This is probably one of the biggest tournaments outside The Triple Crown. I explained why this is such a brilliant event (see more by clicking here). However, Daqing does struggle with crowds in the early round and I do hope this improves this time, especially since Daqing is contracted to host the event till 2020.
Anyway, this event has come at a very interesting time for many players. For two players in particular, Stuart Bingham and Mark Davis will be going into the tournament with their confidence sky-high. Bingham was hugely emotional after winning the title by beating Davis 9-7 in the final and I’m sure he can relax now he’s won a ranking event since he was suspended a year or two ago. Davis, on the other hand, will feel encouraged that he made it so far into the tournament at the age of 46 and there is every chance that he will threaten again.
Also, a lot of the top players performed incredibly well at the English Open. Judd Trump notched up five centuries and showed a lot of fight to win from 3-1 down against prodigy Zhao Xintong. He was beaten by Ryan Day, who had to play incredibly well to beat him. Ali Carter, Stephen Maguire and Ronnie O’Sullivan impressed also, but Ronnie is not playing in this tourney because it seems he can smell urine from miles and miles away. Noppon Seangkham continues to be one of the most improved players of the season so far and Luo Honghao made an immediate impression by reaching his first ranking quarter-final.
There isn’t too much backstory to keep tabs on, however there will be a little bit more pressure on Luca Brecel. The Champion of Champions is around the corner and 15 spots are filled with champions of the past year’s events and the next highest-ranking players (Trump, Ding and Hawkins). Brecel is the highest ranked player to not qualify yet. The only way he couldn’t qualify would be if any non-qualifiers of the Champion of Champions won the International Championship. Will this be the perfect time for someone to win their first ranking event?
Mark Selby has a phenomenal record in Daqing. He won the 2016 & 2017 International Championship and reached the semi-finals in 2015. In fact, the China Championship final that Selby won earlier this season was his 15th Chinese final since 2011, which is quite amazing, so it is difficult to see anyone else fighting for this.
Anyways, in the past few times, I can’t predict much. So at this rate David Lilley will win this ranking event. Probably. Here it is:
Mark Selby/Li Yuan vs. Ken Doherty
Robert Milkins vs. Noppon Sengkham/Chang Bingyu
Liang Wenbo/Ashley Hugill vs. Ian Burns
Anthony McGill vs. Stuart Carrington
Mark Davis vs. Joe Perry
Matthew Selt vs. Neil Robertson
Fan Zhengyi vs. Xiao Guodong
Yuan Sijun vs. Kyren Wilson
Quarter-final winner: Mark Selby vs. Kyren Wilson
Barry Hawkins vs. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Martin Gould vs. Li Hang
Marco Fu vs. Andrew Higginson
Jack Lisowski vs. Chris Wakelin
Jimmy White vs. Yan Bingtao
Tian Pengfei vs. Ryan Day
Michael Holt vs. Luo Honghao
Alan McManus vs. Judd Trump
Quarter-final winner: Barry Hawkins vs. Judd Trump
Peter Lines vs. Martin O’Donnell
Tom Ford vs. Jimmy Robertson
Stuart Bingham vs. Eden Sharav
David Gilbert vs. John Astley
Craig Steadman vs. Mark King
Matthew Stevens vs. Jordan Brown
Zhao Xintong vs. James Wattana
Zhang Anda vs. Ding Junhui/Robin Hull
Quarter-final winner: Stuart Bingham vs. Mark King
Sam Baird vs. Alfie Burden
David Lilley (a) vs. Ben Woollaston/Bai Langning
Mark Allen vs. Liam Highfield/Luo Zetao
Graeme Dott vs. Hossein Vafaei
Kurt Maflin vs. Ali Carter
Michael Georgiou vs. Stephen Maguire
Gary Wilson/He Guoqiang vs. Zhou Yuelong
Sunny Akani vs. Mark Williams/Zhang Jiankang
Quarter-final winner: Mark Allen vs. Gary Wilson
2018 International Championship Winner: Mark Selby vs. Stuart Bingham
