The penultimate day of the opening week of the Championship League Snooker tournament takes place inside the Mattioli Arena in Leicester on Friday when another two groups are played out with eight more players starting their new season.
After a couple of days without any top 16 players on show we have another one getting their season underway on a day where there are a number of exciting players taking to the two tables, so we should be nicely entertained.
Day 4 Recap
We saw a competitive day of action across the two groups on Thursday with a favourite winning and another one going down. The favourite that won was Joe O’Connor but he only came through by the skin of his teeth courtesy of having the highest break, the first time we have seen that decide a group so far. The other group was dominated by Michael White who had it won before he even took to the baize for his final match. He came through at the expense of Stephen Maguire who was the top seed in that section.
It was a profitable but frustrating day for us betting wise. Michael White had the profit secured fairly early on in the day actually when he took down Group 23 at a decent price of 2/1 but we missed out on Aaron Hill joining him in the next round from Group 22 when he matched the seven points of Joe O’Connor but went down on highest break which was annoying. Had Hill won the last frame against O’Connor he would have gone through so that was frustrating but we’re back in profit for the tournament.
Group 10
Fixtures
Rob Milkins vs Iulian Boiko
Jackson Page vs Andrew Higginson
Jackson Page vs Iulian Boiko
Rob Milkins vs Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson vs Iulian Boiko
Rob Milkins vs Jackson Page
Preview
The action on table one on Friday comes from Group 10 which it has to be said has the potential to be one of the most entertaining and exciting sections so far given the players on show. Robert Milkins is the top seed in it and he’ll be looking to make it through to the next stage but Jackson Page has already seen his mentor Mark Williams progress to the second round and he’ll be looking to join him. He is the second seed with Andrew Higginson the third seed in this group. The quartet is made up by Iulian Boiko who gets in here despite missing out on a tour card in the Q-School final.
Group 32
Fixtures
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Mark Joyce
Daniel Wells vs Julien Leclercq
Daniel Wells vs Mark Joyce
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Julien Leclercq
Julien Leclercq vs Mark Joyce
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Daniel Wells
Preview
The table two group is Group 32 on Friday which is always likely to be a competitive section because it has the lowest ranked top seeds in it. This season that is Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who could do some quick damage if he fancies the job. Daniel Wells is the second seed in this group and he has come out of his group for the last two years so that will give him confidence. The Belgian beast Julien Leclercq is the third seed here and he can be dangerous while Mark Joyce is now an amateur having dropped off the tour last season but he has rafts of professional experience so he can’t be ruled out.
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Group Betting
I had bets in both groups on Thursday but I’m going the other way on Friday because there isn’t a bet I like in either. In truth, I think the favourites are good things but at the same time there is a dangerous second seed in both who I don’t really want to take on. Robert Milkins has a good record in this tournament so he’ll be quite confident of progressing on the main table but Jackson Page can see off anyone on a given day so I’m happy to leave that group alone.
Over on the other table Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is the favourite and it is hard to go against him as well given that he came out of his group last year without dropping a point. Daniel Wells has to be respected though because he has come out of his group before as well and it isn’t like Julien Leclercq is a no hoper either. If I had to pick I would go with the Thai to come through here but there isn’t a huge amount of juice in the price really.
Match Betting
I will go with a match bet on Friday though and it comes first up on table two where I think Thepchaiya Un-Nooh can get the better of Mark Joyce. The Thai leads their head-to-head record 3-1 and he is still going in the right direction in his career whereas Joyce is clearly on the downturn in his when you consider that he has struggled so much for the last couple of seasons that he is no longer on the professional tour having lost his card at Q-School.
The simple reason for that is Joyce has just stopped scoring and that could be his downfall here because if he gives Thepchaiya enough chances to score he is going to take them because that is what he does naturally. Joyce might be able to get a frame scrappy but even then if he isn’t going to score that probably isn’t going to do him much good. I always want to be on the scorers here rather than the plodders and the even money on the Thai looks good to me.
Tips
Back T.Un-Nooh to beat M.Joyce for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
