It is that time of the year again – the 2019/2020 snooker season has now started!
Every year I have sorted out the six players outside of the Top 32 who are the ones to watch. Strangely, there was more success from who I picked. Among them, there were three players who qualified for the Crucible, including one who reached the semi-finals (Gary Wilson, Zhou Yuelong and Luo Honghao). Sunny Akani and Sam Craigie had fairly steady seasons. Jamie Clarke took a while to get his first professional win on the circuit but he managed to get to his first ranking semi-final in the 2019 Snooker Shoot-Out!
Hopefully, I can do a few better there! Knowing my luck, I will probably predict badly this time around. Thank goodness I’m not a big betting man. Anyways, same as before: I will pick six players outside of the Top 32 who I think will make a grand impression this season. Let’s go!
Scott Donaldson – Last Season Rank: 35
Scott Donaldson is a testament to any young player who is willing to grind his way to cement his place onto the snooker tour. He turned professional back in 2012 and qualified for the tour again via the European Order of Merit in 2014 and in 2016. Since then, he made four ranking semi-final appearances. As well as two quarter-finals, he reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic and the 2019 China Open. His China Open run in Beijing was most impressive, defeating Joe Perry, David Gilbert and Ben Woollaston along the way.
Over the course of last season, he rose 23 places to No. 35 in the rankings, his highest ever position. He’s someone who has gone completely under the radar and one of the most consistent players. Don’t forget, he qualified for the World Championships for the first time. He is one to watch and I reckon he will break into the Top 32 very soon!
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – Last Season Rank: 37
Theppy is one of the hottest and coldest players on the snooker tour. Everyone was aware of the huge amount of talent Un-Nooh possesses. Everyone knows how quickly he can play. We saw that when he won the 2019 Snooker Shoot-Out, particularly his 139 century break against Jamie Clarke in the semi-finals. He just needs to get to the deep end of ranking tournaments on a regular basis. Though he did reach the 2018 Northern Ireland Open quarter-finals, the last time he got to that stage was the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic semi-finals.
The Thai player has his monkey off his back of getting a ranking title. Now he just needs to return to the Top 32 where he belongs. He was very close to causing a shock in the World Championship too. If he didn’t hit the cluster of reds too hard, then he would’ve defeated Judd Trump in the decider. Now Trump is the World Champion. The fact that he was one of the most feared qualifiers showed what he is capable. I just hope he actually wins more often because he has the talent of a Top 16 player.
Zhao Xintong – Last Season Rank: 59
Superstar Zhao Xintong is finally showing us what he is capable of. Since he dropped off the tour and qualified immediately via Q School last year, he was on a rampage. At the start of the season, he reached the China Championship semi-finals, beating Anthony McGill, Mark Williams and Barry Hawkins. In fact, he did so well, he qualified for the World Grand Prix for being among the Top 32 players in the Order of Merit.
As well as reaching the Welsh Open quarter-final, he also qualified for the World Championship too. However, despite being 5-1 up, he showed his inexperience and let an out-of-form Mark Selby back in the match and lost 10-7. Zhao has to mature and know when to tighten the game up rather than continuing to throw the kitchen sink at each pot. He will go further up the rankings table because he is on his second year of his two year card. But can he follow up his performances in his second year?
Joe O’Connor – Last Season Rank: 68
This chap popped out of nowhere, didn’t he?
There are a number of professionals who are bred in Leicester. Tom Ford. Ben Woollaston. New rookie Louis Heathcote. Some randomer called Mark Selby. Joe O’Connor started his professional campaign quite slowly with a could of third round appearances, including the UK Championship. But it was at the Welsh Open when he really came alive. He defeated top players such as Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui and even defending Welsh Open champion John Higgins. Despite losing 6-2 to Stuart Bingham, that win propelled him up with the rankings with 20,000 points in the kitty.
O’Connor picked up some more wins to prove that it was no fluke. He beat Higgins again in the China Open and was victorious against Joe Swail and Jimmy Robertson before losing the final qualifying round of the World Championship to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. He was rewarded the Rookie of the Year award for his efforts. All that worries me is that past winners Darryl Hill, John Astley and last year’s winner Xu Si haven’t reached the Top 64 yet. I just hope the award isn’t a poisoned chalice!
Jackson Page – Last Season Rank: N/A
I’ve already blabbered on Jackson Page in one of my recent articles, so I’ll try and not be repetitive. Page is rated as the most exciting and talented British prospect in recent times at just 17 years of age. In 2016, he reached the 2016 EBSA Under-18 Championship and the 2016 World Under-18 champion. He received a wildcard in the 2017 Welsh Open and beat professionals Jason Weston and John Astley to reach the third round.
Jackson Page kept blossoming on the amateur circuit, winning a trophy cabinet’s worth of European and World titles. He finally qualified for the main tour by winning the European U-21 Championship. He beat Ireland’s Ross Bulman 5-1. It will be interesting to see if he can cope with the pressure and of course, how difficult the main tour is compared to the non-professional events. We will soon know.
Chang Bingyu – Last Season Rank: N/A
Another ‘players to watch’ article. Another young Chinaman destined for greatness. 16 year old Chang Bingyu has qualified as one of the best players on the CBSA China Tour. But he is not just an unknown player. Like many young Asian prospects, he has featured as a wildcard on many occasions. In the 2018/2019 season, he collected many professional scalps. In the China Championship, he beat Jimmy Robertson and Robert Milkins to reach the second round. He was only halted by eventual winning Mark Selby.
He beat Robertson again in the World Open and Mark Davis in the China Open. Clearly, he can play extremely well. I do wonder if it is too early for these players to go on tour early and if they can adapt to the gruelling travel, the non-stop snooker, especially since most of the events are far away from home. Hell, we have Si Jiahui and Lei Peifan – two 16 year-olds who are in the mix and goodness know what impact they will make!
