With Cao Tong-Yu and Claas Roever unable to take their seats at the opening weekend of the 2010 Top 8 tournament (to be held in Dublin over the weekend of 16-17th January), Colin MacSweeny and Michael Thai have joined Ian Davis and Noel Mitchell as the qualifiers from this year’s Top 8. The remaining four places for 2010 will be filled from the Ladder. With only twenty-nine days remaining in the Ladder tournament, intense competition can be expected for the rest of November.