The UK Championship begins on Tuesday afternoon at the Barbican Centre in York as the first of three days of the first round is played out.
This first round is played before the TV cameras come into the arena but thankfully World Snooker have set up a couple of streamed settings so those of us needing a snooker fix can get one before the Beeb get going on Saturday.
All matches in the first round are the best of 11 frames and there are 16 matches across the afternoon and evening sessions on Tuesday, eight in each session.
We’ve got some big names looking to make it into the knockout stages including the form man John Higgins and Ding Junhui. They will be joined by the likes of Mark Davis, Anthony McGill and Martin Gould.
This is a potentially nervy round for the big players. When the TV cameras roll and the big crowds and bright lights turn up some of the players right down the rankings can freeze and not produce their best stuff but this first round is going to be a little like being down the club. Nobody will be watching and they can be a little more relaxed. Literally every big name will be pleased just to win.
John Higgins is the big name on show in the afternoon session. He takes on the talented amateur Leo Fernandez on one of the streamed tables while Mark Davis plays Rhys Clarke on the other one.
Initially I was going to take Higgins with a big cap but the price isn’t great and Fernandez actually has some decent enough results on his CV this year. I always think the big names can struggle for motivation in these matches so I’m not going to take big handicaps at small prices very often.
There is one bet I like in the afternoon session though and that is on Jamie Jones. He probably hasn’t progressed this season as he would have liked to after making the semi-finals of the Australian Open at the beginning of the campaign but he’s inside the top 32 and has a chance to consolidate that here.
He takes on Ian Glover on Tuesday and that is a good draw for the Welshman. Glover is yet to beat a professional this season and has only won two frames in his last four matches. No opponent in that time has been as good as Jones is so I’m expecting a very easy afternoon for Jones here.
Moving into the evening session and there will be plenty of pressure on Ding Junhui on one of the streamed tables. On the face of it he might feel he has a nice draw having got an amateur but he’s probably got the one they all wanted to avoid.
That is because he has the former pro Adam Duffy. Duffy dropped off the tour but can play with a bit more freedom now and he can play too. He is a very heavy scorer and in these conditions he could well cause Ding problems. It would be a huge surprise if Ding doesn’t come through but not a sensational one as Ding is nothing like the player of two years ago.
I’m prepared to take Duffy with a 3.5 frame head start. Duffy took care of Sam Baird and Martin Gould in World Championship qualifying last season and won three frames against Ronnie O’Sullivan in this tournament two years ago. I think he’ll have a few decent breaks in him to keep him competitive here.
Anthony McGill and Michael White are the other headline players on show in the evening but both are in matches where they should come through but will be happy just to do so which leaves me with just one more bet for the session and it comes on the other Chinese player playing.
Liang Wenbo will be looking for a big run here to push himself closer to the top 16 and he faces the lowly ranked Welshman Gareth Allen. Allen is trying to make a name for himself in the sport but he’s landed a nasty draw here it has to be said.
Allen has only won matches in the two events with the tiered qualifying structure this season and that highlights the issues he faces here because in this event he’s landed one of those capable of being top notch but who just lacks a little consistency.
Wenbo is one of those who often dispatches the lower players with ease and will then trouble the stars of the game but doesn’t quite have enough to beat them on a regular basis. He doesn’t need to worry about that here though. This is a nice draw and he can take advantage of it.
Back J.Jones (-3.5 frames) to beat I.Glover for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
Back A.Duffy (+3.5 frames) to beat D.Junhui for a 4/10 stake at 2.35 with Coral
Back L.Wenbo (-3.5 frames) to beat G.Allen for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Titanbet
Blog snooker YTD: +103.54pts
