Worldsnooker has today published the draw and format for the English Open 2019
Judd Trump faces a tough draw against former World Champion Peter Ebdon in the first round of the 19.com English Open in Crawley.
The draw and format for the world ranking event has been announced, with crowd favourites Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan both in action on the opening day at K2 Crawley on Monday October 14th.
World Champion Trump will take on Ebdon at 1pm on that day, with O’Sullivan to play Jamie O’Neill at 7pm.
Defending champion Stuart Bingham has been drawn against Poland’s Kacper Filipiak, with that match to be played on the Monday afternoon.
Sussex’s Mark Davis, who reached the final last year, faces former World Champion Graeme Dott on the evening of Tuesday October 15.
Other matches to look out for in the first round include:
Snooker legend Jimmy White against China’s Bai Langning – Tuesday October 15 evening session
Kyren Wilson against former English Open champion Liang Wenbo – Tuesday October 15 afternoon session
China Championship winner Shaun Murphy against Chang Bingyu – Monday October 14 evening session
Neil Robertson against Kishan Hirani – Tuesday October 15 evening session
Mark Williams takes on Jamie Clarke – Tuesday October 15 afternoon session
Mark Selby faces Barry Pinches – Monday October 14 afternoon session
Up-and-coming talents Jack Lisowski and Jackson Page go head to head – Tuesday October 15 afternoon session
In all there will be 128 players in the field, each needing to win seven matches to capture the Steve Davis Trophy and a top prize of £70,000.
The tournament runs from October 14 to 20. It’s the first Home Nations event of the season, followed by tournaments in Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff, with a £1 million bonus available for any player who can win all four. All events are televised by Eurosport and Quest.
Tickets are ON SALE NOW and there are still seats available, but now that the match schedule has been released they will sell fast so fans must book quickly.
Special offers include all-day tickets for students for £8 and an event pass for every session of the tournament for just £160.
For details CLICK HERE or call 0871 620 7052.
There are a few matches in the first round that Worldsnooker isn’t “bigging” but that are more interesting than most of those listed above:
Anthony MgGill v Chris Wakelin … both have gone deep in the last event, the China Championship
Scott Donaldson v Zhao Xintong, both young but a right clash of styles
David Gilbert v the always hard to scrap off the table, methodical, Stuart Carrington
Kurt Maflin v Noppon Saengkham, both extremely capable on their day
Stephen Maguire v Thepchaiya Un-nooh, could be explosive
Luo Honghao v Sam Craigie, both young but very different styles
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Ronnie has Slessor, Selby, and Trump on his side of the draw.
One step at a time. Selby won’t be a problem methinks. Slessor I’m not sure. It’s a psychological thing. Trump wasn’t unbeatable in Shanghai or Guangzhou.
Yes I agree that the draw looks difficult for Ronnie, but Selby might not be his most difficult opponent. It looks very likely Ronnie will have to beat the dangerous Yuan Sijun and Hossein Vafaei just to get that far!
I will be heading for the younger players, many of whom I have not yet seen live. Because of the absence of John Higgins and Steve Mifsud, the young Ryan Davies gets a match, ironically against a player more than a year younger than him! Unfortunately Chang Bingyu has been drawn against Shaun Murphy, so probably won’t get much chance to express himself. Will be nice for Bai Langning to face Jimmy White. Jack Lisowski against Jackson Page will be exciting. Zhou Yuelong against Michael White interesting, but for different reasons.
I like these Home Nations tournaments, which almost always produce some drama, but of course best-of-7 is much more of a lottery, and many players will hardly get the chance to show what they can do.
Yes I agree, Ronnie has two very difficult matches in prospect early. That said, it might actually focus him. When his normal self, he likes a challenge! And he knows Hossein pretty well. They practice together in Sheffield.