The late re-scheduling of the PTC Grand Finals may have been warmly greeted for the return of top-level snooker to Preston’s famous Guildhall, steeped in history, but the switch did present certain difficulties for those having planned trips to the Far East assuming they would be in Thailand after the Haikou World Open and prior to the China Open in Beijing. Ricky Walden and his girlfriend had originally intended to spend a week in Hong Kong with friends along with manager Lee Gorton, plans that had to be hastily re-arranged by the player once the Lancashire date was announced for the tournament, leaving his pal to make the trip alone. And Jamie Jones was among those players having booked flights to Bangkok and left scrabbling trying to recoup the outlay.