This is the day for the purists – Judgement Day. The day where we will find out who will qualify for the World Snooker Championships. The day we will find out who will reach the Crucible.
After going through two gruelling matches, thirty-two survivors have the overcome the final gauntlet. 97 century breaks have been made by 54 players, with Daniel Wells and James Cahill making the most with five each. There were also four whitewashes and six deciders.
Now that Judgement Day has come upon us, it seems we have a cosmopolitan set of fixtures. There are nine Chinese players, a Thai, an Irish, a Norwegian, a Cypriot, an Israeli and the usual posse of some English, Irish and Welsh players. We are already set to make history. An amateur will qualify for the World Championships for the first time. If there is anything that any sport loves for the papers to lap up, it’s history-making!
Earlier, I made a few predictions on what my 16 qualifiers would be here. All of them made it past the first round. However, six have succumbed to their demise, leaving ten and whatever’s left of my dignity remaining.
Anyways, DRAW. Judgement Day will be played between Tuesday 16th April – Wednesday 17th April. There will be a draw later to find out which players will face which member of the most feared elite at the Crucible.
DRAW
Group 1: Tian Pengfei (64) vs. Matthew Stevens (32)R
I knew Tian Pengfei will throw the spanner into any works. He is an enigma who performs better against top opponents and falls against players as low as his ranking. Like when he emphatically beat top seed Ryan Day 10-3. Matthew Stevens qualified twice in the past four years and this is his favoured format. In the second round, he got past a tricky tie against Chris Wakelin 10-7. I would back Stevens due to all-round game and experience.
Original Winner: Ryan Day vs. Matthew Stevens
Current Prediction: Tian Pengfei vs. Matthew Stevens
Group 2: Gary Wilson (16) vs. Liang Wenbo (17)
The closest tie yet, both players are in cracking form. Both players had rather comfortable routes to Judgement Day. While Gary Wilson got past Lam and Dale with flattering scorelines, Liang Wenbo scored four centuries against Basem Eltahhan and amateur David Grace, Liang has won the last three meetings against Wilson, but may have nightmare over being whitewashed by Jamie Jones last year. I expect Wilson to pull through and stall Liang. Liang is just too inconsistent to pull through I think.
Original Winner: Gary Wilson vs. Liang Wenbo
Current Prediction: Gary Wilson vs. Liang Wenbo
Group 3: Luo Honghao vs. Tom Ford (9)
I had a slight niggle that Luo Honghao was going to beat Marco Fu. The rookie did it in such style. It was even more impressive to beat Williams 10-8, considering he was 3-7 down. Next for him is Tom Ford, who made three Crucible appearances in his career. He came through a banana to beat the highly-rated Sam Craigie. Ford beat Luo in the 2018 China Open, but that was when the Chinaman was an amateur. I expect a very close match but for Luo Honghao to make his Crucible debut.
Original Winner: Marco Fu vs. Sam Craigie
Current Prediction: Luo Honghao vs. Tom Ford
Group 4: Robert Milkins (25) vs. Anthony McGill (8)
This is a proper clash of the titans. Both have very good Crucible records, especially Anthony McGill, who was present every year since 2015. Both players reached the second round of the World Championship last year, but unfortunately this time, one of these fine players has to go. Neither player has faced each other in a match larger than a BO7 and the longer format fits them both. However, I will go with Milkins based on form alone.
Original Winner: Robert Milkins vs. Anthony McGill
Current Prediction: Robert Milkins vs. Anthony McGill
Group 5: Graeme Dott (5) vs. Kurt Maflin (37)
G
A Crucible without Graeme Dott would be very weird indeed. He attended every World Championship since 2000 bar one. This format just comes easy to him. Dott conceded just six frames against Hamza Akbar and Xu Si. Kurt Maflin also got through with little difficulty, sweeping past amateurs Mitchell Mann and Pang Junxu. I believe Dott is more prepared to win the match here after facing two professionals. Maflin is still prone to unforced errors and failing to kill the frame off. So I expect to see Dott again.
Original Winner: Graeme Dott vs. Stuart Carrington
Current Prediction: Graeme Dott vs. Kurt Maflin
Group 6: Li Hang (12) vs. Ben Woollaston (21)
Li Hang is currently the highest ranked player to never qualify for the World Championship at the moment and this is his best chance. He was put through the ringer against Ian Burns and finished last before winning 10-8. Li isn’t a heavy scorer but is always hanging by someone’s coattails. Woollaston is gaining form at the right time. After reaching the China Open quarter-finals, he beat Elliot Slessor and Nigel Bond to reach the qualifying round. I can see this going to a decider but, to be honest, this could go either way.
Original Winner: Li Hang vs. Elliot Slessor
Current Prediction: Li Hang vs. Ben Woollaston
Group 7: Daniel Wells (45) vs. Martin Gould (13)
This is a match between two SightRight players. Both had fairly unspectacular seasons, though Wells did reach the Scottish Open semi-finals before being edged out 6-5 by Mark Allen. While Gould had the juggernaut of Mustafa Dorgham (oh dear) and Gerard Greene, Wells had a trickier route. After defeating compatriot Jamie Clarke 10-5, he was 6-5 down to Iranian Hossein Vafaei. He really shifted another gear and hit consecutive breaks of 107, 83, 113, 100 and 65 to win 10-6. Gould is another staple of the Crucible and to be honest, I’m feeling bold. Wells is scoring seriously good.
Original Winner: Hossein Vafaei vs. Martin Gould
Current Prediction: Daniel Wells vs. Martin Gould
Group 8: Michael Georgiou (36) vs. Yan Bingtao (4)
There was a fair amount of head-scratching when Michael Georgiou defeated Peter Ebdon, a result I didn’t see coming. Georgiou hasn’t built on the success of winning the 2018 Snooker Shoot-Out and it has been mediocre. But this is a chance to be the first Cypriot at the Crucible! Here’s an interview I did with him here. Yan Bingtao has fallen down in the estimations of a number of fans, also failing to build on reaching the final of the Northern Ireland Open. This is the perfect opportunity for Yan to show that he’s back and I can see him winning comfortably.
Original Winner: Peter Ebdon vs. Yan Bingtao
Current Prediction: Michael Georgiou vs. Yan Bingtao
Group 9: Allister Carter (3) vs. John Astley
A
Ali Carter is a staple at the Crucible, having been at the World Championship every year since 2003. He had a kind group to qualify through and it showed, pushing aside Paul Davison and Jimmy White, conceding just five frames. He is a very chalk and cheese player, with a lot of people hoping to see him draw against Ronnie O’Sullivan. Just to be Mr. Angry get, well, angry. Astley went completely under the radar (read more here) and is the lowest ranked player on the professional tour in the event at No. 102. Defeating Yuan Sijun and Michael White is no mean feat. However, I can see only one winner here.
Original Winner: Allister Carter vs. Yuan Sijun
Current Prediction: Allister Carter vs. John Astley
Group 10: Eden Sharav (51) vs. Zhou Yuelong (19)
Another result I didn’t see coming, Eden Sharav defeated Ricky Walden in the deciding frame. Sharav made his breakthrough by reaching the Northern Ireland Open semis this season. Considering he represented Scotland and Israel over the past couple of seasons, I have no idea if he will be called the first Israeli at the World Championships. As he cemented his place next season via the one-year ranking list, he will play with little pressure. Zhou, like Yan, is struggling and he will want to make a second appearance here. Like Sharav, he had to fight hard to reach Judgement Day. I predict a close match, but it is Zhou Yuelong for me.
Original Winner: Ricky Walden vs. Zhou Yuelong
Current Prediction: Eden Sharav vs. Zhou Yuelong
Group 11: Mark Davis (22) vs. Lyu Haotian (11)
This is a good match-up. They have beaten each other once, but a BO19 match is a different kettle of fish. Both had very successful seasons but Lyu Haotian has done so well he broke into the Top 32! He reached the Crucible last season and won his opening tie and will be against a very experienced player who knows how to qualify from there. Mark Davis will be wary and will have endless patience after beating Rod Lawler and Fergal O’Brien. But Lyu is on fire and on fantastic break-building for so he’s my man here.
Original Winner: Mark Davis vs. Lyu Haotian
Current Prediction:Mark Davis vs. Lyu Haotian
Group 12: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (27) vs. Joe O’Connor (59)
This is a very interesting match. Joe O’Connor was relatively anonymous in the first half of the season but is daring greatly here. Reaching the semi-finals in the Welsh Open, beating John Higgins for the second time in the China Open and reaching the final qualifying round by defeating European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson 10-9. While he is fantastically calm, he has a lot on his hands. Un-Nooh made little work of Johnathan Bagley and Mark Joyce and will want to make make the most of this opportunity.
Original Winner: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs. Jimmy Robertson
Current Prediction: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs. Joe O’Connor
Group 13: Michael Judge (a) vs. James Cahill (a)
Stop lying to yourself. You didn’t predict this would happen. An amateur will definitely make it to the Crucible for the first time in its history. What we don’t know yet is which one. Both Judge and Cahill swept aside seeds Peter Lines, Andrew Higginson, Xiao Guodong and Michael Holt. A lot of people say this is fantastic for the game for the true underdog story while little say that the amateurs say little in the first place. Here’s a poll:
Michael Judge made three appearances at the World Snooker Championships, the most recent being 2008. He came through two deciders himself. Considering he was told on Monday he would be replacing Zhang Jiankang due to visa issues, he is certainly making the most of it! James Cahill is racking up the centuries and is playing to a standard that made us wonder why he didn’t perform like that when he was a professional between 2013-2017. Considering he was thinking of quitting a while back, this is quite a turnaround. I honestly don’t know who would win here. Purely on scoring power, I will go for Cahill.
Original Winner: Xiao Guodong vs. Michael Holt
Current Prediction: Michael Judge vs. James Cahill
Group 14: Lu Ning (55) vs. Scott Donaldson (23)
Two young players who have grafted their way as a professional snooker player for many years. While Donaldson cemented his place in the Top 64, Lu is still outside it, but he has another year on his card to get there. Most importantly, this match means that there will definitely be a debutant in this year’s World Championships. Both players beat good opponents in Mark King and Ken Doherty. I would like to see Scott win here because he seemed unfazed by big occasions. After Anthony McGill, there haven’t been many Scots coming through recently. He needs to receive that baton.
Original Winner: Lu Ning vs. Scott Donaldson
Current Prediction:
Group 15: Matthew Selt (18) vs. Zhao Xintong (50)
GIVE ME ZHAO XINTONG ANY DAY. In all serious, he’s done well to get this far, especially beating Noppon Saengkham. Indian Open champion Matt Selt had a toughie against Anthony Hamilton, defeating him 10-7. They have only played once back in the 2014 Shanghai Masters where Zhao was just an amateur. I sure hope Zhao Xintong wins here!
Original Winner: Anthony Hamilton vs. Zhao Xintong
Current Prediction: Matthew Selt vs. Zhao Xintong
Group 16: Martin O’Donnell (31) vs. Joe Perry (2)
Finally, we have the final Judgement Day match! Joe Perry is someone who always has a place reserved at the Crucible. He couldn’t have had a easier route to Judgement Day if he tried. Two 10-1 wins against Simon Lichtenberg and Zhang Yong is brilliant. However, Martin O’Donnell is having the season of his life, who reached three quarter-finals this season, including the UK Championship. It should be a close when, but it would be a surprise if Martin will beat someone of Perry’s calibre at this stage.
Original Winner: Alan McManus vs. Joe Perry
Current Prediction: Martin O’Donnell vs. Joe Perry
