Next up for this snooker season is a batch of ranking event qualifiers, beginning with the early stages of the 2024 Xi’an Grand Prix.
The inaugural staging of the Chinese ranking tournament is next month, but before that the field of 128 will have to be whittled down.
World number one Mark Allen, world champion Kyren Wilson, and home hero Ding Junhui are among several players who have had their matches held over to the venue stages.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, and Zhang Anda have also had their initial ties in the 2024 Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers deferred.
Xi’an Grand Prix prize money:
Winner: £177,000
Runner-up: £76,000
Semi-finals: £34,500
Quarter-finals: £22,350
Last 16: £14,000
Last 32: £9,400
Last 64: £5,350
High break: £5,000
Total: £850,000
However, there will be several marquee names in action from Thursday to Saturday at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
Both finalists from last week’s Shanghai Masters will have to negotiate their first hurdle behind closed doors if they want to feature in Xi’an.
Judd Trump faces main tour rookie Antoni Kowalski, while Shaun Murphy encounters Mitchell Mann.
Championship League Snooker winner Ali Carter meets Daniel Wells, with Mark Williams and John Higgins clashing with Liam Graham and Alexander Ursenbacher respectively.
Neil Robertson, Barry Hawkins, Gary Wilson, and Jak Jones are other high-profile competitors hoping to make it through their best-of-nine fixtures.
The venue stages of the Xi’an Grand Prix take place from August 19 to August 25, with a £177,000 top prize being awarded to the winner.
2024 Xi’an Grand Prix draw
Round of 128
Top Half
Kyren Wilson 5-2 Haris Tahir
He Guoqiang 5-4 Ashley Carty
Anthony McGill 5-0 Xing Zihao
Ricky Walden 5-3 Liam Davies
John Higgins 5-2 Alexander Ursenbacher
Sunny Akani 5-2 Fan Zhengyi
Dean Young 5-3 Robert Milkins
Jimmy Robertson 5-1 Huang Jiahao
Elliot Slessor 5-0 Manasawin Phetmalaikul
Chris Wakelin 5-4 Rory Thor
Mark Davis 5-3 Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Mark Williams 5-0 Liam Graham
Jamie Jones 5-2 Mostafa Dorgham
Stuart Bingham 5-1 Zhou Jinhao
Xu Si 5-4 Jiang Jun
Ding Junhui 4-5 Alfie Burden
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-0 Wang Yuchen
Révész Bulcsú 5-0 David Grace
Neil Robertson 5-2 Allan Taylor
Yuan Sijun 5-1 Bai Yulu
Zhang Anda 5-1 Oliver Lines
Graeme Dott 5-2 Ma Shaojun
Hossein Vafaei 5-1 Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Dylan Emery 5-2 Jackson Page
Amir Sarkhosh 5-3 Joshua Thomond
Si Jiahui 5-4 Jimmy White
Gong Chenzhi 5-4 Anthony Hamilton
Tom Ford 5-3 Stan Moody
Matthew Selt 5-2 Ian Burns
Joe O’Connor 5-3 Duane Jones
Zak Surety 5-2 Sanderson Lam
Hammad Miah w/o Luca Brecel
Bottom Half
Judd Trump 5-2 Antony Kowalski
Ma Hailong 5-3 Martin O’Donnell
Lyu Haotian 5-2 Baipat Siripaporn
Artemijs Zizins 5-3 Robbie Williams
Jak Jones 5-4 Robbie McGuigan
Tian Pengfei 5-0 Farakh Ajaib
Jack Lisowski 5-1 Ross Muir
Joe Perry 5-0 Mink Nutcharut
Jordan Brown 5-2 Liam Pullen
David Gilbert 5-1 Reanne Evans
Ben Mertens 5-4 Simon Blackwell
Gary Wilson 5-4 Long Zehuang
Paul Deaville 5-3 Wu Yize
Pang Junxu 5-2 Michael Holt
Aaron Hill 5-2 Chris Totten
Mark Selby 5-3 Wang Xinbo
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Mitchell Mann
Jamie Clarke 5-0 Cao Jin
Noppon Saengkham 5-3 Andrew Pagett
Dominic Dale 5-4 Mohammed Shehab
Daniel Wells 5-4 Ali Carter
Julien Leclercq 5-4 Ben Woollaston
Zhou Yuelong 5-1 Haydon Pinhey
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-3 Lei Peifan
Matthew Stevens 5-0 Andrew Higginson
Ryan Day 5-4 Cheung Ka Wai
Scott Donaldson w/o Lim Kok Leong
Barry Hawkins 5-1 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Xiao Guodong 5-2 Iulian Boiko
Stephen Maguire 5-1 Ken Doherty
David Lilley 5-3 Louis Heathcote
Mark Allen 5-2 Liu Hongyu
Round of 64
Top Half
Kyren Wilson 5-2 He Guoqiang
Anthony McGill 3-5 Ricky Walden
John Higgins 4-5 Sunny Akani
Dean Young 4-5 Jimmy Robertson
Elliot Slessor 2-5 Chris Wakelin
Mark Davis 2-5 Mark Williams
Jamie Jones 3-5 Stuart Bingham
Xu Si 5-4 Alfie Burden
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-2 Bulcsú Révész
Neil Robertson 2-5 Yuan Sijun
Zhang Anda 2-5 Graeme Dott
Hossein Vafaei 5-3 Dylan Emery
Amir Sarkhosh 3-5 Si Jiahui
Gong Chenzhi 5-1 Tom Ford
Matthew Selt 5-4 Joe O’Connor
Zak Surety 3-5 Hammad Miah
Bottom Half
Judd Trump 5-0 Ma Hailong
Lyu Haotian 5-2 Artemijs Zizins
Jak Jones 5-3 Tian Pengfei
Jack Lisowski 5-2 Joe Perry
Jordan Brown 2-5 David Gilbert
Ben Mertens 1-5 Gary Wilson
Paul Deaville 0-5 Pang Junxu
Aaron Hill 0-5 Mark Selby
Shaun Murphy 5-0 Jamie Clarke
Noppon Saengkham 3-5 Dominic Dale
Daniel Wells 5-3 Julien Leclercq
Zhou Yuelong 2-5 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Matthew Stevens 2-5 Ryan Day
Barry Hawkins w/o Scott Donaldson
Xiao Guodong 5-1 Stephen Maguire
David Lilley 1-5 Mark Allen
Round of 32
Top Half
Kyren Wilson 5-3 Ricky Walden
Sunny Akani 3-5 Jimmy Robertson
Chris Wakelin 2-5 Mark Williams
Stuart Bingham 4-5 Xu Si
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-1 Yuan Sijun
Hossein Vafaei w/o Graeme Dott
Si Jiahui 3-5 Gong Chenzhi
Matthew Selt 5-2 Hammad Miah
Bottom Half
Judd Trump 5-1 Lyu Haotian
Jak Jones 5-4 Jack Lisowski
David Gilbert 5-3 Gary Wilson
Pang Junxu 4-5 Mark Selby
Shaun Murphy 2-5 Dominic Dale
Daniel Wells 5-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ryan Day 3-5 Barry Hawkins
Xiao Guodong 2-5 Mark Allen
Round of 16
Kyren Wilson 5-4 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Williams 4-5 Xu Si
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-0 Hossein Vafaei
Gong Chenzhi 4-5 Matthew Selt
Judd Trump 5-1 Jak Jones
David Gilbert 5-4 Mark Selby
Dominic Dale 1-5 Daniel Wells
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Mark Allen
Quarter-Finals (bo9)
Kyren Wilson 5-1 Xu Si
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-4 Matthew Selt
Judd Trump 5-2 David Gilbert
Daniel Wells 5-3 Barry Hawkins
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Kyren Wilson 6-4 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Judd Trump 6-1 Daniel Wells
Final (bo19)
Kyren Wilson 10-8 Judd Trump
How to watch the Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers
While there is no access for fans at the venue for the Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers, supporters in Europe can watch the snooker online for free.
All three days of action are available to watch for free on the World Snooker Tour Facebook page.
In China, coverage is available on Huya.com while fans in all other territories can watch via a subscription on Matchroom.Live.
Featured photo credit: WST
