Wuxi Classic - June 23 - 29

[robertmac]

It's been a while since the last tournament
and I am looking forward to watching live
snooker again via World Snooker.
The Yixing Open (AT1) is June 17-21 but I
dont believe it is being shown live.
I am interested to see how the players do
at the start of a new season altho not all
will be participating.

[DeanH]

the Asian Tours in the past have been notoriously unsupported with streaming etc.
anyone know of any streaming availablity for AT1?

[Odrl]

http://www.my147.com/

There is usually some streaming on this site. I've watched quite a few finals and semi-finals in the past, but not sure how well the earlier rounds are covered...

[SnookerFan]

I've just remembered this. Been looking at the Eurosport listings. I'm a bit busy next weekend, so I don't know how much I'll get to see. Hopefully I'll get to see some.

At least they seem to be having a bit of the final on on Sunday. Eurosport can be a bit rubbish at televising finals.

[Neil Taperell]

Finals normally coincide with Motorcycling on Sundays on Eurosport .

[robertmac]

Thanks for the link odrl I will check it out.


http://www.my147.com/

There is usually some streaming on this site. I've watched quite a few finals and semi-finals in the past, but not sure how well the earlier rounds are covered...

[robertmac]

I am looking forward to some great matches.

[mythman69]

I am looking forward to some great matches.

Any particular matches? I know Neil Robertson has a walk-over in the first round because Alexander Ursenbache had visa problems.

I just hope Neil is in good form leading up to the Goldfields in Bendigo (Australia).

[tedisbill]

Any particular matches? I know Neil Robertson has a walk-over in the first round because Alexander Ursenbache had visa problems.

I just hope Neil is in good form leading up to the Goldfields in Bendigo (Australia).

He was when I went to watch him qualify for the Wuxi a couple of weeks ago. He played awesome.

[funkrider]

Eurosport broadcasts live matches from this at around 8PM GMT tomorrow.

[mythman69]

He was when I went to watch him qualify for the Wuxi a couple of weeks ago. He played awesome.

Good news !!

[cyberheater]

Eurosport broadcasts live matches from this at around 8PM GMT tomorrow.

Thanks. I'll set it up to record.

[DeanH]

TV Schedule yep

http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/Wux...919519,00.html

woo hoo back to normal TV

[Odrl]

So, the first major event of the snooker season starts tomorrow in Wuxi. Like last year, we had the Yixing Open immediately prior to the event, so a lot of the players made the trip early to play in that as well. Ding Junhui won the title, but unfortunately he is not playing in Wuxi, having lost in the qualifiers last month.

Matthew Stevens and Peter Ebdon are two other notable players who lost in the qualifiers, while Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Allen didn't enter this event at all. Also missing is Ali Carter, who withdrew from the qualifiers after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Of the "lesser" players I will miss Li Hang most of all. He is the only strong performer from Yixing to miss out on this tournament, having lost to a very good Ryan Day in the qualifiers earlier.

So, a couple of players are missing, but not too many, which should make for a very good tournament. As always, it will be interesting to see what kind of form the top players are in at this stage of the season, after the very short rest in May and early June. It will also be interesting to see whether the players who have come to China early enjoy any competitive advantage, and whether the Asian players can dominate the early season again, like they did last year.

Let's see what the draw looks like...

Quarter 1:

Neil Robertson v. Alexander Ursenbacher
Marcus Campbell v. Michael Georgiou
Michael Holt v. Rory McLeod
Sam Baird v. Fraser Patrick

Chris Melling v. Andrew Norman/Zhao Xintong
Jack Lisowski v. Lu Chenwei
Chris Wakelin v. Joe O'Connor
Shaun Murphy v. Rod Lawler

Neil Robertson is probably the top player I have the most confidence in. He has won a major Chinese event in each of the last two seasons, and he performed pretty well in all five events in China last season, including of course his win in Wuxi and another final in Beijing. His 1st round opponent withdrawing means Robertson has even less work to do to reach the quarter-finals here, and his draw wasn't all that difficult to begin with. His main opposition should be Michael Holt, the runner-up in Yixing. Holt has been a very good traveller in these last few years when more than half of the events are held in the East. He has now played in two PTC finals in China, and he reached his first-ever major semi-final in Shanghai last season, so I'm sure he will be optimistic about his chances here. Marcus Campbell also returns to the place of his biggest success in snooker so far, having reached the semi-finals of this tournament in 2012. Holt is the only player in this section to do anything notable in Yixing, but Fraser Patrick won a couple of matches as well, so maybe he could do something here. I think Robertson will do the business though. He has a very strong record against all of his main competition here, and the Australian Open is just around the corner, so this is not the time I would expect him to put his foot off the gas.

Shaun Murphy is also a good bet to reach the quarter-finals. Now, I quite like Murphy, but for some reason it seems pretty easy to find things to criticize about him. Last season I mostly mentioned the fact that he hadn't won a major tournament in five years, his terrible record against other top players in the 2012-2013 period, and also the fact that he was the only top player who hadn't won a major tournament in China before. He put things right by winning the World Open in Haikou, and he also managed to reverse his slide down the rankings. But unfortunately his season ended on a low note, with a pretty pathetic defeat to O'Sullivan in the WC. I had a feeling something like that would happen, after Murphy pretty much confessed his impotence before the match, and he seemed to be more interested in admiring O'Sullivan than competing on the table. Unfortunately he continued with more of the same after the match, instead of acknowledging his pathetic mental approach. I promised myself I would express my disrespect towards all of that the next time I spoke about Murphy, so that was it. :wink: But O'Sullivan isn't here this week, so hopefully Murphy can concentrate on his snooker and show a bit more confidence in himself. His section of the draw is pretty easy, but Rod Lawler could be a decent test. He is playing some of his best snooker at this late stage of his career, and his run to the semi-finals of the German Masters last season shows he is well capable of doing something on his day. Jack Lisowski has never reached a ranking semi-final, but he can also be pretty impressive on his day. After a very poor last season his best result remains the China Open quarter-final from 2013. He could have gone even further that week, but lost to Murphy from 4-2 up, unfortunately showing his lack of tactical knowledge and suspect nerve under pressure. That was the only major match between them so far, but they are favourite to meet in the last16 here, and it will be interesting to see whether Lisowski has learnt anything from the last time. I will also mention Zhao Xintong here, the young Chinese wildcard, who has established himself as a very dangerous player in these events. He has won his wildcard match on a couple of occasions in the past, along with a couple of close defeats, and his brightest moment saw him reach the last16 of the International Championship last season, with a win over Barry Hawkins in the process. I don't think he will compete as an amateur in these events for much longer. He was unlucky to draw Ding in the 1st round in Yixing, too high an obstacle, but I think I would actually put him favourite in his first two matches here. Still going with Murphy for the quarter-finals though...

Quarter 2:

Marco Fu v. Craig Steadman
Ken Doherty v. Jamie Jones
Kurt Maflin v. Anthony Hamilton
Stuart Bingham v. Tony Drago

John Higgins v. Anthony McGill
Alan McManus v. Gary Wilson
Barry Pinches v. Yu Delu/Yan Bingtao
Barry Hawkins v. Lee Page

The second quarter looks a little tougher on paper. Marco Fu will be looking to repeat what was an excellent season for him. He remains without a ranking title in China, but he came pretty close in the International Championship last season, only losing 10-9 to Ding in the final. He came to China early this time to play in Yixing, where he won a couple of matches before losing to Robert Milkins in the last32, but he is not going to Australia next week to defend his title, somewhat surprising perhaps. Stuart Bingham also hasn't won anything major in China yet, but he is the only player to win three Chinese PTCs so far, and he was also a finalist in this event in 2012. Last season wasn't brilliant for him, compared to the previous two at least, and the WC ended on a pretty low note for him, with a 1st round defeat to Ken Doherty, who is also in this section. Anthony Hamilton beat Bingham here a year ago, on his way to the quarter-finals, and we could have a repeat of that in the last32 here. Kurt Maflin could be even more dangerous, playing some of his best snooker these days, including a run to the last16 in Yixing, where he lost to a very solid Michael Holt. It's tough to chose between the two favourites, especially as they haven't played each other much in the past, and of course there is every chance either of them could go out early here, considering it's the opening major event of the season. I would give a slight edge to Fu perhaps...

Barry Hawkins is the highest seed in this quarter, fifth in the rankings at the moment, and almost guaranteed to stay at least as high for quite a while. I guess that's mostly down to his two great runs in the WC in the last two years, and also the big top prize for winning the PTC Finals last season, but he has been pretty consistent in the "standard" ranking events as well. He lost early in the opening event of the last two seasons, but he did win the Australian Open two years ago, so he can play well in the summer. John Higgins is the opposite case, having started the last two seasons really well. The Shanghai Masters title two years ago came in the first event he entered that season, and he also reached the Wuxi final last season, losing to Neil Robertson in a high-quality match. I don't think anyone is surprised when Higgins plays great snooker, but he has found it hard to string a couple of good matches together in recent years, so he is now more of an outside bet in tournaments like these. But when it does finally happen for him, I have a feeling it could be in China, because six of his last seven ranking quarter-finals have come in the Chinese events. There is not a lot of history between Higgins and Hawkins, but there are a couple of other potentially interesting pairings here. Alan McManus of course beat Higgins just recently in the WC, on his way to the quarter-finals. That run was a little unexpected, but not really a major surprise, considering the solid season McManus had had. We could have a rematch here, but Higgins has to beat another Scotsman Anthony McGill first, a player who is still waiting for his breakthrough really, and I have a feeling it could be coming in the near future. Hawkins' most immediate danger here looks to be Yu Delu. With so many tournaments in China now, it seems kind of inevitable that Yu will get to the business end of one of them at some point. He got to the quarter-finals in Yixing, so he looks to be playing pretty well at the moment. Hawkins won their match in the PTC Finals last season though. I will also mention Yu's wildcard opponent here, Yan Bingtao. Yu beat him in the last16 in Yixing, but Yan had a 4-0 win over Stuart Bingham in the previous round, and another good win over the experienced Tang Jun, who himself beat Judd Trump as a wildcard a couple of years ago. Yan doesn't have much of a reputation as a dangerman at this point, but that could change very quickly. Tough section to call, but I will go for Higgins to reach the quarter-finals.

Quarter 3:

Oliver Brown v. Oliver Lines
Martin Gould v. Michael Tomlinson
Ryan Day v. Matthew Selt
Mark Williams v. Mark Joyce

Stephen Maguire v. David Gilbert
Michael White v. Jamie Cope
Fergal O'Brien v. Ben Woollaston
Judd Trump v. David Grace

Interesting quarter, although perhaps lacking another really big name, after the loss of Ding. That leaves Mark Williams as the highest-ranked player in the first section, but not necessarily the favourite to go through, in my opinion. Last season was pretty dreadful for him, as he failed to reach the business end of any major tournament for the first time since his drought in 2006/2007. He also missed out on the Crucible for the first time in 17 years. I guess his story is similar to Higgins', in the sense that he only plays a good match here and there, or even only a good couple of frames. He led Bingham 3-0 in Yixing, only to lose 4-3 in the end. Still, it's encouraging that he came over early at all, and perhaps he can find some form here. Ryan Day is pretty close to him in the rankings at the moment, just outside the top16, but the difference is that Day looks to be on his way up again. Last season was solid for him, a quarter-final in the International Championship and a semi-final in the German Masters, with a decent performance in the WC as well. He was one of the best players in Yixing, getting through a tricky draw of four Main Tour players to reach the semi-finals, where he was beaten by Ding. He hasn't played Williams much, and he lost the one big match they have played recently, but surely he is the favourite of the two here. Other players who could cause problems for them? Mark Joyce perhaps, a quarter-finalist in the World Open last season, his best result since reaching the UK quarter-final a couple of years previously. There is also Martin Gould, who is barely hanging on to a top32 place after another bad season, but he remains capable of causing problems for anyone on his day. Oliver Lines and Oliver Brown are big outsiders on paper, but they shouldn't be underestimated either. Lines reached the last16 in Yixing, eventually losing to Scott Donaldson, while Brown beat Ding 5-0 in the qualifiers for this event, and he also reached the final qualifying round for the Australian Open, played under the old "tiered" format, so he had to beat three opponents just to get there. As I said, I'm going for Day in this section...

I have a feeling Judd Trump could have an early exit here. He lost in the 1st round of the first couple of major tournaments last season, including a loss to Li Hang in this tournament, and I suspect snooker may not be a priority for him during the summer months. His 1st round opponent here, David Grace, has a bit of a momentum going, after reaching the last16 in Yixing. Woollaston as well to a lesser extent, having lost to Joe Perry in the last32 in Yixing. Wollaston against Fergal O'Brien is also a repeat of a 1st round match from the International Championship last season, a match O'Brien won on his way to the last16. A more realistic danger for Trump here should be Stephen Maguire. It was a tough season for him, particularly in China, where he lost in the 1st round on three occasions and didn't play in the other two events, so he didn't really win a match here. His 1st round defeat to Ryan Day in the WC basically showed what Maguire is all about, he inexplicably played crap early on to go a long way behind, then got into a really determined and concentrated mood and won a couple of frames on the bounce, but he'd left himself too much to do. It looks like he is trying a different approach this summer, having entered both major events, as well as the Yixing Open. He landed in a pretty tough section in Yixing and lost 4-3 to Marco Fu early on, but I don't think that's a result that will damage his confidence much. The other three players in this section decided to skip Yixing, but it wouldn't be wise to rule them out anyway. Michael White and Jamie Cope both lost 10-9 at the Crucible, although in a somewhat different manner. White was missing sitter after sitter all match, and only started playing when his back was against the wall, while Cope probably played his best match on TV in a long time, but still didn't get the result he wanted. As for David Gilbert, he is a longshot here, but this was his best tournament last season. I find Maguire really unpredictable, but if he finds a bit of form he is much better than the other players here, with the exception of Trump, whom Maguire has an excellent record over.

Quarter 4:

Ricky Walden v. Peter Lines
Mark King v. Cao Yupeng
Xiao Guodong v. Robin Hull
Graeme Dott v. Zhou Yuelong

Joe Perry v. Scott Donaldson/Chen Zifan
Robert Milkins v. David Morris
Liang Wenbo v. Jamie Burnett
Mark Selby v. Robbie Williams/Niu Zhuang

The bottom quarter looks really interesting, with probably as many good "outside bets" as the other three quarters put together. I guess that's because most of the Chinese players have landed here, which is a shame in a way, as there is only room for a couple of players to go through. Ricky Walden has won both of his major titles in China, including the Wuxi Classic in 2012, so he could be one of the men to beat here. Last year he played very poorly and lost in the 1st round, perhaps coming here a little unprepared after going deep into the WC, but he should be better this time. As I said, it's a tough draw, with Mark King possibly waiting in the 2nd round, another player who usually plays his best snooker in China. I will always remember their dramatic match in the 2009 Grand Prix, when King won by a point on the black in the decider, after needing a snooker earlier in the frame. Walden has beaten him many times since though, so I don't think that will be in his mind anymore. King has a tough opening match against Cao Yupeng here, the opponent he beat in the World Open last season. Cao played really well in this tournament last year to reach the quarter-finals, where he only just lost to Robertson in a great match, but unfortunately that was the only real highlight of his season. Xiao Guodong had a much better season, the highlight of course his run to the final of the Shanghai Masters, which he followed up with a quarter-final appearance in the German Masters later in the season. He is pushing for a top16 place in the rankings as a result, and is actually seeded 16th for the Australian Open next week. He also seems to be in decent form already, he lost in the last16 in Yixing, to Robert Milkins. Graeme Dott lost a round earlier to Kurt Maflin, but still got a couple of wins, so he isn't coming to this event as cold as some of the players. He was quite impressive in the Chinese events last season, a great run to the semi-finals of the International Championship and further runs to the quarter-finals of the World Open and the China Open, and he lost close matches against very strong players each time. I think he will be determined to have a strong start to the season, after missing out on the Crucible for the first time in ages. He plays a very interesting opponent in the 1st round here, Zhou Yuelong, in his first season as a Main Tour player. They actually played each other in this tournament in 2012, when Zhou was just 14, Dott being too strong on that occasion. Zhou appeared as a wildcard in the first three Chinese events last season as well, and lost all three matches in deciders. What can he show here? An almost impossible part of the draw to call, but I'm going with Xiao...

And we conclude with another very difficult section. Mark Selby stands out, obviously, a former winner of this event back when it was still an invitational. He missed out last year after losing in the qualifiers, but this time he comes here as the World champion and the most consistent player in the world, having reached the business end of virtually all major tournaments last season. He made a rare decision to skip Australia this time, which suggests he is looking for a little longer time away from snooker, and he could be forgiven for coming to this event poorly prepared. He has such a solid game that I would still fancy him in most parts of the draw, but there are quite a few players here who could be dangerous. Joe Perry for a start, also playing some very consistent snooker at the moment, having reached at least the quarter-finals in five major tournaments last season. He played well in Yixing as well, losing to Ding in the last16. His potential match against Scott Donaldson could be one of the better ones in the 1st round proper, so hopefully whoever decides these things won't be stupid enough not to put it on TV. Donaldson has started the season very well again, just like last year. He lost to Robert Milkins in the quarter-finals in Yixing, and he came from the very first qualifying round to reach the venue stage of the Australian Open. His two best runs last season came in the Wuxi Classic and the Welsh Open, and both times he played Milkins, with each player winning once. Donaldson also faced Perry on two occasions last season, and lost both times. Moving on to Milkins, he could be a decent bet here himself. He has a quarter-final and a semi-final from the previous two editions of this tournament, and another semi-final in Australia last season, so he can be a really strong season starter. Unfortunately he kind of faded for the rest of last season, but maybe he can find his form again here. The signs are certainly good, with him reaching the semi-finals in Yixing. He has a pretty poor record against Perry, but I guess he was a different player when most of those matches were played, so they may not be all that relevant. His immediate worry is David Morris though, himself a quarter-finalist in this event last year. Liang Wenbo against Jamie Burnett could also be a good 1st round match. Burnett was another quarter-finalist in Yixing, where he lost to Ding, and he made a couple of centuries in the tournament, so he could be playing well. He is of course a former ranking finalist, in the 2010 Shanghai Masters. Liang, on the other hand, lost in the 1st round in Yixing to a pretty obscure player, so the signs are not as good for him. But his general, more long-term form seems to be improving, and he is getting through the qualifiers and the early rounds more often again. Both of these players played Selby in China last season and both lost heavily, Burnett in the International Championship and Liang in the World Open. Another pretty tough section to call, at least if we assume that Selby is a little out of sorts, so let's go with Perry.

Possible QF lineup:

Neil Robertson v. Shaun Murphy
Marco Fu v. John Higgins
Ryan Day v. Stephen Maguire
Xiao Guodong v. Joe Perry


Snooker is back! :smile: It's bound to be a good tournament and I should be free to watch most of it in the mornings.

[robertmac]

Another excellent review and thanks for that.

Robertson is my fave player and he seems to be
very focused but it will be interesting to see who
comes prepared and have done the hard work.
There are also some young players who may well
surprise the veterans.
It looks like we will soon find out.