I can’t wait for this week – TOWIE is back on our TV screens.
No, not that reality trash!
I’m talking about the real TOWIE – The Open That Is English. Or in real terms, the English Open (had you going, didn’t I!)
The only way to be crowned champion and lift the Steve Davis trophy is to be in Essex to begin with.
Enough of the gags, The Outright Winner Is Easy. No, of course, its not but I’ve picked a few names among the cast that have the potential to be leading lights…
Mark Selby to run it back (7/1)
It would be right to start with the defending champion, the ‘Jester from Leicester’ Mark Selby who laughed his way to a second English Open last December beating Luca Brecel in the final. Who’d have thought just over five months later they would be contending in the World final.
Result wise, Selby is currently in fine fettle with good showings at the European Masters, over in Shanghai and this week at the British Open. It’s a good omen for the season where I’m sure he’s targeting a return to World no1 for the first time since April 2022.
Over the past season, playing in your home events has given a few a real bit of inspiration. Selby won the WST Classic in March in his beloved Leicester. Mark Allen went back-to-back in the Northern Ireland Open and Marco Fu made the final in the Hong Kong Masters.
Ding Junhui has won five times previously in his homeland of China and going back to the nineties, James Wattana won the 1994 and 1995 Thailand Open.
It’s 20 mins north east from Brentwood to his hometown in Chelmsford, but Essex born and bred Ali Carter interests me to win in his home county this coming week.
‘The Captain’ went well in this event last year, losing out in the quarter-final 5-3 to Selby, a match he really should have won – I’m sure Ali will openly admit he let Selby off the hook with a few sloppy misses. He pushed on from that outing though winning the German Masters in the early part of this year, his first ranking title in seven years.
Confidence was flowing thereafter and he ended the season well making the final of the Players Championship, the semis in the WST Classic and qualified for the Tour Championship after finishing in the top 8 on the one year rankings. You could argue, Carter is one of the form players of 2023.
Ali won three times last week in Cheltenham before losing to Xiao Guodong in the last 16 4-2. As disappointing it was to lose, he had his best scoring performance in that defeat with breaks of 107 and 96.
A favourable draw for Carter (250/1)
Carter draw in Essex gives him plenty of hope – he starts with his qualifying match against Llanelli’ Jamie Clarke then onto English rookie, Liam Pullen. Lukas Kleckers or Jenson Kendrick would be his last 32 opponent. So I fully expect him to make his way to the last 16 and encouragingly he bypassed this round four times last season.
If Carter is buzzing this week, he’s an absolute handful to anyone.
Is it Lisowski’s time to shine? (22/1)
It’s like the longest broken record in captivity and every snooker fan across the globe has been saying it for years now, including me but Jack Lisowski just has to win a title very soon – he is playing too well not to go supremely well in Essex, a county which he could call his second home.
Lisowski spent a number of years based at the Grove Academy in Romford though he’s back now in his hometown of Gloucester. Jack and best mate Judd Trump were regular practise partners in Romford with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan so it provided him a great base to home his skills. It’s interesting Trump has also returned home to a unit in Bristol.
Lisowski is a six-time ranking runner-up and his last three losses have all come against Trump. Disappointingly, he’s without a ranking final since the 2021 Gibraltar Open but has added extra steel to his game under the tutorship of ex world champion, Peter Ebdon. Ebdon has helped Lisowski on the table by being a bit more patient to his previous gung-ho approach, and exploring game management. Then on the mental side, where Ebdon was a master at himself. He’s become a more sensible snooker player, much like Trump.
One thing Ebdon hasn’t needed to work on is Lisowski’s ability to pot balls. He’s a natural talent, some would say a genius, like Ronnie O’Sullivan. I’ve liked a lot of what Lisowski is producing this season especially the performances at his local track in Cheltenham last week and in Shanghai.
He lost in deciders to Trump in China and to Selby in Gloucestershire. The Selby form line is particularly strong. In fact, every defeat this season has been in a decider – Michael White beat him 5-4 in the European Masters.
At the British Open last week he had impressive victories over Joe O’Connor, Shaun Murphy and Matt Selt. In the Murphy win, Jack did a sublime clearance of 63 in the decider to win by a point. If you haven’t seen it yet, it was a masterful dish. Lisowski’s scoring this season has been a picture of consistency too, already racking in 11 centuries.
Lisowski’s determination to break this duck is admirable. He just keeps on coming back for more and though it’s obviously frustrating to him deep down, he surely knows this win is coming once all the pieces of the puzzle are formed. It will be his destiny and once one comes, more will follow in droves – just ask fellow Gloucester native Rob Milkins who was waiting 27 years as a pro to win a ranking title then a second arrived less than a year later. 32 now, I can assure you if will arrive before Jack is 46!
Lisowski has made a Home Nations series final before, the 2019 Scottish Open (lost to Selby) and was a semi-finalist in Wales last year. Lisowski has won 18 of his last 23 best-of-7 matches on tour which is another positive.
I do expect a very bold showing from Jackpot in Essex where he opens with Matthew Stevens.
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