This week is the curtain raiser for the 2018/2019 Home Nations series as the English Open gets underway in Crawley. Ronnie O'Sullivan is the defending champion after beating Kyren Wilson comfortably in last year's final. This will only be the second tournament that O'Sullivan has competed in this year, having won the invitational Shanghai Masters in September, and the opportunity for a big bonus is perhaps to much for him to resist.
Once again World Snooker are putting the £1 million bonus up if any player is able to win each of the English Open, Northern Irish Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open this season. As unlikely as that may seem, there are a number of players that have won multiple times in the last year, but doing it with the extra pressure of life changing money on offer is a completely different story.
The large majority of the top players will be in attendance this week, apart from Chinese number one Ding Junhui who has chosen to give it a miss. The format for all of the events will be the same as last season, with the first four rounds being played over the best-of-7 frames before the best-of-9 frame quarter-finals on Friday, best-of-11 frame semi-finals on Saturday and a best-of-17 frame conclusion.
One thing the home nations has provided over the past two years is surprises and opportunities for lower ranked players, with the short format in the early stages of the events taking out a lot of the top guns early on. The very first English Open saw Liang Wenbo win his first ever ranking title and that pattern continued in Northern Ireland when Mark King was the victor. The likes of Yu De Lu, Scott Donaldson, Alexander Ursenbacher, Elliot Slessor, Lu Haotian and Noppon Saengkham all reached ranking semi-finals for the first time in one of the home nations events of the last two seasons while Yan Bingtao and Cao Yupeng were first time ranking finalists and very close to winning their opening ranking titles.
So with that in mind, that pattern will surely continue with surprises galore and players making a name for themselves at the highest level and that is a big theme to keep in mind across the home nations series, especially with Jimmy Robertson showing the way by winning the European Masters earlier this month for his first ranking title.
Once again World Snooker are putting the £1 million bonus up if any player is able to win each of the English Open, Northern Irish Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open this season. As unlikely as that may seem, there are a number of players that have won multiple times in the last year, but doing it with the extra pressure of life changing money on offer is a completely different story.
The large majority of the top players will be in attendance this week, apart from Chinese number one Ding Junhui who has chosen to give it a miss. The format for all of the events will be the same as last season, with the first four rounds being played over the best-of-7 frames before the best-of-9 frame quarter-finals on Friday, best-of-11 frame semi-finals on Saturday and a best-of-17 frame conclusion.
One thing the home nations has provided over the past two years is surprises and opportunities for lower ranked players, with the short format in the early stages of the events taking out a lot of the top guns early on. The very first English Open saw Liang Wenbo win his first ever ranking title and that pattern continued in Northern Ireland when Mark King was the victor. The likes of Yu De Lu, Scott Donaldson, Alexander Ursenbacher, Elliot Slessor, Lu Haotian and Noppon Saengkham all reached ranking semi-finals for the first time in one of the home nations events of the last two seasons while Yan Bingtao and Cao Yupeng were first time ranking finalists and very close to winning their opening ranking titles.
So with that in mind, that pattern will surely continue with surprises galore and players making a name for themselves at the highest level and that is a big theme to keep in mind across the home nations series, especially with Jimmy Robertson showing the way by winning the European Masters earlier this month for his first ranking title.
Quarter 1
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Kurt Maflin
Scott Donaldson Vs Allan Taylor
Lu Haotian Vs Jimmy White
Matthew Stevens Vs Chen Zifan
Liang Wenbo Vs Gary Wilson
Michael Georgiou Vs Eden Sharav
Joe Swail Vs Craig Steadman
Chris Wakelin Vs Ken Doherty
Tom Ford Vs David Lilley
Alan McManus Vs Fan Zhengyi
Oliver Lines Vs Joe O'Connor
Neil Robertson Vs Ross Muir
Stuart Carrington Vs Martin O'Donnell
Luo Honghao Vs Adam Duffy
Anthony McGill Vs Simon Lichtenberg
Kyren Wilson Vs Akani Songsermsawad
Liang Wenbo was the first English Open champion back in 2016, defeating Judd Trump in the final that year, while last season he made a 147 break in this event. His form at best has been sporadic and his results could have been made a lot worse if he had not come from behind to defeat Alfie Burden in both the last 128 of the China Championship and last 64 of the European Masters. With his points from winning this event two years ago about to come off the rankings, the current Chinese number two would become China's number four if he cannot have a good run this week. A tough first round draw awaits though in the shape of Gary Wilson and the way things are going for Liang he will have to improve to avoid a first round exit.
Lu Haotian has continued his excellent progress since returning to the tour at the beginning of last season, having recently progressed to the semi-finals of the China Championship. Despite having less than 18 months worth of points, he is provisionally set to climb into the world's top 40 and could be a real dark horse in the draw this week and provide one of the early round challenges to Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Neil Robertson was an early season winner at the Riga Masters, but in the three ranking events since then he has failed to make it beyond the last 32 stage, which is more like the form he showed around this time last season on the way to falling out of the top 16. His first round opponent Ross Muir may have just made the last 16 of the European Masters, but Robertson played him this week in International Championship qualifying and was a 6-1 victor which bodes well for the Australian but his goal in the next few weeks should be to add more consistency to his results, starting here in Crawley.
Kyren Wilson is a man who has worked hard on his consistency, to record three final appearances last season including at this event, as well as a World Championship semi-final, before winning this season at the Paul Hunter Classic. Now he will be looking to kick on and make this a season where he wins multiple ranking titles and establishes himself as a top eight player. His draw this week could have been a bit kinder, starting out against the unorthodox but dangerous Akani Songsermsawad before a likely last 64 tie against Anthony McGill. After the match the two had against each other in the Shanghai invitational semi-finals, it would be no surprise though to see Wilson and O'Sullivan battling it out again here in the quarters.
Ronnie O'Sullivan may be the obvious choice, but he is my opening quarter pick. The only time we have seen O'Sullivan so far this season he was on the way to victory in Shanghai defeating Barry Hawkins in the final after victories against both Kyren Wilson and Neil Robertson, who are both in this quarter, earlier on in the event. Not only that but when he won this title last year he was in imperious form and came into that event fairly fresh and he will be even fresher this time around which always makes him so dangerous. He also made it to two quarter-finals in the Home Nations last year so the format seems to suit him well and looking at his draw I would fancy him to make at least the quarter-finals again this week if he is even close to his best.
Lu Haotian has continued his excellent progress since returning to the tour at the beginning of last season, having recently progressed to the semi-finals of the China Championship. Despite having less than 18 months worth of points, he is provisionally set to climb into the world's top 40 and could be a real dark horse in the draw this week and provide one of the early round challenges to Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Neil Robertson was an early season winner at the Riga Masters, but in the three ranking events since then he has failed to make it beyond the last 32 stage, which is more like the form he showed around this time last season on the way to falling out of the top 16. His first round opponent Ross Muir may have just made the last 16 of the European Masters, but Robertson played him this week in International Championship qualifying and was a 6-1 victor which bodes well for the Australian but his goal in the next few weeks should be to add more consistency to his results, starting here in Crawley.
Kyren Wilson is a man who has worked hard on his consistency, to record three final appearances last season including at this event, as well as a World Championship semi-final, before winning this season at the Paul Hunter Classic. Now he will be looking to kick on and make this a season where he wins multiple ranking titles and establishes himself as a top eight player. His draw this week could have been a bit kinder, starting out against the unorthodox but dangerous Akani Songsermsawad before a likely last 64 tie against Anthony McGill. After the match the two had against each other in the Shanghai invitational semi-finals, it would be no surprise though to see Wilson and O'Sullivan battling it out again here in the quarters.
Ronnie O'Sullivan may be the obvious choice, but he is my opening quarter pick. The only time we have seen O'Sullivan so far this season he was on the way to victory in Shanghai defeating Barry Hawkins in the final after victories against both Kyren Wilson and Neil Robertson, who are both in this quarter, earlier on in the event. Not only that but when he won this title last year he was in imperious form and came into that event fairly fresh and he will be even fresher this time around which always makes him so dangerous. He also made it to two quarter-finals in the Home Nations last year so the format seems to suit him well and looking at his draw I would fancy him to make at least the quarter-finals again this week if he is even close to his best.
Best of the rest: Kyren Wilson
Quarter choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan
Quarter 2
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Judd Trump Vs Robin Hull
Zhao Xintong Vs Michael Judge
Li Hang Vs Ian Burns
Jack Lisowski Vs Fergal O'Brien
Ryan Day Vs Ashley Hugill
Zhang Yong Vs Chen Feilong
Mark King Vs Ashley Carty
Peter Ebdon Vs Alfie Burden
Mark Davis Vs Robbie Williams
Jamie Clarke Vs Adam Stefanow
Mei Xiwen Vs James Wattana
Marco Fu Vs Mark Joyce
Zhang Jiankang Vs Luke Simmonds
Martin Gould Vs Billy Castle
Tian Pengfei Vs Nigel Bond
John Higgins Vs Li Yuan
Zhao Xintong and Jack Lisowski are two very dangerous players that could have big runs this week in Crawley. Lisowski faces a tricky test in round one though against Fergal O'Brien who has beaten plenty of top players already this season in Luca Brecel, Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter and Marco Fu. Lisowski made the final in the season's curtain raiser in Latvia and has been to three quarter-finals since then but will be disappointed with how he played in each of those efforts at the World Open, Paul Hunter Classic and the recent European Masters. Zhao meanwhile is faring well having earned his tour card back in the off-season at Q School, making the semi-finals of the China Championship, beating Mark Williams and Barry Hawkins in the process. Both could prove threatening to the hopes of 2016 runner-up Judd Trump early on in the tournament.
Ryan Day curtailed a slower start to the campaign by making the quarter-finals of the European Masters, and looking at the draw he has a big opportunity in Crawley to make at least the last 16 if he is in decent form. Day overcame Mark Selby from 2-0 down in Lommel which will be a big boost for his confidence and after winning three titles last season, he should not be short in that area. If things open up in other parts of this section, the Welshman could well be the man to pounce.
Mark Davis is playing very close to home this week and should have a good amount of supporters in Crawley, which could give him an extra boost to record some good results this week. For me, his draw presents an opportunity to record some good results. His opening round opponent Robbie Williams is not in the best form and neither of his potential last 64 opponents Jamie Clarke and Adam Stefanow have won a match so far on tour. Davis has already made the last 16 of the Riga Masters and Paul Hunter Classic this season and recorded two centuries in his recent International qualifier so he looks to be in good form and could be dangerous this week too.
John Higgins did not get on so well in International qualifying in the last week. The 2015 International champion fell to a 6-3 loss against Peter Lines. This may have been a surprise after he made the final of the China Championship, but he failed to make a break higher than 85 in his 35 frames won that week, very unusual for someone of his scoring stature, which suggests he has not on top form at the moment. Higgins also lost in the first round of the Shanghai invitational and had not played this season prior to that tournament in September so it is still very early days for him in the campaign.
Judd Trump is my second quarter choice for this week. His season has gotten off to a pretty slow start thus far. In the four events he has played he was knocked out in the last 32 of both the World Open and in his defence of the European Masters title as well as falling at the first hurdle in the Shanghai Masters. While he is yet to find the consistency so far this season, a quarter-final at the China Championship was something to cheer and his record in the Home Nations series is certainly a good one and the format really seems to suit him. While there were a couple of early exits last year in the Home Nations events he still reached the semi-finals in Scotland for the second successive year and he was a finalist at both this event and the Welsh Open in the 2016/2017 season. I think part of the reason behind that is because, out of the top players, he strikes me as one of those who is a lot less vulnerable over the best-of-7 frames format. More often than not he finds a way to blow opponents away very early on with big breaks. He does have a tough looking draw with the likes of Zhao Xintong and Jack Lisowski standing between him and a possible last 16 place, but if he can take care of them he will have all the tools to extinguish the other threats that stand in his way.
Ryan Day curtailed a slower start to the campaign by making the quarter-finals of the European Masters, and looking at the draw he has a big opportunity in Crawley to make at least the last 16 if he is in decent form. Day overcame Mark Selby from 2-0 down in Lommel which will be a big boost for his confidence and after winning three titles last season, he should not be short in that area. If things open up in other parts of this section, the Welshman could well be the man to pounce.
Mark Davis is playing very close to home this week and should have a good amount of supporters in Crawley, which could give him an extra boost to record some good results this week. For me, his draw presents an opportunity to record some good results. His opening round opponent Robbie Williams is not in the best form and neither of his potential last 64 opponents Jamie Clarke and Adam Stefanow have won a match so far on tour. Davis has already made the last 16 of the Riga Masters and Paul Hunter Classic this season and recorded two centuries in his recent International qualifier so he looks to be in good form and could be dangerous this week too.
John Higgins did not get on so well in International qualifying in the last week. The 2015 International champion fell to a 6-3 loss against Peter Lines. This may have been a surprise after he made the final of the China Championship, but he failed to make a break higher than 85 in his 35 frames won that week, very unusual for someone of his scoring stature, which suggests he has not on top form at the moment. Higgins also lost in the first round of the Shanghai invitational and had not played this season prior to that tournament in September so it is still very early days for him in the campaign.
Judd Trump is my second quarter choice for this week. His season has gotten off to a pretty slow start thus far. In the four events he has played he was knocked out in the last 32 of both the World Open and in his defence of the European Masters title as well as falling at the first hurdle in the Shanghai Masters. While he is yet to find the consistency so far this season, a quarter-final at the China Championship was something to cheer and his record in the Home Nations series is certainly a good one and the format really seems to suit him. While there were a couple of early exits last year in the Home Nations events he still reached the semi-finals in Scotland for the second successive year and he was a finalist at both this event and the Welsh Open in the 2016/2017 season. I think part of the reason behind that is because, out of the top players, he strikes me as one of those who is a lot less vulnerable over the best-of-7 frames format. More often than not he finds a way to blow opponents away very early on with big breaks. He does have a tough looking draw with the likes of Zhao Xintong and Jack Lisowski standing between him and a possible last 16 place, but if he can take care of them he will have all the tools to extinguish the other threats that stand in his way.
Best of the rest: Mark Davis
Quarter choice: Judd Trump
Quarter 3
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Sanderson Lam
Graeme Dott Vs Ben Woollaston
John Astley Vs Lukas Kleckers
Ricky Walden Vs Hammad Miah
Stuart Bingham Vs Duane Jones
Michael White Vs Hossein Vafei
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Soheil Vahedi
Thor Chuan Leong Vs Hamza Akbar
Matthew Selt Vs Zhang Anda
Liam Highfield Vs Sam Baird
Ali Carter Vs Rory McLeod
Luca Brecel Vs Niu Zhuang
Lee Walker Vs Jak Jones
Joe Perry Vs Daniel Wells
Sam Craigie Vs Rod Lawler
Barry Hawkins Vs Peter Lines
Mark Selby is the leading man in quarter number three as the world number one. Not much is missing from the CV of Selby but since the inception of the Home Nations series in 2016 he has not been able to win one of them. Selby only played in two of them though last season, and two the year before but has failed to get beyond the last 32 in any of them, which is something he will want to put right here in Crawley. Having just won the China Championship he should be full of confidence. A potential last 64 tie with Graeme Dott could be an early tester but if he can get beyond that a big week could be in store.
Ali Carter and Luca Brecel are two top players in this section that are seriously struggling for results in recent months. Carter has failed to get beyond the last 32 of a ranking event so far this season, while a quarter-final appearance at last season's World Championship is the only time he has gone beyond the last 32 in a ranking event since the 2017 International Championship. As a result his world ranking has dipped to 21. As for Brecel, he has just been beaten in International qualifying by Jordan Brown, but did reach the last 16 of the European Masters on home turf earlier this month. However, he has not gone beyond that stage to a quarter-final in ranking competition since the Shanghai Masters in mid-November of last year. Brecel and Carter could meet this week in the last 64 and perhaps the victory could see either player get out of their respective slump in performance.
Joe Perry was a beaten finalist at the recent European Masters and will now be looking to kick on and climb back into the top 16. Perry is provisionally at 17th and having been in the top 16 as recently as the 2017 Masters, where he reached the final, he will know that he is more than capable of making that return. First up for him this week is a tester against Daniel Wells, but given recent form you have to make Perry a favourite there to start his tournament strongly.
Stuart Bingham is the man in 16th position in the rankings presently, preventing Perry's return to that top 16. Bingham was a semi-finalist at this event in 2016, before going on to win the Welsh Open in the same season so he knows his way around these Home Nations events. This season has been a bit of a slow burner for Bingham, who has failed to get beyond the last 32 of a ranking event since the China Open in April. With Michael White in Bingham's mini-section struggling for form, his draw looks very gettable and presents an opportunity to at least make this the best result of his season so far.
Barry Hawkins is my third quarter choice here though. The Hawk has a good record in the Home Nations series without having won one. In the eight tournaments since it was brought in he has made two finals and was a semi-finalist at this event two years ago, as well as making a further quarter-final. His record of late has been sensational as well. After making the final of the Welsh Open and China Open at the end of last season, on top of another World Championship semi-final, Hawkins has started this season with a semi-final at the World Open, a final at the Shanghai Masters and narrowly lost out in the quarters of the recent China Championship. The only thing that is missing is another trophy to put in that cabinet and the way his game is trending, it would not be a surprise if he were to take home a title before the end of 2018. His draw this week is not easy, starting out against a Peter Lines who was victorious against John Higgins this week, so he will need to be on it from ball one and if he is on the sort of form he showed in Shanghai last month, Hawkins will be a tough man to beat.
Ali Carter and Luca Brecel are two top players in this section that are seriously struggling for results in recent months. Carter has failed to get beyond the last 32 of a ranking event so far this season, while a quarter-final appearance at last season's World Championship is the only time he has gone beyond the last 32 in a ranking event since the 2017 International Championship. As a result his world ranking has dipped to 21. As for Brecel, he has just been beaten in International qualifying by Jordan Brown, but did reach the last 16 of the European Masters on home turf earlier this month. However, he has not gone beyond that stage to a quarter-final in ranking competition since the Shanghai Masters in mid-November of last year. Brecel and Carter could meet this week in the last 64 and perhaps the victory could see either player get out of their respective slump in performance.
Joe Perry was a beaten finalist at the recent European Masters and will now be looking to kick on and climb back into the top 16. Perry is provisionally at 17th and having been in the top 16 as recently as the 2017 Masters, where he reached the final, he will know that he is more than capable of making that return. First up for him this week is a tester against Daniel Wells, but given recent form you have to make Perry a favourite there to start his tournament strongly.
Stuart Bingham is the man in 16th position in the rankings presently, preventing Perry's return to that top 16. Bingham was a semi-finalist at this event in 2016, before going on to win the Welsh Open in the same season so he knows his way around these Home Nations events. This season has been a bit of a slow burner for Bingham, who has failed to get beyond the last 32 of a ranking event since the China Open in April. With Michael White in Bingham's mini-section struggling for form, his draw looks very gettable and presents an opportunity to at least make this the best result of his season so far.
Barry Hawkins is my third quarter choice here though. The Hawk has a good record in the Home Nations series without having won one. In the eight tournaments since it was brought in he has made two finals and was a semi-finalist at this event two years ago, as well as making a further quarter-final. His record of late has been sensational as well. After making the final of the Welsh Open and China Open at the end of last season, on top of another World Championship semi-final, Hawkins has started this season with a semi-final at the World Open, a final at the Shanghai Masters and narrowly lost out in the quarters of the recent China Championship. The only thing that is missing is another trophy to put in that cabinet and the way his game is trending, it would not be a surprise if he were to take home a title before the end of 2018. His draw this week is not easy, starting out against a Peter Lines who was victorious against John Higgins this week, so he will need to be on it from ball one and if he is on the sort of form he showed in Shanghai last month, Hawkins will be a tough man to beat.
Best of the rest: Stuart Bingham
Quarter choice: Barry Hawkins
Quarter 4
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Shaun Murphy Vs Mike Dunn
David Gilbert Vs Gerard Greene
Robert Milkins Vs Lu Ning
Elliot Slessor Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Mark Allen Vs Anthony Hamilton
Yuan Sijun Vs Farakh Ajaib
Noppon Saengkham Vs Harvey Chandler
Xiao Guodong Vs Steven Hallworth
Andrew Higginson Vs Jordan Brown
Jimmy Robertson Vs Michael Holt
Yan Bingtao Vs Andy Lee
Stephen Maguire Vs James Cahill
Zhou Yuelong Vs Paul Davison
Xu Si Vs Chris Totten
Alexander Ursenbacher Vs Kishan Hirani
Mark Williams Vs Dominic Dale
Mark Williams is the headline act in this bottom quarter as World Champion. His season has started brightly with a victory at the World Open in the summer and his draw this week looks pretty inviting for the second seed. If he is in any sort of form he should make the last 16 and is the likely candidate to win the quarter with the form of some others in this section. His victory in last season's Northern Ireland Open means he does have some form when it comes to the Home Nations series and is a format he is comfortable with. So, there are plenty of reasons to be on Williams' side this week in Crawley.
Things have been a bit of a struggle for Shaun Murphy so far this season. That was underlined this week in International Championship qualifying when he was beaten 6-0 by Sam Baird. Apart from a last 16 at the China Championship there has been little positive to take forward, losing in the last 128 four times now in the new campaign. When you need something good to happen it is nice to come to a happy hunting ground but in the eight Home Nations series events, Murphy has only gone beyond the last 64 once, and lost in the first round on four occasions. In the first round here he faces Mike Dunn who has also not had the best start to the season, but a potential last 64 tie against World Open runner-up David Gilbert or Gerard Greene (who beat Murphy 4-0 in last season's Welsh Open) is not the greatest draw ever. However, you can only keep a good man down for so long (starting with his last 64 exit in April's China Open, Murphy has only won five of his last 13 matches on tour) and you have to believe that after making five finals between mid-August and the end of March last season, he will fight back soon.
Mark Allen had his best finish of the season so far by making the quarter-finals of the European Masters in Lommel and in International qualifying this week he was a 6-0 winner against Paul Davison. However, his tweets after matches suggest that he knows he can play a lot better than he is doing and with hard work plenty more good performances are coming. Unfortunately his record in the home nations last season was not much better than his good friend Murphy. His best was a last 32 appearance in Wales, with two last 64 exits and a first round loss in Scotland. In round one this week he faces a tough test against Anthony Hamilton, who made it to the semi-finals of the European Masters and with dangerous players like Yuan Sijun, Noppon Saengkham and Xiao Guodong all lurking in his mini-section, Allen will need to be on it from ball one.
Jimmy Robertson is the latest man to enter the ranking event winners club with his amazing run to victory at the European Masters. On the way to victory he defeated Joe Perry, Mark King, Mark Allen and Anthony McGill, winning all of his first three matches in Lommel in deciders on the black so many would say it was written in the stars for him. What will be special for him this week is that he is not far from home and should have plenty of support in Crawley. Ironically, his first round opponent is Michael Holt who many would consider as the greatest player not to have picked up a major ranking title yet in his career, so in some ways Holt will have a point to prove here. Whoever gets through that one could face a last 64 tie with the Andrew Higginson who is tough to beat on his day, and then a possible last 32 test against Stephen Maguire or Yan Bingtao. Given what has happened in the last week or so though, Robertson will be full of confidence and that could lead to more big runs.
Yan Bingtao is always a player worth keeping an eye on. His best run in a ranking event came in the Home Nations series last season when he made the final in Northern Ireland. His best run so far this season was to the last 16 in the China Championship, beating Stuart Bingham before losing to Judd Trump there. Last year's efforts in Belfast are not Yan's only notable Home Nations series moments. He also made the quarter-finals in this year's Welsh Open, whitewashed defending champion Liang Wenbo in this event last year, as well as reaching the last 16 in three of the four Home Nations events in the 2016/2017 season beating the likes of Mark Allen and world number one Mark Selby. Given that previous event form, Yan could be ready to make some more great memories this week in Crawley.
Xiao Guodong is my fourth and final quarter pick for this week. Xiao is one of the players I am looking at, especially after seeing Jimmy Robertson win his first ranking title last week, to kick on and get himself into the winners circle this season. He has already been to a quarter-final early on this season at the World Open, which follows from a good season last year where he made the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, German Masters as well as the third Home Nations event in Scotland. He also made last 16 appearances at the UK Championships and indeed at this event where he overcame world number one Mark Selby in the last 32. His scoring is exceptional and it is hard to pick out for him what is missing, apart from more experience of beating top players and making the real latter stages of tournaments but than can all change very quickly. A lot of other young Chinese players like Yan Bingtao, Zhao Xintong and Lu Haotian are starting to knock on the door, but it would not surprise me if Xiao was the next new Chinese ranking winner given his immense quality. If the section of the draw opens up like I think it may, then the door could be wide open for Xiao to make his destiny this week.
Things have been a bit of a struggle for Shaun Murphy so far this season. That was underlined this week in International Championship qualifying when he was beaten 6-0 by Sam Baird. Apart from a last 16 at the China Championship there has been little positive to take forward, losing in the last 128 four times now in the new campaign. When you need something good to happen it is nice to come to a happy hunting ground but in the eight Home Nations series events, Murphy has only gone beyond the last 64 once, and lost in the first round on four occasions. In the first round here he faces Mike Dunn who has also not had the best start to the season, but a potential last 64 tie against World Open runner-up David Gilbert or Gerard Greene (who beat Murphy 4-0 in last season's Welsh Open) is not the greatest draw ever. However, you can only keep a good man down for so long (starting with his last 64 exit in April's China Open, Murphy has only won five of his last 13 matches on tour) and you have to believe that after making five finals between mid-August and the end of March last season, he will fight back soon.
Mark Allen had his best finish of the season so far by making the quarter-finals of the European Masters in Lommel and in International qualifying this week he was a 6-0 winner against Paul Davison. However, his tweets after matches suggest that he knows he can play a lot better than he is doing and with hard work plenty more good performances are coming. Unfortunately his record in the home nations last season was not much better than his good friend Murphy. His best was a last 32 appearance in Wales, with two last 64 exits and a first round loss in Scotland. In round one this week he faces a tough test against Anthony Hamilton, who made it to the semi-finals of the European Masters and with dangerous players like Yuan Sijun, Noppon Saengkham and Xiao Guodong all lurking in his mini-section, Allen will need to be on it from ball one.
Jimmy Robertson is the latest man to enter the ranking event winners club with his amazing run to victory at the European Masters. On the way to victory he defeated Joe Perry, Mark King, Mark Allen and Anthony McGill, winning all of his first three matches in Lommel in deciders on the black so many would say it was written in the stars for him. What will be special for him this week is that he is not far from home and should have plenty of support in Crawley. Ironically, his first round opponent is Michael Holt who many would consider as the greatest player not to have picked up a major ranking title yet in his career, so in some ways Holt will have a point to prove here. Whoever gets through that one could face a last 64 tie with the Andrew Higginson who is tough to beat on his day, and then a possible last 32 test against Stephen Maguire or Yan Bingtao. Given what has happened in the last week or so though, Robertson will be full of confidence and that could lead to more big runs.
Yan Bingtao is always a player worth keeping an eye on. His best run in a ranking event came in the Home Nations series last season when he made the final in Northern Ireland. His best run so far this season was to the last 16 in the China Championship, beating Stuart Bingham before losing to Judd Trump there. Last year's efforts in Belfast are not Yan's only notable Home Nations series moments. He also made the quarter-finals in this year's Welsh Open, whitewashed defending champion Liang Wenbo in this event last year, as well as reaching the last 16 in three of the four Home Nations events in the 2016/2017 season beating the likes of Mark Allen and world number one Mark Selby. Given that previous event form, Yan could be ready to make some more great memories this week in Crawley.
Xiao Guodong is my fourth and final quarter pick for this week. Xiao is one of the players I am looking at, especially after seeing Jimmy Robertson win his first ranking title last week, to kick on and get himself into the winners circle this season. He has already been to a quarter-final early on this season at the World Open, which follows from a good season last year where he made the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, German Masters as well as the third Home Nations event in Scotland. He also made last 16 appearances at the UK Championships and indeed at this event where he overcame world number one Mark Selby in the last 32. His scoring is exceptional and it is hard to pick out for him what is missing, apart from more experience of beating top players and making the real latter stages of tournaments but than can all change very quickly. A lot of other young Chinese players like Yan Bingtao, Zhao Xintong and Lu Haotian are starting to knock on the door, but it would not surprise me if Xiao was the next new Chinese ranking winner given his immense quality. If the section of the draw opens up like I think it may, then the door could be wide open for Xiao to make his destiny this week.
Best of the rest: Yan Bingtao
Quarter choice: Xiao Guodong
Tournament winner selection: Barry Hawkins
As always with the Home Nations series the tournament will be covered in full on Eurosport and with an extra televised table on the Eurosport Player, while for UK freeview viewers the afternoon sessions in the early stages of the week, and all sessions of the final will be simulcast on Quest. If that is not enough, I will be back with round-by-round updates including all the big news and my usual predictions.
