The second leg of the Coral Series gets underway on Monday night when the Players Championship starts out. It does so at a new venue which is the Waterfront in Southport, and already we are guaranteed a new champion.
That is because Ronnie O’Sullivan won the competition last year but Michael Holt’s success in the Shootout late on Sunday night has denied him the opportunity to make a defence of his title. The leading 16 players on the money list this season will all line up looking to take the crown.
Recent Winners
2019 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2018 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2017 – Judd Trump
2016 – Mark Allen
2015 – Joe Perry
2014 – Barry Hawkins
2013 – Ding Junhui
2012 – Stephen Lee
2011 – Shaun Murphy
The Format
One of the attractions of this tournament is that it is a long format right throughout, and after the first round we are in a one table arena. The first round through to the semi-finals are the best of 11 frames and then the champion will be determined on Sunday over the course of two sessions and the best of 19 frames. The top 16 on the one-year list have qualified for the tournament and have been placed in the draw by their ranking on that list.
Top Quarter
Judd Trump tops the money list this term and as a result of that he is the number one seed this week. For much of the last couple of weeks he has been slated to go up against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round, but Michael Holt saw to that and it is he who takes that spot in the draw. The other two men in the quarter are the Scottish pair of John Higgins and Graeme Dott who sit eight and nine in the one-year list so their first round clash will be big in terms of Tour Championship qualification.
Second Quarter
The man who dominated the Home Nations event is the leading seed in this quarter in Mark Selby. He is joined by the UK Championship winner Ding Junhui in what could be the best of the four sections in the event. UK Championship finalist Stephen Maguire is also in this quarter and they are joined by the former world champion Mark Williams in a four-man part of the draw that could see anyone come through.
Third Quarter
Neil Robertson has been the leading light in 2020 so far and it is he who heads up the third quarter. He will be expected to come through the draw and extends his lead in the Coral Cup standings but three men will be out to deny him that chance. His good friend Joe Perry is one of them while two men who were the last two to fall foul of Shaun Murphy at the Welsh Open recently complete the quarter. They are Yan Bingtao and Kyren Wilson.
Bottom Quarter
It is Shaun Murphy who sits at number two on the standings and he is the top seed in the bottom quarter of the draw. This is quite a competitive part of the draw too with former Masters winner Mark Allen here along with the World Open finalist Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and the runner up at the English Open in Dave Gilbert. This is another of those quarters where it wouldn’t surprise you regardless of which of the four men come out of it.
Betting
I’ll go with one bet this week as I look to back up the winner last week. The player I like here is Yan Bingtao. He is in a good groove at the minute and having come good for me once this season already I’m happy to go with him again. Bingtao was a semi-finalist at the Welsh Open recently, where Stuart Bingham and John Higgins were among his victims, and he followed that up with another run to the last four of the Shootout, where he looked to be cueing very nicely.
Neil Robertson is in his half of the draw which is a concern but the Australian has played a lot of snooker in recent times and peak form in any sport only lasts for so long. Shaun Murphy is another danger but Bingtao more than matched him in the Welsh Open recently. The rest of the half is quite open and equal so at 45/1 I think the Riga Masters winner can have another deep run for us this week.
Tips
PLACED – Back Y.Bingtao to win Players Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Bet365 (1/2 1-2)
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