PREVIEW: 2020 World Snooker Championship

Many of us didn’t think we were going to get a World Championship at all this season due to the pandemic. Well done and thank you to Barry Hearn, Jason Ferguson, World Snooker Tour and the venue organisers in Sheffield for making it all happen. In July and August! It is still very weird.

Talking Points

The Qualifiers

It feels like every year at the Crucible that there is one player making his debut at the World Championships. There are five players this time around – Elliot Slessor, Jordan Brown, Ashley Carty, Alexander Ursenbacher and Jamie Clarke. There are nine different nationalities among the qualifiers, where Ursenbacher will be the first Swiss in history to be at the Crucible.

Interestingly, there are only three qualifiers who are ranked between No. 17 – No. 32. It doesn’t help that some players decided not to travel to the UK for safety reasons such as Zhou Yuelong and Zhao Xintong. But the new tiered qualifying system gave the lower-ranked players more momentum to beat their opponents.

It will be very weird to not see the likes of Joe Perry, Graeme Dott and Ali Carter at the Crucible. Carter has been in every World Championship since 2003. No fist pumps. No shoulder barges. There is zero prospect of another heated tie between him and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The Crucible Curse

Judd Trump is the next player to break the Crucible Curse. The Crucible Curse refers to the fact that no first-time snooker world champion has retained the title the following year. So far, no-one has succeeded in breaking it, including O’Sullivan, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry. Joe Johnson and Ken Doherty went closest by reaching the final but failed.

Stuart Bingham is the last player to fall victim, losing in the first round in 2016. Judd Trump is arguably on the best form to defend his first World title. It would certainly create headlines if Trump does succeed.

World Snooker Tour provide the rankings of all players after the 2020 Tour Championship. The H2H records are taken from Cuetracker, excluding Championship League and Snooker Shoot-Out.

Protection During The Pandemic

Unsurprisingly and understandably, the stringent organisation to keep everyone safe and healthy during the COVID pandemic creates a lot of debate. Everyone including the players, the referees, the presenters, the staff and more recently, the audience members.

Some players have expressed concerns about this. Both Ronnie O’Sullivan and Anthony Hamilton deemed having a crowd unnecessary and a huge risk. You can read a more recent BBC article by clicking here. I am excited to watch a tournament with the crowd there, even if it is about 300 people. But if I was in a player’s shoes, I would be anxious too. Their concerns are completely understandable. I also dislike our event being called a ‘test pilot’. More on Hamilton’s recent withdrawal later in this preview.

But so far, the stringent health and safety checks implemented by WST has been very successful. This was proved in the Championship League, the Tour Championship and the World Qualifiers. Click here for a balanced article on whether having a crowd at the Crucible is worth a risk by Snooker HQ.

DRAW

There are some tasty ties here!

World Snooker Tour provide the rankings of all players after the 2020 Tour Championship. The H2H records are taken from Cuetracker, excluding Championship League and Snooker Shoot-Out.

Judd Trump (1) vs. Tom Ford (26)

H2H: Trump is leading Ford 9-4.

Last Meeting: 2019 International Championship (Trump winning 6-3).

Defending champion Judd Trump has a tricky opener. Tom Ford is in the Top 32 for a reason – he’s very good. This is Ford’s fourth appearance in the World Championship but has yet to win a first round match. These have met in the World Championships before. Trump beat Ford 10-8 in 2014, despite Trump missing a lot of pots after being 6-2 in front.

It’s no secret that Trump is having a phenomenal season. Six ranking titles and 98 centuries is incredible. He did have a blip in the Tour Championship but he will rectify that. Trump should beat Ford because of his H2H record, his scoring, his confidence and how serious he is taking his role as defending World Champion. As long as Trump focuses on winning the match rather than reaching the centurion of centuries, he should be fine.

Prediction: Trump to win 10-7

Yan Bingtao (16) vs. Elliot Slessor (69)

H2H: These two players have never played each other.

Last Meeting: N/A.

Weirdly, this is only Yan Bingtao’s second appearance at the Crucible. His first was in 2017 where he lost to Shaun Murphy 10-8. But Yan is a ranking event winner now and improved leaps and bounds over the past couple of seasons. His opponent has also improved over the past couple of years. Thanks to his qualifying run of defeating Antoni Kowalski, Ben Woollaston and Martin O’Donnell, Slessor will break into the Top 64 for the first time.

Slessor will be playing without pressure but one would expect Yan to be feeling it as a Crucible seed. Yan is a very diligent player and will always keep Slessor second guessing. I think Yan will win but I expect a late comeback from Slessor.

If you want to read an interview I did with Elliot Slessor last year, please click here.

Prediction: Yan to win 10-7

Stephen Maguire (9) vs. Martin Gould (60)

H2H: Gould is leading Maguire 5-0.

Last Meeting: 2020 European Masters (Gould winning 5-3).

If Stephen Maguire will play the way he did in the Tour Championship, he would go straight to the World final! But this is the Crucible. Maguire’s record is haphazard at best, losing five times in the first record in the last seven appearances. While Maguire is having a successful couple of seasons, the opposite can be said for Martin Gould. Gould slumped down the rankings and dangerously close to the relegation zone. Thankfully, his impressive 10-6 victory over Dott keeps him safe for another year.

Excluding Championship League and Snooker Shoot-Out, Gould has won every meeting. Maguire has only beaten him in the Championship League. But if Maguire kept even some form from the Championship League, I think he might finally win over Gould.

Prediction: Maguire to win 10-6

Kyren Wilson (8) w/o Anthony Hamilton (48)

H2H: Wilson is leading Hamilton 2-1.

Last Meeting: 2019 Northern Ireland Open (Hamilton winning 4-3).

Anthony Hamilton has qualified for the Crucible for the first time since 2008. The 49 year-old had to go through some tough opponents to do so. He defeated Sam Craigie and Scott Donaldson along the way.

I would’ve predicted Wilson to beat Hamilton 10-4, but it has just been announced that Hamilton has withdrawn citing health concerns.

There is a legitimate argument that he shouldn’t have entered the tournament if he was that concerned. Some others, including Judd Trump, said it was selfish because he deprived someone else the opportunity to be at the Crucible. In hindsight, he probably should have left earlier.

On the other hand, he needs to earn money and he did that in the qualifiers where there was no audience. If he doesn’t feel comfortable enough to perform now, then he should withdraw. Did he know the guidelines earlier? Snooker isn’t the most important thing in the world obviously. Health takes absolute priority.

However, it’s ridiculous that some believe that he should forfeit ranking points and prize money. He earned them by winning matches. It’s a hard decision to withdraw from an event he failed to reach in 12 years. But regardless of how you think, this is not good news for the World Championship and not what the tournament needed.

The full Eurosport article can be found here. The full WST article can be found here.

Result: Wilson receives a walkover.

John Higgins (5) vs. Matthew Stevens (31)

H2H: Higgins is leading Stevens 16-7.

Last Meeting: 2014 UK Championship (Higgins winning 6-2).

This is the sort of match you would expect to see two decades ago!

John Higgins always receives a tough draw at the Crucible. As featured in my article earlier, Higgins hasn’t faced a seed outside of the Top 64 since 2011. Moving aside, Higgins hasn’t looked convincing this season. He hasn’t won a ranking title since the 2018 Welsh Open nor has he reached a final this season. Retirement has crossed his mind a few times already. But his Crucible record isn’t affected by his season form. He has reached three finals in a row. His losses in 2017 and 2018 had hurt but he was completely outclassed against Trump in 2019.

Matthew Stevens will make his 17th Crucible appearance and he is in decent nick. His quarter-final appearance in the 2019 UK Championship kept his place within the Top 32. This match should be a tight match. Stevens has momentum and Higgins didn’t play too well in the Tour Championship. I will go with Higgins again because he always seems to turn up at this event.

Prediction: Higgins to win 10-8

David Gilbert (12) vs. Kurt Maflin (43)

H2H: Gilbert is leading Maflin 3-0.

Last Meeting: 2019 English Open (Gilbert winning 4-2).

David Gilbert returns to the Crucible with more fans than last year. His World semi-final run caught the eyes of many viewers and he received a lot of support after his emotional post-match interview. Gilbert is still searching for his first ranking title and was thumped by Selby in the 2019 English Open. Kurt Maflin will be making his second appearance at the Crucible. He dissected Matt Selt 10-1 in qualifying and said that no-one would want to draw him in the first round first round of the Worlds.

The tricky thing with this tie is that we don’t know which Kurt Maflin will turn up. His scoring is powerful at best but he is ranked as low as 43 for a reason. With Gilbert returning with a point to prove, I think this will be a nervy match. But I still expect the long pots to be flying in!

Prediction: Gilbert to win 10-9

Jack Lisowski (13) vs. Anthony McGill (39)

H2H: McGill is leading Lisowski 2-1.

Last Meeting: 2019 China Championship (McGill winning 5-3)

Anthony McGill comes to the Crucible as a dangerous opponent. McGill has featured in the World Championship every year since he reached the quarter-finals in 2015. His ranking is much lower than his ability suggests. He demolished Sam Baird 10-1 and he should be happy that he drew Jack Lisowski. Not only has Lisowski had a quiet season but his Crucible record is less superior. He has won just once in three appearances.

There is always a shock in the first round and I think it will most likely happen here. McGill leads the H2H albeit a small one and was in excellent form in the qualifiers.

Prediction: McGill to win 10-6

Mark Allen (4) vs. Jamie Clarke (89)

H2H: These two players have never played each other.

Last Meeting: N/A.

WST introduced a rule that if any player doomed to lose his tour card qualifies for this year’s World Championship, they will keep their tour card. This is because the World Championship is clashing with this year’s Q School.

So you can imagine how elated Jamie Clarke must be. A Crucible debut, a fresh two-year card starting next season and £20,000. Clarke hasn’t done much in his initial stint apart from a 2019 Snooker Shoot-Out semi-final appearance. But Clarke has pulled it out of the bag. He impressively dispatched Joe Perry and Sunny Akani to secure his spot.

But he faces a very difficult match against a very difficult player. Mark Allen’s consistency is rewarded with his highest career ranking of No. 4. His Crucible history isn’t great as he reached one quarter-final since 2012. But I expect this year to be ‘his year’ to perform and Allen will romp to victory.

Prediction: Allen to win 10-3

Mark Williams (3) vs. Alan McManus (53)

H2H: Williams is leading McManus 10-7.

Last Meeting: 2014 World Championship (McManus winning 10-8)

Another match you would expect to see two decades ago!

Since winning the World Championship back in 2018 and the World Open the season after, Williams took his foot off the gas. He was enjoying himself and who can blame him? With the Worlds coming up, Williams has been practicing regularly for once! He needs to against Alan ‘Angles’ McManus.

McManus is a very tough opponent, regardless of what ranking he is. We can’t forget his semi-final run back in 2016, beating Maguire, Carter and Higgins along the way. I’m in two ways at the moment, but I really do fancy a surprise here.

Prediction: McManus to win 10-8

Stuart Bingham (14) vs. Ashley Carty (82)

H2H: These two players have never played each other.

Last Meeting: N/A.

Carty is also on cloud nine for exactly the same reasons as Jamie Clarke. A Crucible debut, a fresh two-year card starting next season and £20,000. The first time I saw Carty play was in the Championship League post-pandemic and he was excellent in a very tough opening group. Like Clarke, I would expect he would play without anything to lose and to enjoy the Crucible.

2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham hasn’t reached the quarter-finals at the Crucible since he lifted that trophy. But he should come into this event with more confidence after reaching the final group of the Championship League and especially because he won the Masters earlier this year. I expect Bingham to win quite comfortably in this opening round.

Prediction: Bingham to win 10-2

Ding Junhui (11) vs. Mark King (46)

H2H: Ding is leading King 6-1.

Last Meeting: 2018 World Grand Prix (Ding winning 4-1).

Ding and King. Dinking? Pfft, tee-hee! Anyway…

Ding Junhui has turned into a player no-one could put a finger on. Ding has been anonymous this entire season, yet the one time he plays near his best he wins the 2019 UK Championship. You can never guess where his head is at. His Crucible record is erratic at best and is arguably the best snooker never to win the World Championship. But the lack of crowd may be in Ding’s favour this year. It might be less intimidating for him to produce the skill we all want him to produce.

Mark King will make his first appearance in the World Championships since he lost to Ding 13-9 in 2013. He has fallen down the rankings as well but had to defeat Ken Doherty and Ian Burns to qualify. I cannot see a surprise result here because Ding has a significantly better H2H record and I hope he sees this as an opportunity to put on a great run.

Prediction: Ding to win 10-6

Ronnie O’Sullivan (6) vs. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (20)

H2H: Un-Nooh is leading O’Sullivan 1-0.

Last Meeting: 2014 German Masters (Un-Nooh winning 5-4).

What a mouth-watering tie!

Un-Nooh’s match against Trump was brilliant to watch and I hope this will be the same. Ronnie O’Sullivan and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh are among the quickest players in the tour so I doubt we will see a turgid, safety-laden match! Un-Nooh performed well in the qualifiers and managed to hold off a fightback from Liam Highfield. Un-Nooh’s had a very successful season and is more than capable of defeating Ronnie.

O’Sullivan hasn’t achievement as much success this season but that’s not my main worry. The worry I have with O’Sullivan is how he will cope under such a stringent, strict and sanitised bubble at the Crucible. Ronnie played brilliantly well in the Championship League but he said he didn’t enjoy being cooped up there. This over 17 days will be horrendous for him if he isn’t able to mentally prepare well. I think O’Sullivan will be up for beating someone of Un-Nooh’s calibre, but which Ronnie will turn up?

Prediction: O’Sullivan to win 10-5

Mark Selby (7) vs. Jordan Brown (73)

H2H: These two players have never played each other.

Last Meeting: N/A.

Mark Selby is having a strange season. Despite winning two ranking titles, he has been anonymous. He had suffered confidence issues over the past couple of years. His strong Crucible record was tainted because he hasn’t reached the quarter-finals since he won his third World title in 2017.

Selby has never played his opponent before. Jordan Brown has significantly improved this season. It is great to see another player flying the Northern Ireland flag alongside Allen. Brown defeated Hossein Vafaei and Ryan Day, so he is clearly a threat. But Selby should be able to dispatch Brown but I cannot see it being an easy match.

Prediction: Selby to win 10-7

Shaun Murphy (10) vs. Noppon Saengkham (42)

H2H: Murphy is leading Saengkham 2-0.

Last Meeting: 2014 6-Reds World Championship (Murphy winning 6-3).

Shaun Murphy recently confirmed that his best friend Brandon Parker passed away and it was a very difficult time for him. It is very difficult to know what state of mind he will be in. Hopefully, the support around him will get him about on track. He’s one of the best performers this season, with two ranking titles and two finals.

Noppon Saengkham made his World debut in 2017 and saved his position on tour by entering the Top 64 for the first time. Now, he is a solid professional player and reached two ranking semi-finals. He went under the radar this season but defeated Michael White and Eden Sharav quite comfortably. He may be a better player now, but an in-form Murphy would be too much for him.

Prediction: Murphy to win 10-4

Barry Hawkins (15) vs. Alexander Ursenbacher (86)

H2H: Hawkins is leading Ursenbacher 2-0.

Last Meeting: 2013 UK Championship (Hawkins winning 6-0).

In both meetings, Alexander Ursenbacher has failed to win a single frame against Barry Hawkins. But the Swiss is a much better player now and will pose a greater threat this time around. I would make as many Swiss-related puns in this preview, but I’d rather tweet it out randomly instead. Ursenbacher is a weird player because he has one brilliant tournament and than disappears for the rest of the season.

Because points from the 2018 World Championship will be erased, Hawkins could be out of the Top 16 if he doesn’t do well here. The last final he participated in was the 2018 Welsh Open and hasn’t reached the latter stages often enough. Despite this, he has the Crucible prestige to see him through. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a scare here though.

Prediction: Hawkins to win 10-8

Neil Robertson (2) vs. Liang Wenbo (34)

H2H: Robertson is leading Liang 5-3.

Last Meeting: 2018 Riga Masters (Robertson winning 4-3).

Neil Robertson is the second best player this season behind Trump. Two titles, one final and a Champion of Champions trophy is excellent. But the Crucible is a different beast. Like Ding, his performance at the World Snooker Championship is erratic and less impressive than people expect.

Liang Wenbo has been turned into a pantomime villain over the qualifiers. An eagle-eyed viewer caught sight of an incident which implied that Liang didn’t own up to a foul during the decider against Fergal O’Brien. It hurts because this was the final match and O’Brien could’ve lost his card. Aside from that, he steadily dropped down the rankings. Liang hasn’t kicked on since he won the 2016 English Open and has fallen behind his younger compatriots. I reckon Robertson will get a win over him, as his scoring prowess, temperament and form are better than Liang’s at the moment.

Prediction: Robertson to win 10-5

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The World Snooker Championships will take place between 31th July and 16th August 2020 at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.