Professional sport resumes in the UK on Monday and one of the first ones to get going is snooker. Although we were coming to the end of the season when Covid-19 struck, the sport resumes with a newly arranged tournament – Championship League at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
The current safeguarding protocols are in place for the tournament which means that the entire event will take place behind closed doors and with social distancing in place as the build up to the rescheduled World Championship begins.
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.
The Favourites
This season has been all about Judd Trump and he is the 11/4 favourite to walk off with the title at the end of the week. He has already broken the record for ranking event wins this term and although Covid has denied him adding to his tally of six, there are two to come which he will look to land. He’ll also be out to maintain his dominance in this event and shouldn’t be too inconvenienced by the short format.
Neil Robertson is the other man who has shone this season. He can be backed at 9/2 to land the title here. He hasn’t made a secret of the fact that he has been practicing during the lockdown so he should be as sharp as anyone going into the competition but has a competitive little group and would need to hit the ground running.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has made an entry into the tournament and is 5/1 to win it. There is a school of thought that with his natural talent he should be the favourite to win the event. That is because not many will have had access to practice facilities during lockdown so those who need it least may play the best here. Clearly that is a bracket O’Sullivan would fit into but whether he’ll enjoy best of four action is more of a debate.
Mark Selby is known more for his prowess over the longer formats but it shouldn’t be forgotten that he has won a couple of Home Nations events this season so it isn’t as though he can’t play over the shorter distances. He’ll have to play well from the outset because Liang Wenbo is a big danger in his group. Selby is 8/1 to land the first title back after lockdown. It is 16/1 bar.
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Profile
Whenever you look at an outright market you need to come to a decision what sort of player is needed to prevail. This is the first tournament of its kind in this format but the Championship League has taken place before when the event has been the best of five frames and behind closed doors like this one. Scottish players seem to do well in it for some reason but none of their leading players are in this.
I’m after scorers in this tournament. If you can come out and make a break quickly then you will immediately have the opponent under pressure so I’m after players who get in from distance and can score. I’m not sure the draw makes a whole lot of difference as the format is so short but I guess you wouldn’t want someone in say Trump’s group. This doesn’t feel like a tournament for a plodder or a player who is not comfortable at scoring.
Betting
I’ll take a bet on four players, each who could go into separate groups in the second phase, in the hope that one makes it into the Championship group from where it will be game on. My main bet will be on David Gilbert, a player for whom this might just be perfect for. We’ve seen Gilbert get better and better but on the truly big stages he is often found wanting. He is as naturally talented as most in the game but has sometimes found the crowd and the pressure too much in the big events. There shouldn’t be much of either in this one so that is a positive. Gilbert is a massive scorer, technically sound and will be hunting down a first professional title here. The 25/1 on him looks pretty big.
Formats like this should really suit Jack Lisowski. He has to overcome Luca Brecel in his group but if he can do that he should go deep in this tournament. Lisowski was the runner up in the Championship League last season and scores for fun. He isn’t someone who has to warm his way into proceedings either which is very much a positive. Lisowski is a heavy scorer who with no distractions could be devastating. Like Gilbert, he is chasing a first tournament success and should that come here he’ll get into the Champion of Champions too so there is a lot to play for over the course of the week or so for Lisowski. He’s a shade big at 50s.
I saw an interview with Joe Perry a few days ago where he confirmed that he has a table at home so although he suggested he doesn’t like practicing on it, he has at least had the chance to get the cue out of the case in the lead up to this tournament, which is a luxury that not everyone in the field can share. Perry is another one who can score big when the occasion arises. He is also capable of mixing it a little and is very good under pressure. He has quietly been having a good season and at 70/1, although Ronnie O’Sullivan could be waiting in his second group for him, I think ‘the Gentleman’ could be a little big here.
The final player that catches my eye is Tom Ford. I always think these shorter matches are up his street and the lack of crowd and pressure certainly is. He is a very heavy scorer who has had a pretty decent season in the main having made a couple of semi-finals in ranking events. He has hit a 147 this season as well which highlights how well he scores. Ford is a fluent player which I think might be important here and one who is capable of winning bunches of frames which is also key as frame difference could easily come into play at some point. Ford is a massive price at 150/1.
Tips
Back D.Gilbert to win Championship League (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with William Hill (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back J.Lisowski to win Championship League (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 51.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back J.Perry to win Championship League (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 71.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back T.Ford to win Championship League (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Betway (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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