The 2022 Cazoo Players Championship has been well received by snooker supporters all over the world as the top 16 players from the one-year ranking list battle it out for a winner’s cheque of £125,000.
There have already been shocks aplenty at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, and four of the top five seeds were sent packing before the quarter-final stage.
UK Champion and German Masters hero Zhao Xintong, who was top seed based on the one-year rankings, was beaten 6-3 by Barry Hawkins in his opener, while there were also first-round exits for second seed Luca Brecel and fifth seed Mark Allen.
World number three Judd Trump, who landed this event in 2017 and again in 2020, was another high-profile early casualty, after he lost 6-3 to a dominant Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Walden Seals Semi-final Spot in Dramatic Style
Ricky Walden was the first player to book his place in the Players Championship semi-finals and he couldn’t have done it under any more dramatic circumstances.
Walden had recorded a 6-2 win over Allen in the opening round but looked destined for a quarter-final exit when trailing Mark Williams 5-2 in his best-of-11 contest.
However, the Chester cueman found something deep from within to reel off the final four frames and prevail in an epic last-frame decider against the tournament’s fourth seed.
The 39-year-old has not made a final since losing to Trump at the China Open in 2016 and has been severely impacted by back problems over the last few seasons.
But evidently back to his best, Walden is one game away from a title decider now.
Walden is 12th on the one-year ranking list, highlighting his capabilities, although he has already twice lost in the semi-finals of the English and Northern Ireland Open this season.
The world number 18 will meet either Barry Hawkins or Yan Bingtao, who clash in the quarter-finals at 1pm on Thursday, and is 11/2 to be crowned champion.
O’Sullivan and Robertson Set to Renew Quality Rivalry
O’Sullivan’s reward for defeating Trump in the opening round is a quarter-final cracker with Neil Robertson on Thursday evening.
The Rocket is rated slight favourite by the layers at 5/6, although it is the 1/1 about Robertson that makes most appeal.
Over the course of the last few seasons, Robertson has been the more consistent performer and has won three of his last four meetings with the Rocket, which includes in a 6-4 triumph on his way to securing a second Masters crown last month.
Despite recently struggling with Covid-19, Robbo made breaks of 114, 100 and 94 in his 6-4 win over Kyren Wilson in his opener and may be even sharper with three days rest under his belt.
O’Sullivan is capable of beating anyone on his day but there are more mistakes creeping into his game and he can’t always be trusted to deliver.
Robertson is 15/4 to win this year’s Players Championship, with last year’s runner-up O’Sullivan 3/1 to follow up successes in 2018 and 2019.
Higgins Still in the Hunt for Title Defence
John Higgins recorded an emphatic 10-3 win over O’Sullivan to lift last year’s Players Championship and the Wizard of Wishaw remains on course in his title defence.
The Scot must first navigate his way past quarter-final opponent Jimmy Robertson – he is 2/9 to do so – but a rematch with O’Sullivan in the semis remains a possibility.
Higgins has made three finals already this season, but has had to settle for the runner-up spot at each of the English, Northern Irish and Scottish Opens.
However, Higgins is on a high after scooping the 2022 Championship League Snooker Invitational title last week and his confidence shone in his opening round scalp of Hossein Vafaei, where he made three centuries in a 6-3 win.
The world number six could be the man they all have to beat this week, so it is no surprise to see him as short as 10/3 to back up last year’s memorable victory.
*All odds correct at time of writing.