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Right, I suspect this will not prove to be the most popular tournament, but we should at least have some discussion... 
I enjoyed it last year. It was well attended, and we saw some good early-season snooker. It's a weaker field this year, but there are still a lot of players worth seeing.
Not much time to look at the draw at this point, so keeping it short this time...
Quarter 1:
Stuart Bingham v. Matthew Selt
Andrew Higginson v. Ryan Day
Barry Hawkins v. Xiao Guodong
Matthew Stevens v. Liang Wenbo
A very open quarter, without a top player. I think Bingham has to be the favourite to get through, considering his recent form and success. He ran out of steam in the Wuxi Classic final, but most players seem to struggle with these travels to the far east, so I don't expect anyone to be particularly fresh. Having won this event last year, Bingham will probably enjoy playing in Australia again, as will Matthew Selt who reached the QF last year. Selt is usually strong early in the season, so he could take advantage of a fairly weak quarter. Ryan Day could also go through, a former ranking finalist in Malta and China, so he could be dangerous in Australia as well. As for Higginson, certainly can't rule him out either, he is a seeded player here after all. It really is open, but if there is a favourite, it has to be Bingham.
The battle of the British against the Chinese players should be pretty interesting, particularly Stevens against Liang. They met last year as well, Liang winning 5-4, soon after his success at the World Cup. He might be favourite again, considering Stevens had to withdraw from the Wuxi Classic a couple of weeks ago, so he probably isn't at his best. Hawkins did play at the Wuxi Classic, but didn't really trouble Mark Selby in the 1st round. He too has had success in the far east before, so I wouldn't put it past him to play a strong tournament. Once again, very open, but if I had to choose I would go for Liang.
Quarter 2:
Martin Gould v. Ken Doherty
Allister Carter v. Cao Y./J.Younger
Mark Davis v. Jack Lisowski
Neil Robertson v. Nigel Bond
The second quarter is quite similar, Neil Robertson being the only outstanding player. Martin Gould has been a terrible seed over the last year, doing absolutely nothing in the ranking events, so I could see him being in trouble against Doherty in the 1st round. Doherty played well in Australia last year, reaching a rare semi-final, and looked alright in the Wuxi Classic as well. I think he has an excellent chance here, because Carter is a bit suspect as well. He had a terrible start to last season, and lost in the 1st round of the Wuxi Classic this year as well. I think he will be more dangerous in the British events towards the end of the year, but maybe not so much here. Cao Yupeng? His first appearance on the big stage after an impressive performance in the WC. It's the kind of draw he could take advantage of, but we've seen many players in a similar position have a pretty quiet period after a big success, so I don't expect him to do too much here. I'll go with Doherty.
Then we finally have a section of the draw that looks less open. I will be very surprised if Lisowski or Bond get through, as it really should be between Davis and Robertson. I thought Robertson played fairly well last year, but was unlucky to come up against an inspired Dominic Dale. I don't think he will underestimate anyone here. He is one of the big favourites in any event these days, but particularly here, with so many top players missing. I'm sure he will be really determined to get the title. He will need to be careful against Bond in the 1st round though, having lost to him in the German Masters last year. I think a bigger problem could be Mark Davis in the 2nd round. His 6-reds success aside, he seems in pretty good form in proper snooker as well, having reached the SF of the Wuxi Classic, playing very solid snooker. If Robertson cracks under the "home pressure" a bit, Davis will take him out, just as he did Ding in China. What about Lisowski? Well, can't rule him out, but he still hasn't impressed me in a televised match, so I can't really see him beating the likes of Robertson here.
Quarter 3:
Shaun Murphy v. Marcus Campbell
Dominic Dale v. Tom Ford
Peter Ebdon v. Michael Holt
Ding Junhui v. A.McManus/J.Mifsud
At first glance, the seeds in this quarter look stronger than in the first two. We have Shuan Murphy, a pretty unpredictable player who has played fairly poorly in his last couple of visits to China, but played well in Australia last year. He also played well in Brazil, so it's tough to predict what kind of state he will be in here. Marcus Campbell played very well in the Wuxi Classic, reached the semi-finals, so he could be a very tricky opponent for Murphy here. As could Dominic Dale who played well in Australia last season, and generally enjoys these occasions. That just leaves Tom Ford as a bit of an outsider this time, even though I wouldn't rule him out completely either. I think I will play it safe and go for Murphy.
The other spot could be decided between Ebdon and Ding, but they are both very inconsistent, and always likely to play a poor tournament here and there. Ding certainly played poorly in the Wuxi Classic, but he was probably under a lot of pressure to do something there. He is not under the spotlight here, and I think that's when he is at his most dangerous, when everyone kind of forgets about him. I suppose Peter Ebdon is similar in that regard, but he has fewer good days now, being one of the veterans. His performance in last season's China Open proved he can still challenge for titles, but it's been 1st round exits since, and he could be in more trouble here. He beat Ding the last time they played, but generally has a poor record against him, so I would make Ding the favourite.
Quarter 4:
Stephen Lee v. Rory McLeod
Ricky Walden v. Jamie Cope
Joe Perry v. Marco Fu
Mark Selby v. Jamie Burnett
The fourth quarter is perhaps the strongest here, with some of the most dangerous qualifiers, and a couple of in-form seeds. I expected Stephen Lee to play a strong tournament in Wuxi, but he was pretty disappointing. He played well in the Asian PTC event, so he has to have some sort of form... Ricky Walden certainly does, an excellent performance to win his second ranking title. As an excellent traveler, he has to be considered one of the favourites here, particularly since so many top players are missing. Walden against Lee could be a very high quality 2nd round clash, as could Lee against Cope. Cope is also good in the far east, but unfortunately hasn't developed into as tough a player as he would have hoped for over the last couple of seasons. He could easily find some form and get through this quarter, but at the moment, he has to be second favourite against the likes of Walden.
And finally, Mark Selby finds himself in a fairly tricky part of the draw, but he is still a comfortable favourite. Jamie Burnett played his best tournament in a while in Wuxi, so he is not the easiest qualifier at this point in time. Perry and Fu are very solid as well, at least on their day, which is not all that often, to be fair. Perry and Selby actually played each other in Australia last year, Selby winning on that occasion. I suppose Fu is Selby's biggest danger, because when he plays well, he plays well above what his ranking suggests, probably the most dangerous player on the tour in that regard, along with Ebdon perhaps. Having said that, Selby rarely loses in the early rounds on these travels, so I expect him to go through.
Possible QF lineup:
Stuart Bingham v. Liang Wenbo
Ken Doherty v. Neil Robertson
Shaun Murphy v. Ding Junhui
Ricky Walden v. Mark Selby
There we are, it could be an interesting week. I hope to be up in the morning to watch it.
I enjoyed it last year. It was well attended, and we saw some good early-season snooker. It's a weaker field this year, but there are still a lot of players worth seeing.
Not much time to look at the draw at this point, so keeping it short this time...
Quarter 1:
Stuart Bingham v. Matthew Selt
Andrew Higginson v. Ryan Day
Barry Hawkins v. Xiao Guodong
Matthew Stevens v. Liang Wenbo
A very open quarter, without a top player. I think Bingham has to be the favourite to get through, considering his recent form and success. He ran out of steam in the Wuxi Classic final, but most players seem to struggle with these travels to the far east, so I don't expect anyone to be particularly fresh. Having won this event last year, Bingham will probably enjoy playing in Australia again, as will Matthew Selt who reached the QF last year. Selt is usually strong early in the season, so he could take advantage of a fairly weak quarter. Ryan Day could also go through, a former ranking finalist in Malta and China, so he could be dangerous in Australia as well. As for Higginson, certainly can't rule him out either, he is a seeded player here after all. It really is open, but if there is a favourite, it has to be Bingham.
The battle of the British against the Chinese players should be pretty interesting, particularly Stevens against Liang. They met last year as well, Liang winning 5-4, soon after his success at the World Cup. He might be favourite again, considering Stevens had to withdraw from the Wuxi Classic a couple of weeks ago, so he probably isn't at his best. Hawkins did play at the Wuxi Classic, but didn't really trouble Mark Selby in the 1st round. He too has had success in the far east before, so I wouldn't put it past him to play a strong tournament. Once again, very open, but if I had to choose I would go for Liang.
Quarter 2:
Martin Gould v. Ken Doherty
Allister Carter v. Cao Y./J.Younger
Mark Davis v. Jack Lisowski
Neil Robertson v. Nigel Bond
The second quarter is quite similar, Neil Robertson being the only outstanding player. Martin Gould has been a terrible seed over the last year, doing absolutely nothing in the ranking events, so I could see him being in trouble against Doherty in the 1st round. Doherty played well in Australia last year, reaching a rare semi-final, and looked alright in the Wuxi Classic as well. I think he has an excellent chance here, because Carter is a bit suspect as well. He had a terrible start to last season, and lost in the 1st round of the Wuxi Classic this year as well. I think he will be more dangerous in the British events towards the end of the year, but maybe not so much here. Cao Yupeng? His first appearance on the big stage after an impressive performance in the WC. It's the kind of draw he could take advantage of, but we've seen many players in a similar position have a pretty quiet period after a big success, so I don't expect him to do too much here. I'll go with Doherty.
Then we finally have a section of the draw that looks less open. I will be very surprised if Lisowski or Bond get through, as it really should be between Davis and Robertson. I thought Robertson played fairly well last year, but was unlucky to come up against an inspired Dominic Dale. I don't think he will underestimate anyone here. He is one of the big favourites in any event these days, but particularly here, with so many top players missing. I'm sure he will be really determined to get the title. He will need to be careful against Bond in the 1st round though, having lost to him in the German Masters last year. I think a bigger problem could be Mark Davis in the 2nd round. His 6-reds success aside, he seems in pretty good form in proper snooker as well, having reached the SF of the Wuxi Classic, playing very solid snooker. If Robertson cracks under the "home pressure" a bit, Davis will take him out, just as he did Ding in China. What about Lisowski? Well, can't rule him out, but he still hasn't impressed me in a televised match, so I can't really see him beating the likes of Robertson here.
Quarter 3:
Shaun Murphy v. Marcus Campbell
Dominic Dale v. Tom Ford
Peter Ebdon v. Michael Holt
Ding Junhui v. A.McManus/J.Mifsud
At first glance, the seeds in this quarter look stronger than in the first two. We have Shuan Murphy, a pretty unpredictable player who has played fairly poorly in his last couple of visits to China, but played well in Australia last year. He also played well in Brazil, so it's tough to predict what kind of state he will be in here. Marcus Campbell played very well in the Wuxi Classic, reached the semi-finals, so he could be a very tricky opponent for Murphy here. As could Dominic Dale who played well in Australia last season, and generally enjoys these occasions. That just leaves Tom Ford as a bit of an outsider this time, even though I wouldn't rule him out completely either. I think I will play it safe and go for Murphy.
The other spot could be decided between Ebdon and Ding, but they are both very inconsistent, and always likely to play a poor tournament here and there. Ding certainly played poorly in the Wuxi Classic, but he was probably under a lot of pressure to do something there. He is not under the spotlight here, and I think that's when he is at his most dangerous, when everyone kind of forgets about him. I suppose Peter Ebdon is similar in that regard, but he has fewer good days now, being one of the veterans. His performance in last season's China Open proved he can still challenge for titles, but it's been 1st round exits since, and he could be in more trouble here. He beat Ding the last time they played, but generally has a poor record against him, so I would make Ding the favourite.
Quarter 4:
Stephen Lee v. Rory McLeod
Ricky Walden v. Jamie Cope
Joe Perry v. Marco Fu
Mark Selby v. Jamie Burnett
The fourth quarter is perhaps the strongest here, with some of the most dangerous qualifiers, and a couple of in-form seeds. I expected Stephen Lee to play a strong tournament in Wuxi, but he was pretty disappointing. He played well in the Asian PTC event, so he has to have some sort of form... Ricky Walden certainly does, an excellent performance to win his second ranking title. As an excellent traveler, he has to be considered one of the favourites here, particularly since so many top players are missing. Walden against Lee could be a very high quality 2nd round clash, as could Lee against Cope. Cope is also good in the far east, but unfortunately hasn't developed into as tough a player as he would have hoped for over the last couple of seasons. He could easily find some form and get through this quarter, but at the moment, he has to be second favourite against the likes of Walden.
And finally, Mark Selby finds himself in a fairly tricky part of the draw, but he is still a comfortable favourite. Jamie Burnett played his best tournament in a while in Wuxi, so he is not the easiest qualifier at this point in time. Perry and Fu are very solid as well, at least on their day, which is not all that often, to be fair. Perry and Selby actually played each other in Australia last year, Selby winning on that occasion. I suppose Fu is Selby's biggest danger, because when he plays well, he plays well above what his ranking suggests, probably the most dangerous player on the tour in that regard, along with Ebdon perhaps. Having said that, Selby rarely loses in the early rounds on these travels, so I expect him to go through.
Possible QF lineup:
Stuart Bingham v. Liang Wenbo
Ken Doherty v. Neil Robertson
Shaun Murphy v. Ding Junhui
Ricky Walden v. Mark Selby
There we are, it could be an interesting week. I hope to be up in the morning to watch it.
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