Top 16 in the world confirm their presence at Bendigo Stadium: 2011 Australian Goldfields Open
World’s Top 16 snooker players have confirmed their attendance at the Bendigo Stadium in Victoria, Australia where 2011 Australian Goldfields Open will be organised. The event is the very first high
ranking event in Australia and the players are very excited for snooker’s return to Australia.
Australian Goldfields Open 2011 will run from July 18 to 24 after the qualifiers, starting from June 30 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield. Players from around the world will participate in
the qualifiers to reach to the Last-32 of the tournament, where they will face the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and Stephen Hendry.
Mark Selby is all set for the Australian event and hopes to better his last year's performance. He had a convincing last season as he made it to the final matches of three major ranking events. However,
luck deserted the Englishman each time and he couldn't win any of the titles.
While speaking to the media, Selby said, “I didn't think we'd be going to Australia in the near future. I've never been to Australia before and I'm not sure how much of it I'll get to see, as I'll
be there to work and hopefully do well in the tournament. I'm just pleased that we are moving the game into new territories.”
On the other hand, the World Snooker Championship 2011 runner-up, Judd Trump is also excited about the event. Trump’s first ever ranking event win in the Bank of Beijing China Open 2011 was the most
memorable moment of his career and his performance graph after that title went sky high.
Reaching the final of Betfred.com World Snooker Championship against the world number two John Higgins was yet another tremendous achievement for the Bristolian potter.
Trump spoke to the reporters on the prospects of snooker being a global game, “It's the first event we've had in Australia so it will be new to everyone. No one will know what to expect but it's great
for snooker to become more of a global game. It's up to us now to help make snooker more popular there and I'm looking forward to showing the fans what I can do.”
The world’s Top 16 snooker players are:
Mark Williams, Wales
John Higgins, Scotland
Mark Selby, England
Ding Junhui, China
Neil Robertson, Australia
Ali Carter, England
Shaun Murphy, England
Stephen Maguire, Scotland
Judd Trump, England
Graeme Dott, Scotland
Ronnie O'Sullivan, England
Mark Allen, Northern Ireland
Peter Ebdon, England
Matthew Stevens, Wales
Jamie Cope, England
Stephen Hendry, Scotland
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