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Scotland's Graeme Dott will play Australia's Neil Robertson in the first round of snooker's new World Open, which comes to Glasgow in September.
The random draw for the tournament pitched Pocket Dynamo Dott against Thunder From Down Under Robertson in a repeat of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship final, which Robertson won 18-13 in May.
The World Open has been described as the 'FA Cup' of snooker and includes innovations such as quick-fire best-of-five frame matches, a random draw, and the chance for amateur players to enter the qualifiers and get all the way through to meet the sport's top stars. It runs from September 18 to 26 at the SECC.
And World Snooker is offering a fantastic HALF PRICE TICKET OFFER!! For as little as £5 you can see three matches, with the world's top players in action. DON'T MISS THIS INCREDIBLE OFFER!! BOOK NOW by calling 0844 395 4000 or visiting www.worldsnooker.com/tickets. For the half price offer quote 'celebrate snooker'.
The clash between Dott and Roberton will be the opening match of the tournament, at 2.30pm on Saturday, September 18.
Larkhall's Dott, the 2006 World Champion, said: "It will be strange to play Neil in the first round. It's a tough draw for both of us. It's good to be playing him in Scotland and I'm sure I will get a lot of support. The match is only the best of five frames so you can't really compare it to the World final.
"I've never done well in tournaments with short formats, for some reason they don't suit me. But I totally agree with having new formats for snooker and I understand what (World Snooker Chairman) Barry Hearn is doing, and I'll be trying my best to do well."
Dott suffered a sharp loss of form in 2008 and dropped out of the world's top 16, but has since bounced back to No 13. "It makes a massive difference being in the top 16 and not having to go through the qualifiers," he added. "Luckily I was only out for one season. But the rankings change during the season now, so I have to start winning matches otherwise I could drop out again."
Other than Dott v Robertson, ten more matches from the last 64 stage will be played at the SECC, including:
Ali Carter v qualifier (Sept 18, afternoon session)
Stephen Maguire v qualifier (Sept 18, afternoon session)
Steve Davis v Peter Ebdon (Sept 18, not before 7pm)
Stephen Hendry v qualifier (Sept 19, 2pm)
Ding Junhui v qualifier (Sept 19, afternoon session)
Mark Selby v Barry Hawkins (Sept 19, evening session)
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark King (Sept 20, 12.30pm)
(three more to be confirmed)
All other matches will be played in the qualifying stage at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield from August 21-24, when top amateur players from around the UK and overseas will be battling against professionals for a place in the final stages.
The random draw for the tournament pitched Pocket Dynamo Dott against Thunder From Down Under Robertson in a repeat of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship final, which Robertson won 18-13 in May.
The World Open has been described as the 'FA Cup' of snooker and includes innovations such as quick-fire best-of-five frame matches, a random draw, and the chance for amateur players to enter the qualifiers and get all the way through to meet the sport's top stars. It runs from September 18 to 26 at the SECC.
And World Snooker is offering a fantastic HALF PRICE TICKET OFFER!! For as little as £5 you can see three matches, with the world's top players in action. DON'T MISS THIS INCREDIBLE OFFER!! BOOK NOW by calling 0844 395 4000 or visiting www.worldsnooker.com/tickets. For the half price offer quote 'celebrate snooker'.
The clash between Dott and Roberton will be the opening match of the tournament, at 2.30pm on Saturday, September 18.
Larkhall's Dott, the 2006 World Champion, said: "It will be strange to play Neil in the first round. It's a tough draw for both of us. It's good to be playing him in Scotland and I'm sure I will get a lot of support. The match is only the best of five frames so you can't really compare it to the World final.
"I've never done well in tournaments with short formats, for some reason they don't suit me. But I totally agree with having new formats for snooker and I understand what (World Snooker Chairman) Barry Hearn is doing, and I'll be trying my best to do well."
Dott suffered a sharp loss of form in 2008 and dropped out of the world's top 16, but has since bounced back to No 13. "It makes a massive difference being in the top 16 and not having to go through the qualifiers," he added. "Luckily I was only out for one season. But the rankings change during the season now, so I have to start winning matches otherwise I could drop out again."
Other than Dott v Robertson, ten more matches from the last 64 stage will be played at the SECC, including:
Ali Carter v qualifier (Sept 18, afternoon session)
Stephen Maguire v qualifier (Sept 18, afternoon session)
Steve Davis v Peter Ebdon (Sept 18, not before 7pm)
Stephen Hendry v qualifier (Sept 19, 2pm)
Ding Junhui v qualifier (Sept 19, afternoon session)
Mark Selby v Barry Hawkins (Sept 19, evening session)
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark King (Sept 20, 12.30pm)
(three more to be confirmed)
All other matches will be played in the qualifying stage at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield from August 21-24, when top amateur players from around the UK and overseas will be battling against professionals for a place in the final stages.
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