Xian Grand Prix: Preview and Draw
The inaugural Xian Grand Prix will take place at the Qujiang E-sports Centre in the North Central area of China between the 19th and 25th of August.
This new ranking event is worth £177,000 to the winner with a total prize fund of £850,000.
All matches will be over nine frames, up to and including the quarter-finals. The semi-finals will be played over eleven frames and the final will be played over two sessions and nineteen frames.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the bookmakers’ favourite to win his fifth major title in China since 2015:
Judd Trump is challenging O’Sullivan for favouritism having won four of the last big events played in China. In 2024, Trump has won both events played played in China; the World Open and the Shanghai Masters.
Twenty-three time ranking event winner, Neil Robertson, is looking to bounce back from a poor season last year which has seen him drop to number twenty-seven in the world. The Australian Triple Crown winner is without an event win since 2022 but has looked sharp in the early part of the season and is yet to lose in his six matches so far in this campaign.
World number one Mark Allen admitted to feeling a bit rusty after losing a marathon five-hour opening match to his season when going down 6-5 to Pang Junxu in the Shanghai Masters. Allen has stated he is determined to hang on to his position at the top of the World Rankings so we should expect a much improved performance form the Northern Irishman here in Xian. 12/1 looks a fair price.
Four-time World Champion Mark Selby has a great previous record in China with six big tournament wins since 2015 but the man from Leicester has been unhappy with his recent form which saw him lose in the first round of last season’s World Championship to Joe O’Connor and another recent defeat in qualifying for Wuhan Open. Retirement has been mentioned but after crunch talks with his wife Selby has decided to pursue a more selective approach to his season this time around. He did make the semi-final in the Shanghai Masters in July but with his form so inconsistent he makes very limited appeal at odds of around 12/1 for victory in this event.
Current World Champion Kyren Wilson is up to number three in the world but new World Champions often struggle with the expectation and limelight that comes with that title. Wilson has played in one big event this season so far and suffered a 6-0 defeat in Shanghai so hard to know how he will perform this time around but 18/1 looks a fair price about Wilson bouncing back to form.
Home favourite Ding Junhui is back in the top eight in the world thanks to making two big finals (World Open and UK Championship) but it is nearly five years since he lifted a trophy. Quotes of 20/1 will appeal to only Ding’s biggest fans.
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Publish date : 2024-08-15 16:03:41
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