There have been a number of late withdrawals from the Scottish Open, with big names opting out of a trip to Edinburgh this week.
It is the third instalment of the Home Nations Series this season, after Mark Allen’s win at the English Open and Jack Lisowski’s memorable triumph at the Northern Ireland Open.
The tournament is held at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in the Scottish capital and boasts a top prize of £100,000.
However, that healthy winner’s cheque is not enough to tempt all the top players in the game, with some not entering and others pulling out before the tournament got underway,
Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui all chose not to enter the Scottish Open and were never in the draw.
However, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson were expected to be playing but have withdrawn from the event.
Robert Milkins and Jak Jones have also pulled out of the tournament, leaving the draw in Edinburgh looking a bit of a mess.
The opponents of the four players who have withdrawn have been given byes to the last 32, meaning world champion Zhao Xintong, Matthew Stevens, He Guoqiang and Ben Mertens all progress without hitting a ball.
As there have already been qualification rounds to reach this stage, the withdrawn players cannot be replaced in the draw.
The walkover wins are handy early Christmas presents for those four players as they are guaranteed £5,400 in prize money already.
The entire round of 32 is being played on Wednesday so they will play their first games in Edinburgh then.
Despite a string of top stars choosing not to play in Scotland, there remain plenty of big names in the field and looking to lift the Stephen Hendry Trophy on Sunday.
The likes of Mark Selby, John Higgins, Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy and two-time champion Gary Wilson are all in Edinburgh this week.
As is defending champion Lei Peifan and last year’s runner-up Wu Yize, who are looking for more Scottish success after their fine runs 12 months ago.
Scottish Open draw and schedule
Monday December 15
10am
Lei Peifan vs Amir Sarkhosh
Zhang Anda vs Fan Zhengyi
1pm
Yuan Sijun vs Ben Woollaston
Wu Yize vs Ian Burns
Gary Wilson vs Lan Yuhao
John Higgins vs Antoni Kowalski
3pm
Stuart Bingham vs Artemijs Zizins
Shaun Murphy vs Liu Hongyu
Noppon Saengkham vs Liam Pullen
7pm
Matt Selt vs Ryan Day
Si Jiahui vs Mark Davis
Joe O’Connor vs Stan Moody
9pm
Stephen Maguire vs Chang Bingyu
Tuesday December 16
10am
Ali Carter vs Zak Surety
Xiao Guodong vs Michael Holt
1pm
Tom Ford vs Anthony McGill
Hossein Vafaei vs David Grace
Zhou Yuelong vs Sam Craigie
3pm
Elliot Slessor v Steven Hallworth
Mark Selby v Robbie McGuigan
Pang Junxu v Robbie Williams
Barry Hawkins v Jiang Jun
7pm
Jack Lisowski v Wang Yuchen
Jackson Page v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
David Gilbert v Ashley Hugill
Kyren Wilson v Gao Yang
Not before 8pm
Mark Allen v Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Chris Wakelin v Oliver Lines
Selby in top form but the Scottish Open is unpredictable
Heading to Edinburgh after winning the Champion of Champions and the UK Championship in recent weeks, there is no doubt that Mark Selby is the form player on the planet.
He is runaway favourite to beat Northern Irish youngster Robbie McGuigan in the opening round and has won this tournament twice before.
However, the Scottish Open has proved very unusual in the last three years since its move to Edinburgh.
Back-to-back wins for Gary Wilson, downing Joe O’Connor and Noppon Saengkham in his finals, followed by Lei beating Wu to lift the trophy last year. It has been a great event for underdogs of late.
Scottish Open prize money
Winner: £100,000
Runner-up: £45,000
Semi-final: £21,000
Quarter-final: £13,200
Last 16: £9,000
Last 32: £5,400
Last 64: £3,600
Last 96: £1,000
Highest break: £5,000