The snooker tour heads back to China next week for the World Open, the latest in the line of decent ranking events building up to a wonderful end of the 2019 calendar. It is a busy time in the snooker world so we should see some quality snooker in Yushan.
Mark Williams won this title last year but he chose not to enter the tournament this year so we will get a different name on the trophy here. There are a number of leading lights who will be hoping it is their name getting etched onto it.
Recent Winners
2018 – Mark Williams
2017 – Ding Junhui
2016 – Ali Carter
2014 – Shaun Murphy
2013 – Mark Allen
2012 – Mark Allen
2010 – Neil Robertson
The Format
It is what I call the normal format this week with the entire tournament from the first round through to the quarter finals being the best of nine frames with the semi-finals up to the best of 11. As with all Chinese events the final will be played out over the best of 19 frames to determine who the champion is. The 64 players and those coming out having had their qualifying game held over have already been placed in the draw.
Top Quarter
With no defending champion this week the world champion Judd Trump is the number one seed and as a result of that he is in the top quarter of the draw. The former champion Ding Junhui will be a popular player in this part of the draw from the top 16 while the other two from the elite range are another Chinese star in Yan Bingtao and Barry Hawkins, who will both fancy their chances of a deep run.
There are some decent names from those outside the top 16 in the world in this quarter as well. Joe Perry would be the leading one of those but Luca Brecel has a Chinese tournament to his name while home star Liang Wenbo is also in this section. Sam Craigie, Stuart Carrington, Marco Fu and Liam Highfield are all capable of big things as well.
Second Quarter
John Higgins had the English Open off but he is the leading light in terms of ranking position but Mark Selby is on a hot streak having won in Crawley earlier in the month. They are slated to meet in the quarter final but Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy will be out to showcase their extremely good credentials and spoil the party. Murphy is already looking for a second title of the season and a fourth final.
The top 16 players are unlikely to have it all their own way here. That is because the former world champion Graeme Dott is in this section, as is the current European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson while the man who took down the Indian Open last season is also here in Matt Selt. Mark Davis and Alan McManus will be looking to utilise their experience while Ricky Walden has a decent enough record in Chinese events.
Third Quarter
Neil Robertson was due to be the main act in the third quarter but he famously missed his qualifying match by turning up at the wrong Barnsley so he’s out of things. That has opened the draw right up for Mark Allen, who is twice a former winner of this tournament. The runner up from last year, Dave Gilbert, beaten in the final of the English Open last weekend, is also in this quarter while Stephen Maguire is the other top 16 member.
There are some dangerous outsiders in this section of the draw. The recent Haining Open champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is in here as is Anthony McGill while Zhao Xintong will be looking to showcase his talents on home soil. Li Hang and Zhang Anda will be looking to do likewise in what is a really open looking quarter should anything happen to Mark Allen at any point.
Bottom Quarter
It is Ronnie O’Sullivan who will be out to come through the bottom quarter of the draw. He lost out in the last 16 of the English Open so will be eyeing up a first ranking title of the campaign here. Kyren Wilson is seeded to be his biggest danger in it and they could meet in the quarter final if everything goes to plan. Jack Lisowski and Ali Carter will be out to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Xiao Guodong will have home support behind him from this section while Mei Xiwen has already beaten O’Sullivan once this season and could get the chance to do it for a second time this week. Ben WOollaston, Zhou Yuelong, Lu Haotian and Hossein Vafaei are just some of the other players in this quarter who are capable of a big run if they can find their best form.
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Outright Betting
In terms of the draw Mark Allen looks to be the one to be on but at 10/1 I can get over it if he wins without my money in him and instead I’m going to take him on with two at huge prices. The first of those is in Allen’s quarter actually so I’ll be ready to step in if anything does happen to Allen. I like Thepchaiya Un-Nooh here. He won the Haining Open over the weekend and while that is nothing like this tournament it shows he is hitting the middle of the white ball. He beat Mark Selby in the semi-final there and he was going along nicely in the English Open before he ran into a rampant Ricky Walden in the last 16. Un-Nooh is streaky but the win last week should have done great things for his confidence and at 100/1 in the weakest quarter of the lot I’ll pay to see how he goes.
Ricky Walden is actually my other bet. I was so impressed with him in the English Open and while his decision to go for broke in the deciding frame of his quarter final with Dave Gilbert was ultimately the wrong one, it did give us an indication of how high his confidence is at the minute. Walden is a regular tournament winner in China and has a very good record in the country so if he is coming back to form, as he appears to be doing, then this week might well have come at just the right time. He’s much better than a 200/1 shot.
Quarter Betting
I’m going to play both my outright bets for their quarters as well. Technically Un-Nooh would have every chance of coming through his if Allen loses somewhere and given that he’s in the top half of the section, where Neil Robertson should have been but isn’t, there is a chance that the Thai has a bit of a cruise into the quarter final. He’s 9/1 to win the quarter but with Stephen Maguire the only member of the top 25 he could meet before the last eight, and Un-Nooh thrashed him 4-0 in Crawley, that looks overpriced.
Walden would have the harder looking task on paper given that he has all of his seeds in his section but John Higgins hasn’t played for a while and he would have to come through Shaun Murphy to make the quarter final. Walden would have to come past Mark Selby in all likelihood but he is playing well and wouldn’t be without a chance in that match. I’ve mentioned that Walden plays well in China and I’ll cover him for the quarter too.
Tips
PLACED – Back T.Un-Nooh to win World Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Coral (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back R.Walden to win World Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back T.Un.Nooh to win 3rd Quarter for a 2/10 stake at 10.00 with Betway
Back him here:
Back R.Walden to win 2nd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
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