Big time snooker returns to Northern Ireland for the next week as the inaugural Coral Northern Ireland Open takes place. Mark Allen is sure to be a popular star over the next few days but all eyes will be on Liang Wenbo to see if he can take another step towards the £1m bounty for winning all four of these Home Series events.
Liang’s quest has been helped with some high profile withdrawals in the lead up to the tournament but there is still a significant field looking to deny him back to back wins after he landed the English Open.
The Format
128 players were in the draw when it was made but two have since pulled out so there will be 126 players heading to the tournament for what is a straight knockout event. The early rounds up to the end of the last 16 are the best of seven frames before the quarter finals will go over the best of nine.
The tournament concludes with a couple of best of 11 frame semi-finals before the final over the best of 17 frames on Sunday when the champion will be crowned.
Top Quarter
Judd Trump was due to be the top seed in this quarter but he is one of the high profile withdrawals which leaves the way clear for Liang as the highest ranked player in this section. In terms of big names he shares the spotlight with Stephen Maguire in what is now a weak quarter with Ali Carter’s withdrawal too.
Other household names in this section of the draw are Alan McManus, Robert Milkins, Kurt Maflin, Peter Ebdon and Mark King and when they are the household names you know it is a fairly weak section.
Second Quarter
If the first quarter is weak then the second one more than makes up for it. This one is packed with quality with both of last week’s Champion of Champions finalists in it as Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins book end it. Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams are also in the section so this is strong.
There are a few names looking to get the better of them with Jamie Jones, Jimmy White, Matthew Stevens, Matt Selt, Mark Davis and Ben Woollaston decent enough names while the Chinese pair of Zhao Xintong and Zhou Yuelong can never be underestimated.
Third Quarter
Shaun Murphy is the leading name in this quarter with Barry Hawkins and Joe Perry among those in the top 16 looking to stop him progressing too far. Ricky Walden is also a top 16 member in this quarter so there is a decent array of talent in here.
That is added too by those just outside the top 16 such as Michael White, Luca Brecel, Graeme Dott, Michael Holt, Jack Lisowski, Dominic Dale, Jimmy Robertson and Xiao Guodong. This should be a really good portion of the draw to watch play out.
Bottom Quarter
Home crowds will be hoping that Mark Allen can come through this section but Ding Junhui will be a significant hurdle to overcome if he is going to do that. Marco Fu and Anthony McGill are in and around the top 16 in this section so Allen is going to have to work hard.
Ryan Day leads those outside the top 16 in this quarter with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Gary Wilson, Sam Baird and Ken Doherty among those who are likely to cause upsets at various points.
Betting
As ever with these PTC type tournaments I’m going to take one player in each quarter in the hope of getting one to go deep in the event. Thankfully more bookmakers are paying four places in this tournament so it should be a bit easier to get towards a pay-out.
In the top quarter the player I like Stephen Maguire. The withdrawal of Judd Trump and Ali Carter have opened this quarter right up and I think Maguire can take advantage of that. Maguire has been going well enough this season with a semi-final in Shanghai and these sort of events are right up his street. I fancy him to come through the top quarter and go a bit further.
All eyes will be on Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins in the second quarter but both have played a lot of snooker in recent times and that could open it up for someone else. With the format a bit of a lottery there is no guarantee either come through as we saw in Manchester last month. I’m willing to take a punt on Kyren Wilson here. He missed the International Championship so knows he has to make hay in the next few weeks. That can begin with a nice run here.
In the third quarter I’m going to go with the form and take Michael Holt. Murphy and Perry will take some beating but Holt is in good nick at the minute and he is perfectly capable of coming through. He has already made a final this season in Riga and he’s made three major quarter finals since then. On that form he’s overpriced this week.
In the bottom quarter I’m going to take on the main man Mark Allen with Ryan Day. I’ve a feeling Day is going to break out at some point in the next few weeks. He looked in good nick in Manchester and he has a style that suits this format. He has a tough opener but if he comes past Marco Fu then his draw will open up and he can take advantage of that.
Tips
Back S.Maguire to win Northern Ireland Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
PLACED – Back K.Wilson to win Northern Ireland Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 51.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back M.Holt to win Northern Ireland Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back R.Day to win Northern Ireland Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 71.00 with NetBet (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
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