By the time this article is published (I believe it will be a Sunday), I am probably very hungover due to a friend’s wedding the night before in good old Leicester. It’s amazing how far I am willing to travel for a free meal! 🙂
To snooker! In the Riga Masters, Neil Robertson continued his fantastic start-of-the-season form by beating Jack Lisowski 5-2 in the final. Both did not perform at their best, especially Lisowski, who played in his first ranking final of his career. It wouldn’t surprise me if he reaches another this season. Players such as Stephen Maguire and Kyren Wilson also impressed but most eyes were on the underdogs Chris Wakelin and Stuart Carrington. Reaching their first ranking quarter-final and semi-final respectively, pundits are imagining big things for him. This is especially the case for Wakelin, as he won a number of fans due to a strong performance against Judd Trump in the World Championships last year.
Now more big boys are coming out to play, with Trump, Ding Junhui and Mark Selby joining the fray. Unfortunately, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan preferred to extend their summer break. Meanwhile, Yu Delu and Cao Yupeng can’t attend because after finishing cleaning their houses, they have the washing up to do. Presumably – they have some time on their hands. Such a shame.
Ding Junhui has got a decent record behind him. His last three ranking title wins have come from China: 2014 China Open; 2016 Shanghai Masters; and the 2017 World Open. You do feel that it is harder to predict who is going to win now. At least that is my excuse. With Barry Hawkins claiming he is better at travelling,
Quarter 1
Ding Junhui/James Wattana vs. Yuan Sijun
Robert Milkins vs. David Lilley (a)
Marco Fu vs. Peter Ebdon
Liang Wenbo/James Cahill (a) vs. Andrew Higginson
Matthew Stevens vs. David Gilbert
Rory McLeod vs. Ali Carter
Dominic Dale vs. Ricky Walden
Andy Lee vs. Neil Robertson/He Guoqiang (a)
Quaterfinal Winner: Ding Junhui vs. Ali Carter
Quarter 2
Barry Hawkins vs. Sunny Akani
Michael Holt vs. Mark Davis
Lee Walker vs. Matthew Selt
Yan Bingtao/Ashley Carty vs. Stuart Carrington
Fergal O’Brien vs. Zhao Xintong
Scott Donaldson vs. Luca Brecel
Gary Wilson vs. Tom Ford
Martin O’Donnell vs. Judd Trump
Quarterfinal winner: Yan Bingtao vs. Judd Trump
Quarter 3
Mark Selby vs. Elliot Slessor
Zhou Yuelong vs. Jamie Jones
Ryan Day vs. Robbie Williams
Rod Lawler vs. Noppon Saengkham
Michael Georgiou vs. Xiao Guodong
Jak Jones vs. Zhang Anda
Mark Joyce vs. Anthony Hamilton
Simon Lichtenberg vs. Mei Xiwen
Quarterfinal winner: Jamie Jones vs. Xiao Guodong
Quarter 4
Kyren Wilson vs. Paul Davison
Harvey Chandler vs. Kurt Maflin
Mark Allen vs. Lyu Haotian
Jack Lisowski vs. Chris Wakelin
Mike Dunn/Luo Zetao (a) vs. Joe Perry
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs. Stephen Maguire
Ben Woollaston/Bai Langning (a) vs. Jimmy Robertson/Chang Bingyu (a)
Alexander Ursenbacher vs. Mark Williams/Lukas Kleckers
Quarterfinal winner: Kyren Wilson vs. Stephen Maguire
2018 World Open winner: Ding Junhui vs. Kyren Wilson
The World Open will take place between Monday 6th August – Sunday 12th August.
