Richard Mann is tipping a big outsider to enjoy a deep run at this week's Champion of Champions in Leicester.
Snooker betting tips: Champion of Champions
2pts Mark Selby to win the Champion of Champions at 15/2 (betway)
1pt Ali Carter to win Group Two at 11/2 (bet365, Betfred, betway)
0.5pt e.w. Ali Carter to win the Champion of Champions at 33/1 (1/2 1,2 bet365, Betfred, betway)
Ronnie O’Sullivan is back on home soil this week as he bids for a record-extending fifth Champion of Champions victory in Leicester.
British snooker fans have seen much less of The Rocket since his relocation to the Middle East, and a recent trip to Belfast ended in a first-round defeat at the Northern Ireland Open to compound what has been a generally challenging start to the new season for the 50-year-old.
Perhaps Father Time is catching up with O’Sullivan now, though his participation in Leicester would suggest he has finally conceded he needs more match practice to sharpen up his game.
As I’ve said many times recently, we should enjoy O’Sullivan while we can, though a Wednesday afternoon opener against Shaun Murphy looks a particularly tough ask on form, equally the quarter-final with either world champion Wu Yize or exciting prospect Chang Bingyu which will await the winner.
Wilson flying high after Nanjing win
That quartet make up a high-class Group Three, though Group Two looks no easier to navigate, with Zhao Xintong starting off against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, followed by a last-four clash between the winner of Kyren Wilson and ALI CARTER.
Xintong is a short price to make it through to the semi-finals, but he’s been a notch below his best so far this term, and Wilson, hot from winning in Belfast and then in Nanjing just on Saturday, clearly holds the strongest recent form claims.
My concern with Wilson is that he has played a lot of snooker recently, and a lot of close, hard-fought matches when the pressure valve has been right on the edge.
He deserves credit for making the most of that form, but another long flight back from China, even with his tournament starting as late as possible on Thursday, doesn’t make life easy.
It stands to reason that Wilson will come back down to earth before too long, mainly due to his heavy recent workload, and Carter could be primed to stop him in his tracks first up.
Carter primed for bold sight
Carter didn’t qualify for Nanjing, which could be a blessing for him this week, but we know his game is in good order having got back to winning ways at the English Open earlier in the campaign.
Carter clearly got a kick out of winning another big tournament in Brentwood, his seventh ranking title of a distingiushed career, and I'm sure that qualifying for this high-profile event on merit will have put a spring in his step.
Ever the competitor, he’ll be keen to squeeze every last drop out of the week, only his third appearance at this tournament in the last 10 years.
Carter beat Wilson at the Wuhan Open in August, so there is no reason why he can’t pull off another minor surprise, while he certainly has the game to nullify the attacking instincts of either Xintong or Thepchaiya, or at least ensure they have to work hard for that last-four spot.
CARTER looks a spot of value TO WIN GROUP TWO at 11/2, and I'll be splitting stakes with an OUTRIGHT EACH-WAY wager (33/1) on The Captain to go all the way.
Selby the best bet again
In the top half of the draw, I’d give Jak Jones more than a puncher’s chance of beating Judd Trump first up, with the winner likely to face Neil Robertson for Group Four honours.
Don’t discount Jones, twice a tournament winner already this season, but I’m keen on the claims of MARK SELBY, and he heads the staking plan.
Selby will line up as defending champion having produced a near-faultless week of snooker 12 months ago to romp to his first Champion of Champions victory.
This event had previously been one to evade the four-time world champion who has won just about everything else in the game, and he finally put it all together last year with a brilliant run that saw him whitewash Stephen Maguire, battle past then defending champion Mark Williams, before trouncing both Neil Robertson and Judd Trump.
It doesn’t get much tougher than that, but Williams was the only man to give Selby so much as a game last year, and I reckon he’s got a clearer path to the latter stages this time around – Shoot Out hero Alfie Burden first followed by the winner of Barry Hawkins and Chris Wakelin.
On paper, a Selby-Hawkins quarter-final appears most likely, but Selby has won the last three meetings between these two great mates, and recent form would point to something similar this week.
Home comforts point to Selby
While the third round of the English Open is Hawkins’ best finish of the season thus far, Selby has already won the China Open, reached the final of the British Open, and the last eight at Shenzhen Open.
Though not pulling up any trees in Nanjing last week, I wouldn't hold that against him, and an early flight home will hopefully help Selby’s chances in Leicester which, of course, is his home city.
He’ll be keyed up to mount a stern title defence in front of his home fans, and while that guarantees nothing, the draw at least means the first time he won’t start favourite all week is in a potential semi-final with Trump, and we must remember that Selby beat the left-hander 10-5 in the final here last year.
Trump hasn’t fired at his absolute best for a while now and, for all he remains an incredibly tough nut to crack, Selby looks the stronger man right now – indeed he is world number one on the One Year List, while Trump currently sits at 11.
In all, Selby looks to have an awful lot going for him this week, the man to beat from the top half of the draw and attractively priced at 15/2 to go back-to-back in Leicester.
Preview posted at 16:05 GMT on 08/11/26
ALSO READ: Nick Metcalfe on the Champion of Champions
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