The next tournament on the snooker schedule sees many of the tour players heading to India for the Indian Open. It must be said this is not one of the highest profile events of the season and with the World Open next week it would be understandable if the minds of the top players are not on this event but there is £50,000 up for grabs for the winner which should ensure a competitive event.
Recent Winners
2016 – Anthony McGill
2015 – Michael White
2013 – Ding Junhui
The Format
This is a pretty simple format. Apart from the Indian players who have had their matches held over to the main venue there has been a qualifying round which has whittled the field down to 64. Each match in the tournament is the best of seven frames until the final which is the best of nine. The last four rounds of the tournament are played over just two days so mental fitness will be key.
Top Quarter
Anthony McGill was the number one seed this week as the defending champion and really he could not have asked for a better draw. Anthony Hamilton and Tom Ford are both in the top 32 in the rankings but neither are in great form. Ali Carter, Martin Gould and Michael White being knocked out in qualifying certainly helped.
There are some other players in this quarter capable of decent runs. Mark Davis, Ken Doherty and Li Hang have all shown decent form so far this season while Hossein Vafaei is a man on the up who could be motivated to impress in this part of the world.
Second Quarter
Shaun Murphy has finished as the runner up in the last two 15 red tournaments so he will be aiming for third time lucky from this second quarter. On paper Stuart Bingham looks the obvious initial danger to his chances but his form looks to have gone AWOL. Mark King and Joe Perry are also capable of going deep here.
They are not the only ones. Matt Selt has the ability to take down a tournament of this kind while Graeme Dott had a decent run in Thailand last week. Fergal O’Brien and Jimmy Robertson could be underrated as could Alan McManus.
Third Quarter
Mark Allen is the highest ranked player at this section of the draw. He tends to start seasons a little slow for me so the others in this quarter should fancy their chances. The rankings would suggest that David Gilbert and Ricky Walden are the two most likely to benefit but Ben Woollaston and Zhou Yuelong are not far behind.
In truth there are not too many of those lower ranked in this quarter who you would think could go on and win the tournament. Alfie Burden, Kurt Maflin and Andrew Higginson can all take care of a few rounds but maybe not go the distance.
Bottom Quarter
I am always surprised when players with the credentials of John Higgins enter tournaments like these. If he is at it he could lead these a merry dance but I do wonder if it is more match practice ahead of next week. If it is then Luca Brecel, Stephen Maguire and Michael Holt could all be dangers in this part of the draw.
Among those who can surprise people from lower down the rankings would include Robert Milkins, Dominic Dale and to a lesser extent perhaps Yu Delu and Liam Highfield.
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Betting
I’m going with an outright bet in both halves of the draw this week. Anthony McGill won this tournament with my money on him last year and he is getting it on his shoulders again this year too. As a general rule I don’t like backing defending champions but his draw this year looks too good to be true. That isn’t always a good thing of course but off the back of a decent tune up in the six reds last week his form looks to be good enough to take advantage here.
In the bottom half of the draw Ben Woollaston strikes me as someone in form who can go deep. He just went well in quarter final of the Paul Hunter Classic and went well enough in Thailand last week. He has had a decent obstacle moved out of the way in India with the withdrawal of Yan Bingtao and I always feel he is at his best in these best of seven events. He is more aggressive in them which suits him. His early draw looks safe enough and at 33/1 this could be his week.
Tips
PLACED – Back A.McGill to win Indian Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Coral (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back B.Woollaston to win Indian Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Paddy Power (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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