The 2019 World Grand Prix begins on February 4th and will conclude on the 10th of the month. For the first time ever it is going to be hosted in Cheltenham. The tournament is having a big change of venue and the action will actually be at the Centaur, at the Cheltenham racecourse.
This will be the 12th ranking event of the 2018/2019 snooker season and this is one of the legs as well, of the Coral Cup. The defending champion is Ronnie O’Sullivan who took out Ding Junhui 10-3 in last year’s final.
O’Sullivan is the 9/4 favourite to secure a title defence* (betting odds taken from Ladbrokes on Feburay 1st, 2019 at 8:26 pm). This is a fairly new tournament on the circuit, having only had its inaugural edition in 2015.
World Snooker Grand Prix 2019 winner odds*
Ronnie O’Sullivan 9/4
Judd Trump 9/2
Mark Selby 7/1
Mark Allen 12/1
Mark Williams 12/1
Stuart Bingham 14/1
John Higgins 14/1
Neil Robertson 20/1
Keyren Wilson 20/1
Jack Lisowski 22/1
Barry Hawkins 22/1
Ryan Day 40/1
50/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from Ladbrokes on February 1st, 2019 at 7:09 pm)
A short history
This will be just the fifth edition of the World Grand Prix. In the first-ever edition which was hosted in 2015, it was Judd Trump who took a victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan. Following wins in 2016 by Sean Murphy and then in 2017 by Barry Hawkins, Ronnie O’Sullivan finally stepped into the winner’s circle at the event with a big 10-3 victory over Ding Junhui.
The World Grand Prix is a ranking event after getting the status in its second edition which was in 2016.
Tournament format
This event is for the top 32 players on the one-year ranking rolling list. It means that from the Riga Masters last year right through to the recent 2019 German Masters, the top 32 players at the end of that period will be making their way to the Cheltenham racecourse to compete at the world Snooker Grand Prix 2019.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan recently ran to the final of the Masters where he went up against Judd Trump. O’Sullivan had a really comfortable tournament, despite citing tiredness as a factor affecting his game. But the final itself was a really strange thing to see as O’Sullivan was simply blown away by the intense attacking opening foray that Trump put down on the table. O’Sullivan was down and out really before the final ever got going, and never got a chance to be competitive. O’Sullivan’s record from three previous appearances at the world Snooker Grand Prix is a first-round exit, followed by a second round exit and then last season’s win.
Judd Trump
There will be heightened interest in Trump now as he is the new reigning Snooker Masters champion. He goes as 9/2 second favourite in World Grand Prix Snooker 2019 betting. After destroying Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final of the Masters they will be interesting now to see just what kind of dominance he could potentially put them on the game. He is one of the brightest attacking talents in the sport, but that is also his weakness at times.
But it was a big mental breakthrough for him at the Masters, getting his second big title of this season, adding to his Northern Ireland Open crown. With a semi-final berth at the Scottish Open too, he is carrying some pretty strong form with him. His record at the World Grand Prix is unspectacular, having not been past the second round in any of those three previous appearances.
Mark Selby
Going into any tournament you will generally find Mark Selby trading pretty strongly to get its hands on the title. It hasn’t been as bad season from him at all again, starting strongly with a title at the China Championship. He recently made his run to the quarter-finals of the Masters, the tournament which he has won three times before. He was stopped thereby eventual winner Judd Trump.
Granted there is not much history to look back on in the World Grand Prix, but like many of the top players in the game, Selby’s record at the tournament is nothing to really get too excited about. He has made three appearances at the event before, his best finish being a semi-final last year. He crashed out in the first round in the previous two attempts. He’ll be looking for a bounce back after losing early at the German Masters.
Other contenders
If you look back at the history to try and find some kind of clue as to who may win this, the two names jump out are former winners Sean Murphy and Barry Hawkins. While they are not major front-runners in the tournament in terms of betting odds, you can see for example, that Murphy has a pretty strong track record at the World Grand Prix.
He is a former winner and he has been to the quarter-finals in his other two appearances at the event as well. Punters will have to weigh that up against the fact that he has not been a strong performer this season. As for Hawkins well he does also have the win under his belt come back, coming through as the surprise winner in 2017, his previous attempts had left him with exits in the first round.
Predictions
It is worth noting that this tournament starts immediately after the close of the German Masters. So you can look for players who had a good run of form behind them out in Berlin ahead of this event. It may help to narrow down the field little bit for the 2019 snooker world Grand Prix.
Really we cannot see past the main front-runners in the tournament of also O’Sullivan, Trump and Selby. Which would appear to be the best option? Probably the rested O’Sullivan who has had a week to refocus. Sean Murphy looks the best each way outsider underdog.
