The best eight players in the world this season competing for a huge prize over long format matches – this week’s Tour Championship is going to be a real treat for snooker fans.
The brand new tournament has come into existence this year as the climax of the Coral Cup, completing the trio which also features the World Grand Prix and Players Championship.
Whichever player comes away from those three events with the most prize money will claim the Coral Cup, but there is so much more to play for than this newly minted trophy.
The Llandudno showdown is the perfect testing ground for 2019 World Championship success and will provide us with forensic evidence for who will triumph at the Crucible.
The top eight men on the one-year money list head straight into best of 17 quarter-final contests – this doesn’t happen at any other point on the calendar.
Two of those quarter-finals are Mark Selby vs Neil Robertson and Judd Trump vs Mark Williams, matches that would be fitting finals for any other tournament.
Over the long distance we will find out everything we need to know about where these players’ games are with the World Championship starting next month.
Has Williams finally been on the practice table? Has Selby rustled up some much-needed form from somewhere? Are Trump and Robertson still in the title-winning rhythm they have shown already in 2019?
Forget best of seven matches in Gibraltar against amateurs, this is elite level snooker, played over hours in a well-respected venue. This is laboratory-standard testing of the finest cueman in the game.
The final of the Tour Championship will be played over a whopping three sessions from Saturday to Sunday evening.
The best of 25 frame battle is the longest format on the calendar outside of the World Championship – the perfect preparation for anyone looking to triumph in Sheffield.
Any player that can perform consistently well through three epic contests and get their hands on the trophy in north Wales will be an obvious choice for world title glory in South Yorkshire.
The man expected to do just that is Ronnie O’Sullivan after his memorable Players Championship win earlier this month.
The ‘Rocket’ not only surged to a comfortable 10-4 victory in the final against an exceptional Robertson, but he made his 1,000th century break in the process.
O’Sullivan has won four of the nine tournaments he has entered this season and reached two further finals. He is, unsurprisingly, the hot favourite for the Tour and World Championships as a result.
However, Llandudno will be the perfect test of just how far he is in front of the chasing pack and whether any of them can pip him to the finish line.
If Ronnie dismisses the significant challenges ahead of him in Llandudno then no rational punter will be betting against him in Sheffield.
But if there is an upset on the north coast of Wales then a cat will be thrown among the numerous pigeons that surround the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield city centre.
One-year ranking list
1 Mark Allen £394,000
2 Ronnie O’Sullivan £353,500
3 Judd Trump £307,000
4 Neil Robertson £305,500
5 Mark Selby £246,500
6 Mark Williams £223,500
7 Stuart Bingham £213,000
8 Kyren Wilson £190,500
9 David Gilbert £186,000
10 Jack Lisowski £156,500
11 John Higgins £141,000
12 Ali Carter £123,000
13 Barry Hawkins £122,000
14 Joe Perry £121,500
15 Jimmy Robertson £120,725
16 Stephen Maguire £115,500
Judd Trump has already beaten O’Sullivan in the finals of the Northern Ireland Open and Masters this season, also winning the World Grand Prix.
If Trump can oust Williams and Ronnie can beat Stuart Bingham in their respective quarter-finals, the two will meet in the final four.
The man who comes through that potential slug-fest on the baize will have taken a significant step towards World Championship glory.
Whatever happens in Llandudo, the annual world title puzzle will have a few more pieces in place.
Tour Championship Quarter-finals
- Mark Allen vs Kyren Wilson
- Neil Robertson vs Mark Selby
- Judd Trump vs Mark Williams
- Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Stuart Bingham
The Tour Championship begins at 1pm on Tuesday 18 March and is being shown on ITV4.
MORE: Mark Williams lauds ‘almost unbeatable’ Ronnie O’Sullivan ahead of Tour Championship
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