Snooker’s British Open Returns After 17 Years
Author:
Roy Brindley
Covid-19 has seen some dramatic changes to Snooker’s traditional calendar of events. For some fans those changes are for the better. On Monday Snooker’s British Open starts in Morningside Arena Leicester. The tournament has not been on the World Snooker calendar since 2004. It now returns with ITV coverage and a huge hike in prize-money.
Mark Selby beat Shaun Murphy in the final of the 2021 Betfred World Championship in May. This week, in the opening round of the Matchroom Live British Open, they meet again. @Rigour
With a ￡470,000 prize-pool and terrestrial TV coverage, action at the British Open will be fiercely competitive. The competition has already been won many of the sport’s finest players including Steve Davis, Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, Paul Hunter and John Higgins.
First Round Face-Off Worthy of a World Final
This year all matches up to the last 16 stage are a ‘best of five frames’ format. The quarter and semi-finals are ‘best of seven frames’, and the final is a ‘best of 11 frames’ face-off. In another break from tradition all rounds in the tournament will be decided after a random draw is made. Theoretically, this could allow lowly ranked players to make a strong charge towards the final.
This random draw with no seeding has already thrown up some tasty first-round matches. A case in point being four-time and reigning World Champion Mark Selby being drawn against 2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy. This pair last met in May at the final of the 2021 Betfred World Championship.
Big Names and Big Money
The easing of Covid-19 restrictions means snooker fans will get their first opportunity to see Stephen Hendry – King of the Crucible – play live for the first time since his return from retirement nine years ago.
With four previous victories and two runner-up spots, Hendry is the British Open’s most successful player. His first-round opponent is Chris Wakelin who is 23 years Hendry’s junior. With the exception of Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has withdrawn from the tournament and the Championship League, all of the sports leading players will descend on Leicester next week chasing a slice of the British Open’s mammoth prize-pool.
The winner is set to receive ￡100,000 and the star names towards the head of the betting believed most likely to claim that prize include: Judd Trump, John Higgins, Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen and the aforementioned hometown hero, Mark Selby. The 38-year-old goes the moniker ‘The Jester from Leicester’!
But this is a 128-player tournament and there is a fine mix of emerging talent, elder statesmen and female players in this year’s Matchroom Live British Open. Amongst those is Reanne Evans, the all-time greatest female player, who was the first woman to reach the final stages of a ranking snooker tournament in 2013.
Awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours for her services to women’s snooker, Evans now competes on the pro tour. Unfortunately for her, she meets Mark Allen in the opening round and the world’s number 12 ranked player will be a tough nut to crack.
British Open’s Special Place
Of the old-guard, 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty has an easier opening round opponent. He plays Zak Surety, the world ranked 118, on Monday. Speaking to Online-Casinos.com’s news desk, the popular Irishman was full of enthusiasm for the competition.
He told us: “The British Open has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts especially mine. I first played it in Derby’s Assembly Rooms, which I understand has sadly since burned down. I also enjoyed playing the competition when it was held in Plymouth.
“It is fantastic to have the competition back on the calendar. Don’t get me wrong I’ve never got beyond the semi-finals – albeit one year I played with shingles and that didn’t help – it’s simply the British Open has a wonderful history. As a kid, I can recall watching Alex Higgins playing the competition and I also clearly recall him getting beaten by Bob Chaperon one year. But, put simply, this is a special competition with great history which has been won by some of the game’s greats.”
Jack Attack or A Chinese Newcomer
Doherty has his spot on the World Snooker Tour courtesy of an invitational tour card that has also been afforded to Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and James Wattana.
“Sadly James, who is a three-time finalist in this competition, cannot play this year. Living in Thailand he has travel restrictions as does Marco Fu. I hope we get to see both of them at the tables sometime this season,” says Doherty.
As for those that will be playing and outside of the market principles, we asked Doherty, who mixes his snooker playing with punditry and hosting a radio show in his native Dublin, who to look out for in the week ahead.
” The games are a short format, a race to three frames in the early stages. This is not to everyone’s liking or playing style. Of course, the FA Cup style makes things so exciting and could allow an up-and-comer to get a deep run and make a career-defining breakthrough.
There are a few players to look out for. Jack Lisowski has been beaten in a number of finals and this could be his year. He will certainly love the short format and he’s amongst a number of players to look out for this season.
It could be a big year for Chinese players too. Yan Bingtao is currently considered the most talented and could have a big say in the British Open but keep a lookout for Zhou Yuelong who is rapidly climbing up the rankings and is a really nice lad.
There is also a left-hander I like, Zhao Xintong. He is another that is going up the rankings and he has a wonderfully smooth cue action. Definitely one to follow”– 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty, 1997 World Champion
Live and Action Packed
The British Open will run from August 16 to 22 inclusive and will be broadcast by ITV4 and the event’s sponsor Matchroom Live.
Match and in-play betting will be available at all good bookmakers who will also stream the action live. Punters will be keen to see who wins this returning competition, with Higgins still the defending champion, having won at the last tournament in 2004.
Higgins is tied with Stephen Hendry for the most victories at the event, each with four. Hendry has also been a runner-up twice, with Higgins only losing one final in his time at the British Open.
