Players Championship Grand Finals Line-up Confirmed
It has been a dramatic week in Gdynia at the sixth and final event of this season’s Kreativ Dental European Tour, but following the last 16 stage in Poland, the line-up for the Players Championship Grand Finals has now been set.
The event, scheduled to take place in Bangkok, Thailand between 24-28 March 2015, sees the top 24 players from the European Order of Merit, in addition to the top 8 from the Asian Order of Merit, battle it out for a top prize of £100,000.
Inevitably, there are a few clarifications to be made, with some players qualifying through both Orders of Merit, that I will set out below.
European Order of Merit
The 24 qualifying players through the European Order of Merit are:
- Shaun Murphy
- Mark Allen
- Stephen Maguire
- Mark Selby
- Judd Trump
- Robert Milkins
- Neil Robertson
- Mark Williams
- Matt Selt
- Martin Gould
- Mark Davis
- Barry Hawkins
- Peter Ebdon
- Rod Lawler
- Luca Brecel
- Alan McManus
- Ricky Walden
- Michael White
- Anthony McGill
- Chris Wakelin
- Marco Fu
- Mark King
- Dominic Dale
- John Higgins
There are a couple of important points to note here, as excluded from the above list are Joe Perry and Jimmy Robertson, who instead qualify thanks to their higher positions on the Asian Order of Merit as set out below.
This means that the players in 25th and 26th positions, qualify for the Grand Finals and with Dominic Dale, John Higgins and Fergal O’Brien all tied on 6,583 for those positions, it is Dale and Higgins who take the spots in Thailand.
This is because on count back, with each of them having reached the last 16 of two events, one last 32 and three last 64s, according to the qualification criteria, we then have to look back at their results working backwards. Doing so, as both Dominic and John progressed a round further than Fergal in Gdynia, so it is they who take the final two positions.
Asian Order of Merit
The 8 qualifying players through the Asian Order of Merit are:
- Joe Perry
- Ding Junhui
- Stuart Bingham
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Oliver Lines
- Michael Holt
- Ryan Day
- Jimmy Robertson
Again, with Perry and Robertson higher on this list than their respective standings on the European Order of Merit, this is the list that they will take their places in Thailand from.
The 32 players will now be seeded using a combined list taking into account all money earned from both Orders of Merit, with the top 16 on that list to play the bottom 16 in the opening round.
The above players now have until Thursday 5th March 2015 to enter the Grand Finals event.
