The Players Series form the snooker action throughout March and they get underway on Tuesday when the 32 leading money earners in ranking tournaments this season head to Hong Kong for the World Grand Prix.
Ronnie O’Sullivan won this tournament just over a year ago and he had qualified to attempt to defend the title but he withdrew in the week leading up to the event so we are going to get a different winner this time around.
Recent Winners
2024 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2023 – Mark Allen
2021 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2020 (2) – Judd Trump
2020 – Neil Robertson
2019 – Judd Trump
2018 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2017 – Barry Hawkins
2016 – Shaun Murphy
2015 – Judd Trump
The Format
The top 32 money earners on the season so far make up the draw and the players have gone into the bracket placed where they are in that money list rather than their world ranking. The first two rounds of the tournament are played over the best of seven frames over the first four days of competition before the quarter finals see the format increasing up to the best of nine. The two semi-finals take place on Friday and Saturday evening over the best of 11 frames and then the winner of this first leg of the Player Series is crowned over two sessions and the best of 19 frames on Sunday.
Top Quarter
The leading money earner on the season so far is Judd Trump and he will be the main man in the top part of the draw bracket. He goes in search of a fourth World Grand Prix title on what is now home soil for the world number one but three top 16 players in the one-year list will be out to stop him. Ding Junhui won the International Championship earlier in the campaign and he is always a threat while Si Jiahui is another. Jack Lisowski is in the all-important 16 spot and that means he is the one being chased for places in the Players Championship so he’ll be keen for a big week.
The standout star of those outside the coveted top 16 ranking in the one-year list is Zhang Anda and he will be looking to win his opening match and hope a few above him in the list have poor weeks so he can progress. Xu Si has had a consistent 2025 which he will hope continues in this tournament. Gary Wilson was the last man into the draw as far as the rankings are concerned and he is in this quarter but the new final player into the field is Hossein Vafaei. He replaces Ronnie O’Sullivan in this section.
Second Quarter
The British Open and Welsh Open champion Mark Selby is the top man in terms of the rankings in the second quarter of the draw this week. He is yet to get his hands on this trophy so he won’t be short of motivation here. He is on a collision course with the Saudi Masters finalist Mark Williams, who was hinting that he would pull out of this event but is still in the draw at the time of writing. Wu Yize and Mark Allen conclude those in the top 16 of the one-year rankings in this section.
Four recognisable players are in this quarter from outside the top 16 on the one-year list with Jimmy Robertson the one in the best position to pick up enough wins to make it into the Players Championship. Pang Junxu is another who wouldn’t need the deepest week to get into that event but Stuart Bingham and Jackson Page both start the week knowing that they need a number of wins to make it through to the next leg of the Players Series.
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Third Quarter
Xiao Guodong has been one of the best players of the season and he will be rewarded with the highest seed in the third quarter of the draw this week. There is a feeling that his best form has died away in recent weeks though which will be of interest to Neil Robertson, who is ranked to be his quarter final opponent. This looks to be a weaker section of the draw though with the International Championship finalist Chris Wakelin and the Scottish Open winner Lei Peifan the other top 16 players in the one-year list in here but both would have questions over their form.
Elliot Slessor goes into the week ranked 19 on the one-year list so if he can have a decent enough week he will be a favourite to push into the Players Championship, while Dave Gilbert would have the same aim from the number 22 spot. Two players who are going to need to go much deeper in the competition if they are to extend their playing rights before the World Championship are the German Masters semi-finalist Yuan Sijun and Jak Jones.
Bottom Quarter
The world champion Kyren Wilson has been the best player of the season so far after Judd Trump and he will launch his quest for the title from the bottom quarter as a result of that. This is a loaded section of the draw though because it has the UK Championship and German Masters finalist Barry Hawkins as the next highest ranked player on the one-year list in it while The Masters winner and the recent champion in the World Open are both in this quarter in Shaun Murphy and John Higgins respectively.
Ali Carter made the semi-final of both the World Open and the Welsh Open before it and at 18 on the one-year list he is best placed to make it into the Players Championship from down the rankings in the bottom quarter. Stephen Maguire reached the Welsh Open final so he appears here in good form while the Shootout winner Tom Ford will be looking for a big week to reach the Players Championship while Matt Selt will need to go close to the title if he is going to make it through to the next leg of the series.
Betting
Neil Robertson looks to have landed himself in a nice part of the draw. I say that, but he will need to overcome Yuan Sijun for the first time this season having lost twice to him but if his experience of these kind of stages bring him through that then he is in a quarter where Xiao Guodong is the top seed and I would back the Australian to come through that and go deep. This is a big few weeks for Robertson. He isn’t yet into the World Championship automatically despite winning the English Open so he is going to need to take advantage of the Players Series events. He couldn’t have asked for a better quarter to be in here and at 14/1 I’ll take him to have a big week.
I’m convinced there is something in Tom Ford at the minute. I’ll admit he is beginning to frustrate me having got into a brilliant position to make the final last week only to lose to Zak Surety in the last eight but to be fair to the Shootout champion, Surety had two tons and an 80 in that match. Ford has a tougher draw here but that might not be a bad thing when you consider he will be the outsider for most of his matches. Ford has a couple of wins over Robertson to his name in recent times and definitely looks to be cueing well and in these best of sevens with everyone in the draw having shown something this season this draw could easily open up. He feels a monster price at 100/1.
Tips
Back N.Robertson to win World Grand Prix (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 15.00 with Unibet (1/2 1-2)
Back T.Ford to win World Grand Prix (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Spreadex (1/2 1-2)
