One of the biggest events of the snooker season begins on Monday when 16 players head to the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes for the Champion of Champions, the event that puts all the tournament winners over the last year against each other.
Neil Robertson got the better of Judd Trump in the final last year to win the title and he has made it back to this tournament as a result of that. He’ll be looking for a successful defence but the field looks loaded with quality here.
Recent Winners
2019 – Neil Robertson
2018 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2017 – Shaun Murphy
2016 – John Higgins
2015 – Neil Robertson
2014 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
The Format
16 players have qualified for the tournament and they will all be placed into one of the four groups of four players. One group is played out on each of the first four days of the tournament with the semi-finals in the afternoon over the best of seven frames before the final of each group takes place in the evening session on the same day. That is over the best of 11 frames. The winners of each group go through to the overall semi-finals which take place over 11 frames on Friday evening and Saturday night before the winner is determined in a best of 19 frame final on Sunday.
Group 1
Given that he is the defending champion Neil Robertson has been placed in Group 1 this week although he might have wished he hadn’t because this is a tasty group. The Australian is joined in the group by the World Seniors champion Jimmy White while one half of the World Cup winning pairing is also in this group in John Higgins. What looks like a pretty tasty group is completed by the UK Championship winner Ding Junhui whose group semi-final against John Higgins should be incredibly tasty.
Group 2
There is no let up in the quality of the second group of the week either. In terms of ranking and big name the European Masters champion Mark Selby is the biggest in the group but as well as winning the World Cup, Stephen Maguire won the lucrative Tour Championship to make it into this group. The two Championship League winners since lockdown make up a very competitive and high quality quartet with Luca Brecel in here as well as Kyren Wilson who would have been in this tournament through reaching the world final had he not won the Championship League last week.
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Group 3
There is always a ‘Group of Death’ in any of these tournaments that use a group stage format and on this occasion it is very much Group 3 that gets that tag. World number one and recent English Open winner is the headline act in it but The Masters champion Stuart Bingham won’t be here just to make up the numbers. The Welsh Open winner Shaun Murphy is also in this group and it is completed by one of the two men who have made it in through the world rankings rather than winning a tournament in Dave Gilbert.
Group 4
The final group of the week is another decent looking group although it is headlined by two men who could meet in a juicy group final. The world champion and three time former winner of this tournament in Ronnie O’Sullivan looks to be the one to beat while a lofty world ranking got Mark Allen into the field this week and he’ll be looking to take full advantage of that. The Shootout winner Michael Holt is one of the players who will be looking to cause a major upset here while the first Championship League winner of last season, Scott Donaldson, completes the field.
Betting
With Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan both in the bottom half of the draw this week it makes sense to target the top half of the draw and the man I like this week is Kyren Wilson. You have to show respect for the likes of Neil Robertson, John Higgins and Mark Selby who have all started their season strongly but Wilson has been in pretty good touch since the sport restarted and his victory in the Championship League last week only went to confirm that.
The fact that Wilson once again beat Trump in the final of that tournament is very much a positive should they meet in the final but the way Wilson has been scoring this term added on to the confidence of making it to the final of the World Championship, I don’t think he is finished as far as winning titles is concerned this year. Wilson has a brilliant all-round game. He mixes it in the safety and scores with the best of them. He’s determined and wants a first truly major title to his name. That could well come this week.
Tips
Back K.Wilson to win Champion of Champions (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 13.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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