There are two more assignments left for the players on the world snooker tour before they can break for the Christmas period, and the first of those gets underway on Tuesday when the qualifying competition for the European Masters begins in Barnsley.
This tournament is forming part of the BetVictor European Series where the man who makes the most money over the four events pockets a cool £150,000 so spots in the main draw are worth more than just a shot at the title.
Morning Session
There are 11 matches in the morning session but two of them will be available on the usual streaming options with a couple of household names on show as both Joe Perry and Ali Carter look to begin their qualifying event with a win. Both face Chinese opposition with Perry taking on Tian Pengfei in the pick of the two matches while Carter goes up against Zhang Jiankang for a place in the second stage.
Nine matches will take place elsewhere in the arena with Anthony McGill taking on Mitchell Mann on one of them while Michael Holt plays Sunny Akani on another. James Cahill will be looking for a win and he plays against Chang Bingyu with Dominic Dale meeting Peter Lines in a battle of two experienced players. Elliot Slessor has a clash with Robert Milkins while Tom Ford takes on Andrew Higginson. Mei Xiwen and Alan McManus go up against each other with Jamie O’Neill playing Jackson Page in a match both men will fancy their chances in on the last table.
Afternoon Session
Two more standout names are on show in the 11 matches that take place in the afternoon session with Mark Williams the pick of them. The Welshman doesn’t really seem to care about his results at present but he could still do with finding some form. He faces Craig Steadman on one of the streamed tables with Dave Gilbert up on the other looking to build on his semi-final run in Glasgow. He meets Jordan Brown for a place in the final qualifying round.
The defending champion Jimmy Robertson gets his campaign underway on one of the outside tables in this session. He meets Martin O’Donnell while Scott Donaldson will be looking to build on his run in Glasgow when he meets Riley Parsons. Elsewhere, Daniel Wells takes on Billy Joe Castle, Chen Zifan plays Louis Heathcote in what looks a good draw for both men, Robbie Williams faces Matthew Stevens, Theochaiya Un-Nooh plays Chen Feilong, Luo Honghao takes on Anthony Hamilton and Gerard Greene goes up against Brandon Sargeant. The other match sees Eden Sharav going up against John Astley.
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Evening Session
Assuming he makes it to the right Barnsley venue this time, Neil Robertson will headline the evening session. The Champion of Champions winner meets the recent UK Championship quarter finalist Nigel Bond on one of the streamed tables while on the other one Kyren Wilson will be looking to make progress when he faces the talented Chinese youngster Si Jiahui, who is causing a bit of a stir with his form in recent times.
Kurt Maflin is in decent form and he’ll take on Ross Muir on one of the outside tables while Graeme Dott will take on Thor Chuan Leong on another. Adam Stefanow meets Li Hang while Lu Haotian goes up against Igor Figueiredo. Two Chinese players meet as Zhou Yuelong faces Bai Langning with David Grace taking on Alex Borg in a big match for both men and their long-term futures. Jack Lisowski has a very tough assignment against Hossein Vafaei in the match of the day as he looks to build on his run to the final in Glasgow while the other two matches sees David Lilley taking on Simon Lichtenberg and Ryan Day playing Paul Davison.
Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets over the course of Tuesday and they both come in the afternoon session. On one of the streamed tables Mark Williams just has to be taken on against Craig Steadman although I’ll take the +2.5 frame start for Steadman rather than the straight win on this occasion. Something will give regards Williams and his form. A player of his class can’t play like he did in the UK Championship and nothing happen. He will have been embarrassed by that, but he is unlikely to return to top form overnight. Steadman is pretty steady but if he gets the sort of chances that Michael White was afforded against Williams in the UK Championship he’ll do enough to get three frames. Steadman might even win this is there is no improvement in Williams but the handicap feels the safer play.
Luo Honghao has plenty of talent but he is having a shocking season. Whether that is a legacy of getting whitewashed in the World Championship or not I’m not sure but either way his results have been poor and he needs to be taken on. He has only won three matches in ranking events since the Riga Masters in July. Anthony Hamilton suffered a shock loss in the first round in Scotland last week but in the main his form is pretty good. It wasn’t too long ago that he made the quarter finals in the Northern Ireland Open and he was solid enough in the UK Championship too. Hamilton should be the favourite here to me.
Tips
WON – Back C.Steadman (+2.5 frames) to beat M.Williams for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betway
Back him here:
Back A.Hamilton to beat L.Honghao for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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