The third week of the opening stage of the Championship League Snooker begins on Monday and another eight players get their season underway as two more first round groups get played out inside the Morning side Arena in Milton Keynes.
We have had a mixture of big and lesser known names taking to the baize in the opening two weeks of the competition and we have one of the biggest on show about the eight players playing over the course of Monday.
Group 5
Fixtures
Mark Williams vs Rory McLeod
Li Hang vs Andrew Pagett
Li Hang vs Rory McLeod
Mark Williams vs Andrew Pagett
Andrew Pagett vs Rory McLeod
Mark Williams vs Li Hang
Preview
The action on Table One on Monday will be spearheaded by the former world champion Mark Williams. The Welshman won his opening event last season when he bagged the British Open and he’ll be looking to do something similar here. On the face of it he looks to have landed in a plum group to progress because the second seed is Li Hang who has gone quiet over the last 18 months while all his compatriots have been winning. The other two players in this group are Andrew Pagett who is capable of results from time to time and Rory McLeod who dropped off the tour at the end of last season and didn’t get his card back at Q-School.
Group 28
Fixtures
Gary Wilson vs Harvey Chandler
Jak Jones vs Barry Pinches
Jak Jones vs Harvey Chandler
Gary Wilson vs Barry Pinches
Barry Pinches vs Harvey Chandler
Gary Wilson vs Jak Jones
Preview
Gary Wilson is the leading light in Group 28 which takes place over on Table Two on Monday and he too looks to have fallen on his feet given the opposition that awaits him in this section. Jak Jones is the second seed and while he has improved over the last couple of seasons there isn’t much in his game that Wilson needs to fear if the Geordie is close to his best. Barry Pinches begins the second year of his tour card here and he needs to be winning plenty of matches to avoid Q-School at the end of the year. Harvey Chandler is the other player in this group but having failed to get a tour card at Q-School he is likely to be up against it.
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Group Betting
The action on Table One on Monday has a very hot favourite in Mark Williams and while I want to take him on knowing that he spends a lot of time on the golf course and elsewhere during the off-season, I just don’t see anyone I would trust with my money to take him on with. Li Hang looks to have gone backwards over the last season or two while Rory McLeod certainly doesn’t do it for me. Andrew Pagett knows Williams well which might benefit him but I’m in no rush to back him either.
The other group is much more interesting, not least because bookmakers can’t split the top two seeds Gary Wilson and Jak Jones. They do have it between them two and I do too because Barry Pinches isn’t consistent and Harvey Chandler isn’t a professional and did little at Q-School or on the Q-Tour to suggest he is up to this level. Wilson definitely has the more class of him and Jones but the Welsh player finished last season in the better form. I’m not sure how much form matters at this stage though unless it is Q-School form as it is three months since Jones was last in competitive action. I think the 5/4 on Wilson to win this group looks too big especially as he’s the heavier scorer if this group comes down to the highest break.
Match Betting
As ever there are 12 matches over the course of the day but there isn’t a huge amount that catches my eye because outside of Mark Williams and the two main men in the other group there is nothing to rely on in terms of form or confidence or ability in the lower ranked players. If there was someone who was a little more convincing at this level to take Williams on with I’d have done it but there isn’t so that sorts that group out.
The other group the only match which would interest me is the final one between Gary Wilson and Jak Jones but I expect that to be the match which decides the outcome of the group so I don’t need to bet on that match when I’ve already taken Wilson to progress. The other match of interest is the one between Pinches and Chandler where the price on Pinches is extremely tempting but I’m not sure I trust him enough to deliver.
Tips
Back G.Wilson to win Group 28 for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with William Hill
Back him here:
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