Last year's winner was Lee Beachill , who was eliminated in the quarterfinals against later finalist Nick Matthew . Matthew lost in the final to third-placed Peter Nicol , who won the game 11: 8, 1!: 9 and 11: 3.
The field of participants in the men's competition consisted of 16 players, four of which were reserved for qualifiers. The eight best players were seeded. Per Wildcard got Ben Garner a spot in the main draw.