Following a quiet week on the snooker circuit, the professionals (and amateurs), will return to action this week in Germany, as the fourth event of this season’s European Tour gets underway.
The tournament in question is the Ruhr Open, its inaugural staging last season having been won by Mark Allen, who despite having already long since secured his place in the Players Championship Grand Finals, returns to defend his title in 2014.
There are absences however, notably the man who Mark defeated in the final last season, Ding Junhui, as well as Mark Selby (no doubt due to the birth of his first child last week – congratulations Mark!), Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ricky Walden, Ali Carter, Xiao Guodong, Alan McManus, Martin Gould, Jamie Burnett and Marcus Campbell from the world’s top 64.
In essence then, the event provides Neil Robertson with an opportunity to make inroads into the lead of 8,651 currently held by Ding Junhui on the latest projected seedings list, while there are important points to be won for the likes of Robert Milkins, Mark Williams and Graeme Dott, with Masters spots up for grabs over the next two events.
Furthermore, every win could be crucial for those in and around the top 64 bracket, who are hoping to earn a fresh two-year tour card via the European Order of Merit, with just three events to go.
The amateur stages of the event start on Thursday, before the professionals get underway on Friday.
Click here to view the draw at snookerorg, a website which incidentally has just celebrated its 20th birthday, a terrific achievement.