The final week of the first stage of the Championship League Snooker competition begins on Monday when another two groups are played out which in turn gives eight more players the opportunity to get their season underway.
We’ve seen some big names come and go in this first stage so far and on Monday it is the turn of the ever popular Jimmy White to begin yet another season on the tour. Joe Perry and Stephen Maguire are also among those in action.
Day 11 Recap
We haven’t had many days in this competition where the favourites have shone but Friday was one of them as the fancied runners came out on top in both groups. On the main table it was Stuart Bingham who came through when he edged out Michael White by a solitary frame with both players ending on seven points with a pair of wins and a draw. It was much easier for Ryan Day on the other table. He had his group sewn up before his final match to make progress.
Although Ryan Day won that group, he could only get a draw with Hossein Vafaei so it was another day where we came out of it on level terms as we backed Vafaei without the draw in play. To be fair Vafaei played a good final frame to get us that draw so we can’t really have too many complaints, especially when you consider how well Day played throughout the day. Hopefully we can get back to winners this week.
Group 4
Fixtures
Joe Perry vs Jimmy White
Jimmy Robertson vs Shaun Maddocks
Jimmy Robertson vs Jimmy White
Joe Perry vs Shaun Maddocks
Shaun Maddocks vs Jimmy White
Joe Perry vs Jimmy Robertson
Preview
This is a group with three experienced players in it, all of whom are ranking events so the standard should be very high on the main table. Joe Perry is the leading light and you just feel he needs a good start to this season after failing to qualify for the World Championship at the end of last season. Jimmy Robertson was fighting for his tour place during qualifying for the worlds but he did enough to stay on the scene and rates as the biggest danger to Perry here. Jimmy White would have fallen off the tour had he not been given another wildcard and after a bit of discontent among some that he got that, he could do with a decent first day just to prove again that he still belongs here. It is a day where Shaun Maddocks can pick up some good experience against three seasoned pros.
Group 24
Fixtures
Sunny Akani vs Ashley Hugill
Stephen Maguire vs John Astley
Stephen Maguire vs Ashley Hugill
Sunny Akani vs John Astley
Stephen Maguire vs Sunny Akani
Ashley Hugill vs John Astley
Preview
Stephen Maguire is the headline act over on Table Two on Monday as he begins another campaign. These events haven’t really been his thing so it will be interesting to see how he performs over the course of the day. On the face of it he is very much the man to beat because you wouldn’t think the format would suit someone like Sunny Akani who is the next highest ranked player in the group. Ashley Hugill needs a big season to keep his place on tour at the end of the year so this is a big day for him while John Astley gets another chance in a tour event even though he failed to win his card at Q-School.
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Group Betting
My gut feeling is that Stephen Maguire is a little short for his group at 8/15. He isn’t known to be the best starter to a season and he doesn’t always care for these lesser events so I wouldn’t be surprised if he treats this as a bit of practice and a chance to get his cue arm loose. The big problem in terms of taking him on is I’m not convinced Sunny Akani will go much better and then we are getting into the territory of players who are unlikely to be consistent over three matches, so it might be that Maguire’s talent gets him over the line.
The other group should really go to Joe Perry but it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if Jimmy Robertson pips him at the post. Those two look a mile clear of the other two though so the group could easily come down to their match at the end of the day. That makes me think that the 2/1 on him to progress could be worth taking. It might be that Robertson only needs a draw in that last game but he wouldn’t be without a chance of winning. I just wonder at this stage of his career whether Perry can get himself motivated for an event like this. After nearly losing his tour card last year I’m hoping the penny has dropped that every event matters for Robertson and see him as a touch of value here.
Match Betting
Given that I’m on Robertson to win the group ahead of Perry I’ll leave the match betting alone in that group as I expect Perry and Robertson to both beat the other two and I’m not really interested in betting on a dead rubber between Maddocks and White. I’ll head to the other group for a match bet where in my eyes the prices are the wrong way around in the final match on the other table as Ashley Hugill plays John Astley.
Hugill is still a professional but needs a good season to keep his card at the end of it so even if he is out of group winning contention by the time he meets the amateur Astley this will be a big match for him because every pound matters down the bottom end of the rankings. A win here might still be enough to finish second for instance and £2,000 would be a welcome return on the day. Astley won a few matches at Q-School but not enough to get his tour card which would be a concern. Hugill didn’t win many matches last term but he had some horrendous draws with Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Gary Wilson and Shaun Murphy among his first round opponents. He has another nasty draw in the British Open in a couple of weeks so needs to make the most of his outing here. At even money without the draw I like Hugill in this one.
Tips
Back J.Robertson to win Group 4 for a 2/10 stake at 3.00 with Betfred
Back A.Hugill to beat J.Astley (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
Back him here:
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