By Elliott West
Introduction
As thoughts and minds prepare to think about the joyous time of Christmas with friends and family, the snooker calendar has one more treat for its fans before the shutters are temporarily pulled down for Christmas. This year, the English Open has moved from its November slot to follow the Scottish Open. Before we can come up for celebrating Gary Wilson’s tremendous maiden ranking title in Edinburgh, all eyes this week will be on the cream of the crop as they prepare to do battle at a new venue, the Brentwood Centre in Essex.
Essex is of course steeped in snooker history with the famous Romford Snooker Club where Barry Hearn’s Matchroom company hailed from and a star was born in the form of Steve Davis. Essex has produced some fabulous players over the years including Ali Carter, Stuart Bingham and Bingham to name but a few. Still, a hub for exhibitions and Pro-ams, this leafy and tranquil county still does the game proud and so is a perfect setting for this year’s English Open with an impressive glass trophy dedicated to snooker great, Steve Davis.
Finding Form
Last year this tournament, held in November at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, was won by Neil Robertson. The Australian defeated John Higgins in the final, producing some blistering snooker to win 9-6. £70,000 richer, Neil seemed unbeatable at the time with a good run of form but recently he has lost out to two Joe’s, Joe Perry 6-2 in the UK Championship and Joe O’Connor 6-3 in the Scottish Open respectively for the chance to win titles. A heavy cold in recent weeks hasn’t helped. This year he is up against Andrew Pagett in the first round and is definitely the favourite to win the match unless the snooker gods say otherwise.
With the winner’s share increased to £80,000 this year, it is so hard to predict a champion in this event. With so many surprise winners in the season, you seem to be cursed if you back a usual suspect from the top eight to claim glory. Yes, Mark Allen and Gary Wilson have won the last two tournaments but there is no guarantee that their form will continue as the season rolls its last throw of the dice. No player has yet won all three titles in this BetVictor Home Nations series with Neil Robertson being the closest, winning the Scottish Open in 2016 and the Welsh Open in 2019 since the tournament series was first established in the 2016-17 season.
All eyes will again be on Ronnie O’Sullivan who won this event in 2017, beating Kyren Wilson 9-2 in the final. O’Sullivan has been drawn against the talented, young, Belgian, Ben Mertens. Mertens has shown promise, winning a number of amateur tournaments before turning professional this year, thanks to winning the EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championship where he beat Florian Nüßle 5-1 in the final and so earned himself a two-year tour card as a result. It really depends on which Ronnie turns up for this event if he seats this player like a fly or stumbles at the first hurdle. O’Sullivan can shut down sometimes, especially when his mind isn’t firmly on snooker and so he may be thinking more about Christmas than the green baize as the festive season rapidly approaches.
Additional Entertainment
Outside of the tournament arena, fans will also be able to participate in Essex cheer with CueZone taking centre stage. A great addition to any tournament, this is a snooker zone where ticket holders can interact with WPBSA coaches, have a few shots on a half-sized snooker table, receive free coaching and have a go at the many challenges the superb coaches devise. There are also interactive games at the event and a number of Christmas stalls, providing snacks, tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages.
