The first round of the Championship League Snooker competition continues inside the Mattioli Arena in Leicester on Tuesday as another two groups are played out with eight more snooker players beginning their new campaign.
We had a couple of big names on show in this event on Monday and we have the biggest of them all taking to the baize on Tuesday on what feels like it could be a routine day of snooker, if one of those exists in this format.
Day 13 Recap
We had two top 16 players on show on Monday with one of them coming through and the other one now. The one who came through was Gary Wilson who only needed a draw with Joe Perry in his final match to secure top spot and that is exactly what he achieved. The player who went down was John Higgins. He could only finish third in a group in which the player I fancied the least, Ma Hailong made it through courtesy of a win and a pair of draws.
It wasn’t a good day for us betting wise, although we did only have a speculative bet with there not really being much that I fancied. That was on Artemijs Zizins to win the group over on table two. I was right to take John Higgins on but I never foresaw Hailong winning the section. Zizins won his last match 3-0 to show that he can deliver at this level but unfortunately that was too little too late so we’re a point down for the week so far.
Group 2
Fixtures
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Kayden Brierley
He Guoqiang vs Mitchell Mann
He Guoqiang vs Kayden Brierley
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Mitchell Mann
Mitchell Mann vs Kayden Brierley
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs He Guoqiang
Preview
We have waited until day 14 of the competition but finally the main table will be graced by Ronnie O’Sullivan, who is obviously the top seed in this group and the man exactly to fly into the second stage. That is because he is the standout player in a group which has He Guoqiang as the second seed and he is one of the lower ranked in that pot. Mitchell Mann is back on the tour having come through Q-School but it highlights how weak this group is ranking wise when he goes straight in as a third seed. The amateur player Kayden Brierley completes the quartet under the spotlight.
Group 12
Fixtures
Jack Lisowski vs Anton Kazakov
Mark Davis vs Jiang Jun
Mark Davis vs Anton Kazakov
Jack Lisowski vs Jiang Jun
Jiang Jun vs Anton Kazakov
Jack Lisowski vs Mark Davis
Preview
The action over on table two comes from Group 12 where really the standard is good enough that it could easily be on the main table. Jack Lisowski heads the way as he bids to get his top 16 place back heading into the big tournaments to come and he is the top seed in this section. Mark Davis is still clinging on to his tour place and he is the second seed in this group with a pair of youngsters making up the field. Jiang Jun had an acceptable first season on tour and will be looking to build on that this time around while Anton Kazakov came up short at Q-School so will want to make the most of the chance he has been given here.
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Group Betting
This is very much a day where the group betting isn’t the easiest thing to get involved in. When I heard that Ronnie O’Sullivan was in the tournament my instinct was to take him on but then the draw came out and it is almost impossible to find someone to take him on with. Add to that the fact that he has been doing exhibitions with Gary Wilson who looked pretty sharp here on Monday and I think I’ll let O’Sullivan win if he is good enough and maybe look to get after him in the next round.
Given that he has fallen down the rankings a little bit I was thinking of taking on Jack Lisowski but when you think about it that might make him more focused to deliver here. He never makes any secret of the fact that he enjoys his summer and doesn’t do much practicing, not that someone with his talent needs to practice to deliver the goods. In any case, I can’t find anyone to take him on with so I’ll give the group betting a miss on Tuesday.
Match Betting
There isn’t a huge amount of betting that I like in the match department either because the top seeds could well win all three matches but they are way too short in the odds for me to get involved in any of them over the course of best of four frames. In truth, the second seeds look a great deal better than the third seeds and in the main they are pretty short for most of their matches but there is one where there could be some value.
He Guoqiang had a pretty decent season last term, especially at the start of it when he make the quarter final of the British Open where he beat Barry Hawkins along the way and then the last 16 of the English Open where Hossein Vafaei was among his victims. He also has wins over Mark Williams and Anthony McGill last term too. Mitchell Mann is his first opponent here and while he did well to come through Q-School I still think he might have something to find in this match. Mann might improve through the day but Guoqiang can show his class in his first game of the season.
Tips
Back H.Guoqiang to beat M.Mann for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
Back him here:
