Shanghai Masters 2010 - Qualifiers discussions

[erezpa]

when i wrote that, a wasnt aware of the correct hawkins-gould result. 4/16 was exactly the minimum of the last saesons. 3 / 16 last time at the UK 2007

[Odrl]

I've just had a look at the draw, to see if there are any matches in particular to look forward to, and as usual, there are quite a few...

Mark Williams v. Ricky Walden

I think this one stands out as the most interesting tie. Ricky Walden looked set to break into the top16 last season, but he threw it away in the last couple of events. Still, I consider him one of the more dangerous qualifiers, especially in this event, because all three of his QF appearances in ranking events so far have come in the Chinese events. So he is somewhat of a specialist for China, but so is Mark Williams. Williams has won six ranking events in Asia, which is something only Stephen Hendry can compare with. What is particularly relevant here is that while Mark Williams dropped off the scene a bit since 2004, in terms of winning events, he has still managed to win two events in China, which just proves how much they suit him. And this time, Williams seems to be back to consistently reaching the business end of tournaments, which makes him one of the immediate favourites for this event. It's a bit of a shame that these two players have two meet so early, because this could easily have been a QF or a SF match.

Stephen Maguire v. Judd Trump

This one could also be quite interesting. Both players struggled a bit in certain parts of last season. Trump failed to consistently qualify for events, which also means he failed to improve his ranking. But he is just coming to the age where players have been known to find an extra level, so it will be interesting to see if that's the case with him as well. Maguire did have some good results last season, but he never looked like winning a tournament, and that must have been disappointing for him. Still, we've seen him follow a bad season with a good one before, and this is the place to start.

Liang Wenbo v. Matthew Stevens

I have to admit that the prospect of Liang Wenbo against Zhang Anda looked very exciting here, but Liang against Stevens is a good one as well. At this point in time, Liang has to be the favourite. This is the event where he reached his first ranking final last season, so he is clearly able to deal with the pressure of the home crowd. And it seems like most of the pressure is still on Ding Junhui anyway, so in a way, Liang doesn't have that much to lose. Stevens could be a tricky opponent though. He looked pretty good for most of last season, until he finished poorly, just like Ricky Walden. But we've seen that he can still turn it on, it's just a question of whether it's going to be in this particular event. It looks unlikely, but so did Bahrain two years ago.

Stephen Hendry v. Martin Gould

It was always going to be interesting to see Gould, whomever he played, but Hendry is a particularly good opponent for him. Gould did beat him in the 2009 Welsh Open, which was quite a big surprise then, and I'm not sure if they've played since then. But in any case, Gould now has the reputation of being one of the most dangerous qualifiers. He played very well in the WC, and while he did bottle it big time against Robertson, his confidence should still be very high after producing that kind of snooker. This is not that big of an occasion, so the pressure won't be as high, but it's just the kind of situation where Hendry is vulnerable. You never know with Hendry though. He has been known to start seasons poorly in recent times, but this is China after all, and Hendry has as much experience and class as anyone, so it's entirely possible that he plays a strong tournament.

Neil Robertson v. Peter Ebdon

And finally, perhaps the biggest match in terms of big names. It should be a good one as well. Robertson comes into this event as one of the two or three best players in the world, which will be a somewhat unfamiliar situation for him. He also doesn't have the greatest record in China, but what he does have is a good record of winning 1st round matches. I find it hard to predict, because Robertson seems to be up for one tournament, and completely out of form for the next one. After becoming the World champion, and after a long break from the really major tournaments, he could be off his game here. Ebdon is just as hard to predict. He made it known that he is not at his best with that bizarre statement, but he did win his match comfortably in the end, so perhaps there isn't much to it. China was the place of his last ranking event title, and also his last (comfortable) win over Robertson, so this promises to be an interesting encounter.


So, a couple of potentially great matches in the 1st round in Shanghai. But presumably there will also be a wildcard round, which has always been a particular favourite of mine. I'm really looking forward to this, too bad it's still a month away...

[Mignon]

Very interesting preview, Odrl but let's not forget there is a wild card round. One can't always be sure....

[HunRon]

http://www.global-snooker.com/2010-S...ing-Rounds.asp

The frame scores now for yesterday's matches