What this means then is that this title is well and truly up for grabs this week and as we've seen in previous years someone could very easily come out of the blue to win their first ever ranking title. Here's who I think will be the big players this week in Australia:
Quarter 1
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)Neil Robertson Vs Andrew Higginson/ Matthew Bolton
Stephen Maguire Vs Jamie Jones
Robert Milkins Vs Liang Wenbo
John Higgins Vs Tom Ford
The top quarter of the draw here features plenty of top players like last years runner-up (though the winner and current World No.1 haven't entered) and home man in Neil Robertson, whilst we also have more big names in Stephen Maguire, Liang Wenbo, John Higgins and Robert Milkins who are all capable of winning this quarter. Liang Wenbo really impressed me last week at the Wuxi Classic where he got to the Last 16 making 4 centuries and beating Mark Selby in the Last 32. If he can hit that form again in this event I certainly think he can beat Robert Milkins in the first round and then beat John Higgins who has been very inconsistent in the last year to make the quarter-finals. However, I don't know if he quite has enough to go on and completely win the quarter as I think it'll depend on performances of certain others.
One of those others is Neil Robertson who won the Wuxi Classic just today which may give him a slight disadvantage ahead of his home event, because in my view it's now a very short turnaround for him flying out on Monday to Australia and then having to play on Wednesday and then every day after that until Sunday to win the title it's a big ask after playing so much the week before to win in Wuxi. It may be the start of the season but I don't think Robertson will be able to quite ease through the draw again and he did look vulnerable in Wuxi and there are certainly players here who can stop them.
One of those players is Stephen Maguire. Stephen himself had a very good run in Wuxi showing some really good early season form and for him a good run is certainly possible this week. Stephen made the quarter-finals in Wuxi just losing out in a decider to Martin Gould and it'll be tough for Maguire to work out how he lost that one. I think though he'll be able to use that as inspiration in Australia this week and take the positives after a disappointing season last season to kick on and challenge for the title this week. He's certainly capable of beating Neil Robertson and getting through a tricky draw to give himself a great chance of a spot in the last 4 and a shot at a win next Sunday.
Quarter Winner: Stephen Maguire
Quarter 2
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)Stuart Bingham Vs Scott Donaldson
Ryan Day Vs Mark Joyce
Mark Davis Vs Dominic Dale/ Johl Younger
Shaun Murphy Vs Jack Lisowski
Here in the 2nd quarter we also have some top players like Shaun Murphy, former winner in Australia Stuart Bingham, Ryan Day, Mark Davis and Dominic Dale. We haven't seen any of Mark Davis yet this season and based on his form of the back half of last season it's difficult to say that he will be challenging for the title this week though. It's also difficult to say that with Dominic Dale given this event is first full one of the season so for a surprise package in this quarter we'll be looking at Ryan Day who had a very good end to the season last time around and certainly looks to be getting back to his best form as he showed again in Wuxi making the Last 16, and the one thing he needs to do now is keep up a consistent level of performance and if he could challenge for this quarter he'd be doing that.
Stuart Bingham is a man that has good Bendigo memories having won his first ranking event title out at the Australian Open and he showed signs that he is getting back to the form he showed in the first half of last season at the Wuxi Classic where he made the Last 16 and he only lost out there in a decider to Marco Fu so who knows how far he could've gone if he could've got over the line in that one. He was one of the best player of the first half of last season before falling away in the second half but I think he can get over that and go well again this week and I'd be very surprised if he didn't go on and reach at least the quarter-finals and for me he is one of the main contenders for the title this week.
Another of the main contenders for the title this week is Shaun Murphy who had a good start to the season making the quarter-finals at the Wuxi Classic and he knows that he should've made the semi-finals missing an easy red in the decider close to victory against Neil Robertson. However, having only got past the Last 16 twice last season to make it to the quarter-finals of the first event of the season is a huge positive for him and he struck the ball well in Wuxi which all bodes well for Australia. In my opinion in the back half of last season Shaun Murphy almost made a second breakthrough re-discovering his form and what it is that works for him with his attacking snooker. Now that he's back on the attack he's gained in confidence and is bound to win regular titles again like he did at the start of his career.
Quarter Winner: Shaun Murphy
Quarter 3
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)Judd Trump Vs Rory McLeod
Joe Perry Vs Alan McManus
Michael Holt Vs Martin Gould
Ricky Walden Vs Marcus Campbell
As we head into the bottom half of the draw, I feel that this quarter if all about Judd Trump, Joe Perry, Martin Gould and Ricky Walden as I can't see too many people coming from an outside position to win the quarter. The bottom little section looks like it'll be all about Ricky Walden and Martin Gould in my opinion. Ricky Walden I felt would have a slow start to the season and he showed that with an early exit in Wuxi at the Last 32 stage and he has a tough little draw here if he's to get any further than the Last 16. Martin Gould however is in good form having made the semi-finals in Wuxi and that will be a huge confidence boost for him as he heads into this event and the rest of the season. I think he'll have enough in the tank after a short turnaround to make it into the quarter-finals here but not to get much further than that.
I feel like the quarter winner will come from the top section of quarter 3 and one of the 2 main contenders from there is Joe Perry. Joe Perry has been in great form within the last year with his best ranking performance in the last year and for a very long while coming in Wuxi where he was runner-up in a deciding frame to Neil Robertson. Even though overall it's been a positive week for Perry I think that he may be feeling a little bit down about missing his chance to win his first ever ranking event. That paired up with a short turnaround from the Wuxi final to his Bendigo campaign points out to me that the possibility of a repeat performance this week is slightly lower if someone can really test him this week I think they'll come out on top.
Someone that can really test Joe Perry of course is Judd Trump. Judd overall would have been very disappointed with his performances in Wuxi simply not showing any form in his Last 16 loss to Stephen Maguire and I think the signs were there that he may have just been a little rusty in his first full event of the new campaign. However, his draw in Australia is not quite as tough if he can pick up a good win against Joe Perry and shake off those early signs of rustiness and get into some good form at the start of the campaign. Judd doesn't usually make the trip to Australia so he'll want to do well this week to get something out of it and make it worth his while so that could be the inspiration he needs to get back into form.
Quarter Winner: Judd Trump
Quarter 4
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in bold)Mark Allen Vs Fergal O'Brien
Matthew Stevens Vs Luca Brecel
Xiao Guodong Vs Liam Highfield
Barry Hawkins Vs Peter Ebdon
The final quarter of the draw also has plenty of stars including former winner Barry Hawkins, Mark Allen, Xiao Guodong, Matthew Stevens and young Luca Brecel who could always make a surprise run. Firstly, after not making Wuxi this really is the first full event for both Matthew Stevens and Luca Brecel though Brecel had to play 3 matches to qualify so has more momentum than Stevens who's game has been on the decline in the last year so I think Brecel can record an outside win. Xiao Guodong though could definetly go on and outside run with the confidence he would've gained from his rise in the rankings and Shanghai Masters final last year but he's not started this season too well and appears to be coming in a little rusty and out of form as he showed in his loss to Hull. I could see him making the Last 16 but it would take him to raise his game a lot since Wuxi if he's to go any further.
Another man that may be a little rusty as this is his first event of the season and his game against O'Brien will be his first since his World Championship exit competitively. Basically, the form that he'll show and how far he gets in this event will depend on the work he's put in during the off season. He didn't have a great start to the season and his peak was around October-December once he'd warmed up and went on to win 2 European tour events and make the UK quarter-finals during this period. Also, he's not a Bendigo regular so we're lucky to be seeing him this week and I think he'll be coming in a little undercooked which could be the difference between him winning the event and exiting at the quarter-final stages.
One man that certainly isn't under cooked coming into this event is Barry Hawkins. Barry is always working hard so he came into the Wuxi Classic in fairly good shape and after getting rid of a few cobwebs on the way to the Last 16 he got a lot stronger beating Marco Fu in a decider to make the semi-finals where he was at 3-3 with Neil Robertson before the eventual champion pulled away. But with Barry in good form and with good memories of Bendigo which bought him his first ranking title he'll be full of confidence and in with a great chance of winning this whole event never mind the quarter. In my view it would be a great achievement for him to win his 2nd Australian Open title
Quarter Winner: Barry Hawkins
Tournament Runner-Up: Barry Hawkins
Tournament Winner: Shaun Murphy
Whatever the outcome is of this event I hope it is a successful one with some really exciting snooker matches and some big crowds because the Australian Open hasn't been well supported in the past and there is obviously a threat that if it isn't well supported in the future it will be taken off of the calendar which would be a real shame. I hope to be back with some updates throughout the event, and luckily this year we will also get to watch one session a day on Eurosport and hopefully they will have highlights from the earlier sessions that take place at "unsociable" times in the UK so you can all enjoy the event as much as I hope to.
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