Ding Junhui plays against John Higgins in the quarterfinal of the 2015 World Snooker China Open in Beijing, April 3, 2015. (Photo: China News Service/Xiong Ran)
Home favorites Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong are top seeds of the Snooker World Cup 2015, as China won the last World Cup in 2011 when they beat Northern Ireland in the final in Thailand, according to the official website of World Snooker on Friday.
Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham, the last two world champions, make up a strong English team. John Higgins and Stephen Maguire will represent Scotland, while Mark Williams hopes to recover from a shoulder injury in time to play for Wales alongside Michael White. Australian pair Neil Robertson and Vinnie Calabrese will also be among the favorites.
World No. 37 Kurt Maflin will team up with his wife Anita Maflin for Norway.
The 24 teams will be divided into four groups of six teams, with each team to play five matches in the group stages. The top two teams in each group qualify for the knock-out stages. The format will be a combination of singles and doubles play.
The tournament will take place in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province from June 15 to 21, with the two-man teams chasing a top prize of 200,000 US dollars from a total prize fund of 800,000 dollars.
