First Round "Surprises"

[matoski]

Ebdon and Hendry will pass the first round. For the others i totally agree. Also, Jo Swail has a good chance to progress in the second round.
I hardly wait for the start of the WC.

[rambon]

I also think Doherty's lucky to have a relatively easy draw. I'm plumping for Quarter Finals of:

Ryan Day vs Ding Junhui
Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Stephen Lee
Shaun Murphy vs Mark Selby
Stephen Maguire vs Joe Perry

[Maurice Olssen]

Dott must be under a lot of pressure with personal probs etc - can't see him getting far. Higgins looks a good bet this year.

[Skypigeon]

well guys...John won quite comfortably... 10-5 was not all due to Maff's lack of form! As we all know, John needs a bit of a warm up to play his best and this was a good one! :snooker:

[Maurice Olssen]

The next match should not give him any trouble either... it's looking very promising!

[rambon]

The next match should not give him any trouble either... it's looking very promising!

I think Ryan Day and Michael Judge will both give him a good game. As most people know, Day on his day (no pun intended) is good enough to beat anyone.

[stephen23]

Ken's departure sure a big surprise

[gavpowell]

Ah but when he won the worlds for the first time he got to the semis... it's skipped a generation but he's cursed...

Nah, the curse is simply that no first-time champion has ever successfully defended his title - Joe Johnson remains the closest, having contested the final the following year.