Shanghai Masters 2009 - Qualifyers and WC round discussions

[GOMH71]

Is anybody else going to Shanghai?

If so let me know, and we can meet for a pint and discuss snooker.....

I'm flying in the morning (Sunday)

:snooker:

I'm sat in Amsterdam Airport. Flying to Shanghai in one hour.

PM me with your mobile :>) ...

GOMH71...

[stan-mullin]

Is anybody else going to Shanghai?

If so let me know, and we can meet for a pint and discuss snooker.....

I'm flying in the morning (Sunday)

:snooker:

[Odrl]

Before the 1st round discussion kicks off, whom do you see doing well in the first event of the season? This could be a tricky event for some players. China is not everyone's cup of tea as it is, but with it being the opening event of the ranking season, we could see some of the big names going out early, and some outsiders getting through. Also, this event was won by two qualifiers in the past, although it was the second event of the season when Walden won it last year. Another thing to look out for is some of the wildcards who could do well, especially Yu Delu and Tian Pengfei.

Here's how I see it going:

Quarter 1:

Walden v. King
Hendry v. Campbell/Tang
Ebdon v. Liang/Gilbert
Carter v. Higginson/Tian

The defending champion as the 1st seed was probably expecting an easier draw than this. He has to play a top16 player in the 1st round and possibly Hendry in the 2nd. Hendry and Walden played each other three times last season, Hendry winning twice. I suspect Hendry of not getting himself into form for the start of the season, and with Walden's record in the Chinese events, I'd make Walden a slight favourite to reach the QF here.

A potential Ebdon v. Liang match is one I'm particularly looking forward to, with Ebdon being the China Open champion and Liang the local favourite, and with the betting controversy as well. Ebdon is pretty much a one good tournament a season type of player these days, so I think there's more chance of Liang being at his best here. There is also Carter of course, the highest seed in this part of the draw, but he doesn't have a good record in China. Tian could also be dangerous, he reached the 2nd round in the China Open, shame he wasn't given a wildcard for the main tour. Anyway, wishful thinking says Liang can get through here.

Quarter 2:

Murphy v. Holt
Perry v. Cope
Robertson v. Doherty/Mehta
Maguire v. Hawkins

I expect Murphy to play Cope for the QF spot. Although Perry is higher in the rankings, Cope is on a high, and also plays well in China. It would be tough to get past Murphy though.

And once again, the draw is set for another Robertson v. Maguire encounter. And those rarely disappoint. We've seen a lot of Maguire in the "summer events", so I expect him to be ready for this one. Also, he might be slighty more motivated in this rivarly, having lost to Robertson in the WC.

Quarter 3:

O'Sullivan v. Dott/Shehab
Fu v. Bond/Yu
Ding v. Lee
Selby v. Bingham

That's as bad as it gets for O'Sullivan, drawn against two of his bogey players in a Chinese event. I don't think he'll get through here. I always predict Fu doing well in China but it hasn't really happened so far. Maybe a chance for Dott then?

Ding hasn't played a good event in China for a couple of seasons as well, but I think Lee might suit him. I think Selby will like this draw, and I can see him getting through here.

Quarter 4:

Day v. Greene/Li
Allen v. Stevens
Williams v. Swail
Higgins v. Selt/Shi

This is an interesting one. A possible repeat of the WC QF, with Day and Allen. They seem to play each other a lot recently, I think Allen has won three in a row now. Day usually plays well in China though, but Allen has already won the Jiangsu Classic in China this year. I'd make Allen a slight favourite here. Also to be considered is Stevens, who could reproduce a bit of his Bahrain form.

Williams is a bit of a mystery. On one hand, he's supposed to be in pretty good form, on the other hand, we can only guess how much his injury will affect him. I don't think Swail is his favourite opponent either, he knocked him out of the WC a couple of seasons ago. Higgins is the favourite here, as long as he's in decent form and doesn't get complacent.

Possible QF lineup:

Ricky Walden v. Liang Wenbo
Shaun Murphy v. Stephen Maguire
Graeme Dott v. Mark Selby
Mark Allen v. John Higgins


I'm looking forward to seeing the early season form of the top players, as well as potential upsets. There was streaming from four tables last year, it would be nice to have it again.

I couldn't get myself excited about the Pro Challenge events or the Premier League, or even the qualifiers, but I do feel that pre-event buzz today.

Anyone else feel the same?

[matoski]

Good draw for Dott. Shehab shouldn't cause too many problems.

Hopefully

Yes, and it may be even better if Ronnie doesn't show up in Shanghai

[Alex0paul]

Good draw for Dott. Shehab shouldn't cause too many problems.

Hopefully

[Matt_2745]

The wildcards have been confirmed today, see here on my blog or here on Global Snooker for confirmation.

[João]

So this is the time of the year when you wake up after 11pm.

[noel]

7-13 September 2009

Thanks Wild for raising my anticipation for the coming season this MUCH!



=o)

Noel

[wildJONESEYE]

7-13 September 2009


all Times are BST

Monday 7 September 2009

6.30am

Marcus Campbell v Wildcard 1
Andrew Higginson v Wildcard 2
Ken Doherty v Wildcard 3
Graeme Dott v Wildcard 4

11.30am

Liang Wenbo v David Gilbert
Nigel Bond v Wildcard 5
Gerard Greene v Wildcard 6
Matthew Selt v Wildcard 7

Tuesday 8 September 2009

6.30am

Ricky Walden v Mark King
Marco Fu v Winner of Wildcard 5
Stephen Hendry v Winner of Wildcard 1
Ryan Day v Winner of Wildcard 6

11.30am

John Higgins v Winner of Wildcard 7
Peter Ebdon v Ding/Gilbert
Mark Selby v Stuart Bingham
Neil Robertson v Winner of Wildcard 3

Wednesday 9 September 2009

6.30am

Ding Junhui v Stephen Lee
Shaun Murphy v Michael Holt
Ali Carter v Winner of Wildcard 2
Joe Perry v Jamie Cope

11.30am

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Winner of Wildcard 4
Stephen Maguire v Barry Hawkins
Mark Allen v Matthew Stevens
Mark Williams v Joe Swail

[spike]

Hendry v. Campbell: Ok, Hendry is obviously a big favourite, but this could be a bit of a grudge match, with that 9-0 trashing in the minds of both players.

none more than Hendry's..

[Matt_2745]

Cheers Janie, yeah sounds like a good plan If I spot anything on yours that looks iffy I'll let you know.

[JanieWatkins]

For those interested in the rankings, I've updated the provisional rankings after this week's qualifiers on my blog. As you can see I've added the minimum points etc from the upcoming events so as to give a more accurate picture, hopefully I've got my maths right!

The Boss will be pleased, Mark King topping the one-year list with those minimum totals taken into account

Your figures look spot on to me Matt. I haven't had time to do mine right through all events yet, but when I do we can cross-check. I am notorious for typing errors on the rankings!!

[JanieWatkins]

Matt,I don't know why but your provisional is different than mine...Probably you gave too many points for unseeded winners.For ex M.King should have 1610 not 1960.but maybe i am wrong?

I'm just looking at the scores and i am very surprised about Trump,Mc Manus,Mc Culloch,S.Davis (negatively) and Selt,Campbell,J.Robertson,Wallace (positevely).

I did not see the scores since Tuesday.But finally i am home.After 40 hours without sleep, at hospital. But my little new born daughter Zosia is fine...Snooker lost this time...

Mark King is on 1960. because he had to drop back to the qualifying round he's put lots of points on the board already.
One and Two year ranks are also on Global Snooker, so everyone can cross check with each other.

[Alex0paul]

O'Sullivan v. Dott: Doesn't get better than that in 1st rounds. Dott has a great overseas record while O'Sullivan has been known to be at his worst in China. When was the last time Dott lost to O'Sullivan? Must have been in the fall of 2004, if I'm not forgetting anything. I have a feeling Dott might take this.

Last time O'Sullivan won was at the 2004 Grand Prix. Dott has since won 5-0 in Malta, 17-11 at Sheffield and 6-2 in China with a 3-3 draw in the league.

[Odrl]

Hopefully no betting controversies either!

I forgot about that. Still, a bit of controversy is all the more reason the get excited.