Tonight sees the return of the Premier League in 2012 as four of the event’s ten players begin their respective quests to succeed the absent Ronnie O’Sullivan as champion and take home the winner’s prize of £50,000 – not to mention the various frame and century bonuses on offer in the competition.
While I had intended to produce a typically detailed preview tonight, circumstances haven’t permitted that, but I have outlined all of the key rule changes and importantly the tournament schedule within this previous blog post here. You can also visit the tournament’s official website here.
As I have indicated previously, after what for me was a disappointing tournament in 2011 with the various rule changes in operation, this season’s return to a true league format more akin to that in operation between 2005-2010, looks on paper to be a considerable improvement and will hopefully be easier for viewers at home to be able to follow.
While not necessarily an event for the purists, I have always enjoyed the Premier League for what it is, and the opportunity that it affords snooker fans across England to see the top players in action cannot be underestimated, particularly in light of the relative lack of televised snooker staged within the UK now compared to in years gone by.
Night one sees Ding Junhui open with a match against former champion Shaun Murphy, while Judd Trump begins against Stephen Lee in what promises to be an entertaining encounter.