Shanghai Masters Qualifying and Main Draw

[ferret]

See the draws here - http://www.thesnookerblog.com/shangh...and-main-draw/

[LittleMissAlexa]

should the draw really be before the cut off point?

[daffie]

Darn...still one full month to go untill the 1st major (televised) tournament of this year's snooker calendar! :05.18-flustered:

[SnookerFan]

Australia and Wuxi got on television.

[SnookerFan]

Eurosport have announced the coverage. As usual, they have forgotten about the final.

BRITISH EUROSPORT (all times BST)

Monday September 17

0730-1030
British Eurosport 2

0800-1030
British Eurosport

1030-1130
British Eurosport

1230-1530
British Eurosport

1230-1530
British Eurosport 2

1900-2200
British Eurosport 2

Tuesday September 18

0730-1030
British Eurosport

0730-1030
British Eurosport 2

1030-1145
British Eurosport

1230-1400
British Eurosport

1230-1530
British Eurosport 2

1900-220
British Eurosport 2


Wednesday September 19

0730-1030
British Eurosport

0730-1030
British Eurosport 2

1030-1130
British Eurosport

1230-1530
British Eurosport 2

1230-1330
British Eurosport

1900-2200
British Eurosport 2

Thursday September 20

0730-1030
British Eurosport

0730-1030
British Eurosport 2

1030-1130
British Eurosport

1230-1530
British Eurosport 2

1230-1530
British Eurosport

1900-2200
British Eurosport 2


Friday September 21

0730-1030
British Eurosport

0730-1030
British Eurosport 2
1030-1145
British Eurosport

1145-1230

British Eurosport
1230-1530
British Eurosport

1900-2100
British Eurosport 2

2200-0000
British Eurosport

Saturday September 22

0730-1000
British Eurosport

1300-1330
British Eurosport 2

1330-1630
British Eurosport 2

1930-2100
British Eurosport 2

Sunday September 23

1815-2000
British Eurosport

2100-2245
British Eurosport 2

Monday September 24 (replays)

0700-0900
British Eurosport 2

2000-2130
British Eurosport 2

[daffie]

Cheers for the schedule. I checked the online Eurosport schedule for Holland 2 days ago and saw that Eurosport will be airing on both channels simultaneously. This will make my job harder of scheduling the HD recorder...will have to check each night before to find out the schedule for the next day...specifically which matches will be aired on which Eurosport channel....

But...looking forward to the first "big" tournament of the year...

[SnookerFan]

I'm not going to see much of this. I'm out Monday night and Friday night and can't watch any during the day due to work. Sunday, I'll be too hungover from a pre-planned thing on Saturday night, so will just have to snatch it here and there when I can.

[SnookerFan]

Pity it's not one of those tournaments that starts at 6am. I've been known to watch an hour or two before I leave for work on occasion.

[gazza147]

Yes it is quite awkward to swap back and fore and Recording is a Nightmare but at least there is Snooker on at Last!...Seems a Long Break doesnt it.

[SnookerFan]

It's been a while. I had the same problem with the Australian Open and Wuxi Classic. On during the day when I'm at work, so didn't watch as much as I'd have liked.

Am thinking of booking the UK Championship off work.

[eric1234]

Anyone know if O'sullivan is playing the Shanghai Masters?

[LittleMissAlexa]

nope draw was done before he signed the contract its the last event his missing from (excluding et 2 which has already started)

[eric1234]

Thanks Alexa!

[daffie]

Yes it is quite awkward to swap back and fore and Recording is a Nightmare but at least there is Snooker on at Last!...Seems a Long Break doesnt it.

Well yesterday I found a solution...bought a new HD recorder (the old one was crap anyway), which can handle 2 timed recordings simultaneously. So now I can just record Eurosport HD and Eurosport2 HD during afternoons and decide later on when I get home which match(es) to watch :snooker:

[Odrl]

Right, snooker week starts tomorrow. I think I'm right in saying this is the first time the Shanghai Masters is only the third main event on the calendar, which means it's not so anxiously anticipated, but it also doesn't have the disadvantage of players coming into the event out of form.

I guess it will be tough to predict the players' form, because the last medium-length event was a month ago, and everything since was only the best-of-7 format. But let's try it anyway...

Quarter 1:

Mark Selby v. Jamie Cope
Stuart Bingham v. Tom Ford
Ding Junhui v. M.King/Zhao X.
Shaun Murphy v. Dominic Dale

We start with a fairly strong quarter. Selby has a tricky 1st round opponent in Cope, one of the most interesting matches of the round, but considering Selby's recent record against Cope, he is a big favourite. Still, Cope has a good record in China, so I wouldn't rule him out completely. Stuart Bingham could be a bigger danger to Selby here, as he has proven to be something of an early-season specialist recently, and already has a ranking final appearance to his name this season. So it's most likely going to be between those two, in my opinion, with Selby starting as favourite, despite his loss to Bingham in the Wuxi Classic in June.

Ding and Murphy are the other two big names in this quarter, and I'm sure the Chinese audience would love to see them meet in the 2nd round here. Ding's draw is not too bad, a fairly low-profile wildcard player or Mark King, so he should come through if he plays well. But it's always tough to predict his form, especially in China where he often plays a bad tournament. Shaun Murphy has also had his share of early exits in China, especially in recent seasons, and he does face quite a tricky opponent in Dominic Dale, a former Shanghai Masters champion. Ding and Murphy have played each other quite a lot, with Murphy being on top in their rivalry at the moment. His win over Ding in the 2010 Wuxi Classic final is particularly memorable, as he was 8-2 down and came back to win 9-8. Another long matches between the two was in the 2nd round of the 2009 UK Championship, where Ding thrashed Murphy 9-3. I don't have much faith in either of these two, but I think Ding is probably more likely of the two to show some form here.

Quarter 2:

John Higgins v. J.Jones/Lu N.
Martin Gould v. R.Day/Wang Y.
Allister Carter v. R.Milkins/Zhou Y.
Stephen Maguire v. Peter Ebdon

A very intriguing quarter. This is John Higgins' first appearance in the main events this season, so it will be very interesting to see his performance. He had a terrible last season, without a single highlight, and taking a break during the two summer events is not really a good sign for this season. Still, the last time he had a poor season he followed it with a good one, so if he still has the motivation, he could become the man to beat again. Of all the wildcard matches, Jones against Lu is surely the most promising. Lu prevailed in their encounter in Beijing in April and went on to beat Murphy on that occasion. He lost 5-4 to Doherty in Wuxi, but I'm sure he will fancy his chances again here. I'm sure we are all very interested to see what kind of season Jones has after his terrific performance in last season's WC. This is his first real chance to do something, but the draw is very difficult, although he has already beaten Higgins on TV, in a short match last season. Two more players deserve a mention here... Martin Gould finally won a couple of matches as a seeded player in Australia. Without a consistent top player in this quarter, Gould could well take advantage. Ryan Day? Well, he has always played well in China, so with a bit of form, he could go through as well. I usually go with Higgins when it's tough to call, but I'm tempted to go with Day here.

Very strong second part of this quarter. I'm not sure what to expect of Carter. He returned to form at the WC, then lost early in the first two main events of the season, but played pretty well in the recent PTCs. He could be in danger again here, facing a very good traveler in Robert Milkins. Maguire against Ebdon, undoubtedly the match of the 1st round, is of course a repeat of the China Open final, which was a good and hard-fought match. Peter Ebdon already has a ranking final to his name this season, and having won his last two ranking titles in China, I guess he can now be considered a China specialist. Maguire hasn't done anything in the major events so far, but has been very good in the PTCs, so it's reasonable to expect some form from him. Carter against Maguire isn't a common pairing, so it would be interesting to see, as would Carter against Ebdon, after their successful relationship at the WC. Of the three top players, I think Maguire is the most likely to go through.

Quarter 3:

Mark Williams v. Mark Davis
Ricky Walden v. S.Davis/Zhu Y.
Matthew Stevens v. Joe Perry
Neil Robertson v. F.O'Brien/Chen F.

Here we have a very strong 1st round match between Williams and Davis. Davis reached the semi-finals of the first two ranking events, which is probably the most consistency we've seen from any player so far this season. He has a habit of knocking out big favourites in the early rounds, and here is another great opportunity. Well, if you call Williams a big favourite at this point in time. He is traditionally an excellent traveler, but not in the last couple of overseas events. His PTC campaign so far has been quite good, so maybe he will be up for it this time. Ricky Walden could be a big danger in this event. Having won the Wuxi Classic in June, he is now a two-time ranking event winner in China, with a bunch of other decent results as well. I don't think he should have too much trouble in the 1st round here, but his 2nd round match should be a good one, against either opponent. Tough to call again, but I guess Williams is due a good tournament.

Then we have what is probably one of the weaker parts of the draw. Neil Robertson is the big name, but he is the one top player who really struggles in the Chinese events. He finally got past the 2nd round on a couple of occasions last season, and will probably do so again this season with the increased number of tournaments. But he is probably not on many people's list of immediate contenders. That slightly opens the draw for other players here, Matthew Stevens being the obvious choice. He was impressive in the WC last season, reaching the business end of the tournament after a couple of mediocre seasons. That has always been an event that suited him, but these Chinese events are not everyone's cup of tea, so I'm not sure Stevens will be particularly comfortable here either. Joe Perry? Well, recently he has played better than a season or two ago, and he has always been a very solid player, well capable of taking advantage when the top players are out of sorts. I don't think this part of the draw will play a major role in the context of the tournament, but someone has to win it, so we'll just go with Robertson.

Quarter 4:

Stephen Lee v. Marcus Campbell
Graeme Dott v. J.Robertson/J.Long
Mark Allen v. M.Fu/Lu H.
Judd Trump v. Barry Hawkins

Stephen Lee's name is the most dominant in this part of the draw. His opening match against Marcus Campbell could be a tricky one, as Campbell has been known to play a strong overseas tournament and knock some favourites out. Lee's form hasn't been as impressive recently as in early 2012, but still quite solid, and in line with his current ranking. Another appearance at the business end of a ranking tournament would not be a surprise at all. On the other hand, Graeme Dott has been struggling to get through these rounds recently. Jimmy Robertson doesn't look like a tricky draw at first glance, if he comes through at all, because Jin Long is certainly one of the most dangerous wildcards here. In any case, if Dott does get through, his record against Lee is very poor, so I make Lee a big favourite in this part of the draw.

And finally, a series of interesting names at the bottom end of the draw. Starting with Trump against Hawkins, one of the most promising pairs of the 1st round, particularly now that Hawkins comes to the event as the Australian champion. But since being the winner of the previous event often works against players, he will do well to beat Trump here. I expect Trump to compete for a few titles this season, but at the same time, he probably won't be a consistent presence at the business end of every tournament, particularly with tough draws such as this one. Speaking of consistency, Marco Fu's appearance in the semi-finals of the Australian Open could quite possibly be his only good result this season. In any case, he rarely follows a good tournament with another one, but if he does, he is certainly another candidate for getting through this quarter. And finally, Mark Allen... Well, we know China isn't his favourite place, but at the same time, it's the place of his only ranking title so far. He has had a good record in the big three events in recent seasons, but I expect him to get close to a couple of the "minor" titles this season as well. I enjoyed his rivalry with Trump last season, so it would be nice to see them meeting in the 2nd round here. I can see any of this four getting through, but if I have to choose, I'll go for Allen.

Possible QF lineup:

Mark Selby v. Ding Junhui
Ryan Day v. Stephen Maguire
Mark Williams v. Neil Robertson
Stephen Lee v. Mark Allen


So there we are... I'm certainly up for some early-morning snooker. Should be a good week. :smile: