The final two groups of the first round of the Championship League snooker event takes place on Monday on what could be another exciting day of action in the first tournament back since the lockdown break inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
The action has heated up in this event over the last few days and with the final two spots in the semi-final groups at stake across the two tables in the arena on Monday, we are unlikely to see a drop in the drama or quality now.
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.
Sunday Recap
We saw the biggest shock in the tournament so far on Sunday when Neil Robertson bombed out of the competition. He was against the ropes after throwing away a decent position in his opening match against Ashley Carty and his fate was sealed when he was unable to get the better of Ken Doherty in his second one. It was the aforementioned Carty who held his nerve in the last frame of the day to progress with seven points. Seven points was the total Barry Hawkins picked up as he won his opening two matches and then draw the decider with Anthony McGill to qualify for a semi-final group.
That meant it was a write off of a day for us betting wise. McGill went into his final match knowing that if he could have got the better of Hawkins he would have qualified as group winner but he didn’t. Our bet on Robertson beating Carty 3-0 never really got going after a couple of tasty snookers seized control of the opener for the Yorkshireman and he never really looked back from there it has to be said.
Group 6
Fixtures
Matthew Selt vs Sam Craigie
Ali Carter vs Dominic Dale
Ali Carter vs Sam Craigie
Matthew Selt vs Dominic Dale
Ali Carter vs Matthew Selt
Sam Craigie vs Dominic Dale
Preview
To say there could be a competitive edge in Group 6 would be an understatement as there are some feisty characters on show in the group. Ali Carter can certainly be classed as one of those and The Masters finalist is expected to come out of the section. Indian Open champion Matt Selt is a much improved player these days though and shouldn’t be written off. I think I’m one of a number of judges getting frustrated waiting for Sam Craigie to turn his undoubted talent into results but if he can do that here then he is entitled to be dangerous. As outsiders go, Dominic Dale is far from the worst of them. He is a man who has a win over Ronnie O’Sullivan on his ledger this term.
Group 11
Fixtures
Mark Allen vs Nigel Bond
Martin O’Donnell vs Michael White
Martin O’Donnell vs Nigel Bond
Mark Allen vs Michael White
Michael White vs Nigel Bond
Mark Allen vs Martin O’Donnell
Preview
There should be no shortage of competitive action on the main table on Monday either. The section is headed by Mark Allen, who hasn’t won a title this season but he has gone deep in so many events that even though he hasn’t lifted silverware this term, he will be back in Milton Keynes later in the month for the Tour Championship. Martin O’Donnell is the second highest ranked player in the field in this group which suggests that Allen should be a worthy favourite. He might not have it all his own way though because the other two players in the group are both former winners of the Shootout, which suggests they are not fazed by the short format. They are Michael White, a man whose talent is far better than his ranking would tell us, and Nigel Bond who might not be the worst outsider going either.
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Group Betting
I’m not getting involved in the group betting on Monday. I need to get this tournament back on the right track from a betting point of view and getting involved in a competitive group where the prices are fair or taking an odds on shot is not really the way to do it. You can make a case for all four men in Group 6 with the only guarantee that someone’s short fuse will explode at some point over the course of the day. My gut feeling is Sam Craigie could come through but he’s pretty expensive to follow right now.
Mark Allen is a warm favourite on the main table and it is hard to go against that but I’m not getting involved at odds on. Michael White looks a big price to come through there I have to say but whether he can be consistent enough I’m not sure. Nigel Bond is one of those players who you naturally write off but then regret it when he delivers the goods while Martin O’Donnell deserves respect on the rankings. If you pushed me I’d take White but I’m happy to go without a group bet on Monday.
Match Betting
I will however get involved with Michael White in one of his matches on Monday and I’ll take him to come out on top in his first match against Martin O’Donnell. The one thing which has really stood out in this tournament so far has been how well the naturally talented players have done and out of these two it is White who has more than just an edge in that regard and I think if anyone wins this match it will be the Welshman.
White has suffered with confidence issues in the past but in the main whenever he has been in the balls he has generally scored well. Sometimes he is too hard on himself but I can’t believe he’ll put that much pressure on himself in this event so he could be really dangerous. Martin O’Donnell knows his way around the table but he is likely to be rusty and doesn’t have the talent that White does. You can get 11/10 on White without the draw in play and the way he is adept at attacking the table I think that price is too big.
Tips
Back M.White to beat M.O’Donnell (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
Back him here:
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