Shanghai Masters Preview

Time for the first proper snooker for about a month, since the Paul Hunter Classic and I've been looking forward to this for a while. This event works on the old system, where the top 16 didn't have to qualify, so all of the elite players (except for Ronnie O'Sullivan who didn't enter) will be in attendance. This event is always a good one, and is one of the longer standing Chinese ranking events.

So this is how the draw shapes up in Shanghai:

Quarter 1

The top quarter sees the likes of John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Ali Carter and Mark Davis amongst others and after a little break in the schedule, it's fair to say that form shouldn't really come into it here. However, the form man in that break has been Mark Davis, who won both the 6 Reds World Championship and the General Cup in Hong Kong. He faces Ali Carter in the first round, in what should be one of the matches of the first round, and a very even match. If i'm being brutally honest, even though Davis has the form behind him, I still think that Carter will win this particular match, and he has a decent record in China, having won this event before. John Higgins or Mike Dunn will face the winner of that match in round 2, and one look at the match tells you defending champion Higgins should win it. However, Dunn has been playing a lot better this season so far, and a shock win here is by no means beyond him, with Higgins in indifferent form of late. In the bottom half of the section, we have Matthew Stevens who hasn't been in the best form in the PTC events, playing Peter Lines. For me Lines could well get a surprise victory here, with Stevens far from his best of late and with Lines having some decent results in some of the recent PTC's. Meanwhile Stephen Maguire will play either Xiao Guodong or wildcard Yuan Siyun. I don't see Maguire having too much of a problem there, and I think he is one of the main contenders to win the event in my opinion or at the very least make the latter stages.

Quarter Winner: Stephen Maguire as mentioned earlier for me.

Quarter 2

The second quarter starts with Stuart Bingham playing Kyren Wilson in round 1. Stuart has been a very consistent player in the last 2 years and shouldn't have a problem making it through this contest. However, Kyren has been one of the rising stars of the season so far, playing well in qualifying for this event, and beating Shaun Murphy in the Paul Hunter Classic. Marco Fu is also in this section and will be one of the favourites to make the semi-finals. He plays either Cao Yupeng or wildcard Zhou Yuelong in the first round and I don't see either of those causing Australian Open champion Fu a problem, in the magnificent form that Fu is in at the moment. In the bottom half of this section we have Bluebell Wood Open champion Ricky Walden who will play either Martin Gould or wildcard Zhao Xintong. Gould should make it through the wildcard round comfortably and will certainly give Walden a tough game. This is a match I could see going to the wire but, I think Walden will just pinch it. Finally, Judd Trump has a first round date with Michael Holt. Holt has a great chance to win this one for me, if he brings his best form. Judd has been struggling this season, and that was highlighted in his failure to qualify for the Indian Open. Even if Trump gets through this, I don't see him as one of the main contenders this time due to his poor form, despite being the runner-up in Shanghai last year.

Quarter Winner: Marco Fu is certainly one of my favourites for the semi-finals on his current form.

Quarter 3

Mark Selby heads this section of the draw, as we enter the bottom half of the draw. He will play either Andrew Higginson or wildcard Lin Shuai. I don't seeing him having a problem there with the decent form that he is in at the moment, and Selby is one of my main contenders for the event this week. Robert Milkins will offer him some stiff opposition though, if he can get past his first round match with Mark Joyce. I don't see Milkins having a problem, unless Joyce brings his best game and Robert really struggles. In the other half of this quarter, Mark Allen will play either Ryan Day or Lu Ning. Allen could certainly do with the points in this event, having slipped down the rankings a little bit after not entering a few earlier events, and a lot of UK Championship points coming off in the near future. Day could cause him a few problems, depending on which Ryan Day turns up and it certainly won't be a easy match for Mark. The winner of that will face either Barry Hawkins or David Grace. Barry should be a comfortable winner there, and I don't really see Grace getting a surprise win.

Quarter Winner: Mark Selby

Quarter 4

The bottom quarter is certainly the toughest in my opinion, beginning with Shaun Murphy playing Yu De Lu. Yu's form has been ok, but nothing special, so he shouldn't really cause Murphy too much of a scare in my book, although Murphy's form hasn't been great this season, failing to qualify for both Wuxi and India already. Murphy could well be a contender if he's at his best though. Home favourite Ding Junhui faces either David Gilbert or wildcard Fang Xiongman. Gilbert will certainly cause Ding some problems, as Ding always feels the pressure in his home events and plays pretty poorly in China all things considered. David Gilbert has also beaten quite recently, in the Paul Hunter Classic and Gilbert has been in great form this season so far, making the semi-finals of the Rotterdam Open. Elsewhere in this quarter, out of form Graeme Dott will play either Mark King or Zhu Yinghui. Dott has apparently been tinkering with aspects of his technique, and it will be interesting to see if that has an effect on his form in this event. Presuming that King comes through his wildcard match, he will certainly cause Dott some trouble, and I would make King bet of the first round based on Dott's present form. Finally, Neil Robertson, winner of the last 2 Chinese ranking events and runner-up in both the General Cup and 6 Reds, and my favourite to win this week, will face either Joe Perry or Wang Yuchen. Perry has also had a decent year so far, winning the first Asian Tour event, and he will certainly provide an early test for Robertson, especially having beaten Neil 5-0 in Shanghai a year ago. I still think Robertson will win though, and he is one of my main contenders for the tournament.

Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson

Tournament Winner: I'll stick my neck out and say Mark Selby

Runner-up: Stephen Maguire

First Round Draw:

John Higgins Vs Mike Dunn (Monday 16th 12.30pm UK Time)
Mark Davis Vs Ali Carter (Tuesday 17th 7.30am UK)
Matthew Stevens Vs Peter Lines (Tuesday 17th 12.30pm UK)
Stephen Maguire Vs Xiao Guodong or Yuan Siyun (Wednesday 18th 7.30am UK)
Stuart Bingham Vs Kyren Wilson (Wednesday 18th 7.30am UK)
Marco Fu Vs Cao Yupeng or Zhou Yuelong (Tuesday 17th 12.30pm UK)
Ricky Walden Vs Martin Gould or Zhao Xintong (Wednesday 18th 7.30am UK)
Judd Trump Vs Michael Holt (Tuesday 17th 12.30pm UK)
Mark Selby Vs Andrew Higginson or Lin Shuai (Tuesday 17th 12.30pm UK)
Robert Milkins Vs Mark Joyce (Wednesday 18th 12.30pm UK)
Mark Allen Vs Ryan Day or Lu Ning (Wednesday 18th 12.30pm UK)
Barry Hawkins Vs David Grace (Tuesday 17th 7.30am UK)
Shaun Murphy Vs Yu De Lu (Monday 16th 7.30am UK)
Ding Junhui Vs David Gilbert or Fang Xiongman (Wednesday 18th 12.30pm UK)
Graeme Dott Vs Mark King or Zhu Yinghui (Wednesday 18th 7.30am UK)
Neil Robertson Vs Joe Perry or Wang Yuchen (Tuesday 17th 7.30am UK)


Whoever wins this event, it should be a week of very entertaining snooker, with plenty of big breaks and surprises and plenty of  twists and turns along the way. I just hope that the verdict in the Stephen Lee case, which is expected early next week, overshadows the good snooker that is sure to be played this week and the tournament as a whole in the minds of everyone involved in snooker. I'll be bringing you updates after every day or round on what's been happening and what we can expect as each round goes. I hope you enjoyed reading my preview, and enjoy watching this, the third full ranking event of the season.