World Championship 2023 - Final

 Luca Brecel V Mark Selby

We have our finalists!!

After earning his first win at the crucible a couple of weeks ago, it's hard to believe Brecel has navigated his way through the field and has a great chance of lifting the trophy tomorrow evening, he's played some lovely stuff mixing up safety play with big breaks!

Although it feels like weeks ago now, winning 7 frames in a row to defeat world number 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter final is something Brecel will look back on with immense pride.

At times criticised for his mentality in tight games, Brecel has shown over the last 2 weeks that he can compete with the best and that was evident in wins over Ricky Walden, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan & Si Jiahui.

Mark Selby is through to his sixth World Championship Final! He emerges from a Crucible epic against Mark Allen 17-15! But how much has he left in the tank? The gruelling nature of the semi win against Allen must've took alot out of him!

The pairs most recent meeting was in this years English open final with Selby coming out on top 9-6.

He may have the advantage on H2H but Selby will have seen the manner in which Brecel came back from 14-5 down to win his semi final 17-15, he will know when his opponent gains any sort of momentum he is hard to stop.

As we've come to expect, the ability to grind his opponent down was in full view in his semi final win against Allen, the temperament he was able to call on at crucial stages of the match shows why he has won the sports showpiece event 4 times, hoping to gain his 5th on Monday!

I feel the marathon semi final will eventually catch up on Selby in this and Brecel can take advantage, no doubt Selby will fight until the end though.

Prediction Luca Brecel 18-15 Mark Selby 

World Championship 2023 - Semi Final

In what's been a brilliant tournament so far, we've seen some unbelievable performances and no matter what result we get, there's guaranteed to be a first time finalist.

• Semi Final 1

Luca Brecel V Si Jiahui

I would never have believed If I was told at the start of the tournament that the semi final from quarters 1 & 2 would be Brecel V Jiahui,

Having won 7 frames in a row in the final session to defeat world number 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan, the Belgians confidence must be through the roof! While also producing some great form to beat 'class of 92' legend Mark Williams in the last 16, things could've been alot different as he had to battle through a decider with Ricky Walden in round 1.

Apart from reaching the final of the English Open in December, we have not seen the form Brecel has shown over the last 10 days in Sheffield regularly.

The last couple of weeks can only be described as life changing for Si Jiahui.

The 20 year old arrived in Sheffield for his first appearance at the crucible and could hardly of dreamt of progressing to his first semi final.

With victories against Shaun Murphy, Robert Milkins and Anthony McGill, he will have no fear of coming up against World number 10 Brecel.

He will become the youngest Crucible semi finalist since Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1996,

This will be a new experience for both players and nerves can be expected, they've never met before so predicting the winner is far from easy.

As Brecel is slightly more experienced when it comes to these big events and we could see how the pressure effected Si Jiahui at times during his quarter final, I'm going to give Brecel the nod in this one.

Prediction Luca Brecel 17-13 Si Jiahui.

• Semi final 2

Mark Allen V Mark Selby

A match that on paper looks 50/50, it's very hard to split these two, as Allen played brilliantly in the first half of the season, whereas similarly Selby played his best stuff in the second half!

The pair have played 22 times previously and it couldn't be closer with 11 wins apiece, this has all the makings of being a classic.

Allen had to come through tests against Fan Zhengyi, Stuart Bingham & Jak Jones to get to this stage, showing strong signs of good breakbuilding & safety play throughout.

He has become a different animal within the last 12 months and will relish the opportunity to play world number 2 Selby in such a big match.

Selby has also made light work of his opponents Matthew Selt, Gary Wilson & John Higgins up to this point.

Higgins was the form player coming into their match but Selby dominated from going 4-1 down to win 12 of the following 15 frames and cross the line with ease.

Selby has been the form player on tour in the second half of the season winning both the English Open & WST Classic, it's great to see one of the stars of the game returning to form after struggling previously.

He seems to come alive at the crucible and will have his eyes firmly set on claiming his 5th World Title on Monday.

Both players are masters at grinding down their opponent, the winner will be whichever player is more clinical when they get their opportunities, It's very hard to see this matches outcome anything other being very close.

I'm going to give Allen a tentative vote to come through a classic and reach his 1st world final.

Prediction Mark Allen 17-15 Mark Selby

World Championship 2023 - Quarter Finals

Quarter Final 1 

• Ronnie O'Sullivan V Luca Brecel

Brecel showed in the previous round that he can compete with the best, defeating Mark Williams 13-11 in a career best result, having come into the years World Championship still seeking his first victory at the crucible on his 6th attempt.
This however, will be a different test as we seen the emphatic win for Ronnie over Vafaei in the last 16 with a session to spare,
I have a feeling if Ronnie is in similar form, how well Brecel is playing will not matter as there is very few players that can live with Ronnie when on song.

Prediction: Ronnie O'Sullivan 13-8 Luca Brecel

Quarter Final 2

• Anthony McGill V Si Jiahui

Having played 3 times previously, McGill has yet to beat Jiahui before, They have yet to play in a match longer than best of 9 and McGill will know that! The way he grinded his way through to beat Lisowski was very impressive and will approach this similarly.

On his Crucible debut, 20 year old Jiahui has gained a lot of fans over the last couple of weeks showing no signs of nerves especially when beating Shaun Murphy in a final frame decider & Robert Milkins,

I've been very impressed with the way McGill has beaten both Trump & Lisowski and have a feeling he will continue on his run to reach his second semi final since 2020.

Prediction: Anthony McGill 13-7 Si Jiahui

Quarter Final 3

• Mark Allen V Jak Jones

Most recent meeting between the pair was in the Turkish Masters in 2022 where Jones came out on top 6-5, that suggests the pair are well matched and this could be another close affair.

Having come through matches against Barry Hawkins, Ali Carter & Neil Robertson is seriously impressive in his first year at the crucible and it shows the experience has not phased him at all so far.

First half of the season's form player Allen has had a comfortable route to this stage so far, defeating Fan Zhengyi & Stuart Bingham with minimum fuss,  Allen will be eyeing up his first semi final since 2008 and no doubt will be favourite going into this one.

Prediction: Mark Allen 13-8 Jak Jones

Quarter Final 4

• John Higgins V Mark Selby

No doubt the tie of the round, two absolute legends of the game in what could easily be a World Championship Final, the pair have met 34 times over the years, Selby holds a slender advantage (18-16),

Higgins' emphatic victory over Kyren Wilson 13-2 in the previous round showed after a relatively quiet season, he is returning to form and that is a worrying sign for any opponent he may come up against,

Selby came into this season's showpiece event as a strong contender as always for this title, he recently won the WST classic where he came through against Higgins 4-2 in the quarter final, we've seen his compete at the top level for so long even when not at the top of his game,

The pair played in 2017's World Championship Final with Selby prevailing 18-15 in a classic.

Everything points towards a tight match and is very difficult to call a winner.

Prediction John Higgins 13-11 Mark Selby

World Championship 2023 - last 16 - Quarters 3 & 4

• Mark Allen V Stuart Bingham

This match can be described as a contrast of styles as Allen's more controlled approach comes up against Bingham's all out attack,

Having met 13 times previously, Allen holds a slender advantage with 7 wins, both players came through convincingly in round 1 ( Allen V Fan Zhengy, Bingham V Gilbert).

In a best of 25 frame match, there is likely to be big breaks and centuries in this one, a tough match to call, I feel Allen will have the advantage throughout the safety battles which may swing the result in his favour.

Sessions:

1. Thursday 20th April - 7pm
2. Friday 21st April - 2.30pm
3. Saturday 22nd April - 10am

Prediction: Mark Allen 13-10 Stuart Bingham

• Jak Jones V Neil Robertson

Jones has done brilliantly to reach the last 16 especially beating world number 12 Ali Carter in the previous round, but I have a feeling his run will come to an end here having seen Robertson in top form in his win against Wu Yize, making 4 centuries including two breaks of 146.

Sessions:

1. Friday 21st April - 10am
2. Friday 21st April - 7pm
3. Saturday 22nd April - 2.30pm

Prediction: Jak Jones 5-13 Neil Robertson 

• Kyren Wilson V John Higgins

Tie of the round, Wilson showed in round 1 that he is in brilliant form and will be hard to beat, Higgins also convincingly defeated David Grace 10-3,  

A repeat of the 2018 world championship semi final, that day Higgins came out on top (17-13), Higgins has a big advantage on H2H over Wilson (13-4).

In what is a very tough match to call, I feel like Higgins may have the edge judging by previous matches between the pair, just.

Sessions:

1. Sunday 23rd April - 10am
2. Sunday 23rd April - 7pm
3. Monday 24th April - 1pm

Prediction: Kyren Wilson 12-13 John Higgins

• Gary Wilson V Mark Selby 

Selby has a strong advantage over Wilson on h2h (9-2), but they met at this stage in 2019 with Wilson coming out on top (13-10), I feel Selby will be eager to reverse that result and showed some of his brilliant battling qualities in the final session to cross the line in round 1 against Selt.

Wilson was also pushed hard by Slessor in round 1 (10-8) so both players will be match sharp.

Sessions:

1. Saturday 22nd April - 7pm
2. Sunday 23rd April - 2.30pm
3. Tuesday 24th April - 7pm

Prediction: Gary Wilson 9-13 Mark Selby

World Championship 2023 - last 16 - Quarters 1 & 2

• Ronnie O'Sullivan V Hossein Vafaei

After Vafaei's comments about Ronnie last year, there was always a small rivalry between these two but the fact Vafaei again branded Ronnie "disrespectful" following his win in round 1 this week against Ding Junhui the rivalry has been heightened which sets up the meeting between the pair nicely. 

Vafaei played brilliantly in the second session of his win making breaks of 122 & 117 on the way to outplaying his Chinese opponent.

On the other hand, Ronnie was far from his best in beating Pang Junxu but will Vafaei's comments be the perfect catalyst to fire him up for a tilt at winning the title for his 8th time.

There have been 3 meetings between the pair, Ronnie leads the H2H 2-1,

Sessions: 

1. Saturday 21st April - 2.30pm
2. Sunday 22nd April - 2.30pm
3. Monday 23rd April - 10am

Prediction: Ronnie O'Sullivan 13-10 Hossein Vafaei

• Luca Brecel V Mark Williams

Having come through a final frame decider to get his first crucible win on his 6th attempt, Brecel should feel less pressure, he'll also go into this match as the underdog which will suit him.

Williams reached the last 16 with relative ease, defeating Jimmy Robertson 10-5, making one century. He will see this an opportunity to possibly meet his "class of 92" rival Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter final.

Sessions:

1. Thursday 20th April - 1pm
2. Friday 21st April - 10am
3. Friday 21st April - 7pm

Prediction: Luca Brecel 9-13 Mark Williams

• Anthony McGill V Jack Lisowski

A defeat of world number 4 and masters champion Judd Trump in round 1 adds to McGill's ever growing list of scalps he's achieved at the crucible, it would've been easy for him to back down once Trump had reduced the deficit to 7-6 but instead he took control to win the remaining 3 frames.

He will be full of confidence and will be eyeing up going further than the semi final he reached in 2020.

Lisowski made hard work of coming through 10-7 against Noppon Saenghkam having raced into a 9-4 lead, He had played some lovely stuff in the early parts of that match so plenty for him to be positive about. 

Sessions:

1. Saturday 22nd April - 10am'
2. Sunday 23rd April - 2.30pm
3. Monday 24th April - 7pm

Prediction: Anthony McGill 13-8 Jack Lisowski

World Championship 2023 Quarter 3 & 4

Quarter 3:

Mark Allen 10-5 Fan Zhengyi

Only playing once before, in the German Masters 2022 with Allen winning convincingly (5-0) even though Zhengyi has the better form at the moment with impressive wins against well fancied Maguire & Boiko, Zhengyi will no doubt come into this one as a big underdog and rightfully so after the season Allen has had winning the Uk Championship & World Grand Prix. He will have his sights set on adding the tours showpiece event to his list of achievements & looks well placed to possibly do so.

Stuart Bingham 10-5 David Gilbert

On paper, one of the ties of round 1, both players love to attack and centuries are almost guaranteed in this one, Bingham is holding a convincing lead over Gilbert on H2H (12-0), It’s hard to see Gilbert overturning that when the stakes are so high but wins against Barry Pinches & Matthew Stevens last week will give him momentum and confidence going into his 9th crucible appearance.

Ali Carter 10-4 Jak Jones

Having come through against highly fancied Barry Hawkins, Jak Jones’ confidence will be sky high going into his debut at the crucible and his H2H record against Carter is also a positive (2-0). Carter will be be a different prospect though as he is a player that thrives at the crucible, he’ll definitely fancy his chances of going one step further than runner up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in both 2008 & 2012 after having such a good year getting to the players championship final & winning the German masters.

Neil Robertson 10-6 Wu Yize

Really interesting match between 2 players that are meeting each other for the first time, as we have come across in recent years, Neil Robertson is not a fan of the crucible and it is very surprising he has only managed to win 1 world title for a player that been near the top of the rankings for so many years. Will he get his 2nd Title in 2 weeks time? If not at the top of his game, Yize is more than capable of causing an upset as we seen 3 impressive victories in qualifying against Taylor, Pengfei & Wakelin.

Quarter 3 winner: Mark Allen

Quarter 4

Kyren Wilson 10-5 Ryan Day

Coming into this one, Wilson seems to have primed himself for a charge for the title at the crucible as he played really impressively to reach the final of the tour championship a couple of weeks ago. Although seemingly not in good spirits and mentioning retirement during qualifying, Day picked himself up to qualify for his 14th appearance. He has the advantage of the H2H (11-7). I think Wilsons experience on the big stage and ability to grind out results will see him over the line in this one.

John Higgins 10-2 David Grace

Although it has been a quiet season Grace played brilliantly to win 3 matches in qualifying and claim a spot in the crucible for the 2nd time. Unfortunately for Higgins it's been a poor season to date with winning the championship league his only success, we know the crucible brings the best out of him and he will be hoping to make up for last years semi final loss to eventual winner Ronnie O'Sullivan. Grace has yet to defeat Higgins and I can't see that changing here. A possible last 16 tie with Kyren Wilson is one to really look forward to.

Gary Wilson 10-7 Eliott Slessor

The pair have only played each other once (4-3 Wilson, British open 2022) suggesting it will be a close match and a tough one to call. Apart from his maiden ranking title in the Scottish open, Wilson's season hasn't been overly impressive with alot of early round exits but it does seem like he tailored his season to come into form around now. I was very surprised by Slessors run to qualify last week considering he barely won a match on tour this season, really impressive wins against Martin, Highfield & Yuelong. If Wilson can find some rhythm I think his scoring power will be too much for Slessor.

Mark Selby 10-4 Matthew Selt

There's not another player on tour suited to the 17 day crucible marathon as much as Mark Selby, his ability to grind down opponents over the longer format is second to none and this year rightfully so is well fancied to go close to claiming his 5th World Title. On the other hand, Selt played really well in defeating Peter Lines & Graeme Dott to reach the crucible for a 5th time, still yet to get his first win in the "home of snooker" and I have a feeling he may have to wait another year to break his duck.

Quarter 4 winner: Mark Selby

World Championship 2023 Quarter 1 & 2

In what is the most open World Championship in recent years with pros and cons surrounding all players in the field, it's very hard to decide who will be claiming the sports biggest prize on May 1st. I've tried to dissect each 1st round match and gave a score prediction along with a winner for each quarter below.

Enjoy!!

Quarter 1:

Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-3 Pang Junxu

Hardest draw possible for debutant Junxu, he will be hoping to settle in the first session leaving himself with a chance of making it close in the final session, it will be interesting to see how he handles the occasion of both playing Ronnie & making his crucible debut. Surprisingly it's been a quiet season for Ronnie but as we know, the opportunity to claim his 8th world title will no doubt whet the appetite.

Ding Junhui 10-7 Hossein Vafaei 

Really hard match to call between Ding & Vafaei, they’ve played eachother twice before (H2H 1-1) Most recently in the 2020 world grand prix with Vafaei coming out on top (4-1), this will be completely different and with Ding making his 17^th crucible appearance I think the experience of the big stage might make all the difference. 

Luca Brecel 7-10 Ricky Walden

Having played at this stage in 2018, with Walden coming out on top (10-6), these players will be familiar with each others game’s but I think it could be a similar scoreline to 2018 with Walden having momentum following good wins against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh & Ian Burns to get to this stage. 

Mark Williams 10-3 Jimmy Robertson

The pair also met at the same stage in 2018, similarly Williams won that day (10-5) and I cant see the result being different here, Williams leads Robertson on H2H 10-0. Robertson has played brilliantly to qualify but I think the step up in standard here will be too much. Comfortable win for Williams.

Quarter 1 winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan

 

Quarter 2

 

Judd Trump 10-7 Anthony McGill

Although a close meeting in the last 16 last year (Trump 13-11), McGill’s record against Trump is worrying for fans of the Scott coming into this one (9-1 Trump) but he will hope the momentum he has gained over the last week defeating both Astley (10-9) and Yupeng (10-6) will stand to him coming in against Trump. I feel the H2H record along with the experience Trump has gained throughout previous years at the crucible will be enough to get him over the line.

Jack Lisowski 10-8 Noppon Saenghkam

Having never played each other before, the result of this match is no doubt is difficult to call, Noppon has had a quiet year to date, reaching the semi final of the World Grand Prix was his standout highlight before being bet by eventual winner Mark Allen, on the other hand Lisowski has had a good year without picking up any silverware but will hope to make a good run at the crucible to hopefully claim his maiden title. The appointment of Peter Ebdon has definitely had a positive effect but there's still more to go.

 

Robert Milkins 8-10 Joe Perry

Having come through a final frame decider with good friend of his Mark Davis, I feel like Joe Perry will have a weight lifted off his shoulders and will go into his match with Milkins almost care free, the form Milkins comes to Sheffield is his career best after having a brilliant year that included a German masters semi final & a win at the Welsh open in Llandudno. Perry’s H2H record against Milkins is really good (13-2 Perry) and I think Perry can edge this one against his seeded opponent.

Shaun Murphy 10-3 Si Jiahui

 

After Murphys comments regarding “Amateur” players after his Uk Championship defeat to Jiahui in 2021, this would’ve been a first round draw he would’ve been keen to avoid, although Jiahui played excellently in beating Nuessle, Ford & Brown to get to this point, I feel Murphy will be keen to overturn the UK result and put out a statement to the rest of the field. He is the form player coming into the Championship and will be hard to stop.

Quarter 2 winner: Judd Trump

World Championship Qualifiers 2023 - Judgement Day 2

Day 2 of Judgement day and we've already seen 4 debutants qualify for their first appearance at the Crucible, lets hope we see as much quality as we did yesterday with 14 centuries and 2 deciders,

Predictions:

• Impressive victory for Davis in the previous round against Haotian but I think Perry's scoring power will be too strong. These players have met 19 times before and Perry has 13 wins, I think he'll make that 14 today.

         Mark Davis 6-10 Joe Perry

• On paper this looks like it could be a comfortable victory for Day but having momentum after 2 victories (Vs Sijun & Davies) Donaldson will have confidence that he can cause an upset. I think Day's experience and the fact he has reached the crucible 13 times previously will get him over the line.

          Ryan Day 10-7 Scott Donaldson

• With both players hoping to rescue an unimpressive season this match is a tough one to call. On paper, as Robertson is the higher ranked player he will go into this one as favourite but Hamilton will be a tough opponent and will no doubt be hard to shake off in the longer format. I think Robertson will just about make the crucible for the 5th time in a close match.

          Anthony Hamilton 8-10 Jimmy Robertson

• With both players recording 2 impressive victories to get to this stage (Higginson Vs Heathcote & O'Connor) (Grace Vs S O'Sullivan & Craigie) confidence will be high for both and with head to head evenly matched (2-2) it's hard to see anything other than a close match, Higginson to win just about.

          Andrew Higginson 10-9 David Grace

• Having followed the progression of Junxu all season and especially his run to the final of the WST classic, he continues to impress. Xu Si is another Chinese player beginning to climb up the rankings and his victory in the last round against Jamie Jones shows how he can compete comfortably at the top level. These 2 met this year in the Welsh Open that went to a decider (4-3 Junxu). I can see this match going close too.

          Xu Si 8-10 Pang Junxu

• Slessor will be desperate to qualify having played at the crucible once before in 2020 but with no crowd, however he will have to defeat a very strong opponent in Yuelong to get there. Head to head is in favour of Slessor (2-0) which will give him confidence. Yuelong's second session against Cahill was really impressive and I feel he is coming into form at the right time.

         Eliott Slessor 5-10 Zhou Yuelong

• This match has the potential to be a cracker between two former top 16 players that love to attack, with both players coming through the previous round with ease this has the makings of a late finish. There is very little to choose between the pair on head to head (6-5 Stevens) and I think todays match will be no different, Gilbert will have his eyes on reaching the crucible for the 5th year in a row while Stevens will hope to qualify 2 years in a row for the first time in 10 years. Gilbert to shade it.

         Matthew Stevens 8-10 David Gilbert

• The tie of the round between two players that would've hoped to avoid each other before the draw was made. Having both made their crucible debuts last year, both will be keen to get back to the "home of snooker". The pair have only played once before in a championship league match so it's hard to predict how they'll match up against each other. Both will be hoping to make up for average seasons by reaching the tours showpiece.

         Hossein Vafaei 10-9 Jackson Page

World Championship Qualifiers 2023 - Judgement Day 1

Day 1 of Judgement day and there's a number of really interesting matches to look forward to that could easily go all the way, let the twitching begin!

Predictions:

• Such a tough game to call, Dott has a better record Vs Selt (6-3), deciding the winner seems like a toss of a coin, hesitant vote for Dott in a match that could go either way,

         Graeme Dott 10-8 Matthew Selt

• I was impressed with how Maguire saw off Burden with ease in the previous round, his season has been very inconsistent so far but I think he might just have too much experience for an improving Zhengyi in this one.

         Fan Zhengyi 6-10 Stephen Maguire

• Having played in last years World Championship qualifiers, theses two players will know each other's game well, Jiahui will want revenge from last years defeat (6-4 Brown) and I think he has great chance of reaching the crucible for the first time after an impressive victory over Tom Ford in the previous round.

         Si Jiahui 10-7 Jordan Brown

• Although Jones is improving all the time and has got 2 really good wins to get to this point, it's very hard to see any result other than Hawkins to qualify for his 18th crucible appearance in a row.

         Jak Jones 4-10 Barry Hawkins

• Pre tournament I fancied McGill to qualify from this section, but having watched both players in their previous match (McGill Vs Astley & Yupeng Vs Woolaston) I was more impressed with Yupeng, from 5-5 he took control of the match and showed some real quality to convincingly beat Woolaston, McGill is a real sticky player and will love the battle to reach the crucible, in recent years we've seen that he targets this part of the season to peak, prime example reaching the semi final in 2020. This one could go all the way.

          Anthony McGill 10-9 Cao Yupeng

• Although 2 impressive wins to get to this point, Anda has not beaten Saengkham before and I can't see it changing today, over the last 12 months Noppon has upped his game considerably and I expect him to qualify from this section.

         Noppon Saengkham 10-6 Zhang Anda

• When taking the record between these 2 into consideration (5-0 Walden). It seems like there's only 1 winner, although when you look at both players form this season, confidence cannot be high for Walden, whereas for Thepchaiya, reaching the final of the 6 red tournament & quarter final of the Scottish Open, he comes into this match with his sights firmly set on reaching the crucible for the 5th time.

         Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-8 Ricky Walden

• World rankings suggest this could be a comfortable win for Wakelin (Wakelin 28, Yize 62). I think itll be the opposite and I have a feeling the momentum is with Yize having played 2 rounds up to this point ( Vs Taylor & Pengfei) and especially how impressively he came through against Pengfei. I think the 19 year old will follow up that victory by making his debut at this years crucible.

         Chris Wakelin 6-10 Wu Yize

World Championship Qualifiers 2023 - Predictions section 1-16

Section 1:

To Qualify: Ryan Day ✅

Section 2:

To Qualify: Pang Junxu ✅

Section 3:

To Qualify: Jimmy Robertson ✅

Section 4:

To Qualify: Zhou Yuelong ❌ Judgement day defeat to Eliott Slessor.

Section 5:

To Qualify: Hossein Vafaei ✅

Section 6:

To Qualify: Joe O'Connor ❌ Round 3 defeat to Higginson.

Section 7:

To Qualify: Joe Perry ✅

Section 8:

To Qualify: David Gilbert ✅

Section 9:

To Qualify: Anthony McGill ✅

Section 10:

To Qualify: Noppon Saengkham ✅

Section 11:

To Qualify: Matthew Selt ✅

Section 12:

To Qualify: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh ❌ Judgement day defeat to Walden.

Section 13:

To Qualify: Tom Ford ❌ Round 3 defeat to Jiahui.

Section 14:

To Qualify: Tian Pengfei ❌ Round 3 defeat to Yize.

Section 15:

To Qualify: Fan Zhengyi ✅

Section 16:

To Qualify: Barry Hawkins ❌ Judgement day defeat to Jak Jones.

World Championship Qualifiers 2023 (Sections 13-16)

Section 13:

To Qualify: Tom Ford

Main Danger: Dominic Dale

Other players in this section:

13.1 Michael Judge, Florian Nuessle, Si Jiahui

13.2 Asjad Iqbal, Jenson Kendrick, Jordan Brown

Ford has been very consistent all year and will hope to go 1 better than last years loss in the final qualifying round, I think he will, however he will have to come through a couple of tricky rounds against Si Jiahui & Dominic Dale / Jordan Brown first.

Section 14:

To Qualify: Tian Pengfei

Main Danger: Michael White 

Other players in this section: 

14.1 Aaron Hill, Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan, Chris Wakelin

14.2 Allan Taylor, Fillipp Kalinis, Wu Yize

Very tricky section with 4 or 5 players that will definitely feel they have a chance of qualifying, overall having followed Pengfei's progress over the season I feel he'll be too strong for his opponents with a possible final qualifying round against Michael White who he defeated in this years German masters.

Section 15:

To Qualify: Fan Zhengyi 

Main Danger: Alexander Ursenbacher

Other players in this section: 

15.1 Muhammad Asif, Iulian Boiko, Stuart Carrington

15.2 Alfie Burden, Rebecca Kenna, Stephen Maguire

Stephen Maguire will no doubt fancy his chances of being at the crucible for the 20th year in a row and build on his quarter final finish last year but judging on his form this season I think either Zhengyi or Ursenbacher will overcome him.

Section 16:

To Qualify: Barry Hawkins

Main Danger: Jak Jones

Other players in this section: 

16.1 Adam Duffy, Billy Joe Castle, Robbie Williams

16.2 David Lilley, Rory McLeod, Gerard Greene

Although there are some good players in this section, I feel Hawkins will be far too strong and reach the crucible for the 18th year in a row.

World Championship Qualifiers 2023 (Sections 9-12)

Section 9:

To Qualify: Anthony McGill

Main Danger: Cao Yupeng

Other players in this section: 

9.1 John Astley, Steven Hallworth, Craig Steadman

9.2 Himanshu Dinesh Jain, Daniel Wells, Ben Woolaston

Having been beaten narrowly by Judd Trump in the last 16 at the crucible last year, I think McGill will be hard to beat in this section if returning to last years form.

Section 10:

To Qualify: Noppon Saengkham

Main Danger: Xiao Guodong

Other players in this section: 

10.1 Marco Fu, Martin O'Donnell, Jimmy White

10.2 Andres Petrov, Stan Moody, Zhang Anda

Very strong section full of players that have potential to qualify, I feel though if all players are on form it will be a shootout in the final round between Noppon & Guodong, although Guodong has had a solid season reaching the winners group in the championship league, I feel Noppon will scrape through this section.

Section 11:

To Qualify: Matthew Selt

Main Danger: Graeme Dott

Other players in this section: 

11.1 Jamie O'Neil, Bulcsu Revesz, Andy Hicks

11.2 Dean Young, Haydon Pinhey, Peter Lines

In what looks to be a straightforward section up until the final round (should be Selt V Dott), it's tough to call the winner, Selt looks most likely judging on his form this season (mostly Championship League) but Dott is always a tricky opponent and has a good record against Selt (6-3 Dott).

Section 12:

To Qualify: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Main Danger: Ian Burns

Other players in this section: 

12.1 Mohamed Ibrahim, Anton Kazakov, Mark Joyce

12.2 Dylan Emery, Hai Long Ma, Ricky Walden

As we seen this time last year, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh knows exactly what is required to qualify for the Crucible, getting three wins against Pagett, Jak Jones & Selt, however he is still yet to get his first win in the main event having featured 4 times, Walden is also a seasoned campaigner and will be tough to beat.

World Championship Qualifiers 2023 (Sections 5-8)

Section 5:

To Qualify: Hossein Vafaei

Main Danger: Jackson Page

Other players in this section:

5.1 Andrew Pagett, Gao Yang, Duane Jones

5.2 Oliver Brown, Ross Muir, Martin Gould

After reaching the semi final of the 6 red championship in Thailand, Hossein Vafaei should by far be too strong for this section, although he will have a tough final qualifier against Jackson Page or Martin Gould. 

Section 6:

To Qualify: Joe O'Connor

Main Danger: David Grace 

Other players in this section:

6.1 Andy Lee, Andrew Higginson, Louis Heathcote

6.2 Sean O'Sullivan, Liam Graham, Sam Craigie

It's been a breakthrough season for O'Connor reaching the Scottish Open final and I expect him to make up for his final qualifying round defeat last year.

Section 7:

To Qualify: Joe Perry

Main Danger: Lyu Haotian

Other players in this section:

7.1 Peng Yisong, Michael Georgiou, Mark Davis

7.2 Sanderson Lam, Liam Pullen, Mitchell Mann

Apart from the final round between Joe Perry & Lyu Haotian, I feel this is a straightforward section, hard to pick between the pair but I think Perry's experience in the longer matches will see him over the line to make his first appearance at the crucible since 2019.

Section 8:

To Qualify: David Gilbert

Main Danger: Jamie Clarke

Other players in this section:

8.1 Dechawat Poomjaeng, Mink Nutcharut, Matthew Stevens

8.2 Barry Pinches, Ross Bulman, Fraser Patrick

This section has 3 qualifiers from last years World Championship so will no doubt be very competitive. Although he can be hit & miss at times, on his day David Gilbert is a top 16 player and I feel he'll have too much for the rest in this section.