World Snooker Championship Qualifiers 2020 Day Eight preview and order of play: Crucible field set to be completed

The eight remaining places in the 2020 World Snooker Championship will be determined on Tuesday with the final day of qualifying in Sheffield.

A total of 16 coveted qualifying places are up for grabs in the £2.4 million main event alongside the top 16 seeded players from the main Order of Merit.

The first eight of which were decided on Monday, with three players securing their debuts in the sport’s show-piece: Alexander Ursenbacher, Elliot Slessor and Ashley Carty.

They were joined in progressing by veteran Alan McManus, Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham, Norway’s Kurt Maflin, China’s Liang Wenbo and Anthony Hamilton – qualifying for the first time since 2008.

A dreams of 16 more players will be realised or shattered on ‘Judgement Day’ at the English Institute of Sport, with a number of big names battling it out.

Graeme Dott is a man who knows exactly what it takes to go the distance at The Crucible, having done so back in 2006, and ‘The Pocket Dynamo’ aims to secure his qualification for the sixth successive year.

Dott, runner-up in this season’s World Grand Prix, faces a tough test in the fourth and final qualifying round against another vastly experienced cueist in Martin Gould.

Once ranked world number 11, Gould has tumbled down the rankings after a barren 18 months on the tour but is looking to get back to The Crucible for the tenth time.

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, the fourth highest ranked player in qualifying action, bids to clinch a third consecutive Crucible berth by overcoming Liam Highfield – who made his debut in 2018.

Un-Nooh ran eventual champion Judd Trump to the wire in Round One last year, going down 10-9 in a thrilling encounter.

Another top Thai star – Sunny Akani – will grace the Crucible carpet for the first time if he can see off Welshman Jamie Clarke – who knocked out top seed Joe Perry 6-4 in the last round.

Mark King, the former Northern Ireland Open winner who made his World Championship debut back in 1994, aims to deny Ian Burns a dream debut in the prestigious competition.

Scotland’s Anthony McGill, a quarter-finalist on his debut five years ago, faces a tough battle against Sam Baird – bidding for his third appearance since 2013.

Baird has defeated Belgium’s Ben Mertens and stalwart Mark Davis en route to this stage, while McGill was a comfortable 6-1 winner over Jak Jones.

Ryan Day, a three-time World Championship quarter-finalist, looks to clinch his 14th appearance in the main event by dispatching Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown.

Former UK Championship semi-finalist and renowned maximum man Tom Ford comes up against Grimsby’s Stuart Carrington as the experienced duo vie for a Crucible return.

Perhaps the most closely-matched tie of the day sees two-time world finalist Matthew Stevens take on 2013 semi-finalist Ricky Walden.

Stevens has made just one Crucible appearance since 2015 but showed signs of a return to form by reaching the Quarter-Finals of this season’s UK Championship in York.

Walden, meanwhile, reached the Last Eight of this season’s English Open and has his sights set on an eighth Crucible appearance since 2009.

The action gets underway from 1pm BST for a total of nine frames, before matches are played to a finish over the best of 19 from 7pm.

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World Snooker Championship Qualifiers 2020 Schedule

Tuesday July 28

Fourth Round

1pm & 7pm
Jamie Clarke v Sunny Akani
Jordan Brown v Ryan Day
Stuart Carrington v Tom Ford
Mark King v Ian Burns
Graeme Dott v Martin Gould
Matthew Stevens v Ricky Walden
Anthony McGill v Sam Baird
Liam Highfield v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh