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As the nights draw in the Snooker season really starts to kick off. This month it is the turn of the Grand Prix with the round robin format you either love or hate. As with last year it is incredibly hard to predict a winner of the whole event until the knockout stages start as there are too many permutations involved figuring out who will play who etc. Like last year it is a great tournament for the lower ranked players as they will all get a game infront of the TV cameras but most importantly they will get valuable match experience ahead of the qualifying campaigns coming up.
First of all we have Group A with defending champion and number one seed Neil Robertson, Stephen Lee, Joe Swail, Joe Perry and the two qualifers Mark Davis and Jimmy Michie. Robertson has had an awful start to his season and is without a win from the six matches he has played. Stephen Lee reached the quarter final of the Shanghai Masters despite being on holiday the previous two weeks in Mallorca. Joe Perry, last years quarter finalist and Joe Swail will provide stiff competiton for the top spots as will Mark Davis, newly crowned German Open winner and former semi finalist Jimmy Michie.
Verdict:
1. Joe Perry
2. Neil Robertson
3. Joe Swail
4. Mark Davis
5. Stephen Lee
6. Jimmy Michie
Group B sees bookies favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan, 50 year old Steve Davis, Gerard Greene, Shanghai Masters winner Dominic Dale and the two qualifiers Mark Joyce and Tom Ford. O'Sullivan will be firm favourtie going into the group but the race for second place is wide open. Dale may be favourite out of the other 5 however he struggled badly with the format last year and has been very inconsistent after capturing his second ranking title. Steve Davis has a very good record over the former quarter finalist Gerard Greene but does struggle against the lower end ranked players. Mark Joyce is a newcomer and will probably just be pleased to be there. Tom Ford will be the player to watch out for. A former quarter finalist at the Malta Cup has had a few lean years but after a good German Open with two 140+ breaks and a comfortable qualification group could be the man to take second place.
Verdict:
1. Ronnie O'Sullivan
2. Tom Ford
3. Dominic Dale
4. Steve Davis
5. Mark Joyce
6. Gerard Greene
Group C is one of the groups of death. Peter Ebdon, Mark Selby, Matthew Stevens, Dave Harold, Joe Delaney and Liu Song make up the group with some probable hard fought matches ahead. Ebdon struggled with the format last year and hasn't exactly set the world alight in the shorter distance matches snce moving to Dubai thus I don't think he will qualify. Mark Selby is probably the form player in the group after reaching the World Final and Shanghai Masters semi and he did will in the event last year. Dave Harold also had a good Shanghai Masters reaching the quarters including a win over Ebdon, a player whom Harold has an excellent record against. Matthew Stevens will be the tricky player in this group as his form is so unpredictable but he did qualify from his group last year and will have confidence of a quarter final in Shanghai behind him. The two qualifiers are probably not going to be given much hope although Delaney did have a good Irish Championship.
Verdict:
1. Mark Selby
2. Matthew Stevens
3. Dave Harold
4. Joe Delaney
5. Peter Ebdon
6. Liu Song
Group D includes Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui, Stuart Bingham, Marco Fu, Stuart Pettman and Ben Woollaston. Again a tight contest is to be predicted as no name really stands out. Murphy will start as favourite as he is world number 3 but he struggled with the event last year failing to qualify from a pretty average group. Ding Junhui would be expected to join Murphy but his form since January has been awful but he has started to pick up a little with decent performances in the Premier League. Bingham has pretty good record over Murphy including a famous victory over him in this championship 2 years ago when Murphy was furious with the schedualing of his table. Bingham also had a quarter final appearance in Shanghai defeating fellow Group D player Staurt Pettman on the way. Pettman himself has had a great Grand Prix so far as he won 7 out of 7 in the qualifiers to add to a decent off season in Thailand. Ben Woollaston is the unknown quantity in the group in his third arena and Marco Fu as ever will provide a tough match but he too did struggle with the format last year.
Verdict:
1. Ding Junhui
2. Stuart Bingham
3. Shaun Murphy
4. Stuart Pettman
5. Marco Fu
6. Ben Woollaston
Group E is another strange one to predict. Graeme Dott is favourite from a group which includes Ali Carter, Michael Holt, Anthony Hamilton, Fergal O'Brien and Marcus Campbell. Dott however struggled in the event last year in the group of death but managed a semi in the first event of the season. Ali Carter has had a poor start to his season losing to Adrian Gunnell in the 1st round in Shanghai. Holt also lost his first round match to Dott in the same event whereas neither Hamilton or Campbell qualified. Fergal O'Brien had a good qualifying campaign and backed it up with a runner up spot at the Irish Championship. Marcus Campbell is the outsider in the group but he is most famous for whitewashing Hendry 9-0 at the 98 UK Championships. Anthony Hamilton lost all of his group matches last year and therefore I don't think he will qualify. Holt did well in his group last year but was edged out by eventual runner up Jamie Cope.
Verdict:
1. Fergal O'Brien
2. Graeme Dott
3. Michael Holt
4. Ali Carter
5. Anthony Hamilton
6. Marcus Campbell
Another Group of death is Group F which hosts Ken Doherty, Mark J Williams, Ian McCulloch, Mark Allen, Ricky Walden and Michael Judge. Doherty is the man on form winning the Irish Championships and Pot Black but was a 1st round loser in Shanghai to eventual winner Dominic Dale. Williams on the other hand can't buy a win winning just three matches all of last season although one them in this event against Stephen Lee didn't count as he withdrew from the event due to a wrist injury and therefore will be unpredictable going into the group. Ian McCulloch is a former runner up and will as usual be a tough one to crack and with a good chance to get back into the top 16 will be up for it. Mark Allen beat Doherty at the World Championships 1st round however this is his only ranking win in an arena as he lost all 5 of his round robin games last year. Michael Judge had a decent qualifcation but will go into the group as outisder. Ricky Walden has been a player just outisde the main circle for a few years now despite a terrific record over John Higgins but he has never had much luck with a couple of final frame defeats in big matches last year. I think his time will come soon but I think this may be an event too soon.
Verdict:
1. Ken Doherty
2. Ian McCulloch
3. Ricky Walden
4. Mark J Williams
5. Mark Allen
6. Michael Judge
The penultimate group, Group G is another hard one to predict. This group involves Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire, Jamie Cope, Barry Hawkins, Paul Davies and Rory McLeod. Both Davies and McLeod will be huge outisders and I cannot see them finishing above the bottom two places. Hendry is in fantastic form in the Premier League under a new coach and despite coming 6th in his group last year will be favourite this time. Maguire is also in decent nick as he has had 3 semi finals this year including the World Championships and must win an event sooner or later. Hawkins had an awful season last year but has recently won the Masters Qualifying event beating Cope on the way. Cope, runner up last year, will want to go one better this year but I think the fact he is in such a tough group I cannot see him qualifying.
Verdict:
1. Stephen Hendry
2. Stephen Maguire
3. Jamie Cope
4. Barry Hawkins
5. Rory Mcleod
6. Paul Davies
And finally Group H. Group H sees John Higgins, Ryan Day, Mark King, Nigel Bond, Andrew Norman and Tian Pengfei. Higgins, with the most appearances in Grand Prix finals, is clear favourite and unless he does an old pals act like last year will surely win the group. Ryan Day reached the final of the Shanghai Masters but lost 10-6 despite holding a 6-2 lead at one point. He did well in his group last year that also included Mark King, but I think he will come unstuck this time as he is in with a couple of tough matchplayers. Mark King was a semi finalist last year in a run which saw him dfeat Higgins 5-2 and he has a decent chance of a top 16 return so I can see him doing well. Bond, Norman, despite qualifying from a tough group last year, and Pengfei will all play it out for 4th spot with Norman getting it.
Verdict:
1. John Higgins
2. Mark King
3. Ryan Day
4. Andrew Norman
5. Tian Pengfei
6. Nigel Bond
Last 16
Joe Perry V. Graeme Dott
Ronnie O'Sullivan V. Ian McCulloch
Mark Selby V. Stephen Maguire
Ding Junhui V. Mark King
Fergal O'Brien V. Neil Robertson
Ken Doherty V. Tom Ford
Stephen Hendry V. Matthew Stevens
John Higgins V. Stuart Bingham
First of all we have Group A with defending champion and number one seed Neil Robertson, Stephen Lee, Joe Swail, Joe Perry and the two qualifers Mark Davis and Jimmy Michie. Robertson has had an awful start to his season and is without a win from the six matches he has played. Stephen Lee reached the quarter final of the Shanghai Masters despite being on holiday the previous two weeks in Mallorca. Joe Perry, last years quarter finalist and Joe Swail will provide stiff competiton for the top spots as will Mark Davis, newly crowned German Open winner and former semi finalist Jimmy Michie.
Verdict:
1. Joe Perry
2. Neil Robertson
3. Joe Swail
4. Mark Davis
5. Stephen Lee
6. Jimmy Michie
Group B sees bookies favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan, 50 year old Steve Davis, Gerard Greene, Shanghai Masters winner Dominic Dale and the two qualifiers Mark Joyce and Tom Ford. O'Sullivan will be firm favourtie going into the group but the race for second place is wide open. Dale may be favourite out of the other 5 however he struggled badly with the format last year and has been very inconsistent after capturing his second ranking title. Steve Davis has a very good record over the former quarter finalist Gerard Greene but does struggle against the lower end ranked players. Mark Joyce is a newcomer and will probably just be pleased to be there. Tom Ford will be the player to watch out for. A former quarter finalist at the Malta Cup has had a few lean years but after a good German Open with two 140+ breaks and a comfortable qualification group could be the man to take second place.
Verdict:
1. Ronnie O'Sullivan
2. Tom Ford
3. Dominic Dale
4. Steve Davis
5. Mark Joyce
6. Gerard Greene
Group C is one of the groups of death. Peter Ebdon, Mark Selby, Matthew Stevens, Dave Harold, Joe Delaney and Liu Song make up the group with some probable hard fought matches ahead. Ebdon struggled with the format last year and hasn't exactly set the world alight in the shorter distance matches snce moving to Dubai thus I don't think he will qualify. Mark Selby is probably the form player in the group after reaching the World Final and Shanghai Masters semi and he did will in the event last year. Dave Harold also had a good Shanghai Masters reaching the quarters including a win over Ebdon, a player whom Harold has an excellent record against. Matthew Stevens will be the tricky player in this group as his form is so unpredictable but he did qualify from his group last year and will have confidence of a quarter final in Shanghai behind him. The two qualifiers are probably not going to be given much hope although Delaney did have a good Irish Championship.
Verdict:
1. Mark Selby
2. Matthew Stevens
3. Dave Harold
4. Joe Delaney
5. Peter Ebdon
6. Liu Song
Group D includes Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui, Stuart Bingham, Marco Fu, Stuart Pettman and Ben Woollaston. Again a tight contest is to be predicted as no name really stands out. Murphy will start as favourite as he is world number 3 but he struggled with the event last year failing to qualify from a pretty average group. Ding Junhui would be expected to join Murphy but his form since January has been awful but he has started to pick up a little with decent performances in the Premier League. Bingham has pretty good record over Murphy including a famous victory over him in this championship 2 years ago when Murphy was furious with the schedualing of his table. Bingham also had a quarter final appearance in Shanghai defeating fellow Group D player Staurt Pettman on the way. Pettman himself has had a great Grand Prix so far as he won 7 out of 7 in the qualifiers to add to a decent off season in Thailand. Ben Woollaston is the unknown quantity in the group in his third arena and Marco Fu as ever will provide a tough match but he too did struggle with the format last year.
Verdict:
1. Ding Junhui
2. Stuart Bingham
3. Shaun Murphy
4. Stuart Pettman
5. Marco Fu
6. Ben Woollaston
Group E is another strange one to predict. Graeme Dott is favourite from a group which includes Ali Carter, Michael Holt, Anthony Hamilton, Fergal O'Brien and Marcus Campbell. Dott however struggled in the event last year in the group of death but managed a semi in the first event of the season. Ali Carter has had a poor start to his season losing to Adrian Gunnell in the 1st round in Shanghai. Holt also lost his first round match to Dott in the same event whereas neither Hamilton or Campbell qualified. Fergal O'Brien had a good qualifying campaign and backed it up with a runner up spot at the Irish Championship. Marcus Campbell is the outsider in the group but he is most famous for whitewashing Hendry 9-0 at the 98 UK Championships. Anthony Hamilton lost all of his group matches last year and therefore I don't think he will qualify. Holt did well in his group last year but was edged out by eventual runner up Jamie Cope.
Verdict:
1. Fergal O'Brien
2. Graeme Dott
3. Michael Holt
4. Ali Carter
5. Anthony Hamilton
6. Marcus Campbell
Another Group of death is Group F which hosts Ken Doherty, Mark J Williams, Ian McCulloch, Mark Allen, Ricky Walden and Michael Judge. Doherty is the man on form winning the Irish Championships and Pot Black but was a 1st round loser in Shanghai to eventual winner Dominic Dale. Williams on the other hand can't buy a win winning just three matches all of last season although one them in this event against Stephen Lee didn't count as he withdrew from the event due to a wrist injury and therefore will be unpredictable going into the group. Ian McCulloch is a former runner up and will as usual be a tough one to crack and with a good chance to get back into the top 16 will be up for it. Mark Allen beat Doherty at the World Championships 1st round however this is his only ranking win in an arena as he lost all 5 of his round robin games last year. Michael Judge had a decent qualifcation but will go into the group as outisder. Ricky Walden has been a player just outisde the main circle for a few years now despite a terrific record over John Higgins but he has never had much luck with a couple of final frame defeats in big matches last year. I think his time will come soon but I think this may be an event too soon.
Verdict:
1. Ken Doherty
2. Ian McCulloch
3. Ricky Walden
4. Mark J Williams
5. Mark Allen
6. Michael Judge
The penultimate group, Group G is another hard one to predict. This group involves Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire, Jamie Cope, Barry Hawkins, Paul Davies and Rory McLeod. Both Davies and McLeod will be huge outisders and I cannot see them finishing above the bottom two places. Hendry is in fantastic form in the Premier League under a new coach and despite coming 6th in his group last year will be favourite this time. Maguire is also in decent nick as he has had 3 semi finals this year including the World Championships and must win an event sooner or later. Hawkins had an awful season last year but has recently won the Masters Qualifying event beating Cope on the way. Cope, runner up last year, will want to go one better this year but I think the fact he is in such a tough group I cannot see him qualifying.
Verdict:
1. Stephen Hendry
2. Stephen Maguire
3. Jamie Cope
4. Barry Hawkins
5. Rory Mcleod
6. Paul Davies
And finally Group H. Group H sees John Higgins, Ryan Day, Mark King, Nigel Bond, Andrew Norman and Tian Pengfei. Higgins, with the most appearances in Grand Prix finals, is clear favourite and unless he does an old pals act like last year will surely win the group. Ryan Day reached the final of the Shanghai Masters but lost 10-6 despite holding a 6-2 lead at one point. He did well in his group last year that also included Mark King, but I think he will come unstuck this time as he is in with a couple of tough matchplayers. Mark King was a semi finalist last year in a run which saw him dfeat Higgins 5-2 and he has a decent chance of a top 16 return so I can see him doing well. Bond, Norman, despite qualifying from a tough group last year, and Pengfei will all play it out for 4th spot with Norman getting it.
Verdict:
1. John Higgins
2. Mark King
3. Ryan Day
4. Andrew Norman
5. Tian Pengfei
6. Nigel Bond
Last 16
Joe Perry V. Graeme Dott
Ronnie O'Sullivan V. Ian McCulloch
Mark Selby V. Stephen Maguire
Ding Junhui V. Mark King
Fergal O'Brien V. Neil Robertson
Ken Doherty V. Tom Ford
Stephen Hendry V. Matthew Stevens
John Higgins V. Stuart Bingham
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