World Snooker : Mitchell Mann to face Shaun Murphy in Players Tour Championship
The draw for World Snooker's first edition has brought about a number of surprises, this year in the Players Tour Championship there will be a number of matches which will see various unknown players facing up against some of the big names in the game.
The big tournament which will be held at Sheffield's World Snooker Academy will have no less than 128 players in total fighting it out for prize money of 50,000 pounds.
Mitchell Mann, an amateur from Birmingham who made his name after winning the Junior Pot Black in 2007, will be up against Shaun Murphy who is a former World Champion in the opening round on Friday.
The young man trying not to get under pressure by the big match is looking to find positives in his first encounter. Mann said that he feels honoured to play someone of Murphy’s calibre in his opening match, and is looking forward to test himself against one of the best. He added that is not every day that a young player like him gets to play such a seasoned name, and he will do all he can to make the most of it.
There will be 73 professional players taking part in the first round draw of the big event, which will include big names such as Jimmy White, Mark Selby, and Mark Williams. Yet only 9 of the world top 16 will be taking part in the championship which is due to some players being on much needed Holidays, while other are busy with other commitments.
Barry Hearn, the World Snooker chairman expressed his joy about having number of big names in the tournament, Benn said that he is absolutely delighted by the strength of the field for the first PTC event.
Although keeping in mind that many of big names will not be able to take part in the event, they were able to get 73 of the 96 professionals in the country, which is a very good percentage.
Henn went on to say that , there is enough motivation and incentives for senior and junior players alike, there are ranking points to be won and not to forget there is also good money on offer for the winners. He is sure that all players will be doing all they can to get their names up on the rankings, while seniors will be cautious of the fact that a loss to any new name will see them lose significant ground on the rankings. Benn said that he would love to see all players giving it their all, and it would be great if some of the young players are able to overhaul the big names and make their mark in the tournament.
In total 12 Player Tour Championships will be held till the end of the season, 6 of which will be played in the United Kingdom, and other 6 will take place in other countries in Europe, where players from far away countries such as Brazil and Malta will also compete.
The championship will culminate with the top 24 players from the 12 respective events coming together, to compete for the ultimate championship's final, which will be held in 2011 from 17-20 March.
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