Away from the big stage and without a crowd in sight, it is not the highlight of the snooker calendar but there are 10 days of qualifying coming up that will help shape a lot of players’ seasons.
Qualifying for the Xi’an Grand Prix runs from 24-27 July, then comes the Wuhan Open from 28-30 and finally the British Open from 31 July-3 August.
The qualifiers are held in Leicester and players who have a good few days in the East Midlands will be well placed for a strong start to the season. Hit a bad run of form at the Mattioli Arena and there are some very unwanted gaps in the calendar to come.
Lose in the opening round of these events and not only have you got some spare time to come when the main stages are played, but you go home with no prize money at all.
Michael Holt has his testing three qualifiers over six days as he takes on Pang Junxu, Shaun Murphy and Reanne Evans across the trio of events and he knows it is a meaningful week to come.
‘They’re big events, the two in China and the British, absolutely it’s a big week,’ Holt told Metro.co.uk. ‘If you can come out with three wins that’s a brilliant start and of course it can go the other way, but you’ve got to try not to think about that.
‘If you can have a good three wins then it sets you up for a great start to the season and you’ll feel brilliant. Even if you haven’t played that well, wins do that to you.’
World number 72 Louis Heathcote is looking to build on an impressive ending to last season when he narrowly missed out on a Crucible debut after a strong run in World Championship qualifying.
He’s been working hard to get off to a fast start and get stuck into the Chinese events, which are some of the most rewarding financially on the calendar.
‘It’s so important to try and get off to a good start ot the season and not chasing wins,’ said Heathcote. ‘It’s nice to qualify early doors so you’ve got stuff to look forward to.
‘Especially with the first two being China events, someone at my ranking if you qualify for them you’re in a good spot. You need to win two matches at the Home Nations for the same money as one in the China events.
‘I’ve been practicing hard, I’m much better on the table when I’m in a routine and I’ve got back into that, so I’m ready to go.’
Heathcote has David Lilley first up on Friday, then Thepchaiya Un-Nooh on Tuesday but will have to wait till the main arena of the British Open to face Ryan Day. Another testing trio to come.
‘There’s no easy draws,’ he said. ‘Obviously you’d rather play someone around the 50-60 mark than you would top 16, but even then they’re still tough matches.
‘I’ve got three really different opponents with Dave, Theppy and Ryan. I just take them for what they are and try and play my own game.’
Holt and Heathcote don’t have it easy, but Liam Davies may well have the hardest three matches of any player in these games to come, taking on Ricky Walden, Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins.
The Welsh teenager reckons it’s ‘brilliant’ to take on the best, but Holt isn’t so sure.
‘I’ve always been one that hears people say, “oh, I want to play the best players.” No. I don’t,’ said the Hitman.
‘I don’t mind playing them in a final with all your family there, happy days, but you don’t want them in the first round.
‘Although, to be fair, I’m just buzzing to be back on tour, I don’t really care who I play, I’ve beat them all before, I can do it again.’
A handful of the Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers are held over to the main stages from 19 August, but there are some of the biggest names in the sport in Leicester this week looking to join them in China.
Judd Trump, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Neil Robertson and Luca Brecel are among those stars in action in Leicester, with the qualifiers available to watch on World Snooker Tour’s Facebook.
Trophies won’t be lifted, legends won’t be made, but there is a very important few days of snooker to come.
Xi’an Grand Prix qualifying
Thursday 25 July
10am
He Guoqiang vs Ashley Carty
Fan Zhengyi vs Sunny Akani
Jamie Jones vs Mostafa Dorgham
Martin O’Donnell vs Ma Hailong
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Lei Peifan
Scott Donaldson vs Lim Kok Leong
Xiao Guodong vs Iulian Boiko
2.30pm
John Higgins vs Alexander Ursenbacher
David Grace vs Bulcsu Revesz
Joshua Thomond vs Amir Sarkhosh
Robbie Williams vs Artemijs Zizins
Jordan Brown vs Liam Pullen
Simon Blackwell vs Ben Mertens
Ryan Day vs Cheung Ka Wai
7pm
Neil Robertson vs Allan Taylor
Hossein Vafaei vs Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Jackson Page vs Dylan Emery
Jack Lisowski vs Ross Muir
David Gilbert vs Reanne Evans
Dominic Dale vs Mohammed Mustafa Shehab
Matthew Stevens vs Andrew Higginson
Friday 26 July
10am
Elliot Slessor vs M Phetmalaikul
Chris Wakelin vs Rory Thor
Xu Si vs Jiang Jun
Yuan Sijun vs Bai Yulu
Anthony Hamilton vs Gong Chenzhi
Tian Pengfei vs Farakh Ajaib
Joe Perry vs Mink Nutcharut
2.30pm
Tom Ford vs Stan Moody
Joe O’Connor vs Duane Jones
Sanderson Lam vs Zak Surety
Luca Brecel vs Hammad Miah
Jak Jones vs Robbie McGuigan
Wu Yize vs Stuart Carrington
Pang Junxu vs Michael Holt
7pm
Ricky Walden vs Liam Davies
Mark Williams vs Liam Graham
Matthew Selt vs Ian Burns
Ali Carter vs Daniel Wells
Barry Hawkins vs Kreishh Gurbaxani
David Lilley vs Louis Heathcote
Saturday 27 July
10am
Anthony McGill vs Xing Zihao
Jimmy Robertson vs Huang Jiahao
Mark Davis vs Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Lyu Haotian vs Baipat Siripaporn
Noppon Saengkham vs Andrew Pagett
Ben Woollaston vs Julien Leclercq
Zhou Yuelong vs Haydon Pinhey
2.30pm
Robert Milkins vs Dean Young
Si Jiahui vs Jimmy White
Judd Trump vs Antoni Kowalski
Gary Wilson vs Long Zehuang
Aaron Hill vs Chris Totten
Shaun Murphy vs Mitchell Mann
Stephen Maguire vs Ken Doherty
Xi’an Grand Prix prize money
Winner: £177,000
Runner-up: £76,000
Semi-final: £34,500
Quarter-final: £22,350
Last 16: £14,000
Last 32: £9,400
Last 64: £5,350
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