The opening day of the Champion of Champions sees Group 1 of the tournament played out at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. That means we get to see Ding Junhui in action on the first day of competition as he bids to be the first man through to the semi-finals.
As with each group this week there are two semi-finals in the afternoon over the best of seven frames before the two winners return in the evening to play out for the tournament semi spot. Time restrictions will deny us the chance to preview the final but we can look at the semi-finals and the group market.
Ding Junhui vs Anthony Hamilton
The tournament begins with the World Open champion Ding Junhui taking on the popular winner of the German Masters in Anthony Hamilton over the best of seven frames. These sorts of arenas and tournaments usually inspire the greats of the game and Ding will be hoping that works for him.
Ding has won the last three meetings between these two and I expect him to win this match partly because he is the better player but more because Hamilton has been struggling with his back in recent times. He has only won three frames in his last four matches and if his back is still causing problems Ding will get the chances to win this quickly. Even if it isn’t there is no guarantee we go beyond 5.5 frames.
Barry Hawkins vs Ryan Day
A more even match would appear to be the second match of the afternoon when the World Grand Prix winner Barry Hawkins takes on the man he beat to win that tournament in Ryan Day, the Riga Masters champion.
Hawkins is yet to really get going this season. He’s yet to go past the second round of any tournament. Clearly he is much better than that but that suggests that he isn’t at his best and confidence may be low. Day hasn’t pulled up any trees since he won in Riga but he has run into some special performances such as the one Mark Williams put up against him last week. He isn’t likely to hit one of them here so I fancy Day to win this at odds against.
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Group Betting
This is probably the weakest of the four groups but that doesn’t mean there is much value in it. I guess Ding is a worthy favourite and I certainly expect him to be in the final but I wouldn’t be completely surprised if he is turned over, especially if Day finds extra confidence from his win earlier in the day, should he win. I’m expecting a Ding vs Day final and if that is how it plays out I might look for some breaks markets for the final but in terms of backing a group winner here it isn’t really for me.
Tips
Back D.Junhui vs A.Hamilton – Under 5.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
Back it here:
WON – Back R.Day to beat B.Hawkins for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
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