The last day of Championship League Snooker for the third week of the opening stage of the tournament takes place inside the Morningside Arena on Thursday when another eight players take to the baize to begin their season.
We’ve seen some really good action in recent days with a mixture of the big names and some of the lesser lights making it through to the second stage. It will be fascinating to see which of those trends continues on Thursday.
Group 17
Fixtures
Ali Carter vs Robbie McGuigan
Wu Yize vs Louis Heathcote
Wu Yize vs Robbie McGuigan
Ali Carter vs Louis Heathcote
Louis Heathcote vs Robbie McGuigan
Ali Carter vs Wu Yize
Preview
The former world finalist Ali Carter gets another season underway when he headlines Group 15 on Table One. He didn’t have the best campaign last term so a fast start will be welcomed here but he has a trappy little group in my eyes. I say that because we’ve seen the Chinese go very well in this tournament so far with six of the 22 group winners coming from that country. He will fancy his chances while Louis Heathcote is a dangerous third seed should he offer the form he had a couple of seasons ago. Robbie McGuigan doesn’t have a tour card but he’s picking up plenty of experience as a top up for events like this and he’ll break through at some point.
Group 25
Fixtures
Ryan Day vs Dylan Emery
Pang Junxu vs Reanne Evans
Pang Junxu vs Dylan Emery
Ryan Day vs Dylan Emery
Reanne Evans vs Reanne Evans
Ryan Day vs Pang Junxu
Preview
Ryan Day is the leading light on the other table as the former Shootout champion looks to get his campaign off to a positive start. He is a Championship League regular whether it is this version or the invited non-ranking competition. He’ll fancy his chances but he is another with a dangerous Chinese player in his section. That player is Pang Junxu who has plenty of talent and might be the one from that part of the world to emulate the likes of Zhao Xintong and Fan Zhengyi from last season. Reanne Evans has had a year on tour now and will be looking to use that experience to go better this term and keep her card and she is the third seed here ahead of Dylan Emery who will also be looking for a big campaign.
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Group Betting
The action on the main table should be dominated by Ali Carter and while I’m becoming more and more respectful of the Chinese contingent in this tournament, not least because we continually see pictures of them practicing hard on social media, I’m not sure Wu Yize is quite at the level required should Carter play like he can do. If I could have got a slightly better price on Louis Heathcote then I’d have been interested but he is a little on the tight side although my hunch is that he’ll be competitive. I don’t see Robbie McGuigan doing much though so I’ll leave this group alone.
I am happy to take the Chinese player on the other table though. Ryan Day is a good player but he is a little all or nothing for my liking and even at his best he can still be vulnerable because he is so aggressive. We haven’t really seen the sort of breakthrough which was expected of Pang Junxu yet but it is coming and I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes early in the season. I certainly see this group between these two. Reanne Evans and Dylan Emery look a rung or two below the main two on the quality scale and so then it could be a case of who is most motivated. At this stage of a season it might be the Chinese player wants it a little more and at 2/1 he’s a decent alternative to Day.
Match Betting
Most of the betting I have done in this tournament has come in the match betting particularly in those matches where the third or fourth seed are value to take out one of the higher seeds earlier in the day but there isn’t really one of those scenarios here, maybe with the exception of Louis Heathcote when he meets Wu Yize in his opening match, although as I’ve already mentioned a few times I’m extremely respectful of the Chinese so I don’t really want to take that.
Aside from that, the only match that would interest me from a betting point of view would be the one between Ryan Day and Pang Junxu but it is that match which I suspect will be the one which determines the winner of that group so I don’t need to get involved in it for a second time. I don’t really see any shocks anywhere else but the favourites are all plenty short enough with the draw in play so I’ll leave the match betting alone.
Tips
Back P.Junxu to win Group 25 for a 3/10 stake at 3.00 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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