By Richard Preen

World Ranking: 29
Date Of Birth: 26/09/73
Form: SF/R16/R48/R48/R16
World Championship best: Last 16 – Two times

The surprise package of the season is Scotland's Chris Small.

At pre-tournament odds of 150/1 Small romped to victory in October's LG Cup.

Scalps on the way to victory included Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins yet he brushed them aside with apparent ease.

In the final he overcame another Scotsman in Alan McManus 9-5.

As if his run wasn't staggering enough, he was also fighting another adversity in the form of a serious spinal disease.

Monthly injections provided relief although there were stages during the summer where Small considered quitting the game.

His upturn in fortunes continued into November when he reached the semi-finals of the British Open before bowing out to Paul Hunter.

Small is unlikely to win any awards for flamboyancy around the table but his gritty, steady break-building make him more than a match for the game's best professionals.

Small has just crept into the top 16 on the provisional world rankings and will be looking for a decent run at Sheffield to secure his place.