With the least amount of prize money and ranking points on offer, the Welsh Open has been the also-ran tournament on the World Snooker circuit over the past few years, with lack of BBC coverage not helping matters (BBC Wales does not count), but there are two reason to be upbeat about the event this year: Totesport and Tony Drago.
New chairman Barry Hearn has pulled another rabbit out of that hat by getting leading bookmakers Totesport to sponsor the event, the first time they have been involved with snooker since ending their involvement with the Grand Prix a few years ago. This is the first time the Welsh Open has had a sponsor since 2003 when Regal had to withdraw their services under new tobacco advertising laws and it again shows that Hearn is the man with the Midas touch.
He's only been in the job a few weeks, but already he's found sponsors for both events under his watch – he got Pokerstars on board for the Masters – and it really does make you wonder what on earth Sir Rodney Walker was doing during his tenure as chairman. Answers via email...
The second reason to be positive as the Tour decamps to Newport is the presence of Drago, a man who usurped Jimmy White as the quickest player in the sport back in the 1980s. The popular Maltese star, who got back on the main tour for the start of this season, came through four qualifying rounds, beating Simon Bedford, Peter Lines (who reached the quarter-final of the UK Championship), Jimmy Michie and Gerard Greene to set up a first round encounter with Ryan Day.
Now I'm not going to make any ridiculous statement or rash predictions to the effect that he will win this at 400-1, but just the fact he is playing gives the Welsh Open a reason for existing. He's brilliant to watch, is enigmatic to the core and equally frustrating in that sometimes, just sometimes, you want him to slow down a little and take more care as he does tend to miss the easiest of pots giving how much of a rush he is in. But he still remains the most entertaining player in the sport.
He's 5-1 to beat Day and that could be some bet given how poorly the Welshman is playing.
As for who is going to win this event, I think Australian star NEIL ROBERTSON is a stunning proposition at 10-1 with Betfred, to repeat his 2007 success.
The 'Thunder from Down Under' has been cueing excellently this season, winning the Grand Prix in becoming the most successful overseas player ever, and despite early exits from the UK Championship and Masters, he played some cracking stuff and it took superb performances from John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan to knock him out those two events. That shows the ability of the Cambridge-based player at present who only seems to come unstuck against the game's best top players.
A lop-sided draw will also massively help his chances, with only really Stephen Maguire posing a threat in his half. The draw for this event really is incredible, with O"Sullivan, Higgins, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen all in the opposite section to him, not to mention the likes of Jamie Cope and Judd Trump.
Robertson couldn't have picked a nicer draw for himself if he had tried and gets his bid for a second Welsh crown underway against Chinese qualifier Liu Song. Defending champion Ali Carter could be his second round opponent and Stephen Hendry possibly lies in wait at the last-eight stage. And then it should be Maguire, who Robertson probably has the beating of at present. Wide open or what?
Favourite as usual is O'Sullivan, a best price of 9-2 with Sportingbet, but after his capitulation to Selby in the Masters final, I can't see him being bothered to raise his game enough to go on and win this, while Higgins is next best at 15-2, but has to get past both Ronnie and Selby.
Selby will be full of confidence after his Wembley success and at 8-1 will have his backers, especially after claiming the spoils here in 2008, but... you very rarely see players win back-to-back events and he is overlooked.
It may be worth having a saver on Maguire at 12-1 as I'm sure it will be either him or Robertson who will progress to the final from the top half of the draw. He was my tip to win the Masters, but fell at the semi-final stage and looks to be warming up nicely. Mark Williams (14-1) could stand in his way and is playing well enough to win in Newport, but it will take a big leap of faith to get stuck in to him.
As for Carter defending his crown? I can't recommend him to anyone, even at 20-1, considering how average his game is at present. As for any outsiders, Cope is always a danger and is over-priced at 50-1, but does have a very touch schedule to contend with.
