The Championship League continues on Tuesday when two more groups are played out on the green baize behind closed doors inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, as the sport carries on its return from the coronavirus stoppage.
As expected, the action was a little scrappy on Monday but the longer it went on the better it got and that could be a theme that continues throughout the early part of the tournament, especially for those who haven’t been practicing.
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.
Monday Recap
It was said that this tournament would be open to a number of shocks but the two group favourites didn’t read that script and Judd Trump and Dave Gilbert made it out of their respective sections. Trump won all three of his matches while Gilbert picked up a couple of wins and a draw. Elliot Slessor was the closest challenger to Trump while Jackson Page finished second to Gilbert. There wasn’t much to show for the day for Stuart Carrington, Jak Jones, David Grace and Daniel Wells.
It wasn’t much of a day for us from a betting standpoint either sadly. Our one bet was on Grace to beat Wells but despite leading 2-1, Grace couldn’t get over the line and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Luckily we bet without the draw in play so we got our money back but we were hoping for a bit more than that from the opening day.
Group 3
Fixtures
Mark Davis vs Mark Joyce
Michael Holt vs Louis Heathcote
Mark Davis vs Louis Heathcote
Michael Holt vs Mark Davis
Mark Joyce vs Louis Heathcote
Michael Holt vs Mark Joyce
Preview
Group 3 is one of the more open looking sections of the competition with no player in the top 16 involved in it. Shootout winner Michael Holt is the headline attraction in the group and he’ll be expected to come through it but there is a case for all four men here. Mark Davis has been around for ages and has had success in the quirkier formats in the past so he should be respected. Mark Joyce tends to raise his game for the big stages but whether this counts as one of them remains to be seen. As an outsider there are worse around than Louis Heathcote but being unaccustomed to TV conditions would be a concern.
Group 9
Fixtures
Jack Lisowski vs Oliver Lines
Luca Brecel vs Robbie Williams
Luca Brecel vs Oliver Lines
Jack Lisowski vs Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams vs Oliver Lines
Jack Lisowski vs Luca Brecel
Preview
The group that will get the attention on the TV coverage is Group 9 where the top 16 player Jack Lisowski will be looking to make it through to the next stage. This looks like a very entertaining group with three players who like to go for their shots and another who can mix it in bigger circles than he usually occupies. Luca Brecel rates as the main danger to Lisowski. The former ranking event winner has nothing to lose here and he is dangerous when that happens. Oliver Lines has bags of natural talent but hasn’t fulfilled it as yet. Robbie Williams has proven his class in the past and will want to showcase his credentials again here.
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Group Betting
I don’t know how involved I’m going to get in the group betting this week but there is one that I like over the course of Tuesday. It comes in the section that will be played out on table 2 where I think Michael Holt is a vulnerable favourite. I like Holt but I’m not convinced he’ll have done much practicing. His Twitter feed has been all about cooking during lockdown so Mark Davis could be the one to take advantage. Davis is a player who isn’t interested in the fame and things he just gets on the table and gets the job done and I think he’ll be intent on winning this group. There isn’t much in the way of form in this group with the exception of that Holt win in the Shootout which isn’t all that relevant. I think the 11/5 on Davis is the way to approach this group.
The main group should centre round Jack Lisowski but I’m already on him outright so I don’t really need to get involved in him to win the group, even though he is favourite to come through. Luca Brecel and Robbie Williams rates as major dangers to Lisowski but I’m pretty sure the Bristol man will have had access to practice facilities during lockdown so hopefully that is enough to get him through to the next stage.
Match Betting
I’ll take on Michael Holt in the match betting and I’ll do it with Mark Joyce who is solid enough to pick him off and more importantly is a decent price to do it as well. We saw the action go very scrappy on Monday and if that trend continues here then that should suit Joyce who probably isn’t accustomed to outscoring players. I would imagine there is a chance he will be more motivated than Holt in this group too.
Holt has a young family at home and at times like these that might be more important than a couple of snooker matches. Joyce hasn’t really made that big breakthrough so this could be a big week for him. I’m never a fan of betting on last matches in a group but at least if the section has been decided there is money at stake here. You can get 6/4 on a Joyce win without the draw in play and I fancy that could turn out to be a big price when we look back on this one.
Tips
Back M.Davis to win Group 3 for a 2/10 stake at 3.20 with Coral
Back him here:
WON – Back M.Joyce to beat M.Holt (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Betfair
Back him here:
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