The big draws keep coming in the Championship League and on Friday we have the biggest of them all as Ronnie O’Sullivan returns from lockdown when he competes in one of the two groups to be played out across the day at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
The level is going up rapidly as the first week of this tournament goes on and it would be foolish to think that we are going to see any different on Friday. There is always a buzz around when O’Sullivan graces a table and this is no different.
The Format
The whole tour were invited into the tournament with the highest ranked 64 players getting into the draw. The 64 man field have been split into 16 groups of four in the first round. Each group is a round robin with everyone playing everyone else over the best of four frames with two points for a win and one for a draw. The player who tops the group goes through to the group winner stage where the 16 remaining players are split into four more groups of four over the same format. Those four winners then go into the Championship group which is once again played out over the same format. Whoever tops that group is the champion. Two groups will be played on each day until the final day when the Championship group is played. The entire tournament is live on ITV4 in the UK.
Thursday Recap
We saw some amazing snooker on Thursday and a flurry of century breaks across the two tables. The action was dominated on the main table by Liang Wenbo who made three of those centuries himself in the nine frames he won to win Group 5 without dropping a point. Gary Wilson was in even better form though. He dominated Group 14 and made four centuries in the process. Joe O’Connor was the man who lit the day up with a scintillating 143 break while Mark Selby could only finish third behind Wenbo and O’Connor.
We went into Thursday with just the one bet which was on Liang Wenbo to take care of Mark Selby without the draw in play but we may as well have had the draw included because nobody was stopping the Chinese star over the course of the day. Wenbo beat Selby 3-0 and never looked in any danger, which is exactly how we like our 9/4 shots to win. That is three wins and a push from our four match bets this week.
Group 10
Fixtures
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Kishan Hirani
Chris Wakelin vs Michael Georgiou
Chris Wakelin vs Kishan Hirani
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Michael Georgiou
Michael Georgiou vs Kishan Hirani
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Chris Wakelin
Preview
All eyes will be on the main table on Friday afternoon and into the evening to see if Ronnie O’Sullivan can justify favouritism in the section when he takes to the green baize. He looks to have a nice draw although the former Shootout champion Michael Georgiou has the potential to be dangerous. Chris Wakelin is one of the better players occupying the middle reaches of the world rankings and he could be a threat if he gets going from the get go. Kishan Hirani looks to be making up the numbers but has a wonderful chance to show that isn’t the case.
Group 15
Fixtures
Robert Milkins vs Mike Dunn
Tom Ford vs Ian Burns
Tom Ford vs Mike Dunn
Robert Milkins vs Ian Burns
Tom Ford vs Robert Milkins
Mike Dunn vs Ian Burns
Preview
Tom Ford is the leading player on show on the second table on Friday afternoon and our final outright pick to get his campaign underway will be expected to dominate a good looking group as far as he is concerned. Robert Milkins is probably the biggest danger to the Leicester man but he is nothing like the force he was a few years ago. Ian Burns is steadily improving but whether he is good enough to overcome Ford remains to be seen. Mike Dunn is a steady sort who doesn’t make many mistakes but whether he has it in him to pick up enough wins to qualify from this group I would have my doubts I must admit.
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Group Betting
There isn’t much that I fancy in the group betting on Friday. You would expect Ronnie O’Sullivan to dominate on the main table but at 3/10 he can do that if he is good enough. If I wanted to take him on I would probably want to do so with Chris Wakelin but he hasn’t won a match outside of the Shootout in 2020 so that isn’t really a starter. Michael Georgiou is competent but it is a big ask for him to overcome O’Sullivan. There is no doubt the Rocket is on the skinny side price wise but he is the likely group winner.
It is a little more open over in Group 15 where our outright bet Tom Ford is the favourite to progress. He may not have it all his own way in the way that O’Sullivan should do but he is the class act in the field. I’m not going to oppose an outright pick but there is no need to back the Leicester man to win the group as a favourite when I’m on him to go all the way in the tournament. I’ll no bet the group markets.
Match Betting
I’ll make up for it on the match betting front though where I’ll take one on both tables. On the main table I’ll go with Michael Georgiou to get off to a winning start in his opening match against Chris Wakelin, although I will definitely bet without the draw in play here. This match could be quite tense given that both know if they are going to have a hope of going through they need to win here. That might suit Georgiou who has shown that he can handle pressure when winning the Shootout in the past and qualifying for the Crucible. Wakelin has no form to speak of so while it could be said that the break came at the right time for him, it would only have done so if he was able to work on his game during lockdown. Given that was unlikely I think the Cypriot, whose form has picked up since he moved to Ireland, could be worth a go in the draw no bet market.
Over on table two, Ian Burns could be a spot of value to beat Robert Milkins, a man who a couple of years ago would have been well suited to this quick-fire format but now I’m not so sure as he hasn’t really picked up many results for a while. Burns probably isn’t anything special but is he solid if unspectacular and it usually takes a decent player to beat him. He is one of few to have beaten Judd Trump this season and a lot of his defeats have come in deciding frames. I’ve been with the natural talents this week and it has served me well but while Milkins has all of that talent, he is very much a confidence player. The value lies with Burns without the draw here.
Tips
Back M.Georgiou to beat C.Wakelin (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with Betfair
PUSH – Back I.Burns to beat R.Milkins (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Betfair
Back them here:
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