The second stage of the Championship League Snooker tournament will draw to a close on Thursday when the final two groups are played out inside the Morningside Arena in Leicester, after which the line up for the last day of the event on Friday will be complete.
We were expecting to have Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final day on Friday but he was dispatched on Wednesday so all those in action on Thursday will know the path to victory has got a little easier which should make for a competitive day of action.
Group B
Fixtures
Luca Brecel vs Daniel Wells
Chris Wakelin vs Jamie Clarke
Chris Wakelin vs Daniel Wells
Luca Brecel vs Jamie Clarke
Jamie Clarke vs Daniel Wells
Luca Brecel vs Chris Wakelin
Preview
The action on Table Two should certainly be competitive. Although Luca Brecel is a standout fixture in terms of the rankings in Group B consistency has never really been something that has followed him through his career. He will need to play well to come past the challenge of the second and third seeds in the group in Chris Wakelin and Jamie Clarke, both of whom could be in line for decent seasons this term. It is a big day for the other player in the group in Daniel Wells who doesn’t have a tour card but a win here and another on Friday would set him up nicely to regain his professional status.
Group G
Fixtures
Shaun Murphy vs Elliot Slessor
Ricky Walden vs Anthony Hamilton
Ricky Walden vs Elliot Slessor
Shaun Murphy vs Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton vs Elliot Slessor
Shaun Murphy vs Ricky Walden
Preview
Shaun Murphy will headline the action on Table One and he must be starting to fancy his chances of another ranking title. He has to come through a trappy looking Group G though and if he is going to do that he’ll need to overcome the second highest seed in the section in Ricky Walden, who looks primed to follow up a good campaign last term with another this season. Those two will be hard to beat but the third and fourth seeds are no walkovers. Anthony Hamilton knows his way around the table while Elliot Slessor certainly won’t lack for motivation.
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Group Betting
Looking at the action on Table One and I’m very tempted to get behind Ricky Walden to win Group G but that really looks a competitive group and whoever comes through will have to be on it all day long and then probably get a bit of luck. We haven’t seen anyone winning all three matches to top a group this week so if that trend continues then the group winner will come down to the finer margins and I’m not sure I want to be relying on those.
Over on Table Two things might be a little easier to decipher because you would imagine the fact he wasn’t consistent enough to remain on the tour means that Daniel Wells might already have run his race in this tournament. That leaves Luca Brecel, Chris Wakelin and Jamie Clarke to battle it out but they are all fine players in their own right. I think it is fair to say if Brecel turns up with his best game he’ll come through but there is a lot of guesswork in that. I’m happy to leave this alone too.
Match Betting
I will go with one in the match betting on Thursday though where I’ll back Jamie Clarke to get the better of Chris Wakelin without the draw in play. These two met in European Masters qualifying at the weekend in a match which Wakelin won 5-4 but it didn’t really get going until the last couple of frames. They were 2-2 at the interval so there is no doubt the draw is very much a runner here so I’m definitely getting rid of that from the options.
I suspect the fact that Clarke missed out on qualifying for Germany will make him doubly motivated to start well here and push for a group win which could set up a potentially career changing day for him on Friday. Wakelin will obviously want to progress too but he has Furth to look forward to if it goes wrong here. Clarke is very determined and I don’t think losing at the weekend will have gone down well with him. I think he’s value to get revenge here, particularly when you compare their opening groups where Clarke was good enough to hold Judd Trump on his way to top spot.
Tips
Back J.Clarke to beat C.Wakelin (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Coral
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