So after all of the talking, all of the previews and all of the quotes, tomorrow sees the start of the 2013 Betfair World Championship, as Ronnie O’Sullivan kicks off his title defence against Marcus Campbell at 10:00am.
On a personal level, 2013 will mark my ninth year at the Crucible and I am pleased to say that this time I will be there for the duration, bringing you all of the latest news, quotes and scores from behind the scenes in Sheffield.
I hope to meet a few of you there this year, it is always nice to put a face to the reader and a good time is always had by those in the nearby Graduate after a dramatic evening session at the Crucible.
For those of you watching at home however, I hope to be able to bring you a little bit closer to the action, something that has always been the primary purpose of PSB and I am always open to ideas that might help me to achieve this @prosnookerblog
As for the actual tournament itself, as many people have said, the field looks to be wide open this year, though ultimately I do expect the winner to come from the ‘usual suspects’ of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and John Higgins, while Mark Allen and Ding Junhui could also mount a challenge if they can come through what is on paper at least, a ‘loaded’ bottom quarter of the draw.
Of course there are plenty of sub-plots. Will O’Sullivan be match sharp after a year off? Can Judd Trump and John Higgins bounce back from a run of poor results, when it really matters? Can one of the youngsters make an impact?
We shall soon see. For what it is worth, I personally expect Ronnie to pick up from where he left off a year ago, although I am going to back Neil Robertson to walk away with the trophy at the end of this year’s 17 day marathon.
Enjoy the ride everybody…