| HAZEL IRVINE AT SNOOKER'S GRAND PRIX The Grand Prix is about to get under way in Glasgow and judging by the start of the season it is Ronnie O'Sullivan's to lose.
He was on a run of back-to-back ranking title successes when he went into the final of the Shanghai Masters last weekend, but was very surprisingly beaten by the unheralded Ricky Walden.
It underlines the number of players who are extremely capable in snooker at the moment.
We are going to see more of the likes of Walden, Jamie Cope and Judd Trump making an impression in the world's top 16 and a changing of the guard appears to be gradually taking place.
The Grand Prix has relocated to Glasgow from Aberdeen and this will please many of the Scottish players in the field.
Stephen Maguire is from round these parts and he will have a lot of people cheering him on.
He's determined to do well here as it's his first chance to play at 'home'.
But it could prove to be a very open tournament as the organisers have dispensed with the group stage format that was used in Aberdeen.
I can't say I'm that sorry to see it go in all honesty and I'm delighted the tournament is adopting an FA Cup-style draw in which anyone could pull anyone out of the bag.
It adds a huge amount of intrigue as you just don't know who you are going to draw and it keeps things exciting.
Just a final word on the comments from Sir Rodney Walker, chairman of the World Professional Billiard and Snooker Association, that the World Championships could be played in China from 2011.
It's an interesting development and shows the degree to which the game has expanded in the Far East.
I personally would like it to stay in Europe as I think it is one of the crown jewels of our sporting calendar.
But if I was Chinese of course I would be saying a different thing completely.
Enjoy the weekend,
Hazel
Hazel Irvine presents BBC TV's coverage of the Grand Prix.
Hazel was talking to Paul Birch. | 
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