Another week, another tournament in Asia. After the World Cup, International Championship, Six-Reds World Championship and the Shanghai Masters, we have the newbie China Championship in Guangzhou.
I call it a newbie because the tournament itself is only three-years-old, two years as a full ranking event. When it became a ranker in 2017, Luca Brecel became the first Belgian to win a ranking event. Luca beat Shaun Murphy 10-5, while taking the scalps of Marco Fu, Li Hang and Ronnie O’Sullivan. The next year, Mark Selby won his seventh Chinese ranking title by defeating John Higgins 10-9.
A Strong Field
It’s a very strong field, despite some early casualties in Ali Carter, Stuart Bingham, Gary Wilson and Jimmy Robertson in the qualifiers. Of course, O’Sullivan decided to not participate, probably to give other players another chance. After his showing in the Shanghai Masters, it is just as well.
The odd thing about this draw is that the seeds are remarkably similar to the previous event. Assuming the top seeds win their preliminary rounds, about five ties are exactly the same in the China Championship as they were in the International Championship. These matches are Kyren Wilson/Robbie Williams, Anthony McGill/Michael Holt, Scott Donaldson/Martin Gould, Shaun Murphy/Yuan Sijun and potentially Ding Junhui/Zhao Xintong. Because of similar seedings, the top seeds are placed in the same draw as before. We can see Joe Perry, Stephen Maguire, Jack Lisowski, Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump within the same quarter in the China Championship, which is exactly like the draw in the International Championship. Odd.
Another slight dimension is the Champion of Champions. Again. Seeing the already-qualified O’Sullivan winning the Shanghai Masters, Reanne Evans qualified for the Champion of Champions. However, if an already-qualified player wins the China Championship, this means 2019 World Seniors Championship winner Jimmy White will take the next place.
Anyways, the draw as well the two qualifying rounds are below. Will the Chinese wildcards stage a fright this tournament? Probably not, but it’s nice to keep up the suspense.
Please note that I have removed Ken Doherty from the draw as he has withdrawn from the event. The winner of the wildcard match will receive a bye and will face Neil Robertson in the next round.
The Draw
Mark Selby/Chen Feilong vs. Lu Ning
Martin Gould vs. Scott Donaldson
Alexander Ursenbacher vs. Chris Wakelin
Yan Bingtao/Mei Xiwen vs. Sam Baird
Martin O’Donnell vs. Xiao Guodong
Zhao Xintong vs. Ding Junhui/Brandon Sargeant
Mitchell Mann vs. Lyu Haotian
Liam Highfield vs. Barry Hawkins
First Quarter-Final: Mark Selby vs. Xiao Guodong
John Higgins vs. Andrew Higginson
Li Hang vs. Sam Craigie
Jordan Brown vs. Sunny Akani
Graeme Dott vs. Kurt Maflin
Joe O’Connor vs. Ryan Day
Yuan Sijun vs. Shaun Murphy
Ben Woollaston vs. Matt Selt
Li Yingdong (a)/Zhao Jianbo (a) vs. Neil Robertson
Second Quarter-Final: Graeme Dott vs. Shaun Murphy
Mark Williams vs. Kishan Hirani
Ricky Walden vs. Luo Honghao
Luca Brecel vs. Tian Pengfei
Jak Jones vs. Mark Joyce
Matthew Stevens vs. Dominic Dale
Marco Fu vs. David Gilbert
Noppon Saengkham vs. Mark King
Anthony Hamilton vs. Mark Allen
Third Quarter-Final: Mark Williams vs. Mark Allen
Kyren Wilson vs. Robbie Williams
Hossein Vafaei vs. Tom Ford/ Wu Yize (a)//Pang Junxu (a)
Jack Lisowski vs. Daniel Wells
Anthony McGill vs. Michael Holt
Hammad Miah vs. Joe Perry
Harvey Chandler vs. Stephen Maguire
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs. Zhou Yuelong
Mike Dunn vs. Judd Trump/James Wattana
Fourth Quarter-Final: Jack Lisowski vs. Judd Trump
Winner of the 2019 China Championship: Mark Selby vs. Mark Allen
The 2019 China Championship will take place in Guangzhou, China from 15th to 18th August 2019.
