Australian Goldfields Open 2011

[JanieWatkins]

Anyone know why Steve Davis pulled out of his match ???

Personal reasons. I think I was told he already has something in his diary before the dates for the final stages in Australia were announced, so better to withdraw at the start than maybe win through and then have to withdraw.

[wildJONESEYE]

Personal reasons. I think I was told he already has something in his diary before the dates for the final stages in Australia were announced, so better to withdraw at the start than maybe win through and then have to withdraw.

and by withdrawing it gave ON Q Players a definite spot in aus

[Odrl]

So, the first major event of the season starts in two days. It's hard to predict whether it will be a success or not, as I have no idea what the crowds will be like, and whether the coverage will be up to the standards we are used to. Also, the snooker can sometimes be pretty mediocre in the season opener, with a lot of the top players going out early. Shanghai was a bit underwhelming last year, but I think we are in for a better week of snooker this time, as a lot of the top players have been involved in the World Cup or the Wuxi Classic, so they probably won't be as rusty.

Personally, I am very much looking forward to this event. The traditional weeklong best-of-9 events have gone nearly extinct last season, so it's good to have this addition to the calendar. Let's see what the draw looks like:

Quarter 1:

John Higgins v. Matthew Selt
Stephen Hendry v. Martin Gould
Peter Ebdon v. Rory McLeod
Shaun Murphy v. Andrew Higginson

Two strong favourites in the first quarter. John Higgins has a habit of winning his opening match in ranking events, so I can't really see him being one of the players that get caught out. He played Matthew Selt in the season opener two years ago as well, winning 5-2 on that occasion. It was a good period for Selt, but we haven't seen a lot of him since. It will be interesting to see if he is a stronger player now. The other match here, Hendry against Gould, is probably the best prospect of the 1st round. They played in Shanghai last year, with Gould winning comfortably. It's hard to predict Gould's form here, as he is quite an inconsistent player. On the other hand, Hendry has been a poor early-season player in recent years, so I don't expect him to be at the top of his game in July. Still, he usually responds well when he gets a tricky draw, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is up for it. Whoever wins will have a tough job against Higgins though.

Shaun Murphy is a heavy favourite for the other QF spot. Peter Ebdon might be his biggest obstacle here, but Murphy beat him comfortably, 5-1, in the Wuxi Classic. Also, while Ebdon enjoys slow-tempo games against faster and less experienced opponents, he has been known to have problems against other slow players, which is somewhat ironic. And they don't come any slower than McLeod. But realistically, it's difficult to look past Murphy.

Quarter 2:

Allister Carter v. Marcus Campbell
Mark Allen v. Ryan Day
Jamie Cope v. Tom Ford
Ding Junhui v. Stuart Bingham

The second quarter is a lot more open, with a number of players capable of beating each other on their day. Allen against Day is probably the most interesting match. Both players have had good results in the overseas events in the past, but Day in particular has been an overseas specialist these last few years. It should be an attacking game between them, and possibly a similar game if the winner meets Carter in the 2nd round. Carter will be favourite to go through, but it will be interesting to see whether his involvement in the World Cup "playoff" turns out to be an advantage or not. The same goes for Allen of course.

Ding Junhui is the other favourite here, also very much involved in the World Cup. It should be an interesting 1st round match against Bingham, an opponent Ding beat in a decider at the WC. I wouldn't rule out a surprise here, because Bingham has been known to start seasons well. He beat Selby in Shanghai two years ago, as well as Allen last year. It will also be interesting to see how well Jamie Cope does. Since his good 06/07 season where he reached two finals, he hasn't really challenged for titles. But on the other hand, he has firmly established himself in the rankings, thanks to consistently winning a match or two in these events. He has played Ding quite a few times in the last two seasons, and beaten him on a couple of occasions, so he will know he can do it. But Ding will also know how dangerous Cope can be, so I expect him to be up for it.

Quarter 3:

Mark Selby v. Joe Perry
Judd Trump v. Mark Davis
Matthew Stevens v. Liang Wenbo
Stephen Maguire v. Ken Doherty

The third quarter has a couple of interesting prospects, the obvious one being a potential 2nd round match between Selby and Trump. It would be a repeat of the last overseas final, which was a really great match. Trump will find himself among tournament favourites a lot this season, so it will be interesting to see how he deals with that pressure. He has a somewhat tricky opener against Mark Davis here. They played in China last season, with Trump winning 5-2. Davis mustn't be underestimated though, because he beat Stephen Maguire in both Chinese tournaments last season. I would make Selby the favourite in this part of the draw, because he has already been pretty active this season and seems in good form.

The other four players all have a decent chance of making the QF. I suppose on paper Ken Doherty is the weakest player here. His World Cup performance was inconsistent, some good snooker, but mostly mediocre. Matthew Stevens is also not in great form at the start of the season. He lost to Yu Delu in the Wuxi Classic, and he seems to be the weak link in the Wales World Cup team. Liang Wenbo also didn't impress in the Wuxi Classic, but I think he is finally starting to regain some form. It's doubtful whether it will be enough to reach the QF here, but you never know. I think Stephen Maguire has the best chance. Even though he is by far the highest seed here, he is in a similar position to the other three. He hasn't played his best snooker for three years, at least not consistently. But while the other three have all struggled in the rankings at one point, Maguire's B game has been good enough to keep him at the top, with consistent appearances at the business end of tournaments.

Quarter 4:

Neil Robertson v. Nigel Bond
Steve Mifsud v. Dominic Dale
David Gilbert v. James Mifsud
Mark Williams v. Barry Pinches

When the draw came out, the fourth quarter looked to be the most interesting. But with O'Sullivan and Dott pulling out of the event, we are left with two strong favourites to reach the QF. The first one is of course Neil Robertson, who will be looking for a strong result at his home event. At first glance, he has an easy draw, but Nigel Bond was his 1st round opponent in the German Masters last season, surprisingly beating him 4-2. It will probably be tougher to take him out here, as I am sure he will be better prepared and highly motivated. Having said that, he is under pressure to do something here, and we have seen a lot of players play poorly in their home events in the past. Steve Mifsud is also here, a decent performance at the World Cup, but he will need to raise his game to compete on the big stage here. I would also not rule out Dominic Dale here, as he is the sort of character who will enjoy the experience, no matter what the atmosphere will be like. I'm sure he will be happy to avoid O'Sullivan, but Robertson is still a big obstacle in this quarter.

And the last QF place? Well, it's difficult to look past Mark Williams. I suppose being first in the rankings, he deserves the easiest draw, even if it's mostly down to Dott's withdrawal. Still, Pinches is a very experienced player, well capable of causing an upset. Also, David Gilbert could be a danger. He thrashed Mark Williams 5-1 at the 2009 Welsh Open, so he will know he has what it takes. But that was at a time when Gilbert was playing really well and Williams was struggling, so it's tough to see that happening again.

Possible QF lineup:

John Higgins v. Shaun Murphy
Allister Carter v. Ding Junhui
Mark Selby v. Stephen Maguire
Neil Robertson v. Mark Williams


So there you go, not taking any risks with my predictions. If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear them. I realize this event probably won't get much discussion, considering it's on so early in the morning, but I hope some of you will be watching it with me. It should be a great snooker week.

[SnookerFan]

Nice write up.

I'm not convinced rustiness will be a factor. Like you say, a lot of the players were in the Wuxi Classic and/or the World Cup. Those that weren't will at least have played in PTC 1. I'm looking forward to this, as I couldn't really get into the World Cup. It'll be good to see a proper ranker.

The crowd/atmosphere is the one thing here we'll have to find out about. Having talked to a couple of other fans, they worry that the sport isn't as big in Australia, as it's being made out to be. Or at lest that's their theory, being that they have dealings with a lot of Australians and a lot of them didn't know who Neil Robertson was, or that they had a snooker world champion. It'll be interesting to see what interest that Neil's success has brought to the country.

I'm actually quite psyched for this. Getting some taped whilst I'm at work.

[SnookerFan]

If your possible quarters are accurate, I'd be happy.

John Higgins v. Shaun Murphy
Allister Carter v. Ding Junhui
Mark Selby v. Stephen Maguire
Neil Robertson v. Mark Williams

I like watching Ding and Mark Williams play, but I think those matches would be tough ones. Especially Mark Williams playing the home town favourite. John Higgins vs Shaun Murphy could be immense. Though Murphy has chucked in a couple of bad performances recently, so I'd make Higgins favourite. Magurie and Selby would also be tough to call.

I'd have no problem with that line-up, whatsoever.

[Odrl]

Well, it is the world's top8 players, so it would be a tremendous lineup. But it's tough to see all of them getting through, especially this early in the season. Last year only 9 out of 16 seeds even survived the 1st round in Shanghai.

[SnookerFan]

Well, it is the world's top8 players, so it would be a tremendous lineup. But it's tough to see all of them getting through, especially this early in the season. Last year only 9 out of 16 seeds even survived the 1st round in Shanghai.

Oh yeah, it never works out the way it 'should', the standard is so high these days.

[SnookerFan]

Well, I am getting this taped whilst at work tomorrow, watching it in the evening. Enjoy it peeps. I'm looking forward to the first full ranker of the season.

[knox]

anyone know where i can get a live stream link or time matches are being played?

[Rivers]

I dont know if there are any streams at the moment, as far as I know today Eurosport are showing the evening session which is 11:30AM

Now the best friend in these early hours is Live Scoring

[Odrl]

http://www.fromsportcom.com/v-2/10/144/v-314497.html

Trump v. Davis

Not going well for Trump at the moment.

[Rivers]

And didnt end too well either 3-5 Mark Davis goes through to the next round. Judd having a slow start to the season with his PTC 1 opening defeat aswell!

Now what I`m really looking forward to is not Gould vs Hendry this evening session, but Ebdon vs McLeod this evening session. I guess they`ll be showing Hendry-Gould, but hopefully a stream for Ebdon-McLeod will be out there somewhere. That kind of potential doesnt get seen on these rounds too often!

[Odrl]

A pleasant surprise, Clive Everton commentating on the Hendry-Gould match.

[tatannes]

it's a pleasure to watch snooker with such a quality.
the TV guys are doing a great job.

[thienyo12]

Bloody Judd >_>