Junhui the selection in the UK Championships

The 2013 william hill UK Snooker Championship gets underway on Tuesday afternoon from the Barbican Centre in York. The event features 128 players and is the sixth ranking event of the season. Here is our guide to the best of the bets from the tournament.

The first quarter of the draw is headed by the defending champion and number one seed Mark Selby who is 3/1 (paddy Power) to win this section. I can not argue against the Jester from Leicester despite a slow start to the year. He reached the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions event and won a European Tour event in Belgium recently. His opponents in the section all look beatable. Shaun Murphy made the final here last year, but then lost to Selby. He is also badly out of form and I would not fancy him to emerge from this quarter. Ali Carter, Barry Hawkins and Graeme Dott all look beatable.

Ding Junhui is 5/2 (sportingbet/paddy Power) to win his quarter and after an excellent year on the Tour it is hard to see past him. Junhui has won the Shanghai Masters, Indian Open and the International Championship. He pushed Ronnie to an 11th frame decider in the recent Champion of Champions event and should have a few problems in a section that features an out of sorts Judd Trump , Mark Allen, Mark Williams and Ricky Walden. The big name in the third quarter of the draw is Australian Neil Robertson who has won the Wuxi Classic and reached the final of the Australian Goldfields Open. The Australian also made the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions event and took Ronnie to 11 frames. His biggest challenge is likely to come from Stephen Maguire or John Higgins with both Scots dangerous opponents. Robertson though should have too much and makes great sense at 9/4 (paddy Power) to land the third quarter.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is the man to beat after his victory in the Champion of Champions event last weekend. The Rocket is a four-time winner here and is the number two seed. He is 11/10 (sportingbet) to win his quarter with his toughest challenges likely to come from Stuart Bingham who was the man he beat in the Champion of Champions final and Marco Fu who has been in good form this year. I think it could come down to the battle between Fu and O’Sullivan and I really like the Rocket here at 11/10 to win this fourth quarter.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Ronnie O’Sullivan to win quarter four, 11/10 (SPORTINGBET)
SILVER: Ding Junhui to win quarter two, 5/2 (SPORTINGBET/paddy Power)
BRONZE: Mark Selby to win quarter one, 3/1 (paddy power) Neil Robertson to win quarter three, 9/4 (PADDU POWER)

This is likely to lead to semi-finals between O’Sullivan and Robertson with Junhui expected to take on Selby. Of the four I like the each-way chances of Junhui at 8/1 (GENERAL). Ding already has three tournaments to his name and I think Selby is the easiest potential last four opponent. The Chinese player is in the opposite section to Ronnie and is unlikely to face him to the final. When he does he will take confidence from pushing him to the limit in the Champion of Champions match recently.

BEST OF THE BETS

Ding Junhui, EW in the UK Championships, 8/1 (GENERAL)

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25/11/2013     © Frixo 2024