A brilliant week in one of the best snooker venues there is in Berlin has just concluded and now the tour moves to another for the next seven days as the World Grand Prix begins at Preston’s Guild Hall on Monday evening.
The leading 32 ranked players on money earned in ranking events since the beginning of the season qualify for this tournament which means everyone here has been playing well which should make for a great week of snooker.
Recent Winners
2016 – Shaun Murphy
2015 – Judd Trump
The Format
The 32 players go into the draw bracket in line with their position on the money list for the season. Mark Selby has earned the most money so he is the number one seed and will play the player with the least money in the first round which is Martin Gould. Number two plays number 31 and so on.
The tournament is the best of seven frames from the first round up until the end of the quarter finals. The semi-finals are the best of 11 frames and the final is the best of 19 frames next Sunday.
Top Quarter
Mark Selby is the leading seed in this quarter but as you would expect in a tournament of this quality there are a lot of big names opposing him. The German Masters winner Anthony Hamilton is here as is English Open champion Liang Wenbo.
Mark Allen, Mark Williams and Joe Perry are all ranked in the top 16 in this quarter with the other two men being Martin Gould and Dominic Dale so this is a competitive section.
Second Quarter
This is a real feast of tasty talent. Ronnie O’Sullivan is the headline name in this quarter but the challengers are real and in plentiful supply. Former winner Judd Trump is in this quarter as is Neil Robertson the former world champion.
Other top 16 ranked players in this quarter are Barry Hawkins and the Indian Open runner-up Kyren Wilson with the three men looking to upset the odds from this section being Yan Bingtao, Ricky Walden and Tom Ford.
Third Quarter
Scottish Open winner Marco Fu is the leading act in this section of the draw. Indian Open champion Anthony McGill is also in here but it has an open feel to it aside from that even allowing for the appearance of the German Masters runners-up Ali Carter.
The other players in this quarter are the talented Chinese player Zhou Yuelong, Northern Ireland Open winner Mark King, Stephen Maguire, Dave Gilbert and the Welsh player Jamie Jones.
Bottom Quarter
Ding Junhui is the main player in this section of the draw although it remains to be seen whether he will appear in the event after the sad death of his mother last week. John Higgins and Stuart Bingham are also in this quarter as is the defending champion Shaun Murphy.
The other men in this quarter are talented Welsh duo Michael White and Ryan Day, Michael Holt and the surprise qualifier for the event Yu Delu from China.
Betting
I’m going to take two outrights for this tournament. Both of them I’ve taken in recent times so they won’t come as a surprise. I’ve purposely picked a couple of players who weren’t involved in the German Masters too long last week because of the quick turnaround and this will inevitably be a comedown from the excellent crowds and venue of last week.
The first bet is on John Higgins. He didn’t have the greatest Masters but to be fair he lost an epic to Mark Allen, it wasn’t like he played badly in that tournament but prior to that his form was insane. He looks to have a draw which can open up for him but the way he has been playing he won’t need the help from others. With doubts over Ding’s appearance this week Higgins looks an obvious bet.
The other bet is on Marco Fu. Fu lost in the first round in Germany last week but I don’t see that as a bad thing necessarily. We know the Hong Kong man is playing well and this sort of tournament is likely to inspire him again to go well. His form in Scotland and in The Masters was of a very high level and if he is anywhere near that this week there is a very deep run in him.
Tips
Back J.Higgins to win World Grand Prix (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 12.00 with TitanBet (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back M.Fu to win World Grand Prix (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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