Opposing the Top Two in Snooker’s World Grand Prix Is the Best Bet
Author:
Roy Brindley
Snooker’s Scottish Open concluded on Sunday night. Less than 24 hours later the World Grand Prix got underway at Coventry Building Society Arena. This is a hectic part of the snooker season and the Cazoo World Grand Prix has been particularly calamitous.
Luca Brecel leaped up the rankings after winning the BetVictor Scottish Open on Sunday. ©GettyImages
The World Grand Prix competition is open to just 32 players and only those situated in the top-32 of the one-year ranking list are eligible to play. As the cut-off point was the Scottish Open, participating players and their seeding was not fully clarified until Sunday night.
Luca Brecel won the BetVictor Scottish Open catapulting himself into the second position on the one-year ranking list. As the second seed, he will meet the 31 seeded Jordan Brown on Wednesday afternoon.
Big Names Are in but Not at the Top
Heading the one-year ranking list is shock UK Championship winner Zhao Xintong. He may have landed that competition at 300/1 but in August former World Champion Ken Doherty marked Online-Casinos.com reader’s card by stating: “There is also a left-hander I like, Zhao Xintong. He is another that is going up the rankings and he has a wonderfully smooth cue action. Definitely, one to follow”
Mark Williams, courtesy of victory in the British Open at the start of the season, entered the World Grand Prix seeded three. John Higgins, with three ranking tournament final table appearances during the current campaign, was the fourth seed.
Most of the snooker’s big names made it into the World Grand Prix. Mark Allen, sitting fifth on the current one-year ranking list, is amongst those contesting this ￡380,000 ITV4 televised tournament.
Likewise, Neil Robertson, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson have won enough prize money to compete for the World Grand Prix’s ￡100,000 first prize.
Amongst the surprise absentees are 2016 World Grand Prix winner Shaun Murphy and beaten 2018 finalist Ding Junhui.
Judd and Ronnie Top the Betting
The inaugural World Grand Prix played in Llandudno, Wales, took place in 2015. Since then, staged in Cheltenham, Preston, Milton Keynes and now Coventry, the competition has become nomadic.
Scoring in 2015, 2019 and the second of two 2020 editions, Judd Trump is the most successful World Grand Prix player by far.
The ‘Juddernaut’ entered this year’s World Grand Prix as the 7/2 betting favorite. That is despite the 32-year-old failing to go beyond the quarter-final stages of any of the six ranking competitions he has played in 2021.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, 9/2 in the ante-post list, has only a slightly better 2021 record. The six-time World Champion was a semi-finalist in the 2021 BetVictor sponsored English and Scottish Opens.
With Andy Hicks – a player that has never won a ranking tournament during a 30-year professional career – in opposition on Wednesday, O’Sullivan is expected to waltz into the second round of this event.
Mark Allen is seeded five. A ranking tournament winner during 2021, 25/1 is an appealing price about him for the World Grand Prix. ©GettyImages
Wilson and Allen Are Outsiders to Consider
But 2021 has been the year of the underdog. In addition to Luca Brecel and Zhao Xintong, few would have predicted Dave Gilbert was capable of visiting a ranking tournament winner’s circle this season. The 40-year-old took his maiden victory in the season-opening Championship League in August.
It would appear opposing the big two in the betting is the best policy. Kyren Wilson, 16/1 at Ladbrokes, is a lively outsider. He had a deep run in the English Open concluding at the start of November and made the semi-finals of the UK Championship a month later.
Dropping relatively few frames, taking the scalp of Ronnie O’Sullivan, and registering six-century breaks, Wilson showed some very strong form on that occasion. A repeat display would surely ensure a deep run.
Mark Allen is another player worth a small investment. The Northern Irishman has had some well publicized problems away from the table. But when he brings his A-game to a tournament he can be majestic. This was the case in the Northern Ireland Open, a competition he won three months ago.
Recommended Outright Bets
- Kyren Wilson – 16/1 Ladbrokes
- Mark Allen – 25/1 Ladbrokes
