After last week’s World Open in Yushan, the best players in the world are staying in the Far East for one of the best tournaments of the year, the World Grand Prix.
Reserved for the best 32 players in the world, the World Grand Prix has been held at various venues in the UK, but in a sign of how snooker is changing, the tournament will be held in Hong Kong this year and huge crowds are expected all week.
A major stop on the road to the World Championships, there is added excitement as Ronnie O’Sullivan has officially declared that he will be playing. The winner of this tournament last year, the seven time World Champion is back for more and will hope to make an impact in his first tournament of 2025.
With a hugely lucrative first place prize of £185,000, you can be guaranteed that there will be plenty of twists and turns over the course of the next week. Here is what you need to know.
The Favourites
As is often the case whenever he declares himself for any tournament, Judd Trump will start the week as the favourite for victory and the world number one certainly has plenty to prove.
Yet to win this tournament, Trump will be seeing this week as a huge opportunity to get his 2025 rolling. A native of Hong Kong, Trump has always enjoyed tremendous support ever since snooker started making waves in the Far East and it’s fair to say that he sees this week as something of a homecoming.
Having made serious waves last season thanks to his wins at the World Open and UK Championship, Trump was a fixture at the latter stages of tournaments last year. The winner of the highest level of prize money ever won in one calendar year, so far he has found life on Tour tricky and has suffered early defeats at the German Masters and World Open.
For Trump this time of year is all about trying to work his way into form ahead of his bid to win a second World Championship. The Englishman already ranks right up there when it comes to winning regular season ranking events but if he is to be classed as one of the all-time greats, he simply has to do it when it matters at the Crucible.
It would be foolish to ever write a man with his abilities off, but he needs to find his form quickly if his dreams of winning yet another World Championship are to become true.
It says what a genius Ronnie O’Sullivan is when despite not really playing in 2025 he is still positioned as the second favorite for victory this week.
O’Sullivan’s recent mental health issues have been well documented over the last few months and he will hope that this week his form on the table will be able to do all of the talking
Without doubt one of the greatest talents that the sport has ever seen, this wouldn’t be the first time that O’Sullivan would have been able to taste victory despite having to overcome an absence, but a win this week would be even more remarkable given the draw that he needs to overcome.
Drawn in the opening round against the highly talented Si Jiahui, Si has been able to beat the Rocket in the past and will be confident of repeating the trick once again.
If O’Sullivan can beat the young Chinese prodigy a matchup against Trump could await in the quarterfinals. When the two clash fireworks are usually generated and a huge crowd will very much be hoping that the two will lock horns once again this week.
Starting out as the third favourite this week is Mark Selby and the Jester from Leicester will hope to land a second ranking title of the year when he cues it up in Hong Kong.
A stylish winner of the Welsh Open, Selby has proved time and time again that he is one of the very best players to have ever played the game and he will have high hopes of adding a fifth World Championship later this year and cementing his place amongst the greats of the sport.
His efforts in winning the Welsh Open looked to have an impact on Selby when arriving in China for the World Open where he was sluggish and exited at the very first round.
Arriving in Hong Kong rested and still confident following his win in Wales, he looks to have a great chance this week and his chances can’t be discounted.
Another man who will be looking to bounce back following a poor showing at the World Open is Kyren Wilson. The world number two will be looking forward to defending his World Championship in a few months and he has already ensured that he will head to Sheffield with a title behind him courtesy of his win at the German Masters.
Placed in the bottom side of the draw and away from the likes of Trump and O’Sullivan, Wilson will be hopeful of cementing his class and laying down a serious marker ahead of a vital few months.
Ones to Watch
In such a high quality field anybody taking their place in the field this week has a shot of victory, but one man who has more to prove than most is Mark Allen.
Like several others that we have already highlighted, Allen will head into this event in desperate need of an upturn in form.
A semifinalist at the Masters, early exits at the German Masters, Welsh Open and World Open have swiftly followed and he is yet to really get going this year.
You could argue that Allen is the best player in the game not to have won the World Championship and if he is to shed that unwanted title, a big week could put him right back into the mix when it comes to the betting and discussions at snooker’s showpiece event.
John Higgins has already made the most of his time in the Far East thanks to his victory at last week’s World Open.
Making the most of a slew of several big seeds falling early, Higgins was keen to ensure that he took full advantage of a kind draw and that’s exactly what the four time World Champion did.
Comfortable throughout the final against Joe O’Connor, Higgins will head to Hong Kong fully believing that he can beat all of the best players in the world and nobody will want to face him this week.
A confident John Higgins is a dangerous proposition and that is exactly who will head to Hong Kong this week. He will be more than capable of pulling off the double.
Andrew Blakely
At 35, Andrew Blakely stands as a seasoned expert in both snooker and its betting intricacies. A dedicated player and analyst, he offers keen insights derived from years in the field. Through his writings, Andrew aspires to guide enthusiasts navigating the captivating world of snooker betting.
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