Rundili 2010 World Snooker Wuxi Classic Preview
The first professional tournament of the 2010/11 snooker season kicks off tomorrow with the Wuxi Classic in China.
Defending champion Mark Allen is one of 12 players who will be competing in the tournament, and among those challenging are top-16 players Stephen Hendry, a seven time world champion; Shaun Murphy, the reigning Premier League champion; Mark Selby, the reigning Masters champion; Marco Fu and Ryan Day; as well as world No. 19 Joe Perry.
Home favourites Ding Junhui, the reigning UK champion, and Liang Wenbo will be flying the flag for China, with local talents Xiao Guodong, Yu Delu and Tian Pengfei completing the 12-man line-up.
Allen beat Ding 6-0 in last year’s final to claim his maiden professional title. Speaking after his triumph, Allen said: “Although this isn't a ranking tournament, it still means a lot to me, to get my first professional title under my belt. I've shown that I can handle myself on the big stage and I hope that this title is the start of things to come."
For the first time in his career he returns to defend his crown. “It is something I haven’t experienced before so I am really looking forward to it. I am not expecting much, as after I lost to Graeme Dott at the Crucible, I didn't pick my cue up for a few weeks. I’ve spent several hours practicing over the last few days and hopefully I’ll find my rhythm,” said Allen.
Ding was the champion when the event was first staged in 2008. He beat Selby 6-5 in an enthralling final, after Selby had come from 5-2 down to take the match to a decider. It is a tournament that the UK champion enjoys playing in. “It’s a good tournament in the summer and every year I’ve done well. It is good for the people to watch top snooker and Wuxi is my home town. I like playing in front of my home fans,” said Ding.
Welsh star Day will be hoping to make a positive start to the season by having an impact over the next few days, as his place in the elite 16 is under threat. “I’m starting outside the top 16 provisionally so I want to stay in the 16. The tournaments are always well received and get a lot of coverage in China. I’m looking to get some wins under my belt and make a good start to the season,” said Day.
The first matches will see Marco Fu playing Liang Wenbo, and Stephen Hendry taking on Xiao Guodong.
While in the evening, Ryan Day plays Yu Delu and Mark Selby faces Tian Pengfei.
Allen, Murphy, Ding and Perry automatically enter in the quarter-finals, and will be in action on Friday.
The matches up until the semi-finals will be played over the best of nine frames, with the semi-finals the best of 11 frames and the final the best of 17 frames. The final of the event will take place on Sunday.
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