Snooker Rankings in 2019 - My Predictions

I read Matt at Pro Snooker Blog’s piece on who he thought would be at the top of the game in five years time and it got me thinking. So I have come up with my own list & in five years I will hopefully revisit it.

1.    Ding Junhui

In Five years I can see Ding being a multiple World Champion and sitting third in the all time century list. His expert cue ball control and added years of experience will make him a formidable opponent. Once he gets over the Crucible hump he could well dominate the game and be pushing himself into the Snooker Mount Rushmore (An American sports thing, basically the top 4 of all time).

World Titles = 2
UK Title’s = 1
Masters = 1
Ranking Titles = 8

  2.  Judd Trump

Judd is in an interesting situation, unlike previous snooker era’s where players have come through in groups Judd is currently the only player in his age group that is established at the time of writing this. As he matures I can see his game becoming more complete & him winning more major titles. I don’t think he will be the most consistent player, however with the new money list it would only take a few big wins a season to maintain a high ranking – something I think he will achieve. Along with Ding I can see Judd joining the elite list of players to have completed the triple crown. 

World Titles = 1
UK Title’s = 1
Masters = 2
Ranking Titles = 6

3.     Mark Selby

The recent World Champion is the best safety player in the game and has consistently shown the ability to win whilst not playing his best. This is the one of the most important strings to his bow; whilst his peers could have a bad day and be defeated, he usually comes through. With the new flat 128 draw at the majority of tournaments, there will be more off days for players. I think he will add another World and UK in the next five years.

World Titles = 1

UK Title’s = 1

Masters = 0

Ranking Titles = 4

4. Mark Allen

It still amazes me that Mark hasn’t had more success by this point of his career. I expect he will become more consistent in the future and win more tournaments. On his game he is almost unstoppable; however we’ve infrequently seen this outside of the Haikou World Open. He will be 33 in five years and I expect him to have reached a World Final in that time while capturing one or two of the other big three titles.  

World Titles = 0

UK Title’s = 1

Masters = 1

Ranking Titles = 4

5. Neil Robertson

Usually as players get older one of the first things to go is their long potting. This leaves proficient long potters in a situation, without change you can gift your opponent frame winning opportunities – something Stephen Hendry was doing a lot in the last few years of his career. Now I expect Neil to continue to develop his Safety game which could counteract a potential drop in his long potting proficiency.  Even at the age of 37, I expect him to be at the top of the game, he is just too good a player to drop out of the top Eight & I anticipate he will be winning more of the triple crown events over the next few years.  

World Titles = 1

UK Title’s = 1

Masters = 1

Ranking Titles =6

6. Xiao Guodong

At this time he is the only young player who has impressed me consistently. At this time he is sitting 23^rd in the rankings & I predict by the end of the 2014/15 season he will be in the top 12. I don’t have him winning any of the major titles in my predictions, however in five years time while some of the others on this list will be right at the end of their proficient title winning career, Xiao will be coming into his peak and could then be landing some of the major trophies. 

World Titles = 0

UK Title’s = 0

Masters = 0

Ranking Titles =3

7. Michael White

I’ve always been impressed with Michael White; he is a fearless player who backs his own ability at the most important phases of a match. So far his progress up the rankings has been disappointed and he looks to have stalled. However when he has reached the flagship event, the World Championship’s he has shown real quality. Once he take’s that quality to every event he enters he will shoot up the rankings and will win a few titles. 

World Titles = 0

UK Title’s = 0

Masters = 0

Ranking Titles = 2

8. Anthony McGill

Scotland’s next big hope is Anthony McGill; he is an exciting young talent who shows maturity beyond his years and an understanding of the game. You can see little bits of Graeme Dott, John Higgins and Alan McManus games imprinted on McGill. At this point of his career I feel he lacks a little confidence in his ability, however when he breaks through I can see him being one of the toughest players on tour to defeat, therefore his high ranking. 

World Titles = 0

UK Title’s = 0

Masters = 0

Ranking Titles = 2

A few others to look out for in the next five years: Jack Lisowski, Kyren Wilson, Liang Wembo, Shane Castle, Ben Woollaston, Kurt Maflin & injury dependent a resurgent Jamie Cope.

2014 World Championships Preview

The final pieces of the 2014 World Championship draw were completed today at lunchtime.

In short the already very tough bottom half was strengthened even further while the top half is looking more and more predictable.

Robin Hull, the lowest seed to qualify, has the daunting task of facing two time defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan on Saturday. This
already looks like an impossible task and a potentially kinder opening draw for the Rocket.

I picked out four players I thought were the ones to avoid before the draw: Xiao Guodong, Kyren Wilson, Michael White & Martin Gould. The unfortunate seeds to draw these players are Ali Carter (v Xiao), Ricky Walden (v Wilson), Mark Selby (v White) & Marco Fu (v Gould).

There will be an all Scottish affair after John Higgins was drawn to face his former mentor Alan McManus, good friends off the table this will prove to be a tough but enjoyable match for both players.

Tom Ford v Judd Trump and Ryan Day v Stephen Maguire are both very enticing first round encounters in the already stacked bottom half. I fancy Trump to progress in a tight match. Given Maguire's current form he might be another seed to fall to the three time Crucible quarter finalist Day.

My Predictions in full are

    Ronnie O'Sullivan 10    v     3        Robin Hull          
    Joe Perry       10     v       5    Jamie Burnett          
    Shaun Murphy     10    v     5    Jamie Cope          
    Marco Fu     10    v     6    Martin Gould          
    Barry Hawkins     10    v     4    David Gilbert          
    Ricky Walden     8    v     10    Kyren Wilson          
    Mark Davis     8    v     10    Dominic Dale          
    Ding Junhui     10    v     2    Michael Wasley          
    Mark Selby     10    v     7    Michael White          
    Allister Carter 9    v     10      Xiao Guodong          
    John Higgins     10    v     7    Alan McManus          
    Stuart Bingham     10    v     4    Ken Doherty          
    Judd Trump     10    v     8    Tom Ford          
    Stephen Maguire 6    v     10    Ryan Day          
    Mark Allen     10    v     6    Michael Holt          
    Neil Robertson     10    v     5    Robbie Williams

In recent seasons we've seen a lot of top seeds fall, however this year I've only picked four to fall from 16 matches.

I think the quarter final line up will be

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Shaun Murphy
Hawkins v Ding Junhui
Xiao Guodong v John Higgins
Judd Trump v Neil Robertson

Semi's

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ding Junhui
John Higgins v Neil Robertson

This is what I think might happen, but it's also a bit of dream semi final line up. The best players of the last 15 years and the new two best players in the world. I would actually pick both the older World Champions in Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins to meet in another World final, one that would surely be a classic, and a 5th World Title for the Wizard of Wishaw.

O'Sullivan wins Best Picture at the Welsh Open

There are a lot of arguments about how the standard at the top of snooker has gotten worse, this may or may not be true. However I would argue that the standard bearer, Ronnie O'Sullivan, is actually playing the best snooker of his career at the moment. His opponents are mere shadows of their normal self when they play him, allowing him to flow graciously around the table. Mesmerizing his millions of fans and envious compatriots.

Sunday provided another moment of genius for the already 3 hour Oscar winning drama that would be his highlight reel. A 7 minute 25 seconds 147 in the final frame of the final, admittedly the score was 8-3 at the time and the risk was worth taking. Along the way he hit some of the most beautifully executed shots, technical feats that Alfonso Cuaron would have been proud of. The left handed red into the green pocket where he screwed back perfectly for the black was impossibly difficult in an exhibition, let alone the last red of a 147. Stephen Hendry on twitter called it "one of the best shots he's ever seen", nothing else needs to be said.

I'm listening to Coldplay's new single Magic while writing this and it feels very apt. I've never been O'Sullivan's greatest fan, however I'm a fan of snooker and there is no denying he brings more moments of magic than most.

I suppose I should get some stats out of the way:

3rd Welsh Open Title (Joint most wins with John Higgins & Stephen Hendry)
12th Maximum break (now top of all time 147 list)
26th Ranking Event (3rd on his own now, only two behind Steve Davis & 10 behind Hendry)

Ding reached another final in this remarkable season he is having, having won 39 of his 43 ranking event matches this season he is making a charge at Neil Robertson's number one ranking. I was glad we saw a smidgen of his limitless talent tonight when he won the opening two frames with superbly crafted centuries. Sadly it was all too late and a slow, nervy start in the afternoon cost him dearly.

The tournament as a whole was excellent in the latter stages. I still stand by my original opinion that the early rounds should be played away from the venue, they are dull and it's not fair for players to be traveling long distances in the middle of a tournament.

Next up is the Haikou World Open, where Mark Allen has reigned supreme for the previous two years. Can the Antrim potter make it a three peat.

2013 UK Championships Preview

I think this year’s UK Championships might be the most important for a long time. It’s the first time Barry Hearn’s new flat 128 player draw is being played on the BBC, the sport’s most prestigious broadcaster.  It is widely regarded that the World Championships fate in Sheffield goes hand in hand with the BBC’s commitment to continue broadcasting the event.

From the onset I think this tournament looks badly thought out, with the two organisations idea’s of a good event clashing. The event starts today but the main coverage doesn’t being until the traditional Saturday, with the top four seeds opening matches held over for Saturday. The BBC has negotiated that the draw is seeded, so the 1^st seed plays the 128^th and so on – in an effort to protect the bigger names of the sport. So Saturday see’s the four top seeds playing amateurs in what I expect will be extremely one sided matches, not the best of starts.  

In the past the BBC had complained about matches happening away from the TV cameras and the event being harder to follow. This is only going to be magnified as so many matches are crammed into a 13 day period. You could have Shaun Murphy losing to a rank outsider and not have any highlights of the match. 

Last week at the Champion of Champions the top players voiced their opinions that the tour lacks rewarding events for the top players. I personally think with the rolling ranking system its fair that the top 32 all qualify for the UK championship with the remaining 64 playing each other for the remaining 32 places. With the first round taking place at Gloucester, so when we get to the event we only have 32 players. The event can have a more structured feel and supporters can work out when and where their favorite players will be playing – something that is impossible with the current system.  

It’s going to be very interesting to see how it plays out on the BBC, which attracts higher UK viewing figures & more general fans who will be experiencing this new set up for the first time.

I’ve picked out my five favorites for the title.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Only a week after winning the Champion of Champions the Rocket looks to be playing quite well, his all round game and aura will make him hard to beat. 

Neil Robertson

Is having a very good season, with almost 50 centuries to his name Neil is creating chances and finishing them in one visit almost every time. His safety play is as good as anyone and with the Wuxi title already under his belt it’ll take someone playing very well to defeat the young Aussie.

Mark Selby

It was a very slow start to the campaign for Mark, however in the last few weeks he looks to have stepped it up just at the right time – with the defence of his UK and Masters crowns coming up. Along with John Higgins he is the most capable of defeating an inform O’Sullivan & if he gets to the later stages he will be very hard to defeat.

Mark Allen

He is a bit of a wildcard but if he is on form he will be a formidable opponent as he has shown in two ETPC’s this season in Germany and Antwerp. He should be feeling confident off the back of those triumphs and along with Ding Junhui he has been the form man of the last two months.

Ding Junhui

Everyone knows that he won three ranking events on the spin earlier this season, becoming the first person since Stephen Hendry to achieve this feat. However his faultless technique and added bottle makes him a fearsome opponent. He was only beaten at the last minute by O’Sullivan in the Champion of Champions and was slightly unlucky so his confidence should still be sky high.

Quarter Final Round up

Barry Hawkins became the first player to reach this year’s Semi Finals with an impressive victory against an under par Ding Junhui. The story of the match was set in the first session, Ding cued badly and looked under increasing pressure and irritation at his poor form, and little changed as the match progressed. With the weight of a nation on him, a rather large and demanding nation at that, he crumbled and looked beaten as he came out for the final session trailing 9-7.

Hawkins was clinical and ruthless and took the opening four frames to progress. Although a ranking tournament winner, reaching the semi finals will easily be the best achievement of Barry’s career and his cool and calm finish to the match impressed me.

Barry Hawkins opponent will be Ricky Walden after he completed a 13-6 victory of Welsh prodigy Michael White. Walden was the more mature and composed during the match and was able to steal a few frames that killed off his opponent. Michael White has had a dream Crucible debut and it won’t be long till we see him in a Crucible Semi Final.

Ricky Walden and Barry Hawkins will both see this as a golden opportunity to reach a World Final and I expect a very close and edgy Semi Final.

Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump’s quarter final was heavily hyped and it didn’t let anyone down. We saw all 25 frames and the final frame was one of the all time classic final frame deciders. Filled with tension, emotion and superb play it was probably the quickest 50 minutes of the season. Trumps aggression in the final frame won it for him I felt. Murphy went a little too negative when he got chances, trying to not lose the frame while Trump grabbed it with both hands.

Probably the match the fans wanted awaits us now in the Semi Final when Judd Trump meets Ronnie O’Sullivan. Stuart Bingham was unable to perform to his ability in his Quarter Final with O’Sullivan and was defeated 13-4. While much has been made of how well O’Sullivan played, he was gifted a number of guilt edge chances and wasn’t made to work for many of his frames. What we did learn is that O’Sullivan is cueing beautifully and if you give him a chance in the balls he will won’t hesitate to punish his opponent.

I have just returned from a couple of days in Sheffield and will be posting up a piece about visiting the World Championships.

World Championships Round 1 Review

We are seven days into the marathon of the mind that is the World Championships. So far we’ve had a handful of centuries, shocks and the appearance of everyone’s favourite new player, Dechawat Poomjaeng.

Defending Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan made light work of experienced campaigner Marcus Campbell on day one, defeating the Scot 10-4. O’Sullivan’s game looked sharp in all departments apart from his long game, but this has never stopped him in previous years.

He will face Ali Carter in the next round in a repeat of last year’s final. The “Captain” went through the gears in his second session against Ben Woollaston winning all of the required five frames. His long game looked very strong - exactly what will be required to take his chances against O’Sullivan.

Stuart Bingham is on the verge of a very comfortable win over debutant Sam Baird who struggled to settle in the first session. Leading 8-1 going into today’s final session he looks certain to make it into round two.

Mark Davis made it three wins over John Higgins this season with a strong performance in defeating the four time former champion. His safety and potting were of the highest class and through both sessions he outplayed a rather bedraggled looking Scot. At the age of 40 it’s refreshing to see an older player hitting his peak later in life.

Shaun Murphy has slipped under the radar coming into this year’s World Championships despite having had a solid season. His game is always suited to the longer formats and he had a comfortable win over the tricky Martin Gould.

His opponent Graeme Dott survived eight gruelling hours in the lion’s den with Peter Ebdon. Ebdon, the 2002 World Champion, was taking slow play to a new level as he struggled with his game. Dott at times looked thoroughly frustrated but did well to raise his game and come through a 10-6 winner.

New father Marco Fu avenged his defeat to Matthew Stevens at this stage last year by defeating the Welshman 10-7 yesterday. Getting over the winning line proved difficult but it’s been a decent year for Marco and I fancy he will cause Judd Trump a few troubles in the next round.

Speaking of Trump, he had an easy victory over Dominic Dale. Moving through the gears effortlessly in the second session to win 10-5, however Fu will prove a much sterner test.

Neil Robertson is currently leading 5-4 over Robert Milkins. This was a tough first round draw but I still expect the Aussie to progress. His 143 was a new highest break for him at the tournament.

Ricky Walden was in superb form against an out of sorts Michael Holt. He was clinical in the balls and his overall game looked very good, however he won’t be given the same chances against Neil Robertson – assuming the Thunder from Down Under progresses.

Extremely talented Welsh youngster Michael White made his breakthrough in defeating Mark Williams. It was a solid performance against an under cooked Mark Williams who’s dreadful season ended on a low. With Stephen Maguire losing to Dechawat Poomjaeng, White will now be the favourite to progress to his first ranking event quarter final. 

Dechawat Poomjaeng became everyone’s new favourite player when he held his nerve to defeat the World Number Four Stephen Maguire. His very slow play around the table seemed to be forgiven due to his eccentric behaviour and bright personality. However behind these strange antics was a very driven and impressive performance.

The biggest shock of the first round was Mark King’s very remarkable victory over Mark Allen. He thrived under the intense spotlight and played his best snooker when the finish line approached. It was probably the best match I’ve seen from King but, for Allen, it’s a big setback as he was heavily fancied at the start of the tournament.

Promising youngster Jack Lisowski showed he still isn’t quite ready to breakthrough as he was swept aside by Barry Hawkins. Hawkins was very clinical and cleaned up Lisowski’s mistakes.

Mark Selby wasn’t that impressive in his first round victory over Matthew Selt. However that won’t bother the Jester, winning is all that matters in round one. He will be a big favourite against Hawkins but unless he improves he could struggle.