Play fantasy snooker in a week full of qualifiers

With some qualifiers on the menu this week, it feels like the new season is taking shape. The qualifiers for the new Xi’an Grand Prix have concluded, while the qualifiers for the Wuhan Open are currently underway. Later this week, the qualifiers for the British Open will occur. It's an exciting week where top-ranked players are not always winning, and the underdogs are making their mark.

🎙 Something to listen to
While qualifiers for several events are being played, there are some new podcast episodes out to listen to. First, BBC has aired a new episode of Framed, where Hungary’s first ever professional snooker player, Bulcsú Révész, is interviewed. The 17-year-old reveals his love of movies and hard rock. Nick and Phil of the Talking Snooker podcast pay tribute to Ray Reardon, who has died at the age of 91. They chat about Ray's achievements on the table, including his six world titles, and share memories from their listeners. In the podcast Snooker Club, Stephen and Mark chat with snooker player Michael Holt, who joins as a co-host. They discuss the Shanghai title, the struggles of Kyren Wilson, and the new Fantasy Snooker game of WST (mentioned later in this issue), along with their own season predictions.

 🏁 Xi’an qualifiers
The qualifiers for the Xi’An Grand Prix have concluded, finalizing the draw for the event, which will run from August 19h to 25th. The venue where the event will be held looks quite impressive. The most notable development from the qualifiers is probably the no-show of Luca Brecel, who was stuck in traffic between Belgium and Leicester on match day, resulting in a walkover for Hammad Miah. Additionally, under-21 champion Paul Deaville, who replaced Stuart Carrington, managed to secure a win over Wu Yize and qualify. Since the qualifiers were only streamed on Facebook (why!?), and with coverage limited to just one table, there’s not much to share beyond some impressive plays by Mark Williams and Jack Lisowski.

Now that the draw is complete, you can make your predictions for the event on event-prediction.com!

📅 Upcoming
Currently, the Wuhan qualifiers are ongoing, and we’ve already seen some unexpected results. Selby lost his spot in the event to Long Zehuang, while Jimmy White made a notable comeback to defeat Dominic Dale. Later this week, the British Open qualifiers will begin, followed by a break until the Xi’An event. This pause applies to the main tour, but the Q Tour and US Women’s Open may offer more surprises.

🎰 Fantasy Snooker & Snooker Prediction
WST has launched a Fantasy Snooker game where you can predict the top season winners across five segments of the ranking list. With tickets to the Crucible up for grabs, be sure to submit your entry before the deadline on Monday, August 5th, at 23:59.

With the draw for the Xi’an Grand Prix now available, its prediction can be filled in on event-prediction. f you want a chance to top this season’s ranking list on this free prediction site, don’t miss out on making your first prediction of the season!

📖 Interview
Under-18 champion Daniel Boyes has been interviewed about his journey into snooker, a memorable victory in Northampton, and his goals for the future.

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Thanks for reading, and see you next week!