After a tough opening six days in Sheffield, the 16 Judgement Day matches are now known for the final World Championship qualifying round.
Taking part across Tuesday and Wednesday, Judgement Day is the final chapter to this year’s preliminaries at the English Institute of Sport.
The remaining 32 competitors have all won a couple of matches to reach this point, with one additional victory required for a berth at the Crucible Theatre.
The venue stages of the highly-anticipated 2019 edition of snooker’s blue riband showpiece gets under way on Saturday.
While offering no prizes in terms of silverware, Judgement Day can often be one of the most dramatic rounds in the entire campaign.
It’s not unusual to see some of the most composed competitors on the circuit crack under the extreme heat.
While last year’s selection of Judgement Day matches yielded a surprising zero deciding frame thrillers, that was most definitely the exception which proved the rule.
A year earlier in 2017, three matches went the distance, including the memorable 10-9 victory for Fergal O’Brien over David Gilbert when the Irishman took more than two hours to clinch the final frame.
On this occasion, O’Brien bowed out in the penultimate stage while Gilbert is already assured of his spot in Thursday’s draw after breaking into the elite top 16 for the first time in his career.
Judgement Day has been made even more exciting in recent seasons thanks to the live streaming made available by World Snooker on its Facebook and YouTube channels.
Commentary will be provided by Rob Walker and Neal Foulds with the pair dipping in an out of all the Judgement Day matches at appropriately important moments.
Tuesday’s action includes only the first session and can be considered a gentle warm-up to the excitement of Wednesday’s super finale.
With Michael Judge and James Cahill facing off against each other, an amateur is guaranteed a spot at the Crucible for the first time.
The likes of former world champion Graeme Dott will be attempting to secure a return, as well as previous finalists Matthew Stevens and Ali Carter.
There are a total of nine Chinese cueists hoping to qualify and beat last year’s record of five who reached the first round proper.
With just a few days to go until Mark Williams enters the arena as the defending champion, Judgement Day is a good place to whet the appetite for the festival of snooker to come.
World Championship Final Qualifying Round
Tian Pengfei vs Matthew Stevens (5pm sessions BST)
Gary Wilson vs Liang Wenbo (11am sessions)
Luo Honghao vs Tom Ford (5pm sessions)
Robert Milkins vs Anthony McGill (11am session)
Graeme Dott vs Kurt Maflin (5pm sessions)
Li Hang vs Ben Woollaston (5pm sessions)
Daniel Wells vs Martin Gould (11am sessions)
Michael Georgiou vs Yan Bingtao (11am sessions)
Ali Carter vs John Astley (5pm sessions)
Eden Sharav vs Zhou Yuelong (11am sessions)
Mark Davis vs Lyu Haotian (11am sessions)
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Joe O’Connor (11am sessions)
Michael Judge vs James Cahill (11am sessions)
Lu Ning vs Scott Donaldson (5pm sessions)
Matthew Selt vs Zhao Xintong (5pm sessions)
Martin O’Donnell vs Joe Perry (5pm sessions)
💬 @antsmcgill: “I really want to do well again”
The Glaswegian Gladiator overcame Duane Jones today to move within one match of a fifth consecutive appearance at the @Betfred World Championship.
Robert Milkins stands in his way #ilovesnooker pic.twitter.com/AF8nudAyYF
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) April 15, 2019
Who has more advantage top 16 players or the qualifers
Hi FRINDS