PREVIEW: 2020/2021 World Grand Prix

It’s been over a month of continuous snooker so far. We saw Judd Trump win the Northern Ireland Open, Neil Robertson lifting the UK Championship trophy and Mark Selby being victorious in the Scottish Open. Next week will be the last event of the calendar year: the World Grand Prix.

Will the defending champion Neil Robertson defend his crown? Or will past winners Judd Trump, Barry Hawkins or Shaun Murphy retain the title? Lastly, will there be a new name on the trophy?

Rewards Aplenty

There is a lot more about the World Grand Prix that meets the eye. This is aside from being a ranking event and inevitable qualification to the 2021 Champion of Champions.

The World Grand Prix is part of the Coral Cup, which started two seasons. The World Grand Prix is the first event of the series, with the Players Championship (Top 16) and the Tour Championship (Top 8) later this season. Whoever earns the most money through those three tournaments will win the Coral Cup with lots of lovely dosh to go with it. Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Maguire are both previous winners of the Coral Cup. Unsurprisingly, they won the Tour Championship, which is the most lucrative event.

The thirty-two players in the World Grand Prix qualified by being the most in-form players this season according to the one-year ranking list. Six tournaments have passed and have we have a very interesting group of players. It’s brilliant when players regardless of ranking are rewarded with their consistent performances. That’s why top players such as Stephen Maguire, Mark Williams and David Gilbert failed to make the cut. That’s also why Jak Jones, Jamie Jones and Robbie Williams, the only players outside of the Top 64 in this event, managed to qualify.

Let’s End on a High

2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for a multitude of reasons. We all understand the impact COVID-19 is currently having on our lives. Everyone has their own COVID story. This includes lockdowns, furlough periods, political instability and anxiety. Many have lost their jobs and tragically their loved ones. I hope people reading this are coping okay despite it all and pat themselves on the back for getting though this challenging year.

Of course, snooker has been impacted by the current pandemic. Though we mock the fact that the current snooker season has turned into the Milton Keynes Series, we should be grateful to be able to watch, talk and write about snooker at all. If all goes well, we will see a crowd watch the 2021 Masters at Alexandra Palace. We should thank everyone involved in the organisation of the recent snooker events for pulling it off, especially the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.

If all goes well, this could be the last time the Marshall Arena hosts a snooker tournament because of the pandemic. Fingers crossed. 🤞 Even if that prospect might be unlikely. In the meantime, let’s enjoy this tournament and then treat ourselves to a rest and get ready for 2021. This is easier said than done but let’s try and end this on a high. Here’s a hug.

Draw

Here are my predictions below. The first two rounds are BO7 matches, followed by the quarter-finals (BO9), semi-finals (BO11) and the final, which is a BO19.

Section 1

Judd Trump (1) vs. Michael Holt (32)

Li Hang (16) vs. Stuart Bingham (17)

Martin Gould (9) vs. Mark Allen (24)

Lu Ning (8) vs. Robbie Williams (25)

Section 1 winner: Judd Trump vs. Martin Gould

Section 2

Ronnie O’Sullivan (5) vs. Ali Carter (28)

Barry Hawkins (12) vs. Ricky Walden (21)

David Grace (13) vs. Yan Bingtao (20)

Kyren Wilson (4) vs. Kurt Maflin (29)

Section 2 winner: Barry Hawkins vs. Kurt Maflin

Section 3

Mark Selby (3) vs. Liang Wenbo (30)

Joe Perry (14) vs. Anthony McGill (19)

Ding Junhui (11) vs. Jak Jones (22)

Zhou Yuelong (6) vs. Hossein Vafaei (27)

Section 3 winner: Mark Selby vs. Zhou Yuelong

Section 4

John Higgins (7) vs. Xiao Guodong (26)

Jamie Jones (10) vs. Zhao Xintong (23)

Shaun Murphy (15) vs. Jack Lisowski (18)

Neil Robertson (2) vs. Robert Milkins (31)

Section 4 winner: John Higgins vs. Neil Robertson

Winner: Judd Trump vs. Neil Robertson

The 2020/2021 World Grand Prix will take place from 14th to 20th December 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England.