Richard Mann makes Neil Robertson his headline selection when the new snooker season stops off in Cheltenham for the British Open, starting on Monday.
Snooker betting tips: British Open
1pt Neil Robertson to win the British Open at 12/1 (General)
0.5pt e.w. Kyren Wilson to win the British Open at 20/1 (General)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook
*Preview published before Ronnie O'Sullivan's withdrawal
The snooker season is really starting to move through the gears now, with the British Open kicking off three back-to-back tournaments on the calendar, the subsequent English Open sandwiched between the Wuhan Open in China.
Hot on the heels of the hugely-valuable Shanghai Masters, it’s hard to gauge exactly where on the list of priorities this event will stand with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luca Brecel – who fought out a brilliant final in Shanghai – but this remains a big tournament, broadcast by ITV Sport and with a £100,000 first prize.
That said, the last two winners were minor surprises, Ryan Day beating Mark Allen in the final last year after Mark Williams got the better of Gary Wilson a year earlier.
Robertson primed for bold show
Perhaps we could see something similar this week, though I think there are good reasons to think NEIL ROBERTSON will be desperate to enjoy a deep run in Cheltenham, and it's the Australian who heads the staking plan at 12/1.
After enduring a frustrating 2022/2023 campaign, Robertson was one of the players I expected to hit the ground running when the new season began, and I haven’t been discouraged by what I’ve seen so far.
Robertson has made no secret of the fact that winning at least one title a season has long been one of his big professional goals, and having failed to do that last term, a strong reaction seems inevitable.
It was only a season earlier that Robertson was named WST's Player of the Year for the first time, after winning four tournaments during the 2021/22 campaign, and a total of 23 ranking titles in his career already, along with a host of invitation event wins, confirms this is a winning machine.
I suspect the last 12 months will have hurt Robertson, but it’s not like his game has fallen apart, and in fact, he looked to be just about the best player on tour before Christmas when going deep in a number of tournaments without quite being able to get over the line.
His game wasn’t as strong thereafter, but form works like that and I thought he shaped particularly well in Shanghai, just edging out big home hope Ding Junhui in a terrific tussle that featured a mountain of big breaks, before routing Fan Zhengyi and then losing to world champion Brecel in the last four.
Robertson left himself with too much to do when slipping 6-2 behind in that match, but rallied manfully to close to 7-6 and is entitled to have sharpened up plenty from that workout and a solid week in general out in the Far East.
Robertson so reliable in ITV events
Those efforts should have done him plenty of good and when you consider that Robertson’s record in ITV events is second to none over the last few years, it’s hard to think he won’t go well this week.
A tricky opener against Jamie Clarke is no penalty kick, but few draws here are, and it's still a tie I expect him to come through.
Furthermore, any concerns about Robertson’s draw and form are offset by odds of 12/1, which are much bigger than we are used to seeing about one of the best players in the world – a winning machine no less, and one who is always such a hard man to stop when the ITV cameras roll into town.
Elsewhere, I'm keen on the chances of Barry Hawkins and KYREN WILSON, with slight preference for the latter.
Hawkins was right back to his best when beating a host of big names – including Judd Trump in the final – on the way to winning the European Masters last month.
The 44-year-old is another who appears determined to right the wrongs of last season and, in his case, the couple of seasons previous, so I see no reason why he won’t play well again, freshened up having not featured in Shanghai and with his game clearly in good shape.
Wilson worth a spin at big odds
However, the nod goes to Wilson who has made a habit of winning big events early on in the season – think the European Masters in 2022, the Championship League in 2020, the Paul Hunter Classic in 2018 and Shanghai Masters in 2015.
Wilson is renowned for having a fabulous work ethic, so it should come as little surprise when he returns from the summer break well prepared and in good touch, and he’s shaped with promise so far this term.
He played really well to reach the last eight of the European Masters, and John Higgins once again got the better of the argument when they met in Shanghai a few weeks later.
Higgins appears to have Wilson’s number at present, but the Englishman made four big breaks in that match in China and he could be on the cusp of going very close to winning a tournament in the next few weeks.
He’s certainly a name to watch, not least because of how consistent he has become. Though not always making the headlines, Wilson ended last season with one major title, a runner-up finish at the Tour Championship, and two semi-final and two quarter-final runs.
Cue-ball control is the biggest improvement I have seen in his game and while he might just fall below that elite bracket for now, he’ll certainly keep contending for, and winning, major titles.
He looks worth a dart at 20/1.
Higgins and Selby passed over
Higgins himself looks to be playing well enough to resume winning ways at some stage, but he missed a golden opportunity to beat O’Sullivan in Shanghai, as did Mark Selby, and the former in particular now has a few questions marks against his name in regard to closing out big matches.
I have no such concerns about Selby, but his record in ITV events is alarmingly poor and I’ve made the mistake of passing that off as nothing more than coincidence in the past.
Surely Selby will put that right before long, but I won’t be following him over a cliff until he does, instead preferring the apparently cherry-ripe Robertson and the hard-working Wilson.
Posted at 1310 BST on 21/09/2023
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