We are heading towards the conclusion of the opening stage of the Championship League Snooker competition and on Tuesday another two groups take place which means that eight more players get the season underway inside the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
We will see The Masters champion Yan Bingtao for the first time this term on Tuesday and he will be looking to follow the 24 players who have already secured their place in the second round of the competition to date.
Day 12 Recap
We thought there would be one shock on Monday and it turns out that there were surprise group winners of both sections. I say surprise, but I’m not sure how much of one it was that Jimmy Robertson got the better of Joe Perry. That group came down to the last match which Robertson won. It was a surprise to see Ashley Hugill win the group over on Table Two. Stephen Maguire was expected to dominate proceedings there but as I suspected he wasn’t all that motivated and failed to win any of his three matches, to hand Hugill the win.
It was a great day for us betting wise on Monday. We backed Robertson to win Group 4 and from a pretty early stage it looked like it would come down to the final match between him and Perry. Robertson won that 3-1 to secure the group. Shortly after that the profit was added to when Ashley Hugill eased past John Astley 3-0 with the amateur barely scoring a point in the three frames which is just how we like our bets to land!
Group 25
Fixtures
Yan Bingtao vs Robbie McGuigan
Jamie Clarke vs Louis Heathcote
Jamie Clarke vs Robbie McGuigan
Yan Bingtao vs Louis Heathcote
Louis Heathcote vs Robbie McGuigan
Yan Bingtao vs Jamie Clarke
Preview
The main table action will see The Masters champion Yan Bingtao looking to make progress in the group. Unlike some of the big names we’ve seen in this competition there should be no rust issues with him as he is a relentless practice operator. He will need to have been on the practice table though because he’s in a trappy little group with Jamie Clarke improving all the time since his run in the World Championship a couple of seasons ago. Louis Heathcote has been spoken about as a talented player with a lot to offer and the youngster Robbie McGuigan is meant to be the next big thing from Northern Ireland.
Group 27
Fixtures
Ashley Carty vs Lukas Kleckers
Matthew Selt vs Fraser Patrick
Matthew Selt vs Lukas Kleckers
Ashley Carty vs Fraser Patrick
Matthew Selt vs Ashley Carty
Lukas Kleckers vs Fraser Patrick
Preview
The action over on Table Two looks much lower fayre. Our pre-tournament outright pick Matt Selt is the man who will be expected to make it through to the next stage. On paper he has a competitive trio against him but three men who look inferior to him. Ashley Carty is the second seed in the group. He has done well in this competition in the past which might give him some confidence and belief. Lukas Kleckers keeps threatening to deliver some big things but hasn’t really done it yet while Fraser Patrick got his tour card back at Q-School and will be looking to get stuck in straight away here.
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Group Betting
We have a couple of odds on favourites for the two groups on Tuesday and while I couldn’t wait to take them on in the action on Monday, I’m not quite so quick to do so here. I think Yan Bingtao and Matt Selt look pretty solid, if you can look solid in this format of the game. I like to take on odds on favourites who might have questionable motivation or who might not have been on the practice table but that isn’t the case with these two.
We know that Yan Bingtao will have been practicing. He is relentlessly looking to improve his game so he should be sharp coming in here and Selt has spoken about his own improvement and how he wants to bring the best out in his game. If I was going to take on either I might look at someone like Heathcote to get the better of Bingtao on the main table but I expect both favourites to come through, not that I’m interested in backing them to do so at odds on.
Match Betting
I’ll go with the one in the match betting department on Monday although we have to wait until the final match on Table Two for it to come along. I’ve already nailed my colours to the Matt Selt mast but in one of the lesser matches in the group we have the bottom two seeds meeting when Fraser Patrick takes on Lukas Kleckers in a match where I’m surprised the Scot isn’t the favourite to win even allowing for the fact that Patrick had to go to Q-School to remain on the tour.
You would imagine that is where Kleckers will end up at the conclusion of this season. He is obviously talented, that win over Mark Selby last season shows that, but he doesn’t win many matches and I fear for him a little in this group too. To be fair to Kleckers he did draw a couple of his group games in this last year but didn’t win a match. Patrick should be motivated to pick up where he left off at Q-School and if having to go back there will teach him anything it is that every pound counts and that he needs to make the most of these lesser events where the more established names might not be as interested or the format doesn’t suit them. Even if this comes down to the £1,000 for finishing third it can make a difference. I expect Patrick to win this one although as ever I’ll keep the draw out of the equation.
Tips
Back F.Patrick to beat L.Kleckers (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
Back him here:
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