Cyprus’ Michael Georgiou will be looking to defend his Snooker Shootout crown when he plays his first match of the 2019 match this week.

The 31-year-old changed his career for the better in 2018 when he beat Scotland’s Graeme Dott to lift the trophy and win the £32,000 prize.

With the tournament having such a unique format, Georgiou will fancy his chances of repeating his victory.

He opens the tournament against former world champion Peter Ebdon but it is the veteran that goes into the game as favourite. Ebdon is 1.85 to win, while Georgiou is the slight outsider at odds of 1.91.

Ricky Walden is also in action on Thursday and he is 1.22 to beat Liam Davies, with the latter 4.20 to advance.

Ben Mertens faces a tough encounter when he takes on James Wattana, while a close game is also expected between Kurt Maflin and Lee Walker.

Ken Doherty will also try his luck this week and he is 1.61 to beat Adam Stefanow.

German Masters champion Kyren Wilson is also in action just a few weeks after his latest triumph. He will face Ian Burns on Thursday and the 27-year-old is 1.53 to win this time around.

Wilson heads into the event in good form after reaching the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, while also qualifying for the China Open on Tuesday.

With matches finishing quickly, there is a packed schedule to look forward to on Thursday. The likes of Michael Whites, Alan McManus, Lui Haotian and Jimmy Robertson are also in action.