The biggest ranking event of the snooker season so far begins on Sunday when the International Championship takes place out in China. 64 stars of the game head back to Asia for a tournament which carries a great deal of importance given the riches available in it.
Mark Selby will defend the title and will fancy his chances of keeping hold of it with the format the best of 11 right from the beginning which plays into his hands. Some world class players will be aiming to show their own credentials.
Recent Winners
2017 – Mark Selby
2016 – Mark Selby
2015 – John Higgins
2014 – Ricky Walden
2013 – Ding Junhui
2012 – Judd Trump
The Format
Half of the entry list was reduced in a qualifying round for the tournament earlier in the month so 64 men begin the tournament along with a couple who tag along having had their qualifying game held over to the main venue. The first round right the way through to the quarter finals are the best of 11 frames before the two semi-finals take place on Friday and Saturday over the best of 17 frames. The champion will be determined on the second Sunday of the tournament over the best of 19 frames. He will walk off with £175,000.
Top Quarter
As the defending champion and the world number one Mark Selby heads the top quarter. He may not have things all his own way though as Neil Robertson and Kyren Wilson are two dangers to him who are ranked in the top 16 while Liang Wenbo and Anthony McGill are also in this section and they are in and around the fringes of that elite group.
Xiao Guodong is often dangerous on his own patch while Joe Perry was a losing finalist in the European Masters earlier in the month so they will fancy their chances over the course of this week. Robert Milkins and the English Open finalist Mark Davis will also be looking to go deep in this tournament in this quarter.
Second Quarter
This is an absolutely packed quarter of the draw with Judd Trump seeded to headline it but it might be Barry Hawkins who is more likely of the two to come out of it. Even then the likes of Marco Fu and Ryan Day are going to be hoping to have something to say about that. None of them have easy first round matches so anything could happen here.
Young stars Jack Lisowski and Yan Bingtao are going to be dangerous in this group while Martin Gould is due a big week from this section. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh can be as dangerous as anyone when he is feeling it while the likes of Chris Wakelin, Tian Pengfei and Jimmy White are all showing some decent form.
Third Quarter
John Higgins was meant to be the main act in this third quarter but he couldn’t make it through the qualifying round which has left Ding Junhui as the star attraction in it. This is comfortably the weaker of the quarters despite the English Open champion Stuart Bingham being in it.
Dave Gilbert is one player who could be dangerous in this quarter while Zhao Xintong is extremely talented and could take advantage of how open this draw is. Mark King and the European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson are both in this quarter while Tom Ford could do with a decent week for his own peace of mind.
Bottom Quarter
It is all about the world champion Mark Williams in the bottom quarter of the draw. Masters champion Mark Allen will do his best to give the world champ a threat while Stephen Maguire arrives in China in decent form and should not be discounted completely either.
Zhou Yuelong is among the dangerous outsiders in this part of the draw but the likes of Ali Carter, Graeme Dott, Ben Woollaston and Gary Wilson are all capable of going deep into this competition. Another player who is talented enough is Michael Georgiou but like the quarter above there is a feeling of this being quite wide open too.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
Both my outright bets this week come in the bottom half of the draw. I think Mark Allen is playing some nice stuff at the minute and his early exit from the English Open might just have given him that time off that ever player needs but can’t always have in the middle of the busy part of the season. Mark Williams looks to be the main danger for Allen but he’s in nothing like the form which saw him win the world title last year. Allen likes this best of 11 gig and I have him down as a leading contender here.
Dave Gilbert was a finalist in this tournament in 2015 and has already made the final of the World Open this season so there is something about China that seems to bring out the best in his game. Indeed of the six times he has made the quarter finals in ranking events four of them have been in China. He is in that third quarter which looks wide open and if he can dispose of Stuart Bingham early doors he could go a long way at a big price.
Tips
WON – Back M.Allen to win International Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with BetVictor (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back D.Gilbert to win International Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Coral (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
