China Open Preview

On Easter Monday, snooker will begin treading uncharted territory with the biggest Chinese event in the sports history. The winner next Sunday will take home £225,000, the second biggest prize of the 2017/2018 season, £75,000 more than any other Chinese event this season, £55,000 more than the UK Championship first prize and £25,000 more than Mark Allen picked up in January for becoming the Masters champion.

All matches up to and including the quarter-finals are played over the best-of-11 frames, an extension on the previous format of this event. Meanwhile, the semi-finals will be played over the best-of-19 frames, and the final over the best-of-21 frames. Not only is this the perfect warm up for the World Championships but also an incredibly important event in its own right.

After this event, the top 16 in the world rankings will be guaranteed their place at the Crucible for the World Championships, while the remainder of the tour will be heading to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield to battle for the remaining 16 spots.

For Ryan Day, his failure to qualify for Beijing could prove costly. He is currently in position at 16th in the provisional Crucible rankings, but if Mark Allen is able to defeat Noppon Saengkham in the last 64 it will send Day to the EIS.

Theoretically, players as low as 60 in the provisional Crucible rankings could make it into the top 16 by winning the title, if other results go their way in the process. However, only Mark King and Liang Wenbo can get into the top 16 by reaching the final, while a place in the semi-finals for Stephen Maguire would most probably be enough to get him to the Crucible automatically.

Quarter 1

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)

Mark Selby or Wang Yuchen Vs Scott Donaldson

Ben Woollaston Vs Lee Walker

Liam Highfield Vs Lu Haotian 

Stephen Maguire Vs Fergal O'Brien

Michael Holt Vs Mark Davis

Mark Williams Vs Thepchiaya Un-Nooh

Yan Bingtao Vs Kurt Maflin

Mark Allen Vs Noppon Saengkham

Defending China Open champion Mark Selby has one more tournament to find some form ahead of his return to the Crucible. His season has not had many highlights since winning the International Championship in Daqing at the beginning of November. If he overcomes Wang Yuchen in his heldover last 128 tie then Selby would face Scott Donaldson in the last 64, who was responsible for his last 64 exit at the UK Championship. Last week at the Players Championship he fell in round one after a round one exit in the Romanian Masters and a last 64 loss at the Welsh Open. Staggeringly, the world number one is actually as low as eighth on the money list for this season so he will be hoping to have a good run this week, and build his confidence back up ahead of his World Championship title defence.

The current numbers 17 and 18 on the provisional Crucible seeding list are both in this section of the draw. Mark Allen has a must win game against Noppon Saengkham as he looks to leapfrog Ryan Day in the seedings list. This brings with it huge pressure on Allen, while Saengkham will have plenty of confidence after a career best run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open a month ago that saw him defeat Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson along the way. Allen has struggled since winning the Masters, and spoke on Twitter of his struggle for form after a first round exit in the Players Championship. This followed a first round loss in Romania and last 32 exits at the Welsh Open and World Grand Prix.

Stephen Maguire meanwhile needs to find a way to win this quarter or face a second successive year of World Championship qualifying. The 2008 China Open champion does have plenty of form in this event, making the semi-finals in 2016 to secure his automatic Crucible seeding. The Scotsman was also a semi-finalist in 2013 and runner-up in 2012 to Peter Ebdon. Last year he fell at the quarter-final stage to eventual winner Mark Selby, and the pair could face off this week in the last 16. 

However, my quarter choice this week is last year's China Open runner-up Mark Williams. His run last year got him into contention for an automatic Crucible qualification spot, but defeat to Selby in the final denied him. So, 12 months on from that and the further disappointment of failing to come through the World Championship qualifiers, it is remarkable to see him back in the world's top eight and someone who looks a big factor in every tournament he plays. As well as winning the Northern Ireland Open and the German Masters, Williams has been in a number of semi and quarter-finals including the recent Players Championship. As well as that, he has been a quarter-finalist in three of the four Chinese events so far this season so it would not be a surprise to see him in the latter stages contending for a title he has won in 2002, 2006 and 2010. 

Best of the rest: Stephen Maguire

Quarter choice: Mark Williams 

Quarter 2

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

John Higgins Vs Martin O'Donnell

Anthony Hamilton Vs Jack Lisowski

Ali Carter Vs Gary Wilson

Joe Perry Vs Chris Totten

Mark King Vs Peter Ebdon or Zhang Yong or Chang Bingyu

Kyren Wilson Vs Andrew Higginson or Chen Feilong or Fan Zhengyi 

Xiao Guodong Vs Jimmy Robertson 

Ding Junhui or Michael Georgiou Vs Craig Steadman 

Fresh from his Championship League victory this week, John Higgins will be looking to press and have a run at taking home a much bigger title this week in Beijing. The Scottish number 1 looks to be hitting top form again at the right time, after also taking the trophy at the Welsh Open a month ago. He will have been disappointed to lose 6-0 in round one of the Players Championship, but as he showed in the Championship League that was a very temporary blip. Not only does Higgins have a fantastic chance this week, in my view he is very much one of the top contenders for the Crucible as well.

In many ways it is nice that, by complete chance, Peter Ebdon has had his last 128 match heldover. The China Open is the scene of his last two ranking titles in 2009 and 2012, so it will always be a special tournament for him. In 2014 he made the last 16 after defeating Judd Trump in Beijing and he is more than capable of pulling off an upset or two this week. Equally, Jack Lisowski could pull off a couple of upsets in Beijing this week. This tournament was where Lisowski made his first ever quarter-final back in 2013 and after finally bettering this by make the semi-finals in Shanghai earlier this season, he must relishing another trip to China.

Kyren Wilson is certainly one to watch this week. He has had some good times in China this season, making the final of the World Open in September as well as making a 147 in the International Championships. He was also a semi-finalist at this tournament 12 months ago, and of course his only ranking title to date came at the Shanghai Masters in 2015. After making three finals in all this season, there is absolutely no reason why he cannot get on another run and perhaps add to that tally at the end of the week. 

Meanwhile, Xiao Guodong and Jimmy Robertson for me is one of the picks of the last 64 in Beijing. Xiao has been in brilliant form this season, making quarter-finals at the Scottish Open, German Masters and the World Grand Prix. The 29-year-old has flown back into the top 32 while Jimmy Robertson is on the fringes after a good season himself. This included a German Masters quarter-final of his own, and some very consistent play pre-Christmas that saw him make the last 32 on a number of occasions. After a poor recent run of first round exits in Gibraltar and the Welsh Open, Robertson hit back to win five of his six round-robin games in group seven of the Championship League. This included a 3-0 win over Ricky Walden and 3-2 wins over Luca Brecel and John Higgins, though ultimately Higgins would gain revenge by defeating him in the group semi-final.

My second quarter pick though is a man looking for a hat-trick of China Open titles in Ding Junhui. The Chinese number 1 turns 31 the day before this tournament gets underway and he has plenty of form in this event. It was the scene of his 2005 breakthrough while his second Beijing title came in 2014. Along with that he was runner-up to Mark Williams in 2010 and has reached semi-finals at this event in 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2015. Recently, he made the final of the World Grand Prix losing out to O'Sullivan, who would overcome him again in the Players Championship quarter-finals. Ding has already won in China this season collecting the World Open title in September before suffering with an eye problem prior to Christmas. Of his 13 ranking titles, six have come in China and seven in Asia overall, so he is always one of the leading contenders in this part of the world and he surely will be again this week. There are certainly a few obstacles in a difficult quarter of the draw, but if Ding is on top form he should have enough to get past those and be around at the weekend in Beijing. 

Best of the rest: Jack Lisowski

Quarter choice: Ding Junhui

Quarter 3

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)

Jak Jones Vs Nigel Bond

Zhou Yuelong Vs Chen Zhe

Neil Robertson Vs Robbie Williams

Martin Gould Vs Sam Craigie

Ricky Walden Vs Hamza Akbar

Stuart Bingham Vs Matthew Stevens

Graeme Dott Vs Mark Joyce

Shaun Murphy Vs Chris Wakelin 

Zhou Yuelong has not had his best season in the ranking events, but has had a little success in the Championship League. After winning group 1 of the competition in early January he came back for the Winner's group this week and reached the final before narrowly missing out on the title 3-2 to John Higgins. That should give him some confidence though coming into this week and with the draw in his section slightly more open, he in my view is the clear front runner for a place in the last 16 at the very least.

2016 runner-up Ricky Walden will be looking for another big week in China as he looks to build some form up leading into the World Championship qualifiers. He could of course still qualify automatically by winning a fourth ranking title, and with the other three all coming in China, this event is one of the few Chinese tournaments he has not yet been able to capture. Graeme Dott is in a similar boat of someone looking for a good week to take into the World qualifiers. Dott captured this title 11 years ago and has reached quarter-finals since then in 2009 and 2014 so he is certainly dangerous and one to watch out for this week.

Stuart Bingham meanwhile is not completely assured of his place in the World Championship as a seed. He is currently 15th on the provisional Crucible list but could fall to 16th if he loses in round one and Mark Allen gets through to the last 32, thus opening the door if someone just outside of the 16 were to have a big week. In terms of Bingham's own form he will have been pleased to make the final in Romania recently, even if he did end up losing from 4-0 in front. He also made the quarters in Gibraltar the week before though his last 64 opponent in Beijing is the same man that sent him home at the last 32 stage of the recent Welsh Open.

Finally, it is always worth mentioning Neil Robertson but particularly this week. Looking at the draw, he has to be the hot favourite to come through and make it to at least the quarter-finals with Martin Gould being the highest ranked player he would have to defeat in order to do so. His form has been very hit and miss with good wins being followed by surprising losses. After his impeccable display against Luca Brecel at the Players Championship, his display in the following round against Trump was nowhere near the same standard as he fell to a crushing defeat against Judd Trump. He will have good memories of this event, having captured the title in 2013 and nearly defending it in 2014 despite suffering from a virus throughout the event. In recent years he has not been able to keep this going losing at the last 64 stage in 2015 and 2016 before not even entering last year. 

That leaves my selection in this quarter as five time finalist in the 2017/2018 season Shaun Murphy. Murphy has been unfortunate in many ways that he has not won more this season. The Champion of Champions victor has met O'Sullivan in three of his five finals this season, winning one of those. A reoccurring neck and back injury did not hamper his performance as much as many thought it would when he made the Players Championship final, despite being in significant pain. As well as appearing in a quintet of finals, Murphy has been consistent with a semi-final in Berlin and a quarter-final at the Grand Prix earlier in 2018. Despite never winning this title, Murphy has made at least the quarter-finals in seven of his 12 Beijing appearances, with semi-finals in 2011 and 2013 as well as narrowly missing out to Stephen Maguire in the 2008 final. Making the final of the China Championship earlier this season shows that he certainly has form in China and after the Players Championship he should also be full of confidence. All of that makes Murphy a big contender for this title. 

Best of the rest: Zhou Yuelong

Quarter choice: Shaun Murphy

Quarter 4

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold) 

Barry Hawkins Vs Sam Baird

Michael White Vs Paul Davison

Luca Brecel Vs Cao Yupeng

David Gilbert Vs Mike Dunn

Liang Wenbo or Rhys Clark Vs Duane Jones

Anthony McGill Vs Stuart Carrington or Basem Eltahhan or Luo Honghao

Tom Ford Vs Yuan Sijun

Ronnie O'Sullivan or Ross Muir Vs Elliot Slessor 

Barry Hawkins will be looking to build from his recent good performance. The Welsh Open finalist had a poor first half to the season, but was excellent in Cardiff and will now be looking to build his form ahead of another big run at the Crucible. Sam Baird is Hawkins opponent in round one and needs a victory to boost his tour survival hopes after a very poor season has left him provisionally outside of the top 64 and outside of the top 8 on the one-season list not already qualified for next season. Hawkins record in the China Open is not the best however, so this may provide half an opportunity if Baird can find some form.

Luca Brecel is really struggling for form in this second half of the season. First round exits in the Players Championship, Gibraltar Open and the World Grand Prix were also accompanied by a last 64 loss in the Welsh Open. There was a highlight in the Championship League last week as he made a 147 in a 3-0 win over John Higgins, though this was the only game he managed to win as he finished bottom of the group. His best form this season by a mile has come over in China which gives him hopes for improvement. As well as winning the China Championship in August, Brecel was a semi-finalist at the World Open and made the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters. Perhaps another Chinese trip will help him find his game again ahead of the Crucible.

In round one though he faces a very difficult tie against Cao Yupeng. Cao is having the season of his life having made the Scottish Open final, narrowly missing out on victory there, and then making the Gibraltar Open final a few weeks ago. When the pair met earlier on this season Cao only lost out 5-4 in the World Open last 16, and his performances over the season have been very impressive as he qualified for the World Grand Prix and only just missed out on the Players Championship.

Liang Wenbo needs to make the final this week in order to make the Crucible automatically or face going to the qualifiers. As the Chinese number 2 his last 128 match has been heldover to the venue. There are two clear obstacles in the draw for Liang with a potential last 32 against McGill and a potential last 16 against O'Sullivan so it is hard to give him much of a chance of making the Crucible as a seed. His form has simply not been up to scratch as he failed to qualify for the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship. In ranking events, Liang has failed to make a quarter-final all season and it is difficult to see that changing this week.

Anthony McGill should come to Beijing with a lot more confidence after whitewashing John Higgins 6-0 in the first round of the recent Players Championship, ending his Higgins hoodoo this season. He only narrowly missed out on the semi-finals in Llandudno losing out 6-5 to Shaun Murphy. This also comes after a last 16 appearance in Gibraltar, a run that you feel ended prematurely, and a quarter-final at the World Grand Prix. This is much like the consistency he displayed at the beginning of the season where he made the Indian Open final, English Open semi's and three quarter-finals in addition. He may be the strongest opposition in this section to the world number two. 

Once again though my quarter choice is the player of the season Ronnie O'Sullivan. His form this season is making it very difficult to pick anyone else in fact. His win at the Players Championship was a fifth ranking title of the season, joining his wins at the World Grand Prix, UK Championships, Shanghai Masters and the English Open. That Shanghai victory is the reason I think he could go all the way here in Beijing. Prior to that there were some question marks about him in Chinese events but he answered that by romping to victory. In the China Championships a sublime comeback from eventual winner Brecel halted him at the quarter-final stages. It really is difficult to pick out one man who could stop him this week, because when he has been beaten it has usually taken an excellent performance from his opponent, so it is all about whether anyone can step up to the plate and make that happen. If not, then ranking title number six of this unbelievable season could be on its way. 

Best of the rest: Cao Yupeng

Quarter choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan 

Tournament Winner Selection: Ding Junhui


The event will be covered in full this week on Eurosport while in the UK the 12.30pm sessions will also be simulcast live on Quest. With Crucible spots and huge money on the line and all of the world's best players in the running, the penultimate event of the snooker season should provide plenty of drama and excitement. 

Fantasy Snooker: Points Update and China Open info

The fantasy snooker season is nearing a conclusion, with just two events to go of the contest. The Players Championship victory last week for Ronnie O'Sullivan earned a lot of points for the players that had faith in him, though markedly fewer believed that the injured Shaun Murphy would go on and make the final.

The gap at the top of the table has been closed slightly as well and with two events to go there is still plenty that can change in the overall standings. The upcoming China Open is the final chance for players to use Captain's picks, so if you haven't used your quota make sure you specify to use them with your picks this week for double points.

As there are only two events left all players that have only previously been selected once by a participant have been taken out of the table as they cannot be selected more than three times before the end of the season. Players highlighted in red are those that you have already played three times and cannot pick again in these last two events.

Please note, players like Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and Ronnie O'Sullivan who have had their last 128 matches held over to the venue, cannot earn you points for the last 128 match - so don't pick them just because they have an extra game.

Here is how the full table stands ahead of Beijing:

ALL PLAYERS REMOVED WHO HAVE ONLY BEEN PICKED ONCE AND CANNOT POSSIBLY BE PICKED MORE THAN THREE TIMES

Couge: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1182  

PPS: Williams x3, Ding x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Bingham x3, Trump x3, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x2, K. Wilson x2 (2 Captain picks used)

Daniela Reich: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1110  

PPS: Ding x2, Murphy x3, Allen x2, Williams x3, Trump x3, Bingham x2, O’Sullivan x2, Selby x2, Wenbo x2, Maguire x2, Robertson x2

Kellie Barker: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 1084  

PPS: Allen x3, Murphy x2, Higgins x2, Hawkins x2, Trump x2, Brecel x2, Selby x2, Williams x2, Robertson x3, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, Bingham x2 (2 Captains picks used)

Protoursnooker: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Cao Yupeng    Points: 1077  

PPS: Ding x2, Murphy x3, Selby x2, Robertson x3, Higgins x2, Hawkins x2, O’Sullivan x3, Trump x3, Bingham x2, (2 Captain Picks used) 

FAM147: SEASON: Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong   Points: 1011    

PPS: Bingham x2, Allen x2, Lisowski x2, Selby x2, Trump x3, Robertson x3, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, McGill x2

Alex Abrahams: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley    Points: 962   

PPS: Carter x2, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, K. Wilson x2, Trump x3, Williams x2, Bingham x2, O’Sullivan x3, Selby x2, Robertson x3 (2 Captains picks used)

Phil Mudd: SEASON: Jimmy Robertson and Sam Craigie   Points: 949 

PPS: Ding x2, Allen x3, Robertson x2, Williams x3, Higgins x2, O’Sullivan x3, Selby x2, Gould x2, Bingtao x3 (2 Captains picks used)

TungstenDarts: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 935  

PPS: Fu x3, Hawkins x2, McGill x3, Allen x3, Selby x2, Williams x2, Gould x2, Trump x2, Ding x2, Robertson x2, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2 (2 Captain picks used)

Isitan Bakar: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson   Points: 934  

PPS: Robertson x3, Murphy x2, Bingham x3, Ding x2, Higgins x2, Trump x3, O’Sullivan x3, Hawkins x2, (3 Captains pick used)

Colin Delaney: SEASON: Ken Doherty and Yan Bingtao   Points: 925   

PPS: Higgins x3, Maguire x2, Allen x2, Hawkins x2, Ding x2, Trump x3, Selby x2, Murphy x2, Gould x2, Lisowski x2, Perry x2, Robertson x3 (3 Captain Picks used)

Munraj: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Michael Georgiou   Points: 915    

PPS: Ding x3, Trump x2, Allen x2, Hawkins x2, Selby x2, Robertson x3, McGill x2, O’Sullivan x2, (2 Captains picks used)

Andy Brooker: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 910   

PPS: Bingham x2, Higgins x3, Williams x2, Trump x2, O’Sullivan x3, Allen x2, Robertson x2, Selby x2, Murphy x2 (1 Captain pick used)

TY: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Zhang Anda   Points: 907  

PPS: Ding x2, Robertson x3, Higgins x3, Allen x3, Ding x2, Bingham x3, Selby x3, Trump x2, Murphy x3 (1 Captain Pick used)

John McBride: SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Sam Craigie   Points: 886  

PPS:  Liang x2, Murphy x2, Trump x2, Allen x3, Selby x3, Williams x3, Robertson x3, Higgins x2

Cluster of Reds: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley   Points: 872   

PPS: Allen x3, Trump x2, Brecel x2, Robertson x2, Gould x3, Murphy x3, O’Sullivan x3, Higgins x2 (2 Captains pick used)

Rob Francis: SEASON: Mark Davis and Cao Yupeng   Points: 872  

PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Wilson x2, Trump x3, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x3, Brecel x2 (3 Captains pick used)

Ben Summers: SEASON: Noppon Saengkham and Sam Craigie    Points: 831    

PPS: McGill x2, Ding x2, Selby x2, Trump x3, Allen x3, O’Sullivan x2, Williams x3, Maguire x2 (1 captain pick used)

Igor Snooker: SEASON: Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty   Points: 797  

PPS: O’Sullivan x2, Murphy x3, Selby x3, Robertson x3, McGill x2, Williams x2, Allen x2 (2 captains pick used)

LTD: SEASON: Robert Milkins and Ken Doherty    Points: 787   

PPS: Carter x2, Higgins x3, Hawkins x2, Maguire x2, Perry x3, Wilson x2, Selby x3, O’Sullivan x2, Robertson x2, Walden x2, Bingham x2 (3 Captains picks used)

Anthony: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and Michael Georgiou   Points: 784   

PPS: Higgins x3, Day x2, Maguire x2, Trump x2, Williams x3, O’Sullivan x3, McGill x2, Selby x2, Allen x2

GaryOnCue: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie   Points: 752   

PPS: Hawkins x2, Robertson x3, Maguire x3, Murphy x3, Ding x2, Selby x2, Higgins x3, Allen x2, O’Sullivan x3, Gould x2 (2 Captain pick used)

D. Muckian: SEASON: Tian Pengfei and Zhang Anda    Points: 703   

PPS: Ding x2, Maguire x2, Allen x3, Williams x2, Lisowski x2, O’Sullivan x2, Wilson x2, Selby x2 (2 Captain pick used)

Kjetil: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and John Astley   Points: 700  

PPS: Carter x2, Allen x2, Gould x3, O’Sullivan x2, Higgins x2 (1 Captain Pick used)

Beat the Boss (Me): SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Robin Hull   Points: 656  

PPS: Maguire x2, Allen x2, Robertson x2, Brecel x2, Hawkins x2, Gould x2, O’Sullivan x2, Higgins x2 (2 Captain picks used)

Mark Taylor: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie    Points: 656   

PPS: Allen x2, Robertson x2, Perry x2, Higgins x2, Selby x3, O’Sullivan x2 (2 Captain Picks used)

Matthew Lowson: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 635 

PPS: Ding x3, Hawkins x2, Wilson x2, Selby x2, Higgins x3, Murphy x2, Williams x2, O’Sullivan x3, Allen x3 (2 Captains picks used)

My "Beat the Boss" selections for the China Open are Shaun Murphy as a captain's pick and Ding Junhui. 

The full deadline for China Open picks is before the first matches on Monday 2 April at 2.30am UK Time.

All the best to all players for their picks this week.

Fantasy Snooker: Points update and Players Championship info

An interesting weekend of action last time out in Gibraltar has not changed too much in the fantasy snooker standings. Only one player in the entire league picked eventual winner Ryan Day. Only one other had hand picked runner-up Cao Yupeng for the event, though a couple of others have benefited from having him as a season pick. Nobody in the league hand picked either of the surprise semi-finalists Lee Walker and Scott Donaldson, though one player again had Donaldson as a season pick... and that ironically was the same player that picked Day for the tournament.

Now, there are only three sets of selections left to make as we head into the Players Championship, with just the China Open and World Championships to follow. This means players you have selected once who are not in Llandudno or Beijing have been removed from the players previously selected list, as you can no longer pick them more than three times. Don't forget, captain picks cannot be used in the World Championship as it is already a double points event, so make sure to get them in play in the next two events or lose out.

Here are the current standings:

Couge: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1160  

PPS: Williams x3, Ding x3, Murphy x3, Higgins x3, Bingham x3, Trump x3, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x2, Robertson, Maguire, Allen, K. Wilson (1 Captain pick used)

Protoursnooker: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Cao Yupeng    Points: 1066  

PPS: Ding x2, Allen, Maguire, Murphy x3, Selby x2, Robertson x2, Higgins, Hawkins x2, O’Sullivan x3, Williams, Trump x3, Wilson, Bingtao, Brecel, Bingham x2, (1 Captain Pick used)

Daniela Reich: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1064   

PPS: Ding x2, Murphy x3, Allen x2, Williams x2, K. Wilson, Trump x2, Bingham x2, McGill, O’Sullivan x2, Selby x2, Wenbo x2, Maguire x2, Robertson x2, Brecel

Kellie Barker: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 1040   

PPS: Allen x3, Murphy x2, Higgins x2, Hawkins x2, Ding, Trump x2, Brecel x2, Bingtao, Selby x2, Williams, Robertson x2, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, Bingham x2 (2 Captains picks used)

FAM147: SEASON: Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong   Points: 987  

PPS: Bingham x2, Allen x2, Lisowski x2, Selby, Murphy, Trump x2, Robertson x3, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, McGill x2, Bingtao

Alex Abrahams: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley    Points: 951   

PPS: Carter x2, Murphy x3, Higgins x2, K. Wilson x2, Trump x3, Williams x2, Bingham x2, Ding, O’Sullivan x3, Selby x2, Robertson x2, Maguire, McGill (2 Captains pick used)

Phil Mudd: SEASON: Jimmy Robertson and Sam Craigie   Points: 925  

PPS: Ding x2, Allen x3, Robertson x2, Williams x3, Brecel, Higgins x2, O’Sullivan x3, Selby x2, Gould x2, Bingtao x2, Murphy, K. Wilson (2 Captains picks used)

Isitan Bakar: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson   Points: 923  

PPS: Robertson x2, Murphy x2, Bingham x3, Ding x2, Higgins, Wilson, Allen, Trump x3, O’Sullivan x3, Hawkins x2, Williams (2 Captains pick used)

Colin Delaney: SEASON: Ken Doherty and Yan Bingtao   Points: 914   

PPS: Higgins x2, Maguire x2, McGill, Allen x2, Hawkins x2, Ding x2, Trump x3, Brecel, Selby x2, Murphy x2, Gould x2, O’Sullivan, Lisowski x2, Perry x2, Robertson x2, Maguire (2 Captain Picks used)

Munraj: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Michael Georgiou   Points: 904   

PPS: Ding x3, Trump x2, Allen x2, Hawkins x2, Selby x2, Robertson x2, McGill x2, O’Sullivan x2, Wilson, Murphy, Maguire, Williams, Brecel (1 Captain pick used)

TungstenDarts: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 902  

PPS: Fu x3, Hawkins x2, McGill x3, Allen x3, Selby x2, Williams, Gould x2, Trump x2, Ding x2, Robertson, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, Murphy, Brecel, K. Wilson (2 Captain picks used)

TY: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Zhang Anda   Points: 898  

PPS: Ding x2, Robertson x3, Higgins x3, Allen x3, Ding, Bingham x3, Selby x3, Trump x2, Murphy x3, Brecel, O’Sullivan, Williams (1 Captain Pick used)

Andy Brooker: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 864  

PPS: Maguire, Bingham x2, Higgins x3, Williams x2, Trump x2, O’Sullivan x2, Ding, Allen x2, Robertson x2, Selby x2, Murphy x2, McGill (1 Captain pick used)

Cluster of Reds: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley   Points: 861

PPS: Ding, Allen x3, Trump x2, Brecel x2, Robertson, Williams, Gould x3, Murphy x3, O’Sullivan x3, Selby, Higgins, Wilson, McGill (2 Captains pick used)

Rob Francis: SEASON: Mark Davis and Cao Yupeng   Points: 850  

PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x2, Murphy x3, Allen, Higgins x3, Wilson x2, Trump x3, Williams, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x3, Maguire, Brecel x2 (3 Captains pick used)

John McBride: SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Sam Craigie   Points: 840 

PPS:  Liang x2, Murphy x2, Trump x2, Allen x3, Selby x3, Williams x3, Robertson x3, Higgins, Wilson, Bingtao

Ben Summers: SEASON: Noppon Saengkham and Sam Craigie    Points: 823   

PPS: McGill x2, Dott, Ding x2, Selby x2, Trump x3, Allen x3, O’Sullivan x2, Williams x3, Higgins, Maguire, Robertson

Igor Snooker: SEASON: Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty   Points: 773  

PPS: Ding, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire, Murphy x3, Selby x3, Robertson x3, McGill x2, Wilson, Williams x2, Allen x2, Bingtao, O’Sullivan, Brecel (2 captains pick used)

GaryOnCue: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie   Points: 741   

PPS: Hawkins x2, Robertson x2, Maguire x3, Murphy x3, Ding x2, Selby x2, Higgins x2, Wilson, Allen x2, O’Sullivan x3, Williams, Gould x2 (1 Captain pick used)

Anthony: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and Michael Georgiou   Points: 716 

PPS: Higgins x3, Day x2, Maguire x2, Murphy, Ding, Trump x2, Williams x2, O’Sullivan x2, McGill x2, Selby x2, Allen x2, Wilson, Bingtao

LTD: SEASON: Robert Milkins and Ken Doherty    Points: 691  

PPS: Carter x2, Higgins x3, Hawkins x2, Maguire, Perry x3, Wilson x2, Selby x3, O’Sullivan, Robertson x2, Walden x2, Bingham x2, Williams (2 Captains picks used)

Kjetil: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and John Astley   Points: 654

PPS: Carter x2, Dott, Allen x2, Gould x3, O’Sullivan, Ding, Higgins x2, Maguire, Robertson, Williams, K. Wilson (1 Captain Pick used)

D. Muckian: SEASON: Tian Pengfei and Zhang Anda    Points: 645 

PPS: Ding x2, Maguire x2, Allen X3, Williams x2, Lisowski x2, O’Sullivan x2, Wilson x2, Selby x2, Higgins, McGill (1 Captain pick used)

Mark Taylor: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie    Points: 634   

PPS: Allen x2, Robertson, Maguire, Perry x2, Higgins x2, Wilson, Selby x3, O’Sullivan x2, Murphy, Brecel, Bingtao, Williams (2 Captain Picks used)

Matthew Lowson: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 624  

PPS: Ding x3, Maguire, Hawkins x2, Brecel, Wilson x2, Selby x2, Higgins x2, Murphy x2, Trump, Williams x2, Bingtao, O’Sullivan x3, Allen x3, McGill (2 Captains picks used)

Beat the Boss (Me): SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Robin Hull   Points: 564   

PPS: Maguire x2, Allen x2, Williams, Robertson x2, Brecel x2, Murphy, Hawkins x2, Ding, Gould x2, Selby, Bingtao, O’Sullivan, Higgins (1 Captain pick used)

My 'Beat the boss' selections for the Players Championship are John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan with a captains pick on O'Sullivan. The deadline for all picks is before the first matches begin on Monday 19th March at 7pm.

All the very best to all players for their picks this week.

Players Championship Preview

This week, the 16 best players of the season so far head to Llandudno for the Players Championship with £125,000 up for grabs for the winner.

The players that have qualified via the one season money list have certainly earned their places. Every single player in the field has reached at least one ranking event final this season, nine of them have been ranking event winners this season, while Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen take the tally of tournament winners in the field to 11 if you include the two biggest invitational events.

Having won the UK Championship, World Grand Prix, English Open and the Shanghai Masters this season Ronnie O'Sullivan is the top seed, while German Masters and Northern Ireland Open winner Mark Williams is the second seed.

One thing is for sure, having qualified for this tournament, every single player in the field can be considered a contender for this big title, while it is an important event for guys like Stephen Maguire, Ryan Day and Allen in the 'Race to the Crucible'.

Quarter 1

First round draw: (Picks in bold) 

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Graeme Dott

Ding Junhui Vs Mark Allen

Top seed Ronnie O'Sullivan has been the dominant player of the season by a long way, and there are not many players that can say they have beaten him this year or even given him a good game. The only players to beat O'Sullivan this season are John Higgins (twice - Scottish Open and Welsh Open), Mark Allen (Masters), Elliot Slessor (Northern Ireland Open), Shaun Murphy (Champion of Champions), Yan Bingtao (International Championship) and Luca Brecel (China Championship). On four of those seven occasions he was beaten by the eventual winner of that tournament. 

His first round opponent here Graeme Dott is not one of those players that has given O'Sullivan a good game this season. Dott has played the Rocket twice this season, firstly in the China Championship where he lost 5-0 and then in Cardiff recently where O'Sullivan was again victorious without dropping a frame. The Scotsman is here after a good couple of weeks in which he reached the German Masters and Snooker Shoot-Out finals. He is slightly fortunate to be here, after Cao Yupeng lost in the Gibraltar Open final, in a match that Cao needed to win to make it to Llandudno ahead of Dott. He has been playing much better this season than in previous years and he would have a good chance against most of the guys in this field playing how he has been. However, you feel like he would need a dip in the performance of O'Sullivan to make it through here. 

The corresponding match in this quarter sees Masters champion and International Championship runner-up Mark Allen take on World Open champion and recent Grand Prix runner-up Ding Junhui. These two have only met once in the last four and a half years amazingly, with Ding beating Allen 5-2 in the 2016 Shanghai Masters, a tournament he would go on to win. Between Ding's win at the World Open and his final a few weeks ago in Preston there was not much to shout about, though this was largely due to an eye problem. 

Allen meanwhile has not got going again since winning the Masters in January. He lost in the last 32 of the German Masters, Welsh Open and the World Grand Prix (a 32 man event), as well as losing in the first round of the Romanian Masters this week. The Northern Irishman is of course under huge pressure as well in the 'Race to the Crucible'. This match with Ding in itself is a massive one for the man provisionally 16th and on the bubble. A victory would put him ahead of Stuart Bingham (who is not here this week) at the very least, going into the China Open. Meanwhile, a defeat to Ding would leave the door open for Ryan Day who could overtake him and knock Allen to 17th going into the China Open, if Day were to win his first round match this week. If Ding produces the form that got him to the final of the Grand Prix here, then I think Allen could be in real trouble. 

Quarter choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan 

Quarter 2

First round draw: (Picks in bold)

Luca Brecel Vs Neil Robertson 

Judd Trump Vs Stephen Maguire

The second quarter is where we find China Championship winner Luca Brecel up against Scottish Open winner Neil Robertson. The pair have only ever met once and that was back in the 2015 World Grand Prix with Robertson winning 4-0, so that does not have too much relevance to this match. For Brecel, his recent form has fallen away dramatically in recent months, compared with the first half of the season. This week he was whitewashed in the first round of the Romanian Masters. This came after defeats in the last 128 of the Gibraltar Open, the last 64 in Cardiff, and another 4-0 defeat in the first round of the World Grand Prix. There are a few things this could be attributed to, including a shoulder injury that caused a couple of early exits and a couple of withdrawals towards the end of 2017. Meanwhile, he has also had a lot of cue trouble, though his original cue has since been returned to him and fixed ahead of the Welsh Open. However, the one thing that will have suffered in this time of shoulder and cue trouble is his confidence, to go from flying high to only winning two proper matches in 2018. 

Neil Robertson meanwhile regained his top 16 place after winning the Scottish Open (the week after he fell out of the top 16) but he too has not had much to shout about since. His failure to get going before Glasgow meant he was not in the Masters in January, and the week after winning in Scotland he failed to qualify for the German Masters. His first outing of 2018 outside of the Championship League came in mid-February at the World Grand Prix where he defeated David Gilbert before losing in the last 16 to Mark Selby. Despite barely putting a foot wrong against Ian Burns, he still lost out there in the last 64 of the Welsh Open and then exited in the first round in Romania. Therefore, it is hard to say that either one of these players has much form coming into this match. Brecel's performances are all over the place, while Robertson has lost a number of matches this season in which he has seemed to play pretty well, a trend he needs to fight, 

The corresponding match in this quarter is the one I believe will yield the man who goes on to make the semi-finals. The head to head does not look great for Maguire, who has lost his last four matches against Trump, two of which were this season. Maguire this season though has played very well indeed. Starting the season by making the Riga Masters final was a great building block, and he has since made semi-finals in the UK Championship and World Grand Prix, losing both to eventual winner O'Sullivan. He may have lost in the last 64 of the Welsh Open, but that was to eventual winner John Higgins in what was a very tough draw at that stage of the event. In the Romanian Masters this week he whitewashed Mark King with two centuries, before losing out narrowly in the last eight to Ali Carter. His season should really have filled him with confidence, and despite being just over £25,000 off the pace with only this event and the China Open to go, I still think Maguire is in a great position to qualify for the Crucible automatically. 

As for his opponent, Trump has blown hot and cold ever since losing 10-3 to O'Sullivan in November's Shanghai Masters final. Early exits in Northern Ireland and the UK Championship followed. He then made the semi-finals of the Scottish Open but was on the end of a huge upset as Cao Yupeng won 6-4. Further semi-finals followed in the Masters and German Masters but each of those eventual loses will have hurt massively, losing from well in front against Wilson before being thrashed by Williams in Berlin. In between those semi's was a loss to Jak Jones in China Open qualifying, which means his Players Championship title defence this week will be his last outing before the Crucible and you feel he really needs to lay down a marker after recent weeks. The left-hander fell at the first hurdle in Preston, before a last 64 exit in Cardiff. Even this week in Romania he thrashed Brecel with a couple of centuries, but could then not re-create that form in the quarter-final where he lost again to Wilson. 

All in all, you have to say that Maguire probably has the most form of the players in this section coming to Llandudno and he may not be a bad bet to go all the way this week. 

Quarter choice: Stephen Maguire

Quarter 3

First round draw: (Picks in bold) 

John Higgins Vs Anthony McGill 

Shaun Murphy Vs Kyren Wilson

As we head into the bottom half of the draw, it will feel like groundhog day for Anthony McGill as he once again has drawn John Higgins. The two have already met four times this season and Higgins has won each of those games. This fifth meeting, is the fourth at the first round stage of a 16-man invitational, as the two have previously faced off in this season's Champion of Champions, Masters and this week's Romanian Masters. McGill needs to stay positive and believe that he can beat Higgins on his day, but this must be incredibly difficult for a player who has lost to his upcoming opponent so many times in a short space of time. Otherwise, McGill has had a good season and should have confidence in his game, but he needs to find a way to beat Higgins if he is going to get on a run this week. 

Higgins meanwhile will be full of confidence after winning the Welsh Open a couple of weeks ago. Overall he has a very good season after winning in India earlier this season too and making the semi-finals of the Scottish Open, Masters and the Shanghai Masters, so it is no surprise he is seeded as high as number three. Given his record against McGill and his current form then he is certainly the front runner in this quarter. 

Meanwhile, the corresponding match in this quarter puts two players together who (at the time of writing) have managed seven finals this season between them. Murphy was a runner-up at the Paul Hunter Classic as well as the China and UK Championships while winning the Champion of Champions in November. As for Wilson, he has been a runner-up at the World Open, English Open and of course January's Masters, and he is still in the Romanian Masters, where victory against Ryan Day in today's semi-finals will put him into final number four of the season. 

The concern for Murphy coming into this week is the neck injury that forced him to withdraw from his Gibraltar Open defence last weekend, so it will be interesting to see if he is fully fit, because this is certainly not a tournament where you can ease yourself in. Wilson meanwhile is putting some decent results together in recent weeks. He made the quarters in Gibraltar before suffering a surprise loss to Lee Walker. He impressed me in the last 64 of the Welsh Open when I was in Cardiff, as he ran riot there, though he eventually lost in the last 16. This is potentially the closest looking of all the first round matches and I could see it going the distance, but thing Wilson's recent form may just edge it. 

Quarter choice: John Higgins

Quarter 4

First round draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Selby Vs Ryan Day

Mark Williams Vs Yan Bingtao 

The first match in this quarter is a vital one for Ryan Day. The Welshman could build himself a path to the Crucible with victory here against Mark Selby, having recently won the Gibraltar Open to boost his hopes. Having not qualified for the China Open, Day needs to be in the provisional top 16 after this event to have any chance but his victory in Gibraltar will give him a lot of confidence. That has already proved to be the case as he is still fighting for the Romanian Masters title (though that has no impact on his ranking) and at the time of writing he is preparing to face Kyren Wilson in the semi-finals. Prior to this season Day had never won a ranking title, but now has two under his belt as well as making the semi-finals in the UK Championship to record his best ever finish in a triple crown event, so he is certainly on a high right now. 

Mark Selby meanwhile is not having his best campaign ever. Despite winning the International Championship the current runaway world number one is *only* the seventh seed for this event. Aside from the Grand Prix where he made the last four, Selby's season since winning in Daqing at the beginning of November has been littered with early exits. Due to that, his confidence may well be heading in an opposite direction to Day's, as he searches for something positive in the next two events to take into his World title defence. 

The corresponding match in this quarter is a repeat of the Northern Ireland Open final between Yan Bingtao and Mark Williams. Williams was a narrow victor 9-8 on that occasion to deny Yan his first ranking title. It has been another incredible season for the youngster who is still only in his second season tour. Earlier on this year he also made the semi-finals of the International Championship, and was a quarter-finalist in the Welsh Open a couple of weeks ago. 

As for Williams, he bagged a second title of the season by easing to victory in the German Masters in early February to completely confirm that he is back to his very best. He may have lost in round of the Romanian Masters, the last 32 of the Welsh Open and the first round of the World Grand Prix in his last three outings, but I still believe he is in great form and a big contender for this title. It is no coincidence that he, O'Sullivan and Higgins are the top three seeds for this event, as the class of '92 have been the three best players this season by quite a margin. Yan will have to be at his very best to beat Williams in this one, though I think his Welsh world cup partner Day has a much better chance of defeating Williams if he can first defeat Selby. 

Quarter choice: Ryan Day

Tournament winner selection: Ronnie O'Sullivan

The tournament will be covered in full from Monday night to the conclusion next Sunday on ITV4 in the UK, with all matches in the first three rounds being played over the best-of-11 frames before a best-of-19 frame final. 

Gibraltar Open Preview

This weekend, snooker returns to the old European Tour style format with three days of snooker in Gibraltar. 

The amateur qualifying began on Wednesday with some a few former tour players involved including the likes of Barry Pinches, Andy Hicks and James Cahill. Meanwhile, recent European Amateur champion Harvey Chandler is in the amateur qualifying section along with Under 21 champion Simon Lichtenberg both of whom will be on the professional tour from next season, and likely invited to World Championship qualifying in April. 

There are several non entries for this weekend as there always used to be on the European Tour, while defending champion Shaun Murphy has had to withdraw. Ding Junhui is the highest ranked player in the draw and will be hoping to take advantage. Barry Hawkins will be hoping to build on the form that saw him make the Welsh Open final on Sunday, while others like Anthony McGill and Stuart Bingham will be looking to get further clear of 17th spot in the race to the Crucible. 

On top of that, this is the final qualifying event for the Players Championship which takes place in a couple of weeks. Only four players could still leapfrog Graeme Dott, who is the 16th and final qualifier as it stands. Dott is not in the draw this week which has given the opportunity to the likes of Cao Yupeng, Jack Lisowski, Joe Perry and Li Hang who can all still mathematically qualify, but each would need to take home the trophy and winners cheque of £25,000. A runners-up cheque of £12,000 would not be enough for any of the four players while everyone above Dott on the Players Championship ranking list is already confirmed. 

So, here is how the draw shapes up for the professional stages in Gibraltar: 

Quarter 1

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)

Stuart Bingham Vs Andrew Higginson
Mark King Vs Nigel Bond
Noppon Saengkham Vs Barry Pinches
Eden Sharav Vs James Cahill
Ken Doherty Vs Andreas Ploner
Kurt Maflin W/O Stephen Maguire
Tom Ford Vs Li Yuan
Dominic Dale Vs Chris Totten
Yu DeLu Vs Louis Heathcote
Ding Junhui Vs Thor Chuan Leong
Jamie Cope W/O Shaun Murphy
Rory McLeod Vs Ian Preece
Mike Dunn Vs Matthew Stevens
Cao Yupeng Vs Yuan Sijun
Sam Craigie Vs Joe O'Connor
Barry Hawkins Vs Chris Wakelin

Given that many of the top 16 in the world rankings are not here, the top quarter is packed with stars, such is the nature of the seeding structure for this event. Defending champion Shaun Murphy was meant to be in this quarter but has unfortunately been forced to withdraw because of a recurring neck injury. The same injury hindered Murphy in Yushan at the World Open earlier this year.

Ding Junhui is the big attraction in this section and he would have been due to play Murphy in the last 32 had both made it that far so it has opened that part of the draw up a bit. Ding recently made it to the final of the World Grand Prix which was his best run since winning the World Open, with some eye trouble hindering him in between. An early exit in Cardiff was not as much of a surprise having come straight to that event from the final in Preston.

Stuart Bingham will also be looking to kick into gear this weekend in Gibraltar. So far in his comeback he suffered a last 16 exit in the World Grand Prix to Anthony McGill and his Welsh Open defence was cut at the last 32 stage by Matthew Stevens. Bingham is in the top half of this section and wouldn't have to play either Barry Hawkins or Ding until the last 16 by which time they could both have gone home, but there are still some difficult names in Bingham's section.

Noppon Saengkham will be high on confidence after his run to the Welsh Open semi-finals last week that saw him defeat Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson along the way. There's no reason over the same best-of-7 frames format that he could not get on another big run and get to the latter stages in Gibraltar. Tom Ford is another player in this quarter who my eye is on for a possible big run. Ford was a finalist in last season's Paul Hunter Classic so is no stranger to big runs in these best-of-7 frames tournaments. Despite the big names in this section, upsets can be expected as always and Ford could be the man to take advantage.

My first quarter choice though is Barry Hawkins. Hawkins of course made it to the final of the Welsh Open last weekend and played the best he has done for a long time on the way to the final. He has had a very tough time of things in the first half of the season, but in true Hawkins style he may now end up peaking in time for another big Crucible run. When he gets into form he usually keeps it going, as he showed at a similar time last season winning the World Grand Prix before narrowly missing out in the Welsh Open quarter-finals. The draw this week certainly contains plenty of obstacles, but if he continues playing as he did in Cardiff then the rest of the field are in trouble. 

Best of the rest: Tom Ford
Quarter choice: Barry Hawkins 

Quarter 2

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)

Allan Taylor Vs Andy Symons
Niu Zhuang Vs Mike Finn
Jak Jones Vs Hamza Akbar
Lee Walker Vs Gerard Greene
Anthony McGill Vs Paul Davison
Ben Woollaston Vs David Grace
Li Hang Vs Matthew Glasby
Oliver Lines Vs Elliott Slessor
Jamie Jones Vs Robbie Williams
Liang Wenbo Vs Alex Borg
Mitchell Mann Vs Patrick Whelan
Matthew Selt W/O Darren Morgan
Jimmy Robertson Vs John Astley
Robert Milkins Vs Andy Hicks
Kyren Wilson Vs Mark Joyce
Daniel Wells Vs Ian Burns

In the second quarter, we have one of the players who needs a big run to try and get himself into the top 16 for the World Championships. That man is Liang Wenbo and you can't help but think that he needs to really make an impact in Gibraltar, given that he will not be in the upcoming Players Championship. It feels like he missed a big opportunity in Cardiff last week. Defeating Mark Selby at the last 64 stage was a huge win for Liang but to then lose out to Yu DeLu in the last 16 was a surprise and a bad defeat given his situation.

Kyren Wilson though is very much safe of his place in the World Championships at the Crucible having had a very good season. However, there are still signs of inconsistency from him that were on display last week at the Welsh. In the last 64 he produced one of the best displays of the week to defeat Rory McLeod 4-0 without ever really giving McLeod much of a chance. Then an evening later in losing 4-0 to Noppon Saengkham he could not produce anything close to that form and that will be a worry for him going forward potentially. In round one he faces Mark Joyce who came from 3-1 down to defeat Wilson 4-3 in the first round of the Grand Prix recently, so it is not a huge shout to say he can defeat Wilson again here. Joyce has been in good form this season and was unlucky to lose to an equally in form Jack Lisowski in round one last week. Whoever does come through that first round tie could well have a big run through the draw this weekend.

Anthony McGill is another top player to look out for in the draw. He played well to reach the World Grand Prix quarter-finals in Preston, but could not back that up in Cardiff losing out to Ben Woollaston 4-3 in the last 64. The first part of the season was a tale of consistency for McGill who reached the latter stages in most of the early season events. However, since losing the English Open semi-final in October, things have not gone as well for the Scotsman with a number of early exits.

With that in mind, Ben Woollaston is my choice for this second quarter. The mini section that Woollaston is in presents a huge chance for someone to reach a quarter-final at the very least. Besides, McGill who Woollaston would face again at the last 64 stage, there are a number of lower ranked players who you would not necessarily pick out for a big tournament run- though that is not to say one of them will not produce the goods. Woollaston has looked good in patches recently, playing well to defeat McGill in the end in Cardiff and somehow losing to Trump in Berlin despite playing close to his very best. Woollaston is a player who I think can take advantage in the best-of-7 frames format as a former PTC winner and a quarter-finalist in this season's Paul Hunter Classic before losing out to the in form Murphy. 

Best of the rest: Mark Joyce

Quarter winner: Ben Woollaston

Quarter 3

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)

Rod Lawler Vs Matthew Day
Ricky Walden Vs Alfie Burden
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Mei Xiwen
Michael Georgiou Vs Liam Highfield
Sam Baird Vs Jamie Clarke
Jamie Barrett Vs Leo Fernandez
Scott Donaldson Vs Duane Jones
Joe Swail Vs Simon Litchenberg
Aditya Mehta Vs Brian Ochoiski
Kurt Dunham W/O Ali Carter
Tian Pengfei Vs Chen Zhe
Gary Wilson Vs Umut Dikme
Zhang Yong Vs Billy Castle
Sean O'Sullivan W/O Yan Bingtao
Peter Ebdon Vs Craig Steadman
Zhao Xintong Vs Sanderson Lam

With the withdrawal of Ali Carter, not one single player in the third quarter is currently ranked in the world's top 16. Yan Bingtao has also withdrawn from the competition very early and that leaves this quarter wide open in my opinion.

Michael Georgiou is someone people might look towards for a big run after his win at the Shoot Out and the confidence he will have taken from that as well as his performance in the World Grand Prix. However, he faces a very tough draw in the first round against Liam Highfield who I watched quite a bit of in Cardiff and was impressed with. He should have made it to the quarter-finals there and will be looking to put that right in Gibraltar, though he did look in really good form and could easily have a run through the draw this week.

Gary Wilson will be hoping he can build on his run to the semi-finals in Wales, and in that bottom section of the quarter there are very few players that stand out so he is probably one of the better choices to make the quarter-final. He performed well in Wales and was another player I saw quite a bit of. He impressed me against Mark Allen because Allen did not play badly in that match by any means, while his last 16 match with John Astley just seemed to go scrappy and was not something Wilson could have done much about in terms of style. Then in the quarter-finals he produced three centuries and was only defeated in the semi-final by eventual winner John Higgins. For me, Wilson is a solid pick in this quarter.

Maybe it is time for one of the players that promise much to produce the goods. Zhao Xintong has been rather left behind by some of the players like Yan Bingtao, Zhou Yuelong and even Lu Haotian who came through at a similar time to him. There is no doubting his talent but he is yet to kick on and is now at huge risk of having to go back to Qualifying School at the end of the season. If he could find his form this weekend then there is certainly an opportunity in this section. On the tour survival front, Sam Baird is someone who is in desperate need of victories. He looks completely out of sorts at the moment and his frustration boiled over on a couple of occasions when he lost to Gary Wilson in round one of the Welsh Open.

My quarter choice though is Ricky Walden. Walden is the man that stands out in this section and this tournament may provide the big opportunity he needs to get back to form and back up the rankings. The journey has been a tough one for Walden with his back but he could easily get on a run here and take home the trophy on Sunday. His runs in Northern Ireland and Scotland show he can get it done over the best-of-7 frames. His first round draw is still a difficult one against a player in Alfie Burden who has beaten him a few times of late, including during this event last season. If Walden can get past that test then it may give him the confidence to kick on and do the business in Gibraltar. 

Best of the rest: Gary Wilson
Quarter winner: Ricky Walden 

Quarter 4

Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)

Soheil Vahedi Vs Jackson Page
Zhou Yuelong Vs Zhang Anda
Peter Lines Vs Jamie O'Neill
Jack Lisowski Vs Ross Muir
Mark Davis Vs Stuart Carrington
Fergal O'Brien Vs Michael Wild
Anthony Hamilton Vs Ashley Hugill
Joe Perry Vs Adam Duffy
Ryan Day Vs Xu Si
Michael White Vs Oliver Brown
Luca Brecel Vs Martin O'Donnell
Jimmy White Vs Christopher Keogan
Michael Holt Vs Brandon Sargeant
Josh Boileau Vs Thomas Kevern or Bash Maqsood
Hammad Miah Vs Chen Zifan
Fang Xiongman Vs Lukas Kleckers

Again this is a section of the draw that looks very open to me. In the top half of the quarter there is not one player currently ranked in the top 16, with Joe Perry by far the closest. Then a number of the top players in this quarter appear in the same mini section.

Only one of Ryan Day, Michael White or Luca Brecel can make it through to the last 16 as they would all meet before that stage. Day exited in round one in Wales to Kurt Dunham in what was another big blow in his Crucible hopes. Barring big runs both here and at the Players Championship he is almost certainly going to the qualifiers. White also lost in the first round but he faced Martin Gould who also defeated Walden and Mark Williams last week. Brecel meanwhile fell in the last 64 to Mike Dunn after a first round exit in the World Grand Prix, on the same night that Day fell in Preston. White is probably the most in-form of the three having defeated Judd Trump and Perry on the way to the quarter-finals in Preston.

Waiting for one of those names in the last 16 could well be Michael Holt. Again he is the name that stands out from those bottom four matches there and despite a last 64 exit in Cardiff he looked to be cueing nicely on the whole, but in the end James Wattana was just too solid and good tactically. Meanwhile, Joe Perry has been unfortunate with draws at times this season, meeting Stephen Maguire in round last week in Cardiff, but this week he could really take advantage of some of the absentees. On paper he is probably the favourite in his section to make the quarter-finals but there are still a lot of dangerous players in there. Zhou Yuelong is one of those but he does not have much form behind him at the moment and will be looking for a big confidence boost before two huge events to finish the season.

My quarter choice though and my pick to take home the trophy on Sunday is a man who has been knocking on the door a bit more this season. Jack Lisowski's return to form started arguably about a year ago at this event. He blitzed his way through to the quarter-finals in Gibraltar last year before losing to friend and eventual runner-up Judd Trump, just as he did in the semi-finals of this season's Shanghai Masters, a career best run for Lisowski. In Gibraltar last year he defeated reigning Northern Ireland Open winner Mark King, whitewashed reigning German Masters champion Anthony Hamilton and outplayed Mark Allen to make the quarters and made the highest break of the tournament with a 145 along with three other centuries during the weekend. That shows his promise and this season the left hander has had a bit more consistency, and he is still someone who I look to as someone who will thrive in the best-of-7 frames tournaments. As well as making the quarter-finals in Gibraltar last season, he started this season by making the last 16 in Riga as well as making the quarter-finals at the English Open where he won four matches over the best-of-7 frames beating top players along the way. Lets not forget that Lisowski is also a twice former PTC runner-up, and looking at his current form and the draw this week, this could be the weekend where he gets his first big title. 

Best of the rest: Michael Holt

Quarter winner: Jack Lisowski 

Tournament winner selection: Jack Lisowski 

The professional stages of the event will be covered from Friday to Sunday on Eurosport TV and Eurosport Player. Each round from the last 128 to the final will be played over the best-of-7 frames with the usual European Tour style format, with the top half of the draw playing through three rounds on Friday, the bottom half doing the same on Saturday before it all comes together for the final four rounds on Sunday. 

Fantasy Snooker: Points Update and Gibraltar Open info

It's all change in the Fantasy Snooker league after the completion of the Welsh Open and World Grand Prix, despite not one player in the league picking any of the semi-finalists in Cardiff. Those that have season picks on Noppon Saengkham gained the most from his run to the last four.

A familiar face continues his domination at the top of the table, with a lead of over 100 points going into the final four events. The absence of a number of top players in the first of those, the Gibraltar Open, should get the players thinking outside of the box for their two selections. Don't forget, with the World Championships already being a double points event, you can only use a Captain's pick in the next three events, so now is the time to starting using them or losing them.

Along with that, you can only pick a player three times over the course of the season. It is YOUR responsibility to check this as a couple of participants have already fallen foul of the rule and lost out because of it.

Here is how the league table stands after the Welsh Open, complete with players you have used so far and how many of your three captains picks you have used:

Couge: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1111  

PPS: Williams x3, Ding x3, Murphy x3, Gilbert, Higgins x3, Bingham x3, Trump x3, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x2, Walden, Robertson, Day, Maguire, Allen (1 Captain pick used)

Daniela Reich: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 1000 

PPS: Ding x2, Fu, Murphy x3, Allen x2, Williams x2, K. Wilson, Trump x2, Day, Bingham x2, McGill, O’Sullivan x2, Selby x2, Wenbo, Maguire x2, Robertson x2, Brecel

Kellie Barker: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 986 

PPS: Allen x3, Fu, Murphy x2, Higgins x2, Hawkins, Ding, Trump x2, Brecel x2, Carter, Bingtao, Selby x2, Wenbo, Williams, Robertson x2, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, Bingham (2 Captains picks used)

Protoursnooker: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Cao Yupeng    Points: 978 

PPS: Ding x2, Allen, Maguire, Murphy x3, Selby x2, Robertson x2, Higgins, Hawkins x2, O’Sullivan x3, Wenbo, Williams, Fu, Trump x3, Wilson, Carter, Bingtao, Brecel, Bingham (1 Captain Pick used)

FAM147: SEASON: Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong   Points: 954  

PPS: Carter, Hawkins, Woollaston, Hossein, Bingham x2, Allen x2, Yuelong, Lisowski x2, Selby, Murphy, Trump x2, Akani, Robertson x3, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, Davis, J. Robertson, McGill, Bingtao

Alex Abrahams: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley    Points: 897

PPS: Carter x2, Fu, Murphy x3, Perry, Higgins x2, K. Wilson x2, Trump x3, Williams x2, Bingham, Ding, O’Sullivan x3, Selby x2, Wenbo, Day, Robertson x2, Maguire (2 Captains pick used)

Phil Mudd: SEASON: Jimmy Robertson and Sam Craigie   Points: 855   

PPS: Ding x2, Fu, Woollaston, Allen x3, Robertson x2, Williams x3, Brecel, Higgins x2, O’Sullivan x3, Selby x2, Gould x2, Wenbo, Perry, Bingtao x2, Murphy (2 Captains picks used)

TY: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Zhang Anda   Points: 855

PPS: Ding x2, Robertson x3, Higgins x3, Allen x3, Ding, Bingham x3, Selby x3, Trump x2, Murphy x3, Brecel, O’Sullivan, Williams (1 Captain Pick used)

Colin Delaney: SEASON: Ken Doherty and Yan Bingtao   Points: 842

PPS: Higgins x2, Maguire x2, McGill, Allen x2, Hawkins x2, Ding x2, Trump x3, Brecel, Selby x2, Murphy x2, Gould x2, O’Sullivan, Lisowski, Perry x2, Robertson x2, Maguire (1 Captain Pick used)

Andy Brooker: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 834 

PPS: Carter, Day, Maguire, Bingham x2, Higgins x3, Williams x2, Trump x2, Yuelong, Hawkins, O’Sullivan x2, Ding, Allen x2, Robertson x2, Selby x2, Perry, Murphy x2, Gould, McGill (1 Captain pick used)

Cluster of Reds: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and John Astley   Points: 826 

PPS: Ding, Perry, Allen x3, Ford, Hawkins, Fu, Trump x2, Brecel x2, Robertson, Williams, Gould x3, Murphy x3, O’Sullivan x3, Selby, Wenbo, Higgins, Wilson, Bingham (2 Captains pick used)

Munraj: SEASON: Jack Lisowski and Michael Georgiou   Points: 818  

PPS: Ding x3, Trump x2, Allen x2, Ford, Hawkins x2, Selby x2, Robertson x2, McGill x2, O’Sullivan x2, Wilson, Murphy, Wenbo, Gould, Guodong, Maguire, Carter, Un-Nooh, Williams, Brecel (1 Captain pick used)

Isitan Bakar: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Scott Donaldson   Points: 818 

PPS: Wenbo, Robertson x2, Murphy x2, Bingham x3, Ding x2, M. White, Higgins, Carter, Wilson, Allen, Trump x3, O’Sullivan x3, Hawkins, Williams (2 Captains pick used)

TungstenDarts: SEASON: Yan Bingtao and Sam Craigie   Points: 811  

PPS: Fu x3, Hawkins x2, McGill x2, Allen x3, Selby x2, Williams, Day, Gould x2, Trump x2, Ding x2, Robertson, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire x2, Murphy, Bingham, Brecel (1 Captain pick used)

John McBride: SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Sam Craigie   Points: 794  

PPS:  Holt, Liang x2, Bingham, King, Murphy x2, Trump x2, Allen x3, Selby x3, Hawkins, Williams x3, Lisowski, Robertson x3, Higgins, Gould, Wilson, Bingtao

Ben Summers: SEASON: Noppon Saengkham and Sam Craigie    Points: 788   

PPS: McGill x2, Day, Dott, Ding x2, Selby x2, Trump x3, Holt, Allen x3, O’Sullivan x2, Williams x3, Yuelong, Higgins, Maguire, Un-Nooh, Lisowski, Anda, Robertson

Rob Francis: SEASON: Mark Davis and Cao Yupeng   Points: 767   

PPS: Ding x3, Robertson x2, Murphy x3, Allen, Higgins x3, Wilson, Trump x3, Wilson, Williams, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x3, Maguire, Day, Brecel x2 (2 Captains pick used)

Igor Snooker: SEASON: Matthew Stevens and Ken Doherty   Points: 723

PPS: Ding, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire, Murphy x3, Fu x2, Selby x3, Robertson x3, McGill x2, Wilson, Williams x2, Allen x2, Bingtao, Carter, O’Sullivan, Gould, Gilbert, Brecel (2 captains pick used)

GaryOnCue: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie   Points: 694   

PPS: Hawkins, Robertson x2, Maguire x3, Murphy x3, Ding x2, Selby x2, Higgins x2, Wilson, Allen x2, O’Sullivan x3, Williams, Gould x2, Day, Walden, Trump (1 Captain pick used)

Anthony: SEASON: Xiao Guodong and Michael Georgiou   Points: 676  

PPS: Higgins x3, Day x2, Maguire x2, Murphy, Ding, King, Trump x2, Bingham, Williams x2, O’Sullivan x2, McGill, Selby x2, Allen x2, Wilson, Bingtao

Kjetil: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and John Astley   Points: 638  

PPS: Carter x2, Perry, Woollaston, Dott, Fu, Allen x2, Xiwen, Gould x3, Bingham, O’Sullivan, Ding, Higgins x2, Akani, Lisowski, Maguire, Robertson, Williams, Wilson, Georgiou (1 Captain Pick used)

LTD: SEASON: Robert Milkins and Ken Doherty    Points: 612  

PPS: Perry, Carter x2, Holt, Higgins x3, Hawkins x2, Maguire, Perry, Wilson x2, Wenbo, Selby x3, O’Sullivan, Robertson x2, Walden x2, Trump, Bingham, Williams (2 Captains picks used)

Mark Taylor: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sam Craigie    Points: 603

PPS: Allen x2, Robertson, Maguire, Perry x2, Hawkins, Higgins x2, Wilson, Day, Selby x3, Trump, O’Sullivan x2, Murphy, White, Gilbert, Brecel, Yan, Bingham, Williams (2 Captain Picks used)

Matthew Lowson: SEASON: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Alex Ursenbacher   Points: 594  

PPS: Ding x3, Fu, Maguire, Bingham, Hawkins x2, Brecel, Wilson, Selby x2, Higgins x2, Murphy x2, Trump, Williams x2, Bingtao, O’Sullivan x3, Allen x3, Day, McGill (2 Captains picks used)

D. Muckian: SEASON: Tian Pengfei and Zhang Anda    Points: 568 

PPS: Ding x2, Perry, Maguire x2, Allen X3, Williams x2, Lisowski, O’Sullivan x2, Wilson x2, Zhou, Gould, Selby x2, Higgins, White, Trump, Hawkins, McGill, Wenbo (1 Captain pick used)

Beat the Boss (Me): SEASON: Hossein Vafei and Robin Hull   Points: 535   

PPS: Maguire x2, Holt, Allen x2, Ford, Fu, Williams, Robertson x2, Brecel x2, Murphy, Hawkins, Ding, Gould x2, Wenbo, Selby, Trump, Perry, Bingtao, O’Sullivan, Higgins, Bingham (1 Captain pick used)

My two "Beat the Boss" picks this week are Barry Hawkins and Ricky Walden 

Deadline for all picks is before the first pro matches on Friday morning at 8.30am UK time.

All the very best of luck to everyone taking part.

LIVE BLOG: Kyren Wilson vs Noppon Saengkham, Liam Highfield vs Ian Burns and John Astley Vs Gary Wilson

Barry Hawkins 4-2 Martin Gould - In the end Hawkins got the upper hand clearing to the final red to lead by 30 and then pumping the final red in from distance not so long after and leaving Gould needing two snookers to tie on the colours. He got them both but then left the green on for Hawkins straight away and the left hander slotted home and followed with the brown to make absolutely sure of the win. Best run for a while for Hawkins as he moves into the quarters.

Barry Hawkins looks like he's coming back to form after defeating Martin Gould

All to play for in frame 6 - There's nothing in it in frame six between Hawkins and Gould now. Five reds are left and both have had chances but the reds are close to the side cushion. Hawkins now has a half chance after Gould misses a very tough plant.

Gould stays in the hunt - In a frame that lasts less than nine minutes, Martin Gould has quickly closed the gap back up to just one frame. In first he made a nice break of 60 but did not screw back far enough from a red to middle and had to play safe with 67 remaining. On his next visit to the table a long cut left Hawkins needed snookers and when he failed to escape from the one Gould put him in, the concession came. Still 3-2 though to Hawkins.

Hawkins on the brink of victory at 3-1 - Martin Gould will be disappointed there. He had a good chance to kill that frame off but could not quite keep control of the cue ball and missed a tough one with the rest. What followed was full punishment from Hawkins who mops up nicely with a 55 to lead 3-1 and go one away from the quarters.

Gary Wilson 4-2 John Astley - The sixth and final frame ends up lasting close to 50 minutes but Wilson won't care one bit. Astley missed the green which was very close to the yellow pocket, but he was playing with drag to hold for the brown. That left it over the corner for Wilson with the other remaining colours in the open and he calmly clears to clinch the victory. Well deserved I have to say for Wilson too, he looked the better player for most of the evening.

Gary Wilson during a long final frame that sees him beat John Astley

Gould on the board - A run of 68 from Gould was not quite enough to clinch the frame as he had to play safe on the final red but a Hawkins miss leaves a free ball that is more than enough for Gould to get his first frame. 2-1 now there to Hawkins.

Gould using the rest as he puts his first frame on the board

Astley and Hawkins with decent advantages - Astleys chance went wrong when he missed a red to middle but didn't leave anything and the last three reds are now all safe on the bottom cushion. Astley has the lead in the frame but good safety forcing a miss from Astley is helping to claw back some points. Hawkins was in first in frame three with Gould and made an early 37 contribution before going into the pack and finishing on nothing. Still a nice early lead to have given his match advantage and means Gould needs to force things.

Hawkins doubles his lead - It is indeed now 2-0 to Hawkins with a good cut back on frame ball red clinching it with a break of 75. Nothing in the sixth frame at all between Wilson and Astley with six reds left, though Astley is now in and has enough reds on here to force a decider at this visit.

Hawkins looking to swoop and punish Gould - A miss from Martin Gould is giving Hawkins the upper hand here. He's currently just a couple of pots away from taking a 2-0 lead and it looks like Gould had struggled to bring himself back up from the Williams match earlier.

Hawkins fully punishes the error of Gould to double his lead. 

Burns completes remarkable win - Liam Highfield will want to forget that one in a hurry. On the break of 69 in the sixth he missed an easy enough red that would have kept Ian Burns in his seat. After getting the snooker though it was all Burns and that continued to the deciding frame. All credit to Burns because if I'm completely honest he was not really the better player but always held firm and showed a lot of bottle. Meanwhile, Barry Hawkins has taken the first frame against Martin Gould after Gould misses the pink twice despite not being snookered, and Gary Wilson did indeed take a scrappy fifth to lead Astley 3-2 and the sixth frame is going similarly scrappy with reds split but mostly safe on cushions.

Burns back from the dead - Ian Burns is back from the dead here after needing snookers to stay in the match. It was an excellent shot on the green to get it and then another two to pot green and brown on the way to the clearance. We have a decider on table 5. Gary Wilson meanwhile is looking good to lead 3-2 but is in a scrappy battle with Astley, and Gould and Hawkins are battling on the yellow in their opener which has come on table 4.

Century for Highfield - Excellent work from Liam Highfield there as he makes sure to jump all over the early error from Burns. An excellent break with some top potting throughout and it culminates in a 115 clearance for him to lead 3-2 and go one away from a second quarter final of the season.

Liam Highfield looks strong on the way to a 3-2 lead against Ian Burns

Highfield level, Gary Wilson eyeing the same - Following a bit of a let off with Burns missing a black after an earlier error from Highfield, the left hander does enough to clinch the frame and he's back in again in the fifth looking to really press home and fully punish Burns. Wilson meanwhile has just levelled at 2-2 himself against Astley. Wilson there looking the more likely to score heavy if the chance comes.

Noppon Saengkham 4-0 Kyren Wilson - Wilson can count himself very unlucky in that final frame. He had Noppon in a nasty snooker, which the Thai missed on the first occasion but on the second he completed the swerve and potted the red landing on the yellow and setting up the clearance. He still needed to make a good pink for the win though and deserves to be through. The better player won there.

Noppon was too strong for Kyren Wilson and marches into the quarter-finals.

Kyren still fighting - Despite his deficit Kyren is still fighting on in there but a big bounce kills his frame four break in the forties despite some good long balls beforehand. Astley meanwhile just got the upper hand on the final couple of reds and should move 2-1 ahead. Burns is in again after his frame winning break in the third following a tricky miss from Highfield, who was unfortunate not to land on something easy after a good pack opener.

Astley taking advantage - Astley looks to be gaining a bit of the advantage now against Gary Wilson, while Kyren Wilson has fallen 3-0 behind now after missing a tough final pink and later leaving it from range for Noppon who slots it calmly home. A missed long red for Highfield has left Burns in and he's now in a strong position to move 2-1 in front.

Ian Burns shows more of the form that overcame Neil Robertson as he leads Highfield 2-1

Burns levels, as does Astley - Highfield was a little unlucky there. Burns left the brown over the corner but with no route to get anywhere near the blue that was on the baulk cushion. Highfield leaves the blue at distance but Burns pots it and clears to square it up. Astley in bits and pieces towards the end has left Gary Wilson needing snookers while Noppon and Kyren are in a scrappy third frame.

Noppon doubles his lead, Burns looks to make first chance count - Burns has arrived at the first real chance for him in this match after a Highfield safety left Burns a red over the corner. Highfield's earlier 48 will be tough to surpass given where the yellow and brown are. Noppon though is taking advantage of Kyren not being at the races so far. Nothing vintage on that table really. Astley has his first decent chance on table three as he looks to level and where the balls are he should go a long way to doing so.

Highfield off and running again - Ian Burns missed a half chance at a red earlier in the frame and Highfield has pounced knocking in another good red from distance and he's certainly got his scoring boots on so far. Noppon has also just thundered in a long red and looks to have the upper hand on Kyren at the moment.

Gary Wilson and Noppon also lead - Eventually Noppon did take advantage of Kyrens errors while Gary compiled a very nice 88 to give him the opener against Astley and carry on from the match winning clearance this afternoon.

Highfield leads in style - Great start from Highfield on table 5. He made the break look easy and is clearly confident with his game right now. A run of 80 came to an end with a missed black which annoyed him because he wanted to keep Burns cold. Gary Wilson meanwhile is in first on table 3 with a decent scoring chance and Noppon is looking the more likely on table four after another frustrating miss for Kyren Wilson.

First chances for Highfield and Wilson - There's been some back and forth of opportunities on table 4 so far and just as I typed this head Wilson missed a black and allowed Noppon back to the table. Highfield is in first on table 5 and looking good so far with a stunning long pot to get things going against Burns.

An important night of action tonight and it could be nervy with lots on the line. On table 4 Kyren Wilson who really impressed me last night, takes on Noppon Saengkham who beat Judd Trump yesterday and missed a maximum chance this morning.

On table 3 John Astley faces Gary Wilson. Astley overcame Dominic Dale last night on table 2, and this morning came from 3-0 down to beat Gerard Greene. Wilson of course this afternoon beat Masters champion Mark Allen in a deciding frame.

Then on table 5 there is Liam Highfield who I focused on this morning beating Chris Wakelin 4-1 matching his 4-1 victory over Ding Junhui yesterday. Ian Burns also had a big win yesterday overcoming a near flawless Neil Robertson, before holding off Sunny Akani this afternoon.

Looking forward to bringing updates from all three games tonight in a similar format to last night. Stick with it and I hope you enjoy.