The draws and match fixtures of the 2019 World Open has been announced with many exciting matches lined up.

When the tournament prize of £70,000 was announced to be the take-home prize for the winner of the English Open, it looked like an intimidating figure. However, double that figure and slap £10,000 more atop it, and that’s what you get for conquering the world at the 2019 World Open.

The World Open is the fifth ranking tournament of the 2019/2020 season. As always, there are a bunch of interesting draws. The draws are littered with so many big names, among which are Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan, both of which must contest their held over the preliminary round fixtures.

A notable absentee is defending Champion, Mark Williams, who will be missing the showpiece. The Welshman opted to skip the tournament on this occasion.

Judd Trump, on the other hand, will be looking to take on Zhang Jiankang on day one, a game expected to be a walk in the park for the world champion.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is then expected to lock horns with veteran Dominic Dale before overseeing a potential clash against another big name, Fergal O’Brien, in the last-64.
Mark Selby, who just emerged victorious at the English Open, isn’t expected to have it any easier. The Englishman is poised to have a busy day at the office when he takes on Anthony Hamilton.

Shaun Murphy, a well-known master of the sport, will take on Alan McManus in the first round while 2018 runner-up, Gilbert will try Zhao Xintong for size.
The pair of Mark Allen and John Higgins will both await winners of other held over fixtures. Barry Hawkins is also set to lock horns with Marco Fu while Kyren Wilson will give Robbie Williams a run for his money.

For the first time in the last three years, there are no Chinese players in the top 16, so the focus can shift to how well the competitors on home soil perform.

The addition of Stuart Bingham, Jack Lisowski and Stephen Maguire to the list of performers in this year’s edition of the World Open shows that the competition promises a host of top quality acts on display.

Kyren Wilson is set at 1.25 to eliminarte Robbie Williams, while Williams is favoured at 3.82 to come out victorious.

Written by: Roland Arum