Free snooker betting tips: Kyren Wilson ready to strike in Ladbrokes Players Championship
Our snooker expert Richard Mann has cast his eye over the Ladbrokes Players Championship and likes the look of Kyren Wilson at a big price.
Recommended bets: Ladbrokes Players Championship, outright
1pt e.w. Kyren Wilson at 33/1 (1/2 1,2)
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The Ladbrokes Players Championship gets under way in Llandudno on Monday and Ronnie O’Sullivan is the 5/2 favourite with Sky Bet to lift his fifth ranking title of the season.
O’Sullivan has been in virtuoso form again this term and his most recent title success, when lifting the World Grand Prix in Cardiff, saw him ruthlessly dismantle Ding Junhui in a one-sided final.
He wasn’t able to add to his trophy cabinet in the Welsh Open subsequently but only came unstuck against eventual winner John Higgins and showed enough sparkle in the early rounds there to suggest he remains in good nick.
As ever, the Rocket makes plenty of appeal but a potential blockbuster clash with the aforementioned Ding – an 18/1 chance in the outright market – in the next round makes it hard to back either with too much confidence.
Stephen Maguire missed a golden opportunity to go far in the Romanian Masters last week but he still rates a very dangerous first-round opponent for Judd Trump and with that pair sitting in the top half of the draw alongside O’Sullivan and Ding, the better value might lie in the bottom half.
A far cry from his usually high standards, Mark Selby has found results and consistency hard to come by this season and another early exit in Romania suggests he could have a real fight on his hands when taking on the classy Ryan Day.
Day is enjoying a stellar campaign so far, winning the Riga Masters and the Gibraltar Open before beating Stuart Bingham in the final of Romanian Masters last week, and he has a look of a player right at the top of his game.
Selby, a 7/1 chance to taste glory in Wales, could have a tough task on his hands to make it past the first round again and quotes of 33/1 about Day will look very generous if he can down the Jester from Leicester.
However, I prefer the chances of another 33/1 shot in Kyren Wilson.
Wilson has been tipped for stardom for some time now and solid showings at the Crucible in the last few years served notice that he is a fine young talent who is here to stay.
A brilliant long potter with a mature safety game, somewhat surprising for someone so young, Wilson is also blessed with a rock-solid temperament.
If looking to criticise, his cue ball control can occasionally place undue pressure on his excellent potting but he can certainly score heavily when on song and looked in terrific form when beating Judd Trump 4-2 in the quarter-finals in Romania.
Wilson enjoyed a fine run at The Masters in London back in January, producing some high-class snooker on the way to his runner-up finish, and it is only a matter of time before he wins another tournament.
His first-round opponent this week, Shaun Murphy, has gone off the boil of late following a strong start to the season and was forced to pull out of a couple of recent tournaments due to a reoccurrence of an old neck injury.
Just how much time he will have been able to spend on the practice table is open to debate and Wilson will fancy his chances of progressing to the quarter-finals, quotes of 11/10 about him doing so looking far too big.
Posted at 1200 GMT on 19/03/18.