After a busy week in which we have seen a UKPTC event, an ET event and a thrilling climax to the league stage of the 2012 Premier League, you could be forgiven for thinking that the players will now be due a well-earned rest.
That rest however will be limited to just a single day, as from Tuesday there will be some form of professional snooker played every day until 10th December 2012…
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Following the novelty of having Monday away from the baize, the qualifiers will head to Sheffield for the UK Championship qualifiers between 20-23 November 2012.
Snooker’s second biggest event, as was the case a year ago, the matches will be contested over the best of 11 frames, with crucial ranking points up for grabs ahead of the season’s third seedings revision which will take place on 10th December 2012. Although there are other tournaments taking place between this tournament and then, they will effectively not ‘count’ until the following cut-off next April, making this week that much more important.
In the absence of a full preview, looking at the draw potential highlights include a potential meeting between Jimmy White and Steve Davis at the last 64 stage (though billiards star Pankaj Advani might have something to say about that), while the first-round match between promising youngsters Luca Brecel and Scott Donaldson could be one to watch.
Hot on the heels of that four-day event comes the Premier League finals between 24-25 November 2012, which will see John Higgins meet Stuart Bingham, while Judd Trump will face Neil Robertson in a repeat of the International Championship final. The event will take place at the Grimsby Auditorium and tickets are still available by calling 0844 871 3016.
Following that, the action returns to Sheffield on 26-27 November 2012 with two days of pre-qualifying for the ET6 event, as the field is whittled down to 32 ahead of the final stages in Munich next January.
And the action then continues in Sheffield from 28-30 November 2012 with the German Masters qualifiers, which in line with the tournament’s new format will see a number of the top 16 also involved.
Finally, the snooker circus then moves on to York from 1-9 December 2012 as Judd Trump begins the defence of his UK Championship title, won at the Barbican Centre a year ago.
Following that, there will be a three-day break ahead of the ET5 event in Scotland between 13-16 December 2012, before the year is rounded with the qualifying rounds for the Haikou World Open between 18-21 December 2012.
Busy, busy, busy then…