Announcement

**Odrl** · 26 March 2017, 08:12 PM

Ah yes, the China Open starts tomorrow. It is the seventh major ranking event of the season, and the sixth traditional one. It is also the last event before the World Championship, so it will be a good indicator of how the main contenders are playing.

This has always been one of my favourite events. It has a traditional best-of-9 format, two televised tables, a world-class field, and it usually sees a very high standard of play. It had a weak year or two when the stupid decision was made to finalize the Crucible seeding before it, so a lot of the top players skipped it, but luckily that is no longer the case. The only top player who has decided to skip it this year is Neil Robertson. We've lost quite a few others in the qualifying though... The biggest names who didn't make it through are Barry Hawkins, Marco Fu, Mark Allen and the in-form Ryan Day. We've also lost two very promising young Chinese players in Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, which is a bit of a shame.

I have to admit I don't know much about the "rankings battle" that will be fought in Beijing this week, so I won't be commenting much on that. It's a great event in its own right though, with a major title at stake. Let's see what the draw looks like...

Quarter 1:

Judd Trump/Jason Weston v. Ashley Hugill
Ross Muir v. Eden Sharav
Anthony McGill v. Tian Pengfei
Martin Gould v. Robbie Williams/Fan Zhengyi

Judd Trump is perhaps the tournament favourite this week. He has been a model of consistency this season, winning two events and reaching three further finals, in various formats. He has been in three finals in the last month and a half alone, so the signs are really good for him ahead of the World Championship. The only worry is of course peaking too early, which has happened to quite a few players in the past. Trump has already won the China Open twice in his career, putting him alongside the likes of Ding, Williams and Ebdon as one of the best players in the event's history. In all honesty, Trump shouldn't have any real competition until the last16 here, but things get a little trickier after that. Anthony McGill is perhaps his highest obstacle in this section, although he hasn't been to the business end of any major event since new year, and that's even if we apply the word "major" a little more loosely than I usually do (but not too loosely :wink

. He reached the quarter-finals of the World Open in the first part of the season, and I think I'm right in saying that was his first and so far only quarter-final in any major event in China. There are four or five events in China every season now, so this is definitely a place you need to be comfortable with. That goes for Martin Gould as well, a player who has never won a match in Beijing. He lost 5-0 to young Yuan Sijun on two of his recent travels to China, which is a shocking result in all honesty. He also lost 6-2 to Zhou Yuelong in his opening match at the International Championship, so the Chinese opponents don't seem to suit him. This one should be a little easier on paper though. All in all, Gould had a pretty awful year after his German Masters triumph in 2016, but he found some inspiration this year in Berlin as well, reaching the semi-finals. Can he end the season on a good note? It's worth noting that Trump has a pretty good record against Gould, and an even better one against McGill, although he's never actually played McGill outside of the best-of-7 format. I would also mention Tian Pengfei in this section. This is a player who has never actually reached the business end of any major event, which is a little hard to believe, but he is a lot more dangerous than his ranking suggests, especially playing in China.

Mike Dunn v. Andy Hicks
Liang Wenbo/Itaro Santos v. Rory McLeod
Ben Woollaston v. Kurt Maflin
Joe Perry v. Hossein Vafaei Ayouri

This little section doesn't have any really big names, but two players still stand out, with a potential match between them in the last16. Liang Wenbo has the easier route on paper. There is nothing to suggest Rory McLeod could be a danger to him here, and very little to suggest Mike Dunn could be one either, even though he did reach the semi-finals here three years ago, which remains his biggest success in snooker so far. I think Liang's problem is not the competition, but rather his own inconsistency and his traditional struggles with this particular tournament. This is only the third time in his career that he has got through to the venue stage of the China Open, but of course he has done so by default this year, because his last128 match has been held over. He has never actually won a match outside of the wildcard round in Beijing though, and he's had similar struggles in his opening matches in Shanghai over the years as well. His most impressive result of the season is of course that win in the English Open in October, while his best result in the more recent events is a run to the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix, beating Joe Perry 4-3 in the quarter-finals. Perry has a somewhat more difficult route here, opening with a tricky match against Hossein Vafaei, whom he has already beaten twice this season. Vafaei has shown himself to be quite a competent player though, first taking advantage of an easy draw to reach the quarter-finals in Belfast, then following it up with a run to the last16 in Cardiff. Ben Woollaston and Kurt Maflin are potentially tricky opponents for Perry as well, although both have lost their only match against him this season. It's a tough match to call... Maflin was a semi-finalist in this event two years ago, his-best ever result in snooker, and his form this season has been alright, with runs to the last16 of the World Open, and more recently to the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open. On the other hand, Woollaston will probably be a little disappointed with how he's played this season. He has failed to push on after his successful period in 2015, and he is now struggling to hold onto his top32 spot in the rankings as a result. His best recent results are the runs to the last16 of the World Open, where he lost to Perry, and to the last16 of the English Open, where he lost to Liang. This looks like quite an unpredictable section where anything could happen, but I think Perry is still the best bet. I think he is the most reliable player here, and a lot of his best results have come in the Far East. That includes two major ranking finals, one of them this season in the World Open, plus two Chinese PTC titles and of course the PTC Finals in Thailand. This season he has also added a run to the quarter-finals of the International Championship, and most importantly a run to the final of the Masters in January, which suggests he may be ready to finally win his first major title. But first things first, can he get to the business end of the China Open for the first time in more than a decade?

Quarter 2:

Shaun Murphy v. Allan Taylor
Graeme Dott v. Gary Wilson
Allister Carter v. Stuart Carrington
Michael White v. Yu Delu

Shaun Murphy stands out as the big name here, but we know that his performances outside of the short format have been suspect in recent years. In fact, he hasn't won any event without best-of-7 matches in more than two years. He did win the short-format Gibraltar Open recently though, and he has had some other decent results this season as well. Graeme Dott should be his biggest danger before the last16 round here, but he isn't playing well at all at the moment. In fact, he hasn't been to the business end of any event this season, minor or major, and only one last season as well, so it looks like his best years are behind him now. He is a former winner of this event though, ten years ago now, so perhaps he can find some inspiration here. The same goes for Gary Wilson, a very surprising finalist in this event two years ago. He followed that result up with a pretty awful last season, but he is playing a little better again now, though still nowhere near the kind of form that could see him repeating that run. Another big name in this section is Ali Carter, by far the best performer of anyone in this part of the draw in the major events this season. He won the World Open in China in the first part of the season, then more recently reached the final of the German Masters and the semi-finals of the Players Championship, where he beat Murphy on his way. He doesn't seem like the type of person who enjoys travelling much, but his results would disagree with that assessment, as three of his four major titles have come abroad, two of them in China. Also in this section is Michael White, who is still waiting for his major breakthrough. He's been to a few quarter-finals in the Chinese events in the past, including Shanghai this season, but he hasn't really done anything since new year, so it's doubtful whether he has the form to be a danger this week. Stuart Carrington is worth mentioning as well, having recently reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, although he did have an easy draw and the matches were short. Yu Delu has also had some success this season, reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Open in December. He had been known as a dangerous player for some time, but this was the first time he has actually done something notable. Apart from that run, his season has been full of 1st round and qualifying defeats though. All things considered, I would probably go for Carter in this section. While Murphy's record against Dott is quite good, his record against Carter is not all that great, and recent form is on Carter's side as well.

Michael Holt v. Jimmy White/Li Yuan
Mark Williams v. Zhang Anda
Mark Davis v. Rhys Clark
John Higgins v. Ian Burns

The second quarter-finalist in this quarter should really come from the four seeded players. John Higgins is the favourite on paper, having played so well in the first half of the season. He reached the final of the Scottish Open in December, the quarter-finals of most other ranking events he entered, and he won two invitational events with very good prize money. Since new year his results have dropped dramatically though, with early exits in every event apart from the Championship League. He also seems to struggle against Mark Davis for some reason, having lost a number of matches against him on the big stage in recent years. To be fair though, those matches were played at a time when Higgins was struggling with his form, while Davis was playing some of his best snooker. This season Davis hasn't been quite as good, although he has still reached a couple of minor quarter-finals, which has helped him hold onto a top32 spot in the rankings. He has traditionally played well in Shanghai, but Beijing has not been particularly successful for him. Mark Williams, on the other hand, is one of the strongest players in the history of this event, having won it twice since its regular inclusion on the calendar in 2005, and once before that. We've seen him at the business end of events a couple of times this season, but he too has done very little since new year. He has had a bit of a rivalry with Michael Holt in recent times, beating him in the Scottish Open and over three sessions in last season's World Championship, while Holt prevailed when they met in the semi-finals of the Riga Masters at the start of this season. Holt is another player who seems to do well on travels, and he has already had some success in China this season, reaching the quarter-finals of both the Shanghai Masters and the International Championship. China is also the place of his biggest success in snooker outside of the short format, a run to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters three seasons ago. To continue the pattern of this section, Holt too has done almost nothing since new year. I think Higgins is probably the best bet here. He has a great record against Holt, and has already beaten him twice this season, in the World Open and the European Masters. He also has an edge over Williams in recent times, beating him in the World Open and the China Championship this season, although Williams did win the last time they played, which was a best-of-7 match in the Northern Ireland Open. I just have the feeling that Higgins' best form is not too far off though, in spite of his recent results. It's tough to see anyone else being a threat in this section... Jimmy White got to the quarter-finals of the short-format Paul Hunter Classic at the start of the season, but has done nothing since, while Zhang Anda played well in the UK Championship, but that too is an isolated good result in what has been a very mediocre season for him so far.

Quarter 3:

Stuart Bingham v. Scott Donaldson
Robert Milkins v. Noppon Saengkham
Kyren Wilson v. Xiao Guodong
Mark King v. Sanderson Lam

A tough section of the draw to predict... Stuart Bingham is the biggest name. He has had a very consistent season, with several runs to the semi-finals of ranking events, and he finally got some reward for his good form last month when he won the Welsh Open. He has always played very well in China, and this season has been no exception. He got to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and the International Championship, and he was also the runner-up in the non-ranking China Championship. I would expect him to play reasonably well here, so it's up to the other players to produce their best snooker if they want to get past him. His first opponent is Scott Donaldson, a player who's had something of a breakthrough this season by reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Open, in the short format of course. His next opponent could be Robert Milkins, a player Bingham has a good record against. Milkins is yet another Welsh Open semi-finalist this season, so we have three of the four in this little section alone. His draw was quite easy in Cardiff though, and he he did eventually lose 6-0 when he ran into Bingham. He also got to the quarter-finals in Glasgow, which was nice to see after a period of pretty awful results for him. Kyren Wilson is the second-highest seed in this section, a former Shanghai Masters champion, and also a finalist in the Indian Open and a semi-finalist in the Northern Ireland Open this season. I feel like I keep repeating it in this preview, but Wilson is yet another player who has done very poorly since new year. In fact, I think I'm right in saying that he hasn't won a single match outside of qualifying. He could have done with an easier opponent than Xiao Guodong in the 1st round here, although Xiao is not quite the player he was a few seasons ago when he got to the final of the Shanghai Masters himself. He has at least stopped his drop down the rankings now though, so perhaps things are looking up for him. These two have already played each other this season, in the qualifying for the German Masters, and it was Wilson who prevailed. Also here is Mark King, last year's quarter-finalist and the winner of the Northern Ireland Open this season. I wouldn't expect any fireworks from him, but he showed he was still playing well by reaching the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix last month, so he could be a decent bet here. He beat Wilson on his way to winning in Belfast, but he lost to him in Shanghai two seasons ago, which turned out to be Wilson's finest tournament to date. Finally, a quick mention for Noppon Saengkham, who shouldn't really feature heavily here, but he did get to the business end of this tournament 12 months ago.

Mark Joyce v. Fraser Patrick
Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Gareth Allen
Matthew Selt v. Zhou Yuelong
Ding Junhui/Sean O'Sullivan v. Paul Davison

I can really only see two contenders here. Ronnie O'Sullivan is not a big fan of China, we know that, but this tournament in particular has seen some weird snooker from him. He played ridiculously attacking snooker in 2007, going for pots no one in their right mind would take on, he missed a very suspicious black off the spot for the frame when he was 4-3 down against Tian Pengfei in 2010, and of course he caused a major controversy with his behaviour in a press conference in 2008. This is his first appearance in Beijing in five years, so it will be interesting to see how he plays this time. Generally his season has been quite good, the highlight being his third title at the Masters in the last four years. He is experiencing a little drought as far as ranking events are concerned though, it's more than a year since he last won any event that carried ranking points, and he hasn't won one outside of the short format since the 2014 UK Championship. It's really tough to see anyone matching him before the last16 here, and possibly not even then if Ding Junhui goes out. Statistics suggest that Ding going out is not very likely though, since he reached at least the semi-finals in five of his last six appearances in Beijing. He has also won this tournament twice in the past, and he has played well in China this season, winning the Shanghai Masters and reaching the final of the International Championship. He has had some off-table problems this season, so it's understandable that he has skipped a few events and suffered some early exits, but he showed he was still playing well in the recent Players Championship, reaching the semi-finals. In the end he threw the match away from a winning position against Fu, so I'm sure he will want to redeem himself here. I am tempted to go for Ding to come through, but the one big thing against him is his poor record against O'Sullivan. The first and only time he has beaten him in a proper match was in the final of the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy, with O'Sullivan dominating their head-to-head record since. They haven't met in two and a half years though. Is there anyone else worth mentioning in this section? Matthew Selt perhaps, but for me he has been one of the most disappointing players of the season so far, failing to reach the business end of any event, minor or major, so he is having to fight to hold onto his top32 spot as a result. There is also Zhou Yuelong, the promising Chinese player who had a bit of a breakthrough in the Welsh Open recently, taking advantage of an easy draw to reach the quarter-finals, before losing 5-0 to Scott Donaldson with a poor performance. Unlike a lot of other young Chinese players, Zhou has handled the qualifying minefield in the UK quite well so far, and has seen a steady rise up the rankings. Could he be a danger this week?

Quarter 4:

Daniel Wells v. Jamie Cope
Alan McManus v. Matthew Stevens
Li Hang/Luo Honghao v. Aditya Mehta
Stephen Maguire v. Fergal O'Brien

By far the weakest section of the draw, in my opinion. It originally included Hawkins and Fu as well, but they both lost in the qualifiers, so we are left with Stephen Maguire as the biggest name, and his name is not all that big these days. His best result this season is a run to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters in September, and he actually had quite a tough draw there, which shows he is still competitive when he finds his form. A year ago he needed a very deep run in this event to get into the top16 before the Crucible seeding was finalized, and he managed it with a run to the semi-finals. As I said earlier, I haven't paid much attention to what the rankings situation is like this time around, but I don't think we'll see any miracles from Maguire this year. Apart from Maguire, no one in this entire section has reached the business end of any event this season, minor or major, which is quite an amazing statistic, considering how full the calendar is these days. The opening match against Fergal O'Brien is probably as tough as it gets for Maguire, although it's worth noting that Maguire has never actually lost to O'Brien, and most recently beat him in the UK Championship this season, 6-5, on his way to the last16. This was the match that followed O'Brien's amazing five centuries in his 6-5 win over Hawkins. Then we have the match between two veterans, Alan McManus and Matthew Stevens. The last16 round is the best either of them has managed this season, McManus did so in the World Open in China, while Stevens did it in the UK Championship, showing once again that he prefers the slightly longer matches. I don't have much confidence in either of them here... We knew it would be difficult for McManus to reproduce the kind of form he showed at the Crucible, where he actually beat Maguire in the opening round, and Stevens is unreliable at the best of times, plus his record in Beijing over the years is quite dreadful. Daniel Wells could perhaps do something, having played well in the World Open this season, where he actually gave Carter the best game out of anyone, losing 5-4 in the last16. Li Hang is a familiar name as well, but like Tian Pengfei, he has never actually reached the business end of any major event. This is as good a chance as any though. Jamie Cope also returns to Beijing, ten years after reaching the final here, but it's worth pointing out that he hasn't won a single match here since, even though he has qualified for the venue stage quite regularly. As unreliable as he is, Maguire surely has to be a strong favourite to come through, especially since this event is traditionally among his better ones, and is one of the (disappointingly) few big ones he has ever won.

David Gilbert v. Andrew Higginson
Ricky Walden v. Alex Borg/Niu Zhuang
Jimmy Robertson v. Martin O'Donnell
Mark Selby/Adam Stefanow v. Alfie Burden

And we conclude with another section that doesn't really stand out as a particularly strong one. Mark Selby is the man to beat, as always. He currently holds the three most important ranking titles in snooker, adding the International and the UK Championship to the World Championship he won at the end of last season. He also reached the final of the Shanghai Masters this season, and his record in China in general is top notch. He has been poor by his own standards since new year, but still better than all the other players I have said this about. He is usually very reliable outside of the short format, so I think he will welcome the return to the slightly longer matches here. I suppose Alfie Burden is not the easiest opponent he could have drawn in the last64, but he is a player Selby has never lost against, and that includes matches in this season's World Open, European Masters and International Championship. The one in the European Masters was actually in the quarter-finals, which is the best result Burden has had so far in any event that carried ranking points, and he followed it up with a similar run in the short-format Gibraltar Open just recently. He was also a quarter-finalist in this event a year ago, which is perhaps the most important statistic, as the China Open has the proper matches of medium length. I will only mention two more players in this section, but both are very dangerous. The first one is Ricky Walden, a winner of three major ranking events in the past, all of them in China. He is a real specialist for the Far East events, and he desperately needs a return to form here, because a mediocre season has seen him drop out of the top16 now. He actually struggled for most of the last season as well, but he turned it around at the very end, with runs to the final of the PTC Finals and the China Open. This season he has appeared at almost every venue, but his only notable result is the quarter-final in the English Open. Can he make things right this week? He doesn't have the best record against Selby, so it certainly won't be easy... The other player I will mention is David Gilbert, a finalist in the International Championship last season. He hasn't been too close to repeating that result this season, but I would still say his season has been a solid one, with runs to the quarter-finals of the World Open, and to the last16 of the Shanghai Masters and the UK Championship. He is definitely playing the best snooker of his career in the last couple of years, and I don't think anyone would particularly want to play him in the early rounds of an event like this one.

Possible QF line-up:

Judd Trump v. Joe Perry
Allister Carter v. John Higgins
Stuart Bingham v. Ding Junhui
Stephen Maguire v. Mark Selby

So there we are... I hope to be able to watch as much of this event as possible, and I am sure I will enjoy every minute of it. :wink: I wish everyone who will be watching it a good snooker week. :smile:

**Odrl** · 26 March 2017, 08:14 PM

Sorry for repeating some of the things you already pointed out, JimMalone, but I already had it typed out before I read your post. :smile:

**cueman** · 26 March 2017, 08:39 PM

Its a strange event this because on paper its a big ranking event compared to many on the calendar. However, only a couple of weeks before the world championship starts, I often wonder whether its a blessing for players who go out early and have the extra time to prepare for Sheffield.

Over the past 5 years every winner of this event has done poorly at the crucible either losing first round or second round. That for me isn't a coincidence, its proof that sustaining your form for over a month is almost impossible today and with the world championships being very open again this year I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of top players exiting in the early rounds this week.

**jonny66** · 26 March 2017, 09:18 PM

This is on Quest again in the evenings, in case anybody wanted to know

**Neil Taperell** · 27 March 2017, 07:02 AM

Good scoring from Murphy . 3 Centuries in 4 frames . and a solid performance from Jimmy White in the qualifying round .

Anyone know why Robbie Williams didn't travel ?

**JimMalone** · 27 March 2017, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by Odrl View Post

Sorry for repeating some of the things you already pointed out, JimMalone, but I already had it typed out before I read your post. :smile:

No need to worry Odrl. I'm always looking for your analysis and enjoy to read them. And it's not unusual that two people have the same view by breaking down a draw. Especially as your thoughts most of the time come very, very close to my own ones, it's just that I'm too lazy to type down such a detailed preview.

I'd like to add a side-note to your last section though:
It's right that Walden doesn't have the best record against Selby, but he beat him just three weeks ago at the Gibraltar Open. You could also read this as: He just had his win against Selby, so it's unlikely he'll get another so soon.

**Neil Taperell** · 27 March 2017, 08:16 AM

3 Centuries from Judd Trump as well !

I've not seen any of the action so far ............are the pockets like buckets , or are these guys on form ?

**Neil Taperell** · 27 March 2017, 09:13 AM

3 Centuries from Michael White !! Wonder what the record is for centuries in this tournament , might get beaten in this round !

**DeanH** · 27 March 2017, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by neil taperell View Post

3 Centuries from Michael White !! Wonder what the record is for centuries in this tournament , might get beaten in this round !

(including quals) the record for centuries in China Open (2016) is 76 (38x2 Q&ME)
2017 is 22(Q) +12 already so the first day of the main event nearly halfway, so a new record could be on the cards

The tables (the cushions especially) do seem to be playing nicely.

**j6uk** · 27 March 2017, 09:40 AM

hossein looking good with a unsurprising 5-2 over perry, feel a bet coming on..

**JimMalone** · 27 March 2017, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by Odrl View Post

I have to admit I don't know much about the "rankings battle" that will be fought in Beijing this week, so I won't be commenting much on that. It's a great event in its own right though, with a major title at stake. Let's see what the draw looks like...

I'll give a bit of insight onto the "rankings battle".
The most important point of course is being in the Top 16 after the China Open, cause that guarantees a spot at the World Championship. Let's have a look at the standings there, which already include the 4000 points for making the main draw:

1. Mark Selby 858.425
2. Judd Trump 585.500
3. Stuart Bingham 580.762
4. Ding Junhui 453.450
5. Shaun Murphy 444.850
6. John Higgins 419.000
7. Barry Hawkins 380.250 (not in China)
8. Marco Fu 376.125 (not in China)
9. Neil Robertson 363.125 (not in China)
10. Ali Carter 320.075
11. Mark Allen 302.650 (not in China)
12. Ronnie O'Sullivan 288.750
13. Liang Wenbo 285.500
14. Kyren Wilson 247.425
15. McGill 230.150
16. Day 209.087 (not in China)

17. Perry 193.700 (out of China)
18. Gould 192.475
19. Gilbert 188.650
20. King 188.475
21. Walden 184.900
22. Holt 173.500
23. Mark Williams 168.975
24. Anthony Hamilton 134.925 (not in China)
25. Alan McManus 132.850
26. Stephen Maguire 132.275

So this includes every player who still has a chance to finish in the Top 16 prior to the World Championship. And in Anthony Hamilton and - as he just lost his first round match, Joe Perry - two players who doesn't have this chance anymore.
For the others it's simple on paper and difficult on the table:
a) Martin Gould would have to reach the semifinal to make the Top 16.
b) David Gilbert, Mark King and Ricky Walden must reach the final
c) Michael Holt and Mark Williams would need to win the China Open
d) Alan McManus and Stephan Maguire would need to win the tournament and at the same time Gould must not reach the final (same would count for Gilbert, King and Walden, but they are in the same half of the draw as McManus and Maguire anyways)

As for getting a better seeding at the crucible and thus eliminating the chance to play the top seeds like Mark Selby and Judd Trump early on, Shaun Murphy and John Higgins (who would need to win the China Open though) could overtake Ding Junhui for fourth place.
Ali Carter could move into 8th place with a title in Beijing. If that would be better for him though, is in the cards. It would set up a hypothetical 2nd round match with Marco Fu at the Crucible. If the standings remain as they are he would have Barry Hawkins as possible 2nd round opponent at Sheffield.

**Odrl** · 27 March 2017, 11:28 AM

I've just caught up with the morning session... Unfortunately not much to see in terms of a contest, but it was still nice to see Trump scoring so well, basically as well as anyone possibly can. It's early days in this tournament, but I guess his form this morning is a good sign. :smile:

Thanks for the rankings overview. I have a feeling it will be a little anti-climactic in the end, with the rankings staying roughly the same as they are now. It looks like Neil Robertson could be the big loser, landing in Selby's quarter, with O'Sullivan ending up in the top half as well. I'm not sure why Joe Johnson was obsessing about Trump holding onto his 2nd spot to avoid Selby, since the 3rd seed lands just as far away from Selby as the 2nd one, and Trump can't finish lower than 3rd now. :smile: And speaking of weird commentary, it's tough to see how Philip Studd came to the conclusion that Trump is the player of the season so far, since Selby has won more titles than him, including the two most important ranking titles on offer, and amassed more ranking points than him so far. The season started in June, not last month. :wink: Also, I'm not sure it's appropriate to refer to Itaro Santos as "the young Brazilian", considering the guy is in his 30s. :smile:

Anyway, looking forward to the afternoon session, although I have the feeling the matches will be similarly one sided.

**JimMalone** · 27 March 2017, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by Odrl View Post

Thanks for the rankings overview. I have a feeling it will be a little anti-climactic in the end, with the rankings staying roughly the same as they are now. It looks like Neil Robertson could be the big loser, landing in Selby's quarter, with O'Sullivan ending up in the top half as well. I'm not sure why Joe Johnson was obsessing about Trump holding onto his 2nd spot to avoid Selby, since the 3rd seed lands just as far away from Selby as the 2nd one, and Trump can't finish lower than 3rd now. :smile: And speaking of weird commentary, it's tough to see how Philip Studd came to the conclusion that Trump is the player of the season so far, since Selby has won more titles than him, including the two most important ranking titles on offer, and amassed more ranking points than him so far. The season started in June, not last month. :wink: Also, I'm not sure it's appropriate to refer to Itaro Santos as "the young Brazilian", considering the guy is in his 30s. :smile:

Haha! Agree on your comments about the remarks of Johnson and Studd.
One point though: By getting to the semifinal at Beijing, which certainly is not out of question, Ronnie O'Sullivan would surpass Mark Allen as #11 in the world and land in the bottom half of the World Championship Draw. This of course depends of Liangs results as well though. Cause he hadn't the 4000 points for reaching the China Open Main Draw included in his list, so he is technically ahead of O'Sullivan as well.

**JimMalone** · 27 March 2017, 11:52 AM

Ding failed to get to his qualifier at the right time. Therefore he got docked the first frame against Sean O'Sullivan.

Announcement

2017 China Open

2017 China Open

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment