World Championship Qualifiers Round 1

Time for the qualifiers for the biggest event on the calendar, the World Championship. After the members not on tour qualifiers the two players that have come into the main draw are Joe Swail and Justin Astley.

There are 16 matches in the first round of qualifying which are played across two days at the English institute of sport in Sheffield. In this blog I'm going to be picking out some matches to look out for and trying to predict the winners of all 16 matches.

The long(ish) road to The Crucible

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Scott Donaldson - This should be a close match this one and the best of 19 matches give the opportunity for the talented guys down the rankings to show more of their potential. Un-Nooh from Thailand has showed us glimpses of his potential already this season and he has a good chance of being an outside qualifier. As for the Scot Scott Donaldson, he hasn't gone as well as Un-Nooh this season, but may shine over the longer format. However I just see this one going the way of Thepchaiya, but it will be close so should be around 10-7.

Luca Brecel Vs Fraser Patrick - This particular match could be a lot closer than a lot of people may think. Of course Luca will be fancied by many to go on another run, but the draw hasn't been kind to him overall and I don't think the feat of last year will be repeated. Fraser Patrick may not be on the tour, but he has still played in plenty of qualifiers this year and has notable scalps to his name, such as young Michael White and even Martin Gould. I still think that Brecel will be too strong for Fraser and that he does prefer the longer format, as he showed in the UK Championship this season, and last seasons World Championship qualifiers. Therefore I think Brecel will take a 10-6 or 10-5 victory.

Pankaj Advani Vs Joe Swail - This is probably the tie of the round and will be a quality encounter which could also produce a shock result. World Billiards champion Advani will be the favourite for this one, and I think that if he can get through this match he could go on a run here. I was incredibly impressed with how Advani played in the Welsh Open to get to the quarter-finals, especially in his victory over Shaun Murphy. However, Joe Swail looked good in the amateur qualifiers and in some of the PTC events, so he will give Advani a challenge. My prediction though, is for a 10-7 Pankaj Advani win.

Qualifying Round 1 draw

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Scott Donaldson - Un-Nooh win
Zhang Anda Vs Passakorn Suwannawat - Zhang Anda 10-6 win
Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon Vs Jamie O'Neill - Easy enough win for Thira
Michael Wasley Vs Sean O'Sullivan - Close but I think Wasley will edge it
Dechawat Poomjeang Vs Michael Leslie - A win for Poomjaeng
Pankaj Advani Vs Joe Swail - Advani win
Tony Drago Vs Mohamed Khairy - Easy win for Drago, 10-3 or 10-4
Aditya Mehta Vs Daniel Wells - Close but Mehta edges it 10-8
Luca Brecel Vs Fraser Patrick - Luca Brecel victory
Robbie Williams Vs Li Yan - Going for a 10-6 Williams win
Ian Burns Vs Joel Walker - Burns is in decent form so 10-6 to him
Liam Highfield Vs Simon Bedford - Going for Highfield to get a run going, starting with a 10-7 win
Chen Zhe Vs Sam Baird - Close match and one for a decider. Baird edges it.
Paul Davison Vs Justin Astley - Astley to cause a possible upset as he likes this format
Craig Steadman Vs David Grace - Have to go for 10-8 to David Grace
Tian Pengfei Vs Martin O'Donnell - Will be going down to the wire, but 10-8 to Pengfei is my prediction

Best bet: Zhang Anda (No value in Brecel or Drago)

Well I have been looking forward to this as we're now full steam ahead as we will find out in the next 10 days, the qualifiers for The Crucible.