Paul Hunter Classic Preview

This week sees the return of a very special tournament on the World Snooker calendar. The tournament that pays tribute to one of the game's most popular players who was taken from us too soon. The Paul Hunter Classic in Furth.

As the year's have gone by the landscape of this tournament has changed and this will now be the third year that it has full ranking status. Michael White is the defending champion after his victory against Shaun Murphy in the final 12 months ago. With only three top 16 players entering this event in 2018, there could be a surprise winner or a first-time ranking champion waiting to be crowned.

With the large amount of non-entries, this tournament will also showcase some of the talent that is not currently on the tour, with 47 spots in the draw going to amateur players who will compete in Pre-Qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday, to make up the full field of 128. On top of that there are two German amateurs who have been given wildcard invitations to the professional stages, so Stefan Joachim and Kilian Baur-Pantoulier will join pros Lukas Kleckers and Simon Lichtenberg with hopes of glory on home soil.

Further mainland European hopes include Poland's Adam Stefanow, Switzerland's Alexander Ursenbacher and Belgian Luca Brecel who is also the fourth seed this week. Also in the field of pros are former runners-up Tom Ford, Gerard Greene, Joe Swail and Mark Davis, as well as 2015 and 2017 runner-up Murphy, who also won this title in 2008 and 2009 when the tournament was classed as a pro-am.

Quarter 1 

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Michael White Vs Thor Chuan Leong 

Rory McLeod Vs Allan Taylor

Zhang Anda Vs George Pragnall 

Dominic Dale Vs Itaro Santos

Mark Joyce Vs Michael Wild 

Sean O'Sullivan Vs Brian Cini 

Alexander Ursenbacher Vs Barry Pinches 

Harvey Chandler W/O Fan Zhengyi

Sam Baird Vs Kevin VanHove

Andy Lee Vs Reggie Edwards

Ian Burns Vs Oliver Brown 

Zhou Yuelong Vs Jackson Page 

Niu Zhuang Vs James Cahill 

Scott Donaldson Vs Sam Craigie 

Ross Muir Vs Patrick Einslie

Tom Ford Vs Luke Pinches 

Not only is Michael White the defending champion here in Furth this week but he's also the highest ranked player in this quarter at world number 30, signalling the opportunity that is out there for someone this week. White won two of his three qualifiers last week in Preston, while his best finish from the first two tournaments this year is a last 32 finish in Riga. Coming back as defending champion is always a special feeling and despite the lack of top players in the field last year, he still overcame Mark Selby and Murphy on the final day. If he is in good scoring form as he was last year, he could well be the man to take advantage in this section. 

Tom Ford is another man who will be looking to take advantage of the lack of top players in this section, and go one better than his runner-up finish from two years ago. At 33 in the world Ford is the third highest ranked player in this section, though he has not gotten off to a fast start this season. He failed to qualify for Riga at the season's start as well as missing out on European Masters qualifying last week and struggling in his Indian Open qualifier. There may not be many ranked higher in quarter number one, but there may be a few in better form heading into this week. 

Sam Craigie is one of the lower ranked players that could worth looking out for this week. After missing the first two tournaments of the season, he made his first appearance last week in Indian Open qualifying, whitewashing Jimmy White before making two centuries in his next qualifier against Ashley Carty. Craigie certainly has the potential to put a really exciting run together in Furth, but if he is going to do so he will need to win a tough first round match with Scott Donaldson. The Scotsman has had a much better start to this season than he did a year ago. Last season it took Donaldson until the UK Championship to win a match, but this season has won all five of the last 128 qualifiers he has played in, showing how tough a task Craigie will face in round one. 

Another exciting young player to keep an eye on this weekend is Alexander Ursenbacher. The Swiss has had a good week of qualifying in Preston, taking three wins from three including a 4-1 defeat of Michael White and a 5-0 thrashing of Ben Woollaston. Ursenbacher showed his immense talent on the way to the semi-finals of last season's English Open, and despite struggling for a while thereafter, he demonstrated that he is capable of big runs to the latter stages. With the draw as it is, this could be a big opportunity for him to do that again. 

Zhou Yuelong is my first quarter choice though, despite the world number 32 not getting past the last 64 of his opening two events this season. The 20-year-old did not have the best finish to last season either, but it was around this stage of last season that he had a couple of impressive runs. First in August he made the quarter-finals of the China Championship, matching his best ranking event finish, but then beating that in early October with a semi-final appearance at the European Masters. Zhou is one of a group of players I think could make a maiden ranking final within the next year or two, as I rate both very highly. This feels like a week where we can see a new ranking winner and a lot of players achieving their best finishes, and Zhou can certainly be one of those. 

Best of the rest: Alexander Ursenbacher

Quarter choice: Zhou Yuelong

Quarter 2

Last 128 Draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark King Vs Martin O'Donnell

Jack Bradford W/O Stuart Carrington 

Peter Ebdon Vs Ben Jones 

Basem Eltahhan Vs Andreas Ploner

Ben Woollaston Vs Alex Taubman

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Christopher Watts

Michael Georgiou Vs Umut Dikme

Zhang Yong Vs Elliot Slessor

Craig Steadman Vs Oliver Lines

Jamie Clarke Vs Kishan Hirani 

Lee Walker Vs Regis D'Anna 

Jamie Jones Vs Nigel Bond

Chris Wakelin Vs Luke Simmonds 

Stefan Joachim Vs Aaron Busuttil

Chen Zifan Vs Duncan Bezzina 

Luca Brecel Vs Curtis Daher

Mark King is the fifth seed here in Furth this week and a former semi-finalist in this competition three years ago. In this season's first event he reached the last 16, in an event with the same format as this one so that too bodes well for the former Northern Ireland Open winner. King does face a potential second round tie with Stuart Carrington who was a semi-finalist in Riga and could do some damage of his own this week. Overall, I think for an experienced player and ranking winner like King, this week provides a big opportunity to collect a lot of ranking points. 

Luca Brecel is the lone top 16 player in this section, and it will be interesting to see how he responds following his last 32 exit in the World Open. Brecel was 4-0 up in that match against Fergal O'Brien before losing 5-4, which is probably a sign that he is not in the same form that he was this time last year, when he won the China Championship crown. In fact the early signs are that he is starting the season in a similar fashion to how he finished the 2017/2018 season, with some disappointing performances and early exits, but this could be the week where he turns things around. 

Brecel's potential last 32 opponent Chris Wakelin could have something to say about that though. High on confidence after qualifying for the Crucible, and fighting back to push Judd Trump all the way, the 26-year-old has successfully won all of his last 128 qualifiers, including the three played in the last week. In his opening event in Latvia, Wakelin made the quarter-finals beating Jamie Jones and Mark King, which is a good sign for Wakelin fans especially as both of those players are in this section. If he can keep that form going, another quarter-final is well within reach. 

My second quarter choice this week is Jamie Jones. Jones has had a reasonable start to the campaign making the last 32 of the first two events following his run to the last 16 of the World Championship last season. A year ago he was a semi-finalist in this event before a Shaun Murphy comeback narrowly denied him a final meeting with his good friend Michael White. Jones is a player who on his day performs well above his current ranking of 38, but he has not quite kicked on following the Australian Open semi-final he reached three years ago. After good performances both in World qualifying and at the Crucible, now he should be looking to break into the top 32 and reach the latter stages more consistently. This week is a big opportunity for a lot of players and Jones is one who I could see taking advantage, as he did 12 months ago in Furth. 

Best of the rest: Mark King

Quarter choice: Jamie Jones

Quarter 3

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Kyren Wilson Vs Chen Feilong

Ashley Carty Vs Jake Nicholson 

Liam Highfield Vs Sergey Isaenko

Kilian Baur-Pantoulier Vs Ryan Davies

Gary Wilson Vs John Astley

Jordan Brown Vs Philip Ciantar

Hammad Miah Vs Jurian Heusdens

Gerard Greene Vs Soner Sari 

Matthew Selt Vs Vetter Luis

Joe O'Connor Vs Sompoi Saetang 

Daniel Wells Vs Juergen Kesseler

Robert Milkins Vs Sanderson Lam 

Adam Stefanow Vs Ben Mertens

Andrew Higginson Vs Fabian Monnin

Billy Castle Vs Iulian Boiko 

Xiao Guodong W/O Yuan Sijun 

The highest ranked player in the third quarter is Kyren Wilson and you have to say he is in the top two favourites to win this title. Wilson's form is good, starting the season with a quarter-final in Riga and a last 16 appearance at the World Open before a narrow loss to Jack Lisowski. As good as those results are, you can tell that Wilson is hungry for more and he always comes across as a hard working player who is putting in a lot of energy to improve. His three finals and a world semi-final from last season will not satisfy at all, especially as the three-year anniversary of his first and to date only ranking title is nearly upon us. All signs point to the fact that another title is not far from his grasp and you would not be at all surprised if he won multiple titles in the 2018/2019 campaign. Even though top players are lacking in this week's field, dominating in their absence would lay down a marker to everyone else. 

If you're looking for a young player to break through this week Liam Highfield could be the man. He's had a remarkable 12 months, battling Crohn's disease but still managing his best ranking performance by making the Indian Open quarter-finals, and nearly repeating that in the Welsh Open before qualifying for his Crucible debut. A 5-4 loss in World Open qualifying in July is his only last 128 defeat after a clean sweep in the last week of qualifying in Preston. Recently I watched back Highfield's UK Championship loss to Shaun Murphy from December and there is so much of his game to be impressed with. He comes across very confidently, but also incredibly passionate as you will see any time he is unhappy with one of his shots - which is a sign he wants more and there could be plenty on the horizon with the talent he has. 

Given that this is a week where it is entirely possible that a first time ranking winner will be crowned, it is worth noting Robert Milkins who is often overlooked in my view. To be a six-time ranking event semi-finalist you have to be a very good player, and he is also a former European Tour event finalist so there is no reason why he cannot thrive this week with the short format. Victory over Ding Junhui put him into the last 16 of the World Open earlier on this month, though he did only win one of his three qualifiers in Preston recently. 

Someone who is certainly one to watch on recent form is Gary Wilson after his run to the quarter-finals of the World Open. In doing so he beat Tom Ford and more notably Judd Trump with exceptional scoring power that would be enough to beat anyone in this week's field if he can re-produce the goods. Following that he has won all of his three recent qualifiers, including a 4-3 defeat of Shaun Murphy, after requiring snookers in frame six at 3-2 down. Wilson also ended last season strongly making the semi-finals of the Welsh Open beating Mark Allen and his first round opponent this week - John Astley - in the last 16, as well as beating Ali Carter and Joe Perry to make the China Open last 16. He should be full of confidence and with a current ranking of 35, it would be a surprise if he is not soon back in the top 32, so do not discount him for this week. 

Xiao Guodong is my third quarter choice for this weekend. Xiao should be right up there as one of the favourites this week given his return to form over the last year or so and his return to the top 32 in the world rankings. His run to the quarter-finals of the World Open in Yushan adds to the three quarter-finals he reached last season as well as the last 16 of two further events. Any concerns over Xiao following his withdrawal from Indian Open and European Masters qualifying have hopefully been answered by a 5-1 China Championship qualifying win over Zhang Yong. An extra boost for this week is that he has a walkover into the last 64 after the withdrawal of Yuan Sijun. Given the amount of matches the players have to play in a short space of time in this event, any energy that can be conserved is a bonus. When all is considered, Xiao is not just a contender for this quarter but a serious shout to win the whole event. 

Best of the rest: Gary Wilson

Quarter choice: Xiao Guodong

Quarter 4 

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Jack Lisowski Vs Dylan Emery

Zhang Jiankang Vs Felix Frede

Lu Ning Vs Daniel Williams 

Eden Sharav Vs Daniel Holoyda 

Jimmy Robertson Vs Chris Totten

Joe Swail Vs Paul Davison

Rod Lawler Vs Florian Nuessle

Lukas Kleckers Vs Ng On Yee

Alfie Burden Vs Marcin Nitschke

Simon Lichtenberg Vs Wayne Brown 

Ashley Hugill Vs Andrew Pagett 

Mark Davis Vs Markus Hertle

Kurt Maflin Vs David Grace

Peter Lines Vs Yun Fung Tam

Noppon Saengkham Vs Robbie Williams 

Shaun Murphy Vs Fergal O'Brien 

In quarter four, Noppon Saengkham is a man who will be on a mission after his difficult semi-final loss in the World Open. Getting there is obviously a massive achievement, but to then lose from 5-2 up will have hurt and may have affected him in the Indian Open and European Masters qualifiers where he lost to two lower ranked opponents. His run to the last four in Yushan included victories over Ryan Day, Xiao Guodong and Mark Selby and it comes pretty soon after his run to the semi-final in Cardiff. Noppon's certainly on the up and growing in confidence all the time, and with his aggressive style of play it makes him even more dangerous. There are not many players in the field with a tricky draw this week but Noppon may be one of them, as he has not been fortunate enough to avoid playing a pro in round one and may then face Shaun Murphy in round two. 

Mark Davis is a player that could do well under the radar in Furth. He has won all five of his last 128 matches in the new season, and made the last 16 in Riga with victories over Luca Brecel and Marco Fu. Similarly to Milkins mentioned earlier, Davis has been in five full ranking semi-finals and made the final of this event when it was a minor ranking event in 2011. He may be down at 42 in the world rankings but that all takes a back seat this week with so many big names missing. Do not be surprised at all to see Davis in the draw for the last 16 on Sunday morning and keep a close eye on him from there. 

One big name that is going to be a huge threat this week is Jack Lisowski who has started the season strongly by making his first ranking final, before backing that up by making the quarter-finals in the next event. His confidence could barely be higher and his ranking is heading in the same direction. At world number 21 he is a serious contender to make it into January's Masters and with the way he is playing at the moment, I would certainly back him to be at the Alexandra Palace - possibly as a ranking event winner. The most impressive thing with his form in the last year is that the consistency that his game has been crying out for is starting to come, which mixed with the talent he has is bad news for anyone that is drawn against him. 

My fourth and final quarter selection for the Paul Hunter Classic is a twice runner-up here in the last three stagings in Shaun Murphy. The Magician has not gotten off to the best of starts this season, failing to win two of his four qualifiers this season, albeit in deciding frames, and losing out in the last 32 of his only full event so far. Long suffering Murphy fans know that slow starts are not unusual for him though, and when he reached two finals in one week last August, culminating with the loss to Michael White in Furth, he remarked that it was one of his best ever starts to a season. Whatever it is about this tournament, the venue or the surroundings, something seems to get Murphy on top form. Over the years he has won the event twice as a pro-am, as well as reaching last year's final and losing out to Ali Carter in the finale of the 2015 edition. Murphy's last ranking title came in the 2017 Gibraltar Open, where the format is the same as this, which goes alongside the continued success he had in the European Tour events of this style. If you like the theory of there being horses for courses, then Murphy is one that jumps off the page. His scoring in the two qualifiers he played last week was good, even in the 4-3 loss to Gary Wilson (making four breaks of above 60) and if he can bring his best scoring to Germany he will take some stopping. 

Best of the rest: Jack Lisowski 

Quarter choice: Shaun Murphy 

Tournament winner selection: Shaun Murphy 


The format for the three days of professional stages will be the same as recent years, with all matches played over the best-of-7 frames. The top half of the draw will play their opening three rounds on Friday, the bottom half will do the same on Saturday before the last 16 right through to the final is played out on Sunday.

As well as taking home the trophy, Sunday's champion will earn £20,000 which could be big for quite a few players on the ranking list. To watch the action throughout the three days, Eurosport Player will have full coverage online. 

FANTASY SNOOKER: Points Update and Paul Hunter Classic Info

The first event of the Fantasy Snooker season has been and gone with Mark Williams winning the World Open in China, beating David Gilbert in the final. Early shocks in this early season event left a line-up that not many dared to predict.

Only two participants dared to pick World Champion Williams, while one was brave enough to look outside of the box and pick Gilbert - who lost from 9-5 ahead to cost that player at least 10 points. However, with plenty of tournaments left and more than enough points to play for, it is far too early to worry about your position in the overall standings and panic pick for the next event.

It may be an ominous sign that last season's champion Kellie Barker is lurking inside the top ten after the first event, a very respectable start. It is another blogger that has taken an early 24 point lead at the top though, after picking winner Williams and semi-finalist Hawkins, while six of the top 10 in the early standings have World Open quarter-finalist Gary Wilson as a season selection.

Current Table: 

The Cue View 89

Daniela Reich 65

Stephen McCabe 64

FAM147 63

Andy (@APB147) 55

Steven Bunn 50

Phil Mudd 48

Pete Tscherewik 48

Kellie Barker 48

Cluster of Reds 46

Andrew Devonshire 46

Ryan Duckett 46

Shaun Hunt 42

Dani M (@esnukero) 40

Daniel Gavin 39

Rob Chipp 39

Debbie Dymott 37

GaryOnCue 37

Phil Robinson 34

Matt Butler 33

Anatole Compton 32

Daz Muckian 30

Tungsten Darts 30

Twit Torr Terry 30

Gary Freeman 29

Markus 28

Kim Kristensen 25

Kevin Platten 24

LTD Syndicate 23

Alex Abrahams 23

Martin Pearlman 22

Munraj Pal 21

Voihelevettisua 21

Chris Watts 21

Rob Francis 16

Square Sausage 16

Players previous selected are available on request

This week's second event comes from Furth in the form of the Paul Hunter Classic. With only three top 16 players involved this week in Germany, it will force players to look further outside of the box for their picks and could produce some intriguing selections. Don't forget that you can only pick each player a maximum of three times over the season, and another rule that is notable for this week is that you cannot pick any of the amateur qualifiers that will make up the field. 

The deadline for your two Paul Hunter Classic is before the first matches in the professional stages of the tournament on Friday morning. Good luck!

World Open Preview

After Neil Robertson's season opening victory in the Riga Masters, attention now turns to the first big Chinese ranking event of the season as a number of top players return to action at the World Open in Yushan.

The likes of Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and Judd Trump who all skipped the Riga Masters will be competing for the title and a very healthy first prize of £150,000. Ding is the defending champion having eased to victory in the final against Kyren Wilson last September, and he will now be hoping to add another title to his collection on home soil.

Neil Robertson will be hoping to make it back-to-back titles, while Jack Lisowski will want to build on his first ranking final appearance, after losing to the Australian 5-2 in Latvia. Others eyeing success in Yushan will be former champions Ali Carter and Mark Allen (when the tournament was staged on the Hainan island), while a total of 10 Chinese pros will be bidding for home glory, with a further two Hong Kong representatives and four Chinese amateur wildcards hoping to make a name for themselves.

It's set up to be a very interesting and exciting in Yushan, with so many capable winners in all sections of the draw.

Quarter 1

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Ding Junhui or James Wattana Vs Yuan Sijun

Robert Milkins Vs David Lilley

Marco Fu Vs Peter Ebdon

Liang Wenbo or James Cahill Vs Andrew Higginson 

David Gilbert W/O Matthew Stevens

Ali Carter Vs Rory McLeod 

Ricky Walden Vs Dominic Dale

Neil Robertson or He Guoqiang Vs Andy Lee

Ding Junhui is the defending champion this week and one of the leading contenders when it comes to playing in China. This will be his first outing of the new season so a little bit of rust can be expected. When he won the title last year it was played in a September slot that he has had much success in, having won the Shanghai Masters multiple times during that period. If he overcomes James Wattana in his heldover last 128 match, it will be intriguing to see how young Yuan Sijun gets on against him, but with the pressure of playing a Chinese hero on home soil could be too much for Yuan. With plenty of top players in this section though it is tough to pick Ding out for a big run having not seen him yet this season. 

Neil Robertson got his season off to a flyer again last week by winning the Riga Masters for a second time, and taking the first ranking event of the season for the fourth time in six years. I expected him to do well, after seeing that he had changed cues and been practising a lot to get use to the new equipment. With the confidence of knowing that the change has worked, the Australian will now be looking to keep the ball rolling and add yet another Chinese ranking title to his collection. Robertson has twice won the Wuxi Classic which used to be played around this time of year, so he knows all about playing in Chinese conditions at this time of year, and given his performance in Latvia he has to be a front runner again this week.

Ali Carter and Liang Wenbo are two players who can consider themselves unlucky with how they lost out in Latvia last week. Both fell in tough matches to Mark Allen and Robertson respectively, and that came after Carter had already beaten Ryan Day. Carter is a former winner of this title, overcoming Joe Perry in a close final two years ago. Of Carter's four ranking titles, two have come in China and over the last couple of seasons his best performances have come over in Asia. Liang Wenbo was one of many tour players to enter the unsanctioned Haining Open in the lead up to this event, though footage emerged during the week of him walking out of one his matches, conceding the tie in just the second frame. Liang will need to have much more patience here this week, though he often struggles to keep his emotions under control so this is not new. His holdover opponent James Cahill can cause him problems, and out of Carter and Liang you have to think the Englishman is the much bigger contender in Yushan. 

Ricky Walden has started the season brightly, making the quarter-finals in Riga, beating Mark Allen before losing out to the eventual champion Robertson. The pair would meet again in the last 32 if they safely negotiate their opening ties, and Walden would have every chance of coming out of that one on the right side. Like Robertson, Walden has had early season success in the past, having been a former winner of the Wuxi Classic himself. As is well documented, Walden is a bit of a China specialist, with all of his three ranking titles coming in China, while five of his six ranking finals have been in Asia. Now that he is coming back to top form, and after scoring really well in Latvia, he may not be far away from that one really big run that puts him back close to the top 16 in the world rankings, as he certainly has the quality to get back there. Given his past performances and current form, Walden has to be a dark horse for this week. 

My opening quarter choice though is Hong Kong's Marco Fu. Fu is a player working his way back to form after eye surgery and it may not seem inviting for this pick that he lost in the last 32 in Latvia to Mark Davis. He had beaten Xiao Guodong a round previously though and Davis has a good record against a number of top players so that is hardly a surprise. With Liang proving unpredictable, while Ding is in his first tournament of the season, Fu looks the best pick from the top half of this section to make the quarter-finals. If he can pick up a couple of good wins early on in the week, that could give him the confidence to know his change to SightRight methods and recent eye surgery is all working out well and that he can really kick on and get back to his best. It is only about a year and half since Fu was playing some of the best snooker of his career, winning the Scottish Open and reaching the Players Championship final, so that sort of form is hardly a distant memory. So, this could be a very big week for Fu. 

Best of the rest: Ricky Walden

Quarter choice: Marco Fu 

Quarter 2

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Barry Hawkins Vs Akani Songsermsawad

Michael Holt Vs Mark Davis

Matthew Selt Vs Lee Walker 

Yan Bingtao or Ashley Carty Vs Stuart Carrington

Fergal O'Brien Vs Zhao Xintong

Luca Brecel Vs Scott Donaldson

Tom Ford Vs Gary Wilson 

Judd Trump Vs Martin O'Donnell

The second quarter of the draw looks like a pretty open one in all, and will feature the first tournament venue appearance of Judd Trump. The former China Open and International champion has a good record in the big China events, including the Shanghai Masters where he has lost in three finals. In this event though or the China Championship which are newer to the scene and have slightly less prestige perhaps, he does not quite seem to have as good a record. There are certainly plenty of potential hurdles for Trump in the early stages of the draw, so if he is not quite on his game an early exit could loom. Equally, with the likes of Higgins and O'Sullivan not involved this week he could see this is as an early opportunity to lay down his own marker for the upcoming 2018/2019 campaign. 

Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong are two young Chinese players that will have a lot of support and expectation on them this week. Yan is highly touted as the next potential Chinese ranking winner but after an early withdrawal from last week's Riga Masters, and a potential last 64 tie against one of the losing Latvia semi-finalists, it will be interesting to see how he gets on in Yushan. Zhao meanwhile has shown some early promise with a last 16 appearance in Riga, thrashing Shaun Murphy along the way, while defeating Graeme Dott to qualify for this tournament. However, in his last 64 tie with Fergal O'Brien he faces someone who made a couple of centuries in his qualifying round win over Robin Hull, and will test every part of Zhao's tactical play and patience in what will be a tough match for the young man. 

Luca Brecel was a semi-finalist here last year before losing to eventual winner Ding Junhui, and that run came shortly after his win at the China Championship, showing how much the Belgian enjoys playing in China and seems to embrace the challenge. After a poor end to the 2017/2018 season though, and an early exit in Latvia last week, his confidence will not be quite as high. Looking at the draw, he could easily lose in either of his first two matches if he is just off his game, but equally he could have a run right through to the latter stages if he plays solidly. Looking at his social media he has arrived in China early, spending some time in Shanghai prior to the tournament, so that should help him in terms of jet lag and acclimatising to conditions ahead of the event, a reason many players chose to play in the unsanctioned Haining Open this week. 

My second quarter choice is one of those players to feature in Haining, Barry Hawkins. The left-hander has been in a China for a while already after playing the unsanctioned event last week, so that will have helped him get over any jet lag and acclimatise ahead of the much more important event this week. Even though his success there was limited, it is always a good move to play in China the week before a big event, much like American golfers playing the Scottish Open the week before the Open Championship on UK soil. Notoriously Hawkins is a slow starter to a season and this seems like a much less assured pick when you consider he lost 4-3 in the last 64 in Latvia to Li Hang (who was the losing finalist this week in Haining). With question marks over the other top players in this section for this week, Hawkins may be able to take advantage if the draw opens up, and he is far too good a player to continue struggling every year for the first few months of the season. 

Best of the rest: Luca Brecel

Quarter choice: Barry Hawkins 

Quarter 3

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Selby Vs Elliot Slessor 

Zhou Yuelong Vs Jamie Jones

Ryan Day Vs Robbie Williams 

Noppon Saengkham Vs Rod Lawler

Xiao Guodong Vs Michael Georgiou

Zhang Anda Vs Jak Jones

Anthony Hamilton Vs Mark Joyce

Mei Xiwen Vs Simon Lichtenberg 

The third quarter is where the likes of Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham would have been but both were beaten in lats 128 qualifying. That leaves Ryan Day as the second highest ranked player in this section and someone who will be looking to have a strong week. His Riga defence last week did not go too well, after losing in the last 128 albeit against Ali Carter. If he turns up with his high scoring and with a minimum of the unforced errors that have cost him dearly in the past, then the three time tournament winner has every chance in a very open section of the draw. 

Anthony Hamilton is another player to keep an eye on. Last season was a struggle for him given some back problems, but he has started the year brightly by qualifying here and making the last 16 in the Riga Masters. Looking at the section of the draw he finds himself in, he is a good bet to get a couple of wins again this week to make back-to-back last 16 appearances and possibly go a few better from there. 

Xiao Guodong is one of the players on my internal list of players that could step up and win a ranking title this season, or make it to another final like he did in Shanghai in 2013. His opening match against Michael Georgiou could be one of his toughest in a section of the draw that he could easily come through to make the last eight, should he be close to top form. After several runs to quarter-finals during last season it would hardly be a surprise if he added another he continues to surge back up the world rankings. 

My third quarter choice though is the rightful tournament favourite Mark Selby. The world number one is in full tournament action for the first time since his first round exit and after a few early exits in the back half of last season, he may feel like he has a point to prove. After his failings in the triple crown events, some would have written Selby's 2017/2018 off as a bad season, but he did win the second highest paying events of the season, which was held in China. He was also a winner in November's International Championship in China, the week after winning the unsanctioned Haining Open, a tournament that has been going on again this week and Selby has gone on to defend his title. It is very hard to ignore someone who has won five Chinese ranking events in the last three years, and been runner-up in another (his only ranking final defeat since losing the final of this tournament in Haikou in 2014). All in all, if Selby can get through the first couple of rounds he'll get stronger and any early season rust will be dealt with, making him the man to beat once more. 

Best of the rest: Xiao Guodong

Quarter Choice: Mark Selby 

Quarter 4

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Kyren Wilson Vs Paul Davison

Kurt Maflin Vs Harvey Chandler

Mark Allen Vs Lu Haotian 

Jack Lisowski Vs Chris Wakelin

Joe Perry Vs Mike Dunn or Luo Zetao 

Stephen Maguire Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Ben Woollaston or Bai Langning Vs Jimmy Robertson or Chang Bingyu

Mark Williams or Lukas Kleckers Vs Alexander Ursenbacher

World champion Mark Williams is the headline act in this quarter of the draw and once again he has a holdover match to get his week started. His experience alone should prove a big factor against his first two opponents Lukas Kleckers and Alexander Ursenbacher, but his start in Latvia was shaky. The Welshman lost in the last 32 to Zhang Yong and has made a point of mentioning all over his Twitter how little practice he has been putting in over the summer. That in itself is good enough reason to hold fire on any picks for Williams to do well in the first few events of this season, though his draw for the first two or three rounds this week is inviting, not that his draw in Riga was not similar in many ways. 

Mark Allen's draw is almost the complete opposite with a very tough opener coming up against Lu Haotian, who has made it into the top 64 after just one year back on tour. He can cause Allen a lot of problems in the first round, while his second round opponent would be last week's runner-up Jack Lisowski, or an equally as confident Chris Wakelin who made the last eight in Latvia. Allen himself made the last 16 in Riga beating Ali Carter before losing to Ricky Walden in another very tough draw, that also saw him sneak past Peter Lines 4-3 in the last 64. The Northern Irishman may sight this event as when his season really kicked into gear last year, making the semi-finals here, prior to making the International final and winning the Masters a few months afterwards. To cap off a tough draw though, his last 16 opponent could be the man that put him out in that World Open semi last year, Kyren Wilson. So, if Allen is to repeat his 2017 efforts in Yushan or go even better, he will certainly have done it the hard way. 

I have already briefly mentioned Jack Lisowski after his final in Latvia last week. Prior to his run there I tipped him to win his quarter and said it was time for him to make the next big step after a good season, by making a ranking final or going one better. Now that he's done that he returns to China having had quite a good time of things there last season, making the last 16 of the International Championship, the quarter-finals of the China Open and the semi-finals in Shanghai. You certainly would not put another big run past him because his confidence, like his world ranking, is surely at an all-time high. Tough opposition stands in his way from the start this week, but with the form he is in that will help him ensure he is focused and at his best from ball one in Yushan. 

Stephen Maguire was one of Lisowski's victims in Latvia, losing to him 5-1 in the semi-finals, just falling short of making back-to-back finals in the season's first ranking event. The Scotsman has just leapfrogged Ryan Day to move back up to 16 in the world rankings, and is projected to move to 14 after this week, which is more than enough to get him in the invitational Shanghai Masters. Consistency has been Maguire's main issue in recent years, but it is also the issue of his first round opponent Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who could win this match 5-0 or 5-1 just as easily as he could lose by the same margin. With question marks over Williams early season practice, Maguire looks like a solid choice in the bottom half of this section to make it through to at least the quarter-finals, and potentially kick on from there. 

My fourth and final quarter selection though is Kyren Wilson. Last year's losing finalist made the quarter-finals in Latvia last week before losing to Maguire and has already made consistency his number one target of the new season. He is looking more and more consistent all the time, and a good week here would see him overtake Shaun Murphy to get into the world's top eight. The only thing missing from his performances over the past 12 months is a trophy, and it is amazing that he has not added another title since winning in Shanghai three years ago. You would expect him to beat Paul Davison in the last 64 this week and then to be too strong for Kurt Maflin before the draw really heats up. After beating Allen in the World Championship quarter-finals at the end of last season, and here in Yushan last season, Wilson would relish another meeting with the Northern Irishman in the last 16. He also overcame Lisowski in the China quarter-finals in April from way behind so would be confident facing him. Wilson thrives off of the big challenges and he would certainly have a few of those after the first round or two, but his form over the last year is too good to ignore.

Best of the rest: Stephen Maguire

Quarter choice: Kyren Wilson 

Tournament winner selection: Mark Selby  

All matches up to and including the quarter-finals this week will be played over the best-of-9 frames, with the semi-finals being over the best-of-11 and the final a best-of-19 frame affair. For UK and European viewers, the event will be televised in full by Eurosport and Eurosport Player, in what is the first week-long event of the new snooker season. 

2018/2019 Fantasy Snooker Launch

With the first event of the season over and a little indicator given as to who may be the form players in the early stages, it is time to launch the 2018/2019 Fantasy Snooker competition.

There is one week to go to get picks in for the season's first point scoring event, the World Open in China starting on Monday August 6.

This year there are no new rules, while in one change the unpopular Captains picks have been scrapped.

RULES: 

- All participants must pick two "season picks" prior to the first points scoring events. One of these players must be ranked between 33 and 64 as of July 30th, while the other should be ranked outside of the current top 64. These two selections will earn points in every point scoring event, but will not earn points for qualifying matches or in events that are not listed as points scoring events. These picks cannot be changed at any point during the season.

- Each participant will then additionally pick two players prior to each event to score points for that event only. Participants cannot pick any player more than three times over the course of the season, so use your picks wisely.

TOURNAMENTS TO BE INCLUDED: 

- World Open
- Paul Hunter Classic
- Indian Open
- China Championship
- European Masters
- English Open
- International Championship
- Champion of Champions
- Northern Ireland Open
- UK Championship (DOUBLE POINTS) 
- Scottish Open
- Masters (DOUBLE POINTS)
- German Masters
- World Grand Prix
- Welsh Open
- Players Championship
- Gibraltar Open
- Tour Championship
- China Open
- World Championship (DOUBLE POINTS)

20 events in all will count towards the final points total so there are plenty of opportunities to make a move up the leaderboard throughout the season.

POINTS SCORING: 

-   Match Win: 5 points

-   Match Win by 3 frames or better (5-2, 4-1, etc): 2 bonus points

-   Player Century: 2 points

-   147 break by player: 10 bonus points

-   Losing Semi-Finalist: 2 points 

-   Runner-Up 5 points

-   Tournament Winner: 10 points 

To send through both your season picks and the individual picks for the World Open, contact me on Twitter @CueActionBlog with the deadline for these picks being Monday August 6 before the first matches in Yushan. Feel free to tweet or message me with any further questions you may have about how the leagues, and remember that it's FREE to enter. 

Riga Masters Preview

The Riga Masters gets underway on Friday in Latvia, marking the first full tournament of the 2018/2019 season, nearly three months after Mark Williams picked up his third world title.

The defending champion this week is another Welshman, Ryan Day, after he overcame Stephen Maguire in last year's final to claim his first ever full ranking title, something he would add to earlier this year in Gibraltar.

There are many big names in the field all playing to get their name alongside Day's on the Riga roll of honour, and a large group of contenders have made it through the last 128 round that was played earlier in July.

Those contenders include another former winner in Neil Robertson, along with the 7th, 8th and 9th ranked players in the world with Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy and Kyren Wilson. Further top 16 players in the field include Mark Allen, Luca Brecel and Anthony McGill who will all be looking to add to their tally of ranking titles.

However, another big topic at the start of any new snooker season is who the breakthrough players could be and it is well worth bringing back up after Day's triumph 12 months previously. Fellow Welshman Jamie Jones ended last season on a high with an appearance in the last 16 of the World Championships and the twice ranking semi-finalist is one of the top names on my list to make a big move up the rankings this year. Michael Holt is another hoping to take that step up and go one better than his performance in this tournament two years ago.

Jack Lisowski is another at the front of the 'best players without a ranking title' discussion, having teased the snooker world last year with a number of impressive results. The proof is in the pudding though, and it may well be that world champion Williams keeps his exceptional form going to keep the Riga Masters trophy in Wales for another year.

Quarter 1 

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)

Jamie Jones Vs Rod Lawler 

Chris Wakelin Vs Sam Craigie 

Robbie Williams Vs Lukas Kleckers

Mark King Vs Xu Si 

Joe Swail Vs Mei Xiwen

Fergal O'Brien Vs Stuart Carrington 

Shaun Murphy Vs David Lilley 

Nigel Bond Vs Zhao Xintong

Shaun Murphy is the only top 16 player in this top section of the draw, so is the obvious favourite to come through the draw. His first round opponent David Lilley will not give him an easy ride though having already won two qualifying matches in Preston against full time pros. Murphy knows all about the dangers Lilley poses after ending Lilley's run in the 2016 Indian Open where he made the quarter-finals. From the two qualifiers the world number 8 played earlier in July, he lost out to Mei Xiwen and was just able to beat Sanderson Lam who could easily have won that one. Murphy also lost in the first round at the venue in his last two tournaments of last season so his opponents may see a bit of vulnerability this week, especially over this short format. Having said that, the Magician has gone well on numerous occasions in these short weekend events, having won the Gibraltar Open and finishing runner-up in last season's Paul Hunter Classic since the European Tour was disbanded. If he brings his best to Latvia then he could rip through the draw and be a big title contender. 

Zhao Xintong is someone who many snooker pundits have spoken about as one of the young Chinese players who has so much potential. Having dropped off tour last season, he showed the determination and character needed to fight his way back and has started the season with qualifying victories against Jimmy Robertson and Graeme Dott. When on form his scoring can blow away any opposition, but questions still have to be asked about his ability to grind out results, though there are certainly signs of improvement there too. When you look at the other names in this section, Murphy's is probably the only one that he might fear, so there's reason to believe he could have a good weekend as well. 

My opening quarter pick of the new season is Jamie Jones. After his performances in the World Championships to whitewash Liang Wenbo in qualifying and then come back to beat Murphy, he is a player that should now be looking to kick on and fulfil his potential. Last year he made the semi-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic before falling to Murphy, though he has had plenty of victories over him in the past to believe he could beat him again if they faced off in the last eight this week. If you go back a little further, Jones has had a semi-final in the Australian Open where he fell away after surging ahead early on against John Higgins. Those previous runs should give him the belief that he can keep putting himself in position to win ranking events. He should take inspiration from the play of fellow Welsh players Ryan Day and Mark Williams last season, while his close friend Michael White bagged another ranking title last season, which is the sort of success you can feed off of. Given my thoughts on his break through being close, and then seeing the draw in this quarter, there is enough to make me think Jones could have a special weekend in Riga.  

Best of the rest: Zhao Xintong

Quarter choice: Jamie Jones

Quarter 2 

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Scott Donaldson Vs Robin Hull

Zhou Yuelong Vs Craig Steadman

Liang Wenbo Vs Kurt Maflin

Neil Robertson Vs Li Yuan 

Barry Hawkins Vs Li Hang 

Ricky Walden Vs Jimmy White or Rodion Judin

Mark Allen Vs Peter Lines

Ali Carter Vs Ryan Day or Jamie Cope

While the top quarter may not have had a cluster of top names, the second quarter is the complete opposite courtesy of the unseeded nature of the draw. Liang Wenbo and Kurt Maflin is a fascinating match up given how well Maflin played in qualifying for this event where he beat Lu Haotian. It's a very tough match to call given that both players seem to lack real consistency, but Liang had a very average season last time out and that should give Maflin cause to think that he can win this one. 

Then at the opposing end of this quarter we find the defending champion Ryan Day who has a holdover match against Jamie Cope, where a win would see him face a top 16 player in Ali Carter. Carter had a poor season last year on the whole, with the main highlight proving to be his victory against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Championships. A string of early exits in the middle of the season saw him fail to qualify for the Players Championship, while Day was having his best ever season, picking up a trio of titles, starting here in Latvia. He certainly will not want to give this title up easily, and having to play a holdover match could be a nice warm-up for playing Carter, should he beat Cope as expected. 

Ricky Walden is someone who will be looking to build on a positive end to last season and force his way back into the top 16. This time last year, Walden had just been whitewashed in his opening two qualifying matches and was struggling badly with a back injury, but a run to the last 16 of the World Championships should give him confidence. That was joined by plenty more uplifting runs and there will be very little attention on him in the early rounds given some of the other top names in this section, that people will be keeping a close eye on. 

Barry Hawkins would be Walden's likely last 32 opponent early on Saturday should both come through early tests, and it will be interesting to see how the left-hander gets on. Hawkins is not always the quickest out of the blocks at the start of a new season, and usually seems to peak between February and April in recent years, usually culminating in an appearance in the World Championship semi-finals. He qualified easily for the opening two tournaments of the season and will now be looking to buck that early season trend with a run through a tough section of the draw to the latter stages, having won this title back in 2015 on the European Tour. 

Mark Allen is another quality left-hander who has started the season with two qualifying wins and will be looking to move up the rankings after only just qualifying for the World Championships last season in 16th place. Allen is a former runner-up in Riga having lost out in the 2014 final when this event was part of the European Tour. Like everyone else in that mini section though, Allen is going to have to be on his game from a very early stage in this event. 

Neil Robertson is my second quarter choice though as someone that is at the opposite end of this quarter to the likes of Allen, Hawkins, Day, Carter and Walden. Instead the Australian has a much easier looking draw, if he comes to Riga with something close to his best. He may have lost early here last year to Lukas Kleckers, but the year before that he was the champion with a win in the final against Michael Holt. Robertson is a player that I expect to see winning more this season after a difficult couple of years since he took home this title. Having changed cues he should have been putting a lot of work in, and sometimes these changes in equipment have more influence on a player's mindset than anything else. No one can doubt his capabilities as a top player based on his past achievements, and avoiding many of the top names in this section could be the kind of break that he needs to help ease him into this tournament. As someone who has won this title before, he is a certain contender this week. 

Best of the rest: Ricky Walden

Quarter choice: Neil Robertson 

Quarter 3

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

David Gilbert Vs Michael White 

Joe Perry Vs Robert Milkins 

Stephen Maguire Vs Gerard Greene 

Lee Walker Vs Joe O'Connor

Kyren Wilson Vs Luke Simmonds

Niu Zhuang Vs Simon Bedford

Anthony Hamilton W/O Yan Bingtao 

Michael Holt Vs Liam Highfield 

The third section of the draw has both runners-up from the last two years of competition here, as well as a number of other quality players. David Gilbert and Michael White are two of those players, with both sitting in the top 32, though the draw has not been kind to see the pair face off in round one, in what is a very tough game to call. 

Joe Perry is a former top 16 player who will be looking to build on his victory against Mark Selby in last season's World Championship, to help force his way back to where he was after winning his maiden ranking title in 2015. He is yet another player with a difficult draw to negotiate, facing Robert Milkins in round one with the winner to face the victor between White and Gilbert. Trying to pick a winner out of those four is not easy work at such an early point in the season with little form to go on. 

Michael Holt is one of the two former finalists in this quarter of the draw, after he lost out 5-2 to Neil Robertson in 2016. Holt looked impressive in defeating Matthew Stevens to qualify for this event, and the tricky matches keep on coming with the ever-improving Liam Highfield his first opposition in Latvia. Last season was a difficult one for Holt, but go back a further year to the season where Holt was runner-up here and he went on to have one of the best season's of his career, showing what a big run could do this week for any player in the field but also what Holt is still very much capable of. An all-Notts showdown would follow in the last 32 if Holt beats Highfield, courtesy of Anthony Hamilton's walkover following the early withdrawal of Yan Bingtao. 

Stephen Maguire is last year's losing finalist in what would have been his first ranking title since the 2013 Welsh Open. The wait for Maguire has now been five and a half years, which is a very long time between drinks, and he sounded downbeat on his chances of a top 16 revival after losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan in April's World Championship opening round. It all comes down to how much he wants it, and therefore whether he is ready to put the hard work in to fight his way back to the top. His results last season were some of his best for a while and all the was lacking was that elusive title, showing that the ability has gone nowhere. Looking at the draw I would expect him to make the last 16 as a minimum but if he wants it, he could be a title challenger this week. 

Kyren Wilson is my third quarter choice for this event. The youngster had a great season last year, all that was missing is his second ranking title. A finalist at the World Open and the English Open in the Autumn, he also excelled in the triple crown events making the Masters final and World Championship semi's. It is hard to believe given his sharp rise and his performances in the last year or two that his only ranking win is still his breakthrough win from the 2015 Shanghai Masters, nearly three years ago. It would be more surprising if he does not add to his trophy collection this season, given his performances and the belief he should have in his game. Taking the title this week in Latvia would lay down a big marker for what he could achieve in the rest of the season, which is why I think he will be in the latter stages this week. 

Best of the rest: Stephen Maguire

Quarter choice: Kyren Wilson

Quarter 4 

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Graeme Dott or Maris Volajs Vs Tian Pengfei 

Anthony McGill Vs Ashley Carty

Marco Fu Vs Xiao Guodong 

Luca Brecel Vs Mark Davis 

Rory McLeod Vs Zhang Yong

Mark Williams or Rhys Clark Vs Ben Woollaston 

Oliver Lines Vs Alfie Burden

Jack Lisowski Vs Ian Burns 

Mark Williams will be making his first appearance in tournament since winning the World Championship in May, and he will be doing so in a tournament where he has come close in the last two seasons. In 2016 he lost out in the semi-finals 5-4 to Michael Holt, and then last year he fell in the same round in another close contest with Ryan Day. He faces a heldover last 128 match which he should come through comfortably, before what should be a tougher match against Ben Woollaston. There are plenty of big names that could threaten the World Champion in Riga this week, and become the first player to beat him since he won the title, though many of them are in the opposing half of this section. 

A pair of top Scots in Anthony McGill and Graeme Dott could meet in the last 32. Dott has a heldover match against a Latvian wildcard before facing Tian Pengfei in the last 64, while McGill will tackle tour rookie Ashley Carty after beating another rookie in Kishan Hirani in order to qualify. Both players suffered disappointing defeats in World Open qualifying though, and when you look at some of the names in this section, nothing but the best will get the job done. 

Marco Fu, Luca Brecel and Xiao Guodong are three more players that are all more than capable of winning this quarter or even walking away with the title on Sunday night, though only one of them can possibly make it to the last 16. Fu will be feeling invigorated after victories in both his opening qualifiers, his first two wins since the Scottish Open in December 2017, following his eye surgery. Xiao Guodong was the man that ended Fu's title defence that week in Glasgow, in one of his many good runs last season that indicated he is back to the sort of form that saw him make the Shanghai Masters final in 2013. Luca Brecel meanwhile had a pretty miserable end to the 2017/2018 season, but he has qualified for both of the first two tournaments and will now be looking to start his season in a similar style to last year. He was a semi-finalist in the World Open which comes up in a few weeks time, following his victory in the China Championship which has been pushed back a few weeks in the calendar. 

My fourth and final quarter pick for the week though is young Jack Lisowski. For a few years after he made the quarter-finals of the China Open in 2013 it looked like he would never fully make his big breakthrough. That was until last season where he matched that quarter-final at the English Open, and then bettered it by making the Shanghai Masters semi-finals, before coming close to another semi-final in the China Open. He scored heavily on a consistent basis throughout the season and, while remaining aggressive, was a little bit more measured with some of the risks he took on, having looked to improve his safety game. The next step for Lisowski is to make a maiden ranking final like Holt did here in 2016, or go one better by winning his first major title, matching Day's performance last year. This event seems to allow players to make a breakthrough, whether that is because it is early in the season with the top players yet to hit their stride, or because a few other big names have not entered and the draw is unseeded. That is why I have picked Lisowski out in this quarter and Jones in the top quarter because their draws do not look ridiculously tough, and they are two of the players I am looking at to make a big move up the rankings.  

Best of the rest: Xiao Guodong

Quarter choice: Jack Lisowski 

Tournament winner selection: Kyren Wilson

All matches in the early stages of the tournament are best-of-7 frames with the semi-finals and final being contested over the best-of-9 frames which certainly makes for even more of a lottery in the season's first full event. For those looking to watching the three days of play, Eurosport TV and Eurosport Player will be covering the big names throughout the tournament. The last 64 will take place in it's entirety on Friday, along with the four heldover ties. Saturday will see the last 32 and last 16 matches, before the action concludes on Sunday with the final three rounds and the crowning of the first champion in the 2018/2019 professional season. 

The ups and downs of the Preston season opener

Ten days of snooker in Preston to open up the new main tour season concluded on Wednesday, with the conclusion of the second Challenge Tour event. 

For the players involved there as well as in the Riga Masters and World Open qualifiers there have been ups and downs, highs and lows as they got the ball rolling on their 2018/2019 campaigns. There was success for some of the rookie players who picked up valuable, confidence-boosting wins to start in style, while other players in need of early wins to boost their ranking got off to a perfect start. 

Some of the top players meanwhile struggled in this early part of the season, to show that these qualifying matches are not easy - whatever your world ranking is. 

To summarise the opening exchanges of the season I'll be listing some of the players who had a good time of it, and those that did not have as much success at the Preston Guildhall. 

Good Week

David Lilley - Lilley is not currently the holder of a professional tour card, but his near misses at Q School will earn him an invite into most of this season's ranking events via the Q School order of merit top-up system. His play in the opening two qualifiers however, was impressive and having won both games you wonder if he will get enough opportunities this season to try and earn a tour card, via the top eight on the one-season money list not already qualified for the 2019/2020 once this campaign is done. In Riga qualifying he produced one of the better performances I saw while I was in Preston for the first three days. Two centuries and a further break of 90+ saw him take care of Hammad Miah 4-2, before then coming from 4-2 behind to defeat China's Li Hang 5-4 to put his name in the main draw for the World Open. On top of that the £5,500 he's banked for those wins is a nice boost for a non-tour player. 

Zhao Xintong - The snooker world has known for a long time that Zhao has as much potential as some of his more successful Chinese counterparts, but after dropping off the tour at the end of last season questions have been asked whether he would fulfil it. Impressively he has fought his way back on through Q School and is another of the 30 players who won qualifiers for both of the first two events. Breaks of 73, 86 and 88 helped him dismantle Jimmy Robertson 4-0 in Riga qualifying, before he defeated a high ranked opponent in Graeme Dott 5-3 to make it to Yushan for the World Open. Those results should be a big boost to Zhao's confidence, so do not be surprised to see him continue producing wins like this in the coming months. 

Robbie Williams - If I said that things were comfortable for Williams in his two qualifiers it would certainly be a lie. His first match against Alan McManus went to a deciding frame where Williams needed snookers, before he fought back to win the frame and match on the final black. Then against Oliver Lines he faced another deciding frame and once again it would come down to the final colours, but Williams was again victorious 5-4. During that match he also had the high break of World Open qualifying by some margin, firing in a 140. His nerves may have taken a battering but for a player ranked in the low 50's, this is a much needed positive start to the campaign. 

Rod Lawler - Another player who needed to start strongly was Lawler, after a very poor 2017/2018 season. The £5,500 he has picked up for back-to-back victories at the Guildhall is only £100 short of his earnings for the entire of the last campaign so it must be a relief to collect a couple of cheques. He started very strongly with a 4-0 win against Martin O'Donnell to book his place in Latvia, featuring breaks of 65, 73 and 107. Then he was never behind against Mark King in World Open qualifying as he eventually came through a 5-4 winner in a very tight contest. Lawler will need a monumental campaign in order to get into the top 64 at the end of it, though he has done all he could to get the wheels moving forward this week. 

David Grace and Mitchell Mann - Mann and Grace were both on the pro tour last season, but were relegated in April and failed to get back on tour at Q School in May. The pair both made the semi-finals of the first Challenge Tour event at the start of June and have now gone better at the Guildhall this week. Grace and Mann contested the final of the second CT event where former UK semi-finalist Grace would come out on top a 3-0 winner. Grace also overcame fellow former tour players in Jamie O'Neill, Simon Bedford, James Cahill and Steven Hallworth on the way to the final, while Mann took out the winner of event one Brandon Sargeant in the semi-finals. Despite his narrow 3-2 loss in that semi-final, Sargeant is still top of the CT order of merit, in a tie with Grace after two events. 

Disappointing week 

Alan McManus - Having touched on Robbie Williams victory over McManus already in the Riga qualifying, where Williams came from snookers required in the final frame to clinch victory, that gives you one part of a disappointing start to the season for the Scotsman. The second part came as he was beaten more comprehensively in World Open qualifying, 5-2 by Paul Davison. With McManus' ranking as low as it has become in the last year, these early season defeats are not good news and something he will have to bounce back from quickly in August. 

Sam Baird - After a poor 2017/2018 season, Baird dropped off the circuit and had to earn his tour card back at Q School, along with the likes of Zhao Xintong. Unlike Zhao, Baird has not made such a positive return to the tour. He only managed to win one frame from his two qualifying matches, losing 4-0 to Ben Woollaston and 5-1 to Mark Davis. That will do nothing to help his belief and confidence which looked to be suffering on a couple of occasions when I watched him up close in the middle of last season. Baird may have two years now to climb back into the top 64, but he could already do with picking up a win or two from the three qualifiers that will be played in the middle of August. 

Ross Muir - It's a big season for Scotland's Ross Muir as he looks to find a way of staying on the professional circuit. Things have not started well for him though in his search for every ranking point he can get his hands on, following a 2017/2018 season that saw him accumulate only £10,000. Muir fell 4-1 to a fellow player from outside the top 64 in Zhang Yong. He then fought hard to force a decider in his World Open qualifier, coming from 3-0 and 4-2 down to make it 4-4 with Ryan Day. Unfortunately for the Scot, he was unable to take advantage having put Day on the rocks, and the Welshman escaped with a 5-4 win. 

Notable Others 

Stuart Bingham - Bingham was another player who suffered two defeats to start off his season in what was really one of the big surprises of these qualifiers. In Riga qualifying he fell 4-0 to Niu Zhuang before a 5-4 loss to another Chinese player in Zhang Anda. Bingham will now have to wait until the August qualifying matches to get back in action. 

Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby - It was a struggle for another two of the top players. Murphy entered both events, defeating Sanderson Lam to make it to Riga despite being 2-0 adrift and surviving frame ball to fall 3-0 behind. He was not to be so fortunate later in the week though as he fell 5-4 to Mei Xiwen. As for the world number one, he only entered World Open qualifying and got off to a slow start. He fell 3-1 behind against non-tour player Luke Simmonds before winning four on the spin to secure a 5-3 win. 

Joe O'Connor, Ashley Carty, Simon Lichtenberg, Harvey Chandler and Andy Lee - There was success for some of the players that had earned a two-year tour card. Lee had been on tour previously but is looking to make a bigger impact now, especially after securing a decent start after winning his World Open qualifier 5-2 against Daniel Wells. As for some of the rookies, Joe O'Connor defeated returning Jordan Brown to secure his first tour win at the first attempt. Ashley Carty had a holdover for the World Open but played fellow rookie Harvey Chandler in Riga qualifying, winning comfortably in the end at 4-1. Chandler would put that disappointment behind him though and secure an impressive 5-4 triumph over Michael White a few days later. Germany's Simon Lichtenberg gained his first win in the qualifiers for Yushan with a 5-2 defeat of 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty. That was not the only German success in qualifying as Lukas Kleckers gained his first win in a year by beating Alexander Ursenbacher to book a return trip to Riga. 

Ali Carter, Kyren Wilson, Luca Brecel, Marco Fu, Barry Hawkins and Mark Allen - For six of the top players involved this week there was to be no trouble, qualifying for both of the season's first two ranking events. Ali Carter won his two matches without dropping a frame, while Hawkins only dropped two in defeating Andy Lee and Alfie Burden. Kyren Wilson had to battle a little harder, coming through a final frame decider with Dominic Dale, and then defeating Nigel Bond 5-3. After a poor end to last season, Luca Brecel made no mistake in his games with Allan Taylor and Ian Burns. Masters winner Mark Allen secured 4-2 and 5-2 victories against Daniel Wells and Peter Lines but most impressive was Marco Fu. Fu only dropped one frame in defeating Elliot Slessor and Chris Totten for not only his first wins of the season, but his first victories since December 2017, prior to his eye surgery. 

For all of the results from the last week, follow the links below: 

Riga Masters qualifiers

World Open qualifiers

Challenge Tour event 2 

The next action from the tour will see the first main tour trophy of the season awarded as the players compete in the final stages of the Riga Masters starting on Friday July 27. That will coincide with the third Challenge Tour event, from Latvia on Saturday July 28 and Sunday July 29 - which are also the final two days of action in the Riga Masters.  

LIVE BLOG: Joe Swail vs Dechawat Poomjaeng

Joe Swail 4-1 Dechawat Poomjaeng - Swail needed plenty of chances today but was able to keep Poomjaeng at bay and you could see how disappointed the Thai was as he left the arena. He just didn't keep it tight enough or make enough of the difficult balls that Swail was able to, but coming as close as he did to a tour return you have to think he can still do it. Despite some of the unnecessary stress he caused himself at times, Swail should be happy enough with that and put that down as a good start to the season having got the opening match out of the way. In the end he was a deserved 4-1 winner.

Just when he needed it his cue ball control has let Swail down. After wobbling a couple in there was to be no third escape and he misses with the rest after just adding 20 to his lead. There's nothing left for Poomjaeng but he is still right in this.

Poomjaeng's opportunity doesn't amount to enough for him to take the lead. Shortly after he misses a red along the bottom cushion that looked like it should drop. That's allowed Swail in with reds open and a real match clinching chance.

Frame 5 - It's been a slow start again to this frame but it's Swail who has the early advantage as he eyes up the frame he needs for victory. Poomjaeng has just caught the bump of the middle with his safety, letting out a cue bang but Swail fails to take advantage.

Frame Poomjaeng - Poomjaeng developed the reds well but was still not over the winning line when his break of 53 came to an end, following a miss on a thin red. Swail was 66 behind with just five reds left so needed blacks with each red, but missed the first black. He carried on for snookers for a long period but eventually Poomjaeng doubled the final red to make sure he got a frame on the board. 3-1 to Swail now.

After a long safety battle Poomjaeng is now back in but a lot of reds have been pushed to the cushion during the safety, so it's tough to call this a really good opportunity.

Frame 4 - Poomjaeng is in first after a great long pot in the fourth and it would be nice to see him get a frame, but he just has not been comfortable out there today from the start.

Frame Swail - The pressure was off towards the end of the break, but Swail clears the remaining reds and only an in-off on the green going around the table to get on the brown prevented his contribution being higher than the 61 he ends up with. He won't mind though as he's surged into a 3-0 lead.

Swail sets about building a big lead both in this frame and the match.

An excellent long pot and cannon to hold for a choice of black or pink has Swail back in again and into a commanding position now, just a few pots from a 3-0 lead despite his lack of scoring power so far.

Frame 3 - A very nice red into the middle gives Swail the first chance of frame three and thus far he has been able to keep the cue ball under reasonable control. This is the point in the match now where he should be looking to kill his opponent off. The cue ball gets out of control on 32 though, missing a thin red as a result but it has not cost him.

Frame Swail - After that let off, Poomjaeng returns the favour by clipping the blue thinking he could get through to the yellow. That foul left him needing a snooker but Swail soon plays an excellent long yellow followed by green and brown to make sure of doubling his lead. 2-0 Swail and there is not much hope for the Thai if he fails to improve.

Further chances have come and gone for Swail including one on the last red which would have been frame ball, only to pot it and go in-off, keeping Poomjaeng alive in this second frame.

Swail loses control of the cue ball, but pulls out a good recovery pot only to lose the cue ball from that shot. Poomjaeng then gets back in shortly after but breaks down early and really has not settled yet. Swail is in now with another good opening but his positional play needs to improve.

After a bit of safety Swail gets himself in now with plenty of reds available. The black is not on it's spot but the pink is currently on the black spot which is helpful to Swail and he should build a good lead here.

Poomjaeng would only make 16 from this great opening.

Frame 2 - A poor containing safety from Swail leaves Poomjaeng right in amongst the reds and with quite a few open after an aggressive safety from the Thai a shot previously. Poor positional play costs him though as he can only make 16 before playing safe.

Frame Swail - At the fourth time of asking Swail appears to settle down and despite a missed black with four reds left, his lead of 65 is enough to force a concession from Poomjaeng. A decent start for Swail. 1-0.

Another chance now for Swail after Poomjaeng's attacking safety leaves a red over the corner. Plenty of reds are open here but Swail misses a pretty easy one. Poomjaeng then misses to the middle and allows Swail straight back in.

Frame 1 - Early days it may be but the early signs are that Poomjaeng is going for everything. Swail on his second opening of the frame now but does not look to have settled yet, missing but leaving everything safe

This is more than likely my last live blog offering of the week and it's sure to be a good one between Joe Swail and Dechawat Poomjaeng.

Swail is into the second year of his two year card and will need to play well this season to avoid another trip to Q School. Perhaps a good omen for him is the fact that fellow Northern Irishman Gerard Greene won at the same time, on the same table yesterday. Given that his opponent is no longer on tour you would have to make Swail favourite, but you never know what to expect from Poomjaeng.

The Thai was so close to getting back on tour this year, making the final round of both the first two Q School events only to lose out to Sam Craigie and Zhao Xintong. Then he was beaten in round four of the third event as he seemed to run out of steam after a long stretch of snooker. This will be the second season since Poomjaeng dropped off though, and even as a Q School top up, it will be good to see this maverick back in action.