All the champions from last year have returned with the exception of the mixed doubles winners for a competition with a prize fund of $1.5 million (£1.2 million/€1.4 million).

The competition was switched to the Nimibutr Arena in Bangkok, longtime host of the Thailand Open, after the Chinese city of Guangzhou withdrew from hosting little more than three weeks ago because of what organisers described as "various challenges brought about by the current pandemic situation".

Play begins tomorrow with group-stage matches.

Competition features only the top eight in BWF World Tour rankings for each of the five categories.

Axelsen enters the finals with five tour wins in 2022 and is considered strong favourite to retain the title he won in Bali a year ago.

He begins his competition against Lu Guangzu of China on the first day.

The initial group format could produce some shocks with Singapore's Loh Kean Yew - ranked third this season - fourth-ranked Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei and number five Indonesia's Jonatan Christie all drawn in the same preliminary-round group.

Japan's Naraoka Kodai can take confidence from his success in the Vietnam Open.

There was a blow for the women's competition when India's PV Sindhu was forced to withdraw from the competition last month.

She had failed to recover from an ankle injury sustained at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Even so the field is packed with high quality.

South Korea's An won the World Tour Finals  last year but is set to face a strong challenge from world champion Akane Yamaguchi, a former world number one who won this competition in 2016, Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei and Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Chen Yufei also in Bangkok.

Chen was a World Tour winner in 2019 and Tai took her third title in 2020 after previous victories in 2014 and 2017.

The host nation is represented by Ratchanok Intanon and Busanan Ongbamrungphan.

The women's doubles might well prove to be the most unpredictable with Japan's world number two pairing Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida out of the reckoning.

The 2021 winners Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong also failed to qualify this year.

China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan are the highest-ranked pairing and may well start favourites.

They begin the group phase against their compatriots Zhang Zhu Xian and Zheng Yu. 

The opening day's play is also scheduled to feature sisters Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard in action against their Thai compatriots Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.

In the men's doubles Japanese ex-world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi are amongst the star attractions.

They will have to wait for their opening match on court B against the Malaysians Ong Yew Sin and Ee Yi Teo, it is scheduled later after the conclusion of six other matches.

Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia are also highly fancied after a run of form which has seen them capture four tour titles this season.

Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik come to the competition as world champions and are expected to also provide a threat.

In the mixed doubles, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong have been the dominant pairing this year but Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai - finalists last year - will hope to go one stage further this time in front of their home crowd.

The event runs from tomorrow until Sunday (December 11).