by elliott west
With less than twenty-four hours left till the start of the Shanghai Masters, I would like to look at the possible permutations that this tournament could throw up. All eyes will of course be on Ronnie O’Sullivan who has chosen this event to make a return after an earlier announcement that he would only take part in several tournaments in the season. Ronnie could be described as rusty but don’t count him out of the mix as we all know how he won the World Championship after a twelve month absence. Judd Trump has literally trumped his rival, knocking him off the number one spot and looked unstoppable in the recent International Championship. Trump is the best candidate to stop Ronnie in his tracks as he has beaten him several times before in other events. However we all know that O’Sullivan won this event twelve months ago and this was a catalyst for a run of several wins.
Elsewhere the likes of Yan Bingtao, Shaun Murphy, Stephen Maguire and Mark Allen have all showed promise at the start of this season with Bingtao winning the Riga Masters in the first minor tournament of the season and more recently Maguire in the Six Reds Championship, promise is not the same as success in snooker though and your worth has to be transferred into tournament wins.
China is a great place to stamp your authority on the World Snooker stage and if you can win in front of these huge crowds then you can win in any location.The Chinese audience treat snooker players like rock stars and roll out the red carpet whenever they play on their shores. No one feels the pressure more than the instigator of this Chinese hype than Ding Junhui.
Ding hasn’t cut the mustard in recent years and has failed to live up to the original anticipation bestowed on him when pundits predicted that he would be a world champion. He has of course won the Masters and the UK Championship but to date the world championship title has eluded him. Shanghai may rejuvenate his form or alternatively send him heading towards the venue car park. In his heart of hearts, Ding knows that he is capable of beating any top player and can run rings around any player outside the top sixteen. The trick for any player though is to past your first opponent and with a series of wildcards being thrown into the mix, any unknown could beat a familiar face in round one.
The Shanghai Masters will be the first real tester of how well players are performing and opens up the path nicely for the main tranche of the season.Perhaps here you will see a few more of potential Chinese newcomers who want to break out onto the circuit. I have seen this a few times when what looks like someone who has barely left school, knocks in a hundred plus break and is capable of matching his opponent’s safety. However on the day, the television table and bright lights get to him and he starts missing the easy balls. A critical error that leads the opposing player to snap back into gear and punish him for his mistakes. There are four amateur qualifiers in this year’s Shanghai Masters and they will play as follows:
Ali Carter v Zhang Yi
Ding Junhui v Zhao Jinbo
Jack Lisowski v Wu Yize
David Gilbert v Cao Jin
Only Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham escape these potential qualifier banana skins in the first round and with the law of averages at work, it seems likely that one of these top players may get toppled by their novice rival. It does however beggar belief that Shanghai is not a ranking event but this will be an enthralling week of sport on Eurosport. What is interesting to note is that Ronnie O’Sullivan has spent some time in Shanghai prior to the event and has been enjoying the local culture, posting picture on his social media. With a relaxed Ronnie on the scene, players will have to up their game if they are to proceed as rusty Ronnie may turn out to be the Shanghai surprise and prove to be a well oiled machine that captures the title for a second year in a row.
