The first Triple Crown event of the snooker season is upon us and although the televised stages of the UK Championship do not get going until Saturday, the tournament begins on Tuesday with a whole host of players looking to win the second biggest ranking event in the UK.
Ronnie O’Sullivan did just that 12 months ago and he will be looking to defend the title but there are a number of players who arrive in York in good form who will fancy their chances of walking off with one of the richest prizes in the sport.
Recent Winners
2017 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2016 – Mark Selby
2015 – Neil Robertson
2014 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2013 – Neil Robertson
2012 – Mark Selby
2011 – Judd Trump
2010 – John Higgins
2009 – Ding Junhui
2008 – Shaun Murphy
The Format
From the first round up until the final every match of this tournament is the best of 11 frames. The TV stages get underway on Saturday from the second round of the competition which means there is no play on the first Friday of the tournament to allow the TV setup to be installed. The final of the tournament takes place on the second Sunday over two sessions and the best of 19 frames. The tournament is a straight knockout throughout with the draw pre-determined.
Top Quarter
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the number one seed this week and the main draw in the top quarter as a result but it must be said this section looks like a bit of an event within a tournament. In terms of the top 16 players Ding Junhui, Shaun Murphy and Marco Fu are in this quarter so there is plenty of experience of going deep here.
There are plenty of decent players outside the top 16 too. Jack Lisowski needs a big run this week to secure his qualification for The Masters while Jimmy Robertson already has a tournament win to his name. Mark Davis was the finalist in the English Open and Martin O’Donnell has reached the latter stages of some decent events. Zhou Yuelong, Lu Haotian and Xiao Guodong head the Chinese challenge.
Second Quarter
Northern Ireland Open winner Judd Trump heads the way in this quarter but John Higgins should be expected to say something about it. Ryan Day is a big danger in every tournament he enters and he is a part of the top 16 in this section of the draw with Luca Brecel the other. He needs a massive tournament soon if he is to keep that ranking.
This is not the strongest section outside of the top 16 players. Anthony McGill might have something to say about that while Joe Perry has already made a ranking event final this year but big names are few and far between around them. Tom Ford, Robert Milkins and Li Hang all have big results in them but that is about it.
Third Quarter
The world number one Mark Selby is the leading name in this section of the draw. He will be looking to build on his run to the semi-final of the Northern Ireland Open where he lost that epic to O’Sullivan. Barry Hawkins is the man seeded to give him the most problem in this quarter. Stuart Bingham and Kyren Wilson are the other top 16 members in what looks like a tough part of the bracket.
Ricky Walden and Michael White have big tournaments in them while Liang Wenbo really needs to offer something soon for his own peace of mind as much as anything else. Gary Wilson, Yan Bingtao and Dave Gilbert are all on an upward curve while Peter Ebdon has reached two quarter finals in ranking events this season already.
Bottom Quarter
World champion Mark Williams will be looking for the world and UK double from this part of the draw. International Championship winner Mark Allen will be looking for his second BBC event of 2018 from this quarter as well while Neil Robertson is always a danger. He’s in this quarter with Stephen Maguire the other member of the top 16 in this section.
It is a big couple of weeks for Ali Carter. He needs a big result here if he is going to force his way into The Masters while Anthony Hamilton, Noppon Saengkham, Zhao Xintong, Chris Wakelin and Graeme Dott are all tough opponents in this quarter. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh was a quarter finalist in Belfast earlier in the month and then there is Martin Gould and Hossein Vafaei in a pretty good looking quarter.
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Outright Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets in the outright market this week. Given the quality that is in that top half of the draw I’ll firmly stick to the bottom half for a couple of punts where I think Neil Robertson is a big price at 22/1. The last tournament of the best-of-11 throughout saw Robertson make his way through to the final and I was not surprised at that because his scoring power has more chance to come through in these longer matches. That is exactly what I expect to happen here too. He is scoring as well as ever and if his safety can create his chances then I would be surprised if he is not around deep into the second week.
To be fair the third quarter is pretty tough and open but the form of Peter Ebdon has caught my eye for a while and I’m going to pay to see just how deep into the tournament he can go. Ebdon has already made the final in the Paul Hunter Classic and the quarter final in Northern Ireland and they are both short course tournaments which probably don’t suit him all that well. He has always been someone who has gone better in the longer formats so his early season form bodes well. At 500/1 he’s worth a throwaway bet.
Quarter Betting
I’m going to back Ebdon to come through the third quarter as well for the reasons I have outlined above as I would be gutted if he wins the quarter and then loses in the semi-final. 40/1 is a perfectly acceptable price on that coming off so that is my first quarter bet and I’ll go with one other too.
In the second quarter I can see a decent run coming from Luca Brecel. He was looking in good form in Northern Ireland before he ran into the eventual champion Judd Trump but he won’t meet him until the quarter final here should both get that far. Brecel could easily get there. His last 16 opponent is seeded to be John Higgins but he’s in no form whatsoever. Trump might have it harder to get past Ryan Day so there is definitely value in the Belgian to come through this section at 28/1.
Tips
Back N.Robertson to win UK Championship (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 23.00 with Coral (1/2 1-2)
Back L.Brecel to win 2nd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Coral
Back them here:
Back P.Ebdon to win UK Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 501.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back P.Ebdon to win 3rd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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