on the tour, but he faces a very tough task here against Xiao. The Chinese player has been terrific this season and really improved from around this time last year when he qualified for the Crucible and then thrashed Ryan Day at the venue. Xiao has also made easy work of his first two matches and if he scores as heavily as he has been this season then I can see this going a similar way.
Stuart Carrington and Zhang Anda are two players that you might not have necessarily expected to be meeting in the final qualifying round, despite both having qualified for the Crucible on more than one occasion. Carrington qualified last year and could have taken down Liang Wenbo in round one, so he will be looking to get back and put that right. Zhang Anda though has been very impressive this week. He has needed to win both of his opening two qualifiers in order to get into the top eight on the one season money list that were not already qualified for next season, in order to secure a new two year professional tour card. After beating Zhang Yong in round one he then took down Martin Gould very impressively and will be full of confidence here as he faces Carrington, looking for a fourth Crucible appearance. Zhang really seems to perform over the long format, and while a close match can be anticipated here, it may be the Chinese that has the edge.
Michael Holt and Robert Milkins are again two very experienced players with plenty of Crucible appearances under their belts. In the opening two rounds, Holt has had two 10-7 wins, battling back from 4-0 down to defeat Thor Chuan Leong, before then coming through in a tough tie against Elliot Slessor. Milkins meanwhile had an easy time in round against the World Seniors Champion, though was given much more of challenge in round two against Scott Donaldson before eventually coming through 10-8. There's very little between these two players and this could be one of those tense final round matches that needs a deciding frame to separate the two players. After a quiet season in all honesty, Holt should be able to take some confidence from his opening two wins, particularly given the position he was in early in round one.
Rory McLeod and Lu Haotian is certainly a match that you would put down as a clash of styles and that only plays into one mans hands. A lot of people seemed to write McLeod off prior to these qualifiers, despite the fact he qualified last year and defeated Judd Trump. Some bookies even foolishly had him as an underdog against Ian Burns in round one. He was a big outsider against Li Hang but showed his experience winning the final two frames for a 10-9 victory and he will very much fancy his chances of qualifying again. Lu Haotian has also had two very tough games to get to this stage. After defeating Fang Xiongman 10-8 he then produced a fantastic comeback from 9-5 down to defeat Martin O'Donnell in a final frame decider. As he seeks his Crucible debut though there will be added pressure on his shoulders and the experience of McLeod could prove vital once again.
Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty will do battle in a match that brings plenty of Crucible know-how to the table. Before the start of the qualifiers this is probably the final round match that I had picked out in my mind, before opting for Doherty as the predicted qualifier. After a tough 10-8 victory against Josh Boileau, the 1997 World Champion was excellent in beating Gerard Greene 10-4. Stevens meanwhile had to battle hard from 9-7 down to defeat Yuan Sijun and he will have to raise his game against much more experienced opponent than the first two he has faced to get this far.
Ricky Walden and Andrew Higginson is another tough match to call. Walden has really battled so far coming through 10-8 against Joe Swail before beating Lee Walker 10-7, peaking at the end in both contests which is a very good sign as he has held up well under pressure. For Higginson, his route has been with less drama. After an easy win against David John in round one he defeated Robin Hull 10-5 in a match that could have been much closer if the Finn had taken his chances. Higginson will not be able to afford to give Walden as many chances and I think the style of Higginson will suit Walden much more than his previous two, which could be the difference.
Once more, there is plenty of experience between Mark Davis and Joe Perry. No one has had an easier route than Davis in terms of frames lost this week. In round one he dispatched of Sanderson Lam 10-1 before whitewashing Michael Georgiou in round two, so he has plenty left in the tank for this final push. As for Perry, he too was a 10-1 winner in round one against Ross Muir, ahead of a 10-5 defeat of Jimmy White in which Perry really pulled away in the second half of the match. Perry has scored very well and he is the stronger player of the two in terms of form over the last few seasons so he could edge what sets up as a very close contest on paper.
The match between Chris Wakelin and Tian Pengfei guarantees a Crucible debutant. Wakelin has had two comfortable wins against difficult opposition in Xu Si and Kurt Maflin, while Tian came from 6-1 adrift to defeat Yan Bingtao. For me, Wakelin is in the better form of the two having also defeated Shaun Murphy 6-0 in the China Open recently and he will have plenty left in the tank after his first two matches. Meanwhile, Tian's second round fightback may have taken a bit more out of him, but with both eyeing a Crucible debut, the nerves and how both players handle them will be a much greater factor.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is another player eyeing a Crucible debut when he takes on Alfie Burden who has not appeared at the Crucible for 20 years. Burden has battled hard to be here with his tour card on the line in both games that he has faced so far against Jamie Curtis-Barrett and David Gilbert. Thepchaiya was also under a bit of pressure in round one and only just came through 10-8 against Alexander Ursenbacher, though things were much more comfortable in round two against Adam Stefanow. The worry for Burden fans would be how much mental energy he has left after fighting hard for his tour card, and you could see how much it meant when he potted match ball in the deciding frame against Gilbert, though equally he has had the extra day to recover for this one.
Michael White and Jimmy Robertson was another of the final qualifying round matches you would have predicted at the start of the qualifiers. Both players are very aggressive and heavy scoring players and plenty of high breaks can be expected here. When the draw came out I fancied Robertson given the fact I think he has been very consistent this year. After taking down Alex Borg in round one he overcame Sam Baird in a tough match 10-7. White has really had to fight hard seeing off Niu Zhuang in a decider and then defeating John Astley 10-7, two players that I would not necessarily expect to get near the Welshman at his very best so you sense that there is an extra gear left for him, and he may need to find it if he is to qualify.
Finally, Stephen Maguire faces a tough clash against Hossein Vafei. Maguire was obviously a hot favourite to qualify at the start of the week but he will be up against it here against Hossein. The Iranian overcame Jamie Cope in one of the toughest first round draws out there, before overcoming the in-form Noppon Saengkham in round two. After falling at the final fence last year against Tom Ford, he will be determined to make his Crucible debut this time around and that will make him a tricky opponent for Maguire. The Scot has had a 10-5 win against Allan Taylor and a 10-4 victory over Hammad Miah, but you would certainly expect the Iranian to make this a closer game for Maguire.
DON'T FORGET. The final round of qualifying will be streamed LIVE on both Facebook and YouTube with the excellent coverage fronted by Rob Walker and Neal Foulds who have done an excellent job in previous years. Both sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday at 11am and 5pm will be shown on the platform, with eight matches being played per session and all sixteen concluding over the two sessions on Wednesday. With so much on the line, the action is sure to provide plenty of tension and excitement as the 16 Crucible qualifiers are finalised.
Saturday, 14 April 2018
Liang Wenbo shines in World Championship Qualifying
Liang Wenbo was the star in the opening round of World Championship qualifying after a dramatic end to his 10-2 victory over Rod Lawler.
Liang was 8-1 up after the opening session of play but the two frames he won in the final session nearly made history. The first to put him 9-1 ahead came through a maximum 147 break which will earn him a £10,000 bonus as long as another is not made in the remainder of the qualifiers. However, he nearly completed another himself just two frames later when he completed the match by missing a black for his second maximum of the match, which would have created snooker history.
Either way, Liang has outlined his intentions in these qualifiers with a strong start, as the highest ranked player Ryan Day has done. Day was also a 10-2 winner when he took on the World Snooker Federation Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo.
Fellow Welshman and former World Championship quarter-finalist Michael White did not have things all his own way though. White had to win the final two frames from 9-8 down to come through 10-9 against Niu Zhuang and avoid a surprise first round exit.
World number 20 Mark King did suffer defeat as he was seen off 10-9 by Gerard Greene. King had trailed 9-6 at one stage but fought back to force the decider, only for the Northern Irishman to hold on and take the deciding frame.
Former World Champion Graeme Dott completed a simple 10-1 win against Adrian Ridley, while fellow Scot Stephen Maguire ran out a 10-5 winner against Allan Taylor, winning five of the six frames played in the final session of that encounter.
Michael Holt won six of the last seven frames as he came from 4-0 and 6-4 adrift to complete a 10-7 win against Malaysian Thor Chuan Leong, completing a number of good clearances throughout the contest. Anthony Hamilton did suffer a first round exit to Martin O'Donnell in a match where Hamilton averaged just over 40 seconds per shot.
There is to be no repeat of last year's two-hour final round deciding frame from Fergal O'Brien either, after he was taken down 10-5 by young Chinese star Yuan Sijun. There was success though for 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty, as he came out on the right side of an all-Irish clash with Josh Boileau by a 10-8 scoreline.
There were also differing results from two of this season's big ranking movers. Scottish and Gibraltar Open finalist Cao Yupeng let a 5-2 lead slip by losing eight of the last ten frames of his 10-7 loss to Finland's Robin Hull. Meanwhile, Shanghai Masters semi-finalist Jack Lisowski came through comfortably 10-4 against Christopher Keogan.
In the battle of two former Crucible semi-finalists Ricky Walden saw off Joe Swail 10-8 in a very tight contest, Jimmy White took care of Sam Craigie 10-6 and Joe Perry completed a simple 10-1 win. Also, Yan Bingtao held off a fightback from Jackson Page in a battle of two stars of the future, the Chinese teenager coming through there 10-7.
First Round Results:
Ryan Day 10-2 Igor Figueiredo
Mitchell Mann 10-5 Peter Lines
Robbie Williams 10-8 Jak Jones
Peter Ebdon 10-4 James Wattana
Zhou Yuelong 10-1 Ian Preece
Daniel Wells 10-6 Kurt Dunham
Liam Highfield 10-3 Chen Zhe
Tom Ford 10-2 Leo Fernandez
Matthew Selt 10-1 Ng On Yee
Adam Duffy 10-4 Mark Joyce
Mei Xiwen 10-8 Basem Eltahhan
Xiao Guodong 10-3 Chris Totten
Stuart Carrington 10-9 Nigel Bond
Ben Woollaston 10-5 Kacper Filipiak
Zhang Anda 10-6 Zhang Yong
Martin Gould 10-4 Paul Davison
Graeme Dott 10-1 Adrian Ridley
Akani Songsermsawad 10-4 Lukas Kleckers
Dominic Dale 10-7 Reanne Evans
Mike Dunn 10-8 Duane Jones
Michael Holt 10-7 Thor Chuan Leong
Elliot Slessor 10-7 Eden Sharav
Scott Donaldson 10-5 Tyler Rees
Robert Milkins 10-1 Aaron Canavan
Li Hang 10-9 Ashley Hugill
Rory McLeod 10-8 Ian Burns
Lu Haotian 10-8 Fang Xiongman
Martin O'Donnell 10-7 Anthony Hamilton
Matthew Stevens 10-5 Ryan Thomerson
Yuan Sijun 10-5 Fergal O'Brien
Ken Doherty 10-8 Josh Boileau
Gerard Greene 10-9 Mark King
Liang Wenbo 10-2 Rod Lawler
Zhao Xintong 10-8 Aditya Mehta
Yu De Lu 10-8 Sean O'Sullivan
Jamie Jones 10-5 Craig Steadman
Jack Lisowski 10-4 Christopher Keogan
David Grace 10-6 Wang Yuchen
Oliver Lines 10-6 Harvey Chandler
Alan McManus 10-2 Rhys Clark
Robin Hull 10-7 Cao Yupeng
Andrew Higginson 10-4 David John
Lee Walker 10-6 Kristjan Helgason
Ricky Walden 10-8 Joe Swail
Mark Davis 10-1 Sanderson Lam
Michael Georgiou 10-4 Matthew Bolton
Jimmy White 10-6 Sam Craigie
Joe Perry 10-1 Ross Muir
Yan Bingtao 10-7 Jackson Page
Tian Pengfei 10-1 Li Yuan
Kurt Maflin 10-7 Hamza Akbar
Chris Wakelin 10-4 Xu Si
David Gilbert 10-8 Billy Castle
Alfie Burden 10-6 Jamie Barrett
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-8 Alexander Ursenbacher
Adam Stefanow 10-8 Gary Wilson
Jimmy Robertson 10-2 Alex Borg
Sam Baird 10-5 Soheil Vahedi
Michael White 10-9 Niu Zhuang
John Astley 10-1 Marvin Lim
Hossein Vafei 10-8 Jamie Cope
Noppon Saengkham 10-1 Chen Zifan
Hammad Miah 10-9 Jordan Brown
Stephen Maguire 10-5 Allan Taylor
Mitchell Mann 10-5 Peter Lines
Robbie Williams 10-8 Jak Jones
Peter Ebdon 10-4 James Wattana
Zhou Yuelong 10-1 Ian Preece
Daniel Wells 10-6 Kurt Dunham
Liam Highfield 10-3 Chen Zhe
Tom Ford 10-2 Leo Fernandez
Matthew Selt 10-1 Ng On Yee
Adam Duffy 10-4 Mark Joyce
Mei Xiwen 10-8 Basem Eltahhan
Xiao Guodong 10-3 Chris Totten
Stuart Carrington 10-9 Nigel Bond
Ben Woollaston 10-5 Kacper Filipiak
Zhang Anda 10-6 Zhang Yong
Martin Gould 10-4 Paul Davison
Graeme Dott 10-1 Adrian Ridley
Akani Songsermsawad 10-4 Lukas Kleckers
Dominic Dale 10-7 Reanne Evans
Mike Dunn 10-8 Duane Jones
Michael Holt 10-7 Thor Chuan Leong
Elliot Slessor 10-7 Eden Sharav
Scott Donaldson 10-5 Tyler Rees
Robert Milkins 10-1 Aaron Canavan
Li Hang 10-9 Ashley Hugill
Rory McLeod 10-8 Ian Burns
Lu Haotian 10-8 Fang Xiongman
Martin O'Donnell 10-7 Anthony Hamilton
Matthew Stevens 10-5 Ryan Thomerson
Yuan Sijun 10-5 Fergal O'Brien
Ken Doherty 10-8 Josh Boileau
Gerard Greene 10-9 Mark King
Liang Wenbo 10-2 Rod Lawler
Zhao Xintong 10-8 Aditya Mehta
Yu De Lu 10-8 Sean O'Sullivan
Jamie Jones 10-5 Craig Steadman
Jack Lisowski 10-4 Christopher Keogan
David Grace 10-6 Wang Yuchen
Oliver Lines 10-6 Harvey Chandler
Alan McManus 10-2 Rhys Clark
Robin Hull 10-7 Cao Yupeng
Andrew Higginson 10-4 David John
Lee Walker 10-6 Kristjan Helgason
Ricky Walden 10-8 Joe Swail
Mark Davis 10-1 Sanderson Lam
Michael Georgiou 10-4 Matthew Bolton
Jimmy White 10-6 Sam Craigie
Joe Perry 10-1 Ross Muir
Yan Bingtao 10-7 Jackson Page
Tian Pengfei 10-1 Li Yuan
Kurt Maflin 10-7 Hamza Akbar
Chris Wakelin 10-4 Xu Si
David Gilbert 10-8 Billy Castle
Alfie Burden 10-6 Jamie Barrett
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-8 Alexander Ursenbacher
Adam Stefanow 10-8 Gary Wilson
Jimmy Robertson 10-2 Alex Borg
Sam Baird 10-5 Soheil Vahedi
Michael White 10-9 Niu Zhuang
John Astley 10-1 Marvin Lim
Hossein Vafei 10-8 Jamie Cope
Noppon Saengkham 10-1 Chen Zifan
Hammad Miah 10-9 Jordan Brown
Stephen Maguire 10-5 Allan Taylor
Second Round Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ryan Day Vs Mitchell Mann
Robbie Williams Vs Peter Ebdon
Zhou Yuelong Vs Daniel Wells
Tom Ford Vs Liam Highfield
Matthew Selt Vs Adam Duffy
Xiao Guodong Vs Mei Xiwen
Ben Woollaston Vs Stuart Carrington
Martin Gould Vs Zhang Anda
Graeme Dott Vs Akani Songsermsawad
Dominic Dale Vs Mike Dunn
Michael Holt Vs Elliot Slessor
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson
Li Hang Vs Rory McLeod
Lu Haotian Vs Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens Vs Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty Vs Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo Vs Zhao Xintong
Yu De Lu Vs Jamie Jones
Jack Lisowski Vs David Grace
Alan McManus Vs Oliver Lines
Andrew Higginson Vs Robin Hull
Ricky Walden Vs Lee Walker
Mark Davis Vs Michael Georgiou
Joe Perry Vs Jimmy White
Yan Bingtao Vs Tian Pengfei
Kurt Maflin Vs Chris Wakelin
David Gilbert Vs Alfie Burden
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Adam Stefanow
Jimmy Robertson Vs Sam Baird
Michael White Vs John Astley
Noppon Saengkham Vs Hossein Vafei
Stephen Maguire Vs Hammad Miah
Robbie Williams Vs Peter Ebdon
Zhou Yuelong Vs Daniel Wells
Tom Ford Vs Liam Highfield
Matthew Selt Vs Adam Duffy
Xiao Guodong Vs Mei Xiwen
Ben Woollaston Vs Stuart Carrington
Martin Gould Vs Zhang Anda
Graeme Dott Vs Akani Songsermsawad
Dominic Dale Vs Mike Dunn
Michael Holt Vs Elliot Slessor
Robert Milkins Vs Scott Donaldson
Li Hang Vs Rory McLeod
Lu Haotian Vs Martin O'Donnell
Matthew Stevens Vs Yuan Sijun
Ken Doherty Vs Gerard Greene
Liang Wenbo Vs Zhao Xintong
Yu De Lu Vs Jamie Jones
Jack Lisowski Vs David Grace
Alan McManus Vs Oliver Lines
Andrew Higginson Vs Robin Hull
Ricky Walden Vs Lee Walker
Mark Davis Vs Michael Georgiou
Joe Perry Vs Jimmy White
Yan Bingtao Vs Tian Pengfei
Kurt Maflin Vs Chris Wakelin
David Gilbert Vs Alfie Burden
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Adam Stefanow
Jimmy Robertson Vs Sam Baird
Michael White Vs John Astley
Noppon Saengkham Vs Hossein Vafei
Stephen Maguire Vs Hammad Miah
There are plenty of intriguing second round ties here, with Tom Ford and Liam Highfield's clash certainly falling into that category. I have become a big fan of Highfield in the last few months and he is one player who has the game to qualify for the Crucible. In Ford he has an incredibly tough opponent who is in good form, and if both players are scoring well then this could go down to the wire and Highfield is more than capable of winning this one against the odds.
Ben Woollaston and Stuart Carrington is a very tough game to call between two former Crucible qualifiers. Carrington was impressive twelve months ago but has had a very quiet season this time around and only just managed to get past Nigel Bond in a first round deciding frame. Ben Woollaston meanwhile started slowly against Kacper Filipiak but he came through pretty comfortably in the end and that bodes well for him coming into this one. Form slightly favours Woollaston in this one.
2006 World Champion Graeme Dott against Akani Songsermsawad is arguably the match of the entire round. Dott is going to be very hard to beat with all of his World Championship experience, coupled with a return to form this season that saw him make the final of the German Masters in February. Akani though is someone who will not be fazed by his opponent and is always up for the challenge. As always, he will stick to his routine and it has served him well again this season as he continues to climb the rankings, and if anyone is going to deny Dott in these qualifiers, Akani was always the most likely candidate.
Michael Holt and Elliot Slessor also looks like another very tight match. Both players came through 10-7 in round one, with Holt fighting back from 4-0 behind, while Slessor was always in charge against Eden Sharav. These two met over a much shorter format recently at the Welsh Open when Holt was victorious 4-2, though a trend in that match is something Slessor will need to fight here. Slessor made two centuries in the clash, but each frame that Holt won turned out to be a scrappy and long affair, so Slessor will certainly want to improve in the more tactical frames against Holt if he is to win this time around.
Li Hang and Rory McLeod both had tight first round matches as they meet here. Li came through in a decider against Ashley Hugill, while in a must win game, Rory McLeod won the final three frames as he defeated Ian Burns 10-8. McLeod is a very tough man to beat over this length, and is not someone you want to underestimate - just ask Judd Trump. Li is by far the heavier scorer, but McLeod could easily grind him down here.
Yuan Sijun surprised me by being able to beat someone of Fergal O'Brien's experience and class by the scoreline that he did in round one, so that should give him a big boost ahead of this match with Matthew Stevens. The Welshman made harder work of his match with Ryan Thomerson than he would have liked in the final session, and he will need to be fully focused this time around against an opponent that can quickly rattle frames off against you.
Maximum man Liang Wenbo faces an all-Chinese clash against Zhao Xintong in the second round. This sets up to be one of the more entertaining matches of the second round between two very heavy scoring players who are incredibly good to watch. Liang will be incredibly difficult to overcome if he maintains the scoring form displayed against Rod Lawler. Meanwhile, Zhao Xintong impressed me by coming through a tight one against Aditya Mehta in a match that came with plenty of pressure because of the tour survival battle, coupled with the fact Mehta's style of play will not have suited Zhao.
Robin Hull was impressive in overcoming one of the lower ranked players of the season in Cao Yupeng. The Finn qualified for the Crucible in both 2014 and 2015 and with a solid victory in his first match since the China Open qualifiers in late January, he could now kick on and qualify for a third time in five years. Andrew Higginson is his second round opponent and someone who had an easy enough win against a weaker opponent in round one so he has not been tested yet. Higginson has not qualified for the Crucible since 2012 and that may play on his mind against someone who seems to perform very well over the longer format.
Ricky Walden may not be too excited by the prospect of playing Lee Walker. Walden has a bit of history with the slower players after comments he made about McLeod, and according to the Average shot time statistics, Walker is even slower than McLeod - in fact there is not a single player on tour that has played slower than Walker this season on average. Combine that with the fact that Walker has plenty of experience and this is a very tricky match for Walden. He came through in tight fashion against Joe Swail in round one so he will at least be battle hardened here and if he is in good scoring form he should be able to get through here without being ground down too much.
Joe Perry is the next man to take on Jimmy White, after the Whirlwind took care of Sam Craigie 10-6 in the opening round. Perry meanwhile was a comfortable 10-1 winner against Ross Muir and will be a strong favourite against White here. The first round victory for White will have given his fans plenty of hope that he could qualify for the Crucible once again, but realistically you have to ask how much stamina he will have. With Perry coming through so easily in round one he will have plenty in the tank and his extra quality added to that will surely make the difference in this one.
Jimmy Robertson and Sam Baird is a very interesting clash. Robertson has all of the form looking at how the two players have performed this season, but when it comes to the head to head, Baird has won their last three meetings - two of which were early on this season. Things have gone downhill from Baird since then and he still needs wins here to try and stay on the tour without going to Q School. As a two time Crucible qualifier, he should have the confidence to do it again, and a comfortable first round win against Soheil Vahedi should give him a boost. Robertson is going to be very tough to overcome though you feel. His scoring power gives him quite a big advantage over a lot of players in the long format and as a multiple Crucible qualifier himself, that certainly shows. If both players are in good form though, this one has the makings of a match that could go the distance, otherwise Robertson may have the slight edge.
Finally, Noppon Saengkham and Hossein Vafei is another incredibly interesting match to discuss. Both players had very differing routes to the second round. Noppon came through 10-1 against a decent player in Chen Zifan and he piled up some high breaks in that win as well. Hossein meanwhile had a real battle against an ex-tour pro in Jamie Cope, eventually showing his class and coming through 10-8. Hossein was very close to qualifying last year, while Noppon did come through to make his Crucible debut. The Thai should be full of confidence after a run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open recently, while Hossein has not had lots of match time coming into the qualifiers, so a close match with Cope will have greatly helped to increase his match sharpness, while he will also be fresh. Overall, this is another match that has the makings of being a nail-biter, but on recent form Noppon gets my pick.
There are plenty more quality encounters in the second round, and far too many to mention in this round-up. These matches will be played over the course of Sunday and Monday, before judgement beckons in the final qualifying round over Tuesday and Wednesday.
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