The finest snooker players on the planet have converged on Hong Kong for the World Grand Prix and they were treated to a spectacular cruise in Victoria Harbour at the opening ceremony yesterday.
It’s the first staging of a ranking event in Hong Kong for 35 years, with the top 32 players on the Johnstone’s Paint One Year list earning qualifying spots. This week sees the players battling it out for a top prize of £180,000, a record for this tournament. The action gets underway tomorrow at the stunning Kai Tak Arena and runs until Sunday March 9th.
Johnstone’s Paint Masters champion Shaun Murphy, who faces Ben Woollaston in round one, arrives in Hong Kong under pressure to earn valuable ranking points.
Despite being ranked 12th in the Johnstone's Paint World Rankings, Murphy's qualification for the World Championship is currently under threat. He is projected to be outside of the top 16 at the cut off. However, away from the table, this is a place which holds a special significance for the Magician.
“My uncle Frank was a police chief in Hong Kong before the handover in 1997. It is quite emotional coming here. I feel it every time I’m in Hong Kong. He lived here for many years, my cousins were born here. Sadly, my uncle passed away during Covid, but every time I come to Hong Kong I feel close to him. I grew up as a little child hearing all these stories of my uncle and auntie living in this far away place. When Skype became a thing, we would call them and that was a real event for us. One of the times he came back to the UK, we went out for a Chinese meal and he placed the whole order in Cantonese. He was a real hero of mine."
Shaun Murphy
Johnstone's Paint Masters Champion
Murphy added: “As a former winner of this event it is a real thrill to see the tournament take on a new perspective. This is the World Grand Prix, it isn’t the UK Grand Prix. Where could be better to stage the event than Hong Kong. What a place. It has an incredible mixture of cultures and mixture of people. This is a real melting pot of the world. It is a feather in snooker’s cap that we are here.
“It is a massive part of the season for me looking ahead to the World Championship. I’ve gone up a place, so I’m that bit nearer to not having to go to the qualifiers. It is the thing that is keeping me awake at night. It’s what is motivating me. I check the rankings every day. My game is in good shape though and worst case scenario, I will go to the qualifiers and I will still fancy my chances. I would much rather be there as a seed than having to qualify though. I don’t think it speaks to me having a bad season. It speaks to the strength of the game as whole. Of course last time I was in the qualifiers I did alright, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world!”
World Champion Kyren Wilson enters as the second seed and is pitted against Matthew Selt in his opening round tie. The Warrior was taken aback by the stunning sights during the cruise and is excited to get going on the table.
Wilson is full of confidence after a superb season so far. He's already won titles at the Xi'an Grand Prix, BetVictor Northern Ireland Open and the Machineseeker German Masters.
“It is incredible. This was one of the best opening ceremonies that I’ve ever done. I love coming to Hong Kong and this is one of my favourite places in the entire world. It is very exciting to be playing in this event, not only as World Champion, but off the back of a very good season. I’m here as number two seed so I’ve definitely earned my place here."
Kyren Wilson
World Champion
Wilson also said: “It is a significant jump for this event. All of the Players Series tournaments were in the UK and now we are starting to take it around the world. We have the 32 best players of the season here. Everybody has had an equal opportunity to be here and earned their right. What a stage to play this event in. It will be a tough first round game for me. Matt is a tough matchplayer and I feel that he enjoys events like this. It is going to be a hard first round game. I’ll have to try and get off to a strong start.”
World number one Judd Trump contests the event as the number one seed, after another impressive campaign which has seen him capture ranking silverware at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and the UK Championship.
The Ace in the Pack has recently secured residency in Hong Kong and is looking forward to playing a tournament in his new home city.
“It is great for snooker to be able to come to Hong Kong. It shows a sign of progress. It is nice to be playing in major cities and this is probably one of the best and most iconic backdrops in the world. Having moved here as well, it is great to be playing an event in this city. Everyone is very excited for the tournament to get going. It is amazing that this feels like a home event to me now. Hong Kong deserves to have a prestigious event. This is one of the places in the world that players cannot wait to arrive at.”
Judd Trump
World Number One
