Line-up confirmed as snooker's all-time greats head for Telford
Mark Allen will start the defence of his Sportsbet.io Players Championship title against World Champion Kyren Wilson on the opening night next Monday at the Telford International Centre.
The world ranking event, with an elite field of 16 of the world's top stars, runs from March 17-23.
Allen beat Zhang Anda 10-8 in the final last year in front of a packed crowd. He'll take on Crucible king Wilson in a blockbuster first round tie this time at 7pm on Monday March 23rd. Other notable clashes include world number one Judd Trump against Lei Peifan, and Neil Robertson's tie with Stuart Bingham which is a repeat of last Sunday's World Grand Prix final.
The first round fixtures in Telford are:
Monday March 17th - 7pm
Mark Allen v Kyren Wilson
Mark Williams v Ding Junhui
Tuesday March 18th - 1pm
Neil Robertson v Stuart Bingham
Mark Selby v Si Jiahui
Tuesday March 18th - 7pm
Judd Trump v Lei Peifan
Shaun Murphy v Barry Hawkins
Wednesday March 19th - 1pm
John Higgins v Chris Wakelin
Xiao Guodong v Wu Yize
The quarter-finals will start on Wednesday evening, with two more on Thursday and the last on Friday afternoon. Then it's one semi-final on Friday evening and one on Saturday evening, followed by the final on Sunday. All matches are best of 11 frames, up until the final which is best of 19.
The tournament will enjoy extensive live coverage on ITV, as well as a range of broadcasters worldwide including WST Play. Only the top 16 on the Johnstone's Paint One-Year rankings have earned a place in the field.
Tom Rowell, WST's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, said: "We have an incredibly strong field for this event, with only the best 16 players of the season earning the chance to head to this superb arena in Telford. The fact that defending champion Mark Allen takes on World Champion Kyren Wilson in the opening round underlines the strength of the line-up. In fact eight of the 16 players have won the World Championship!
"Telford proved an outstanding location for this event last year and the fans created an electric atmosphere. We expect to see the same this time with the arena packed out. There is still time to book tickets for certain sessions but they are selling out fast. We look forward to seven days of world class drama on the green baize."
Tickets for the event are on sale from just £28, book fast now that the fixtures are confirmed! For ticket details visit wst.tv/tickets.
