Just 30 days after Mark Selby concluded the snooker season by lifting the World Championship title, the new season gets underway in Preston when the qualifying event for the Riga Masters begins on Wednesday.
128 men will be looking to win a best-of-seven frame match over the next three days to make it out to the Latvian capital for the first ranking tournament of the season and the chance to win some decent summer dosh.
Morning Session
The event begins with six matches in the morning session. On the main tables we have Thepchaiya Un-Nooh taking on Ian Preece and Martin Gould facing Kurt Maflin in one of the ties of the round. Both matches are streamed with the bookmakers.
The four matches on the outside tables see Michael Georgiou going up against Sanderson Lam, Ashley Hugill facing Stuart Carrington, Alan McManus playing the amateur William Lemons and Thor Chuan Leong playing Eden Sharav.
Afternoon Session
There are two sets of matches in the afternoon session, each with five games in it. On the streamed tables in the first half of the session are Jimmy White and Ken Doherty. They take on Jak Jones and Peter Lines respectively while on the outside tables we have Gary Wilson facing Hu Hao, Josh Boileau meeting Robin Hull and Zhang Anda facing up to Allan Taylor.
In the second half of the afternoon the streamed tables will be occupied with matches between Yan Bingtao and Andrew Higginson as well as Stuart Bingham and Li Hang. The other matches in the session see Tom Ford playing Hamza Akbar, Jimmy Robertson squaring off with Martin O’Donnell and Jamie Jones playing Fergal O’Brien.
Evening Session
Zhao Xintong plays Mark Davis in one of the streamed clashes in this session with Chris Wakelin playing Mathew Stevens on the other table with the cameras covering it.
The other three matches see Sam Craigie playing the Iranian Soheil Vahedi, John Astley meeting another amateur in Declan Brennan and Duane Jones playing Jamie Barrett in a match which presents a realistic chance of earning a few quid for both.
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Betting
I like a bet in each session on this opening day of action. In the morning I’m keen to ride on the back of the confidence Sanderson Lam must have got from coming through q-school. A number of players suggest Lam has what it takes to be a good player on the tour and while I rate Michael Georgiou he won’t have played for six weeks or more. The more active Lam might have the edge there.
Ken Doherty needed a special dispensation to remain on the tour this season and while that was totally deserved it does show that his game has faded in recent years. His opponent on Wednesday is a Peter Lines who is coming again in the game. He has got his place back on the tour and will be eager to get the cash needed to stay on it. Here is a chance to bank some early season funds and at 4/5 he looks a good bet.
Much was made recently of Matthew Stevens having his cue nicked from his car a few weeks ago and there was no news of a recovery so the Welshman could be using a new weapon for the first time in his career when he takes on Chris Wakelin. Wakelin is a competent player who beat Ronnie O’Sullivan among others last season and is particularly dangerous over this distance. We have to assume Stevens is playing with a new cue and that he’ll need time to adjust to it in match conditions which should give Wakelin enough of an advantage to come through.
Tips
Back S.Lam to beat M.Georgiou for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Titanbet
Back him here:
Back P.Lines to beat K.Doherty for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
Back C.Wakelin to beat M.Stevens for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Coral
Back him here:
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