by O’Sullivan, Trump and Wilson discover opponents as Players Championship begins in Telford
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ByEurosport
Updated 19/02/2024 at 08:42 GMT
The Players Championship is contested by the top 16 players on the sport’s one-year list and begins on Monday at the Telford International Centre with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump both chasing a record third victory at the event. Welsh Open champion Gary Wilson is seeded fourth following a 9-4 win over Martin O’Donnell on Sunday. Stream top snooker action, live on discovery+ and Eurosport.
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The Players Championship begins in Telford on Monday evening with the top 16 in the draw discovering their opponents after the completion of the Welsh Open in Llandudno.
Top seed Judd Trump gets the action underway at 7pm on Monday night against Chris Wakelin, who only secured his place in the elite event with world No. 76 O’Donnell failing to get the victory he required against Wilson to claim the 16th and final spot via the sport’s one-year list.
Welsh Open semi-finalist and 2021 Players winner John Higgins is also in action against Ding Junhui on Monday night.
Watch Wilson’s maximum 147 break against Higgins in Welsh Open semi-final
The UK and Masters champion enjoys a 6-0 winning record against Zhou Yuelong on their career head-to-heads, but has been forced to edge two final-frame deciders against the world No. 21 in the UK Championship quarter-finals (6-5) and World Grand Prix last 16 (4-3).
Shaun Murphy lifted the Players Championship last year with a 10-4 final win over Ali Carter, but has failed to qualify for this year’s tournament.
O’Sullivan and Trump are both chasing title victories for a record third time with a £125,000 first prize on the line on Sunday night. All matches are the best of 11 frames before a best-of-19 frame final on Sunday.
2024 Players Championship draw
- Judd Trump (1) v Chris Wakelin (16)
- Tom Ford (8) v Ali Carter (9)
- Mark Williams (5) v Mark Allen (12)
- Gary Wilson (4) v Hossen Vafaei (13)
- Zhang Anda (3) v Noppon Saengkham (14)
- Ding Junhui (6) v John Higgins (11)
- Barry Hawkins (7) v Mark Selby (10)
- Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) v Zhou Yuelong (15)
Order of Play
- Judd Trump v Chris Wakelin
- Ding Junhui v John Higgins
- Mark Williams v Mark Allen
- Gary Wilson v Hossein Vafaei
- Ronnie O’Sullivan v Zhou Yuelong
- Tom Ford v Ali Carter
- Barry Hawkins v Mark Selby
- Zhang Anda v Noppon Saengkham
Stream top snooker action, including the Welsh Open, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com