September Snooker
Following significant ranking victories for Luca Brecel and Michael White in August, the World Snooker Tour will next head to Bangkok, Vishakhapatnam, Yushan and Preston as we move into September.
Below I look ahead to the coming month on the baize, including the latest tournaments on the World Snooker Tour, the World Women’s Snooker Tour and from World Disability Billiards and Snooker.
SangSom Six Red World Championship (4-9 September)
First staged as the Six Red Snooker International and won by Ricky Walden back in 2008, the event returns for its ninth edition this week with a stellar field including no fewer than 14 ranking event winners.
Walden, who recently spoke to worldsnooker.com about his ongoing recovery from recent injury struggles, will be among the players looking to take home the title, with two-time champion Mark Davis looking to complete a unique hat-trick and Ding Junhui, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Stephen Maguire also returning as former champions in Thailand.
European viewers will be able to watch the action via the Eurosport Player from Tuesday.
Indian Open (12-16 September)
From Thailand the tour moves on to India for the fourth ranking event of the season and the final tournament before the second mid-season seedings revision that will determine the seeding list for the International Championship in Daqing.
As has been the norm since the Indian Open was first held back in 2013, the event will again be played in a new city, moving from Hyderabad to the Eastern port of Vishakhapatnam.
Like the recent Paul Hunter Classic in Germany, there will be a slightly mixed up field with just five of the top 16 having successfully qualified for the event back in early August, but with the likes of defending champion Anthony McGill and former world champions Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham and John Higgins among the line-up, there will be no shortage of quality at the tournament.
World Open (18-24 September)
Remaining in Asia, the next event will be the World Open in Yushan, returning to the calendar following Ali Carter’s victory at the tournament against Joe Perry last summer.
As with India, the qualifiers for the tournament have already been held in Preston with the vast majority of the top 16 (notably excluding Judd Trump) having secured their places at the venue last month.
With a significantly increased prize fund on offer (the winner taking home £150,000 compared to the £90,000 claimed last season by Carter), victory could transform the season of any of those in action and propel somebody up the various ranking lists and into contention for a place at the Masters – as we have seen recently with China Championship winner Luca Brecel.
WDBS Open Disability Snooker Championship (22-24 September)
Away from the professional circuit, World Disability Billiards and Snooker continues to make significant progress with its development and heads to Wolverhampton for its fourth event of 2017.
Open to players with physical and learning disabilities, entries are still being accepted for the tournament and you can learn more about eligibility and enter at wdbs.info.
There will also be an Friday Open Day staged for players with all disabilities encouraged to attend and get involved with snooker.
International Championship Qualifiers (26-30 September)
As August started, September ends with qualifying action at the iconic Guild Hall in Preston, this time for the International Championship.
The first ranking event tournament of the year which will see matches played under a longer best of 11 frame format for the start, the event has established itself was one of the most prestigious events on the calendar since it was first held back in 2012. In particular, the move from Chengdu to Daqing back in 2015 has proven popular and that all-time greats such as John Higgins and Mark Selby have in recent years produced their strongest form to win the event is a clear demonstration of how seriously the event is taken by the tour.
The draw for the event will be made following the relevant seedings revision (after the conclusion of the Indian Open).
WLBS LITEtask UK Women’s Snooker Championship (30 September – 1 October)
Rounding off the month will be the second event of the 2017/18 World Women’s Snooker Tour as the world’s best women players return to Leeds, England.
In 2016 the event was once again won by world number one Reanne Evans, who defeated Tatjana Vasiljeva 5-1 to claim the title for a record eighth time. Having recently opened the new season with victory in Germany at the Paul Hunter Women’s Classic, she will be looking to maintain her perfect start to the new campaign by coming out on top against rivals including Ng On Yee, Maria Catalano and Laura Evans.
Entries for the event are still open, with players of all ages, ability and experience encouraged to take part. For more information visit wlbsl.com.
