Snooker betting tips: Preview and best bets for the British Open
The British Open from Cheltenham is already under way but James Cooper has a couple of recommendations for days two and three.
Snooker betting tips: Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters
1pt Ka Wai Cheung to beat Oliver Lines at 6/5 (General)
1pt Chris Totten +2.5 frames vs Neil Robertson at 7/4 (Sky Bet)
While it’s probably fair to say the young domestic talent hasn’t yet made the expected waves on tour in recent seasons, there’s been plenty of overseas success to celebrate.
Junxu Pang and Wu Yize (who finished a gallant runner-up in the English Open on Sunday) are ranking winners-in-waiting having scooped the young player of the year awards in 2021 and 2022 respectively, while He Guoqiang was the 2024 winner of that category following a season yielding a quarter-final and a brace of last 16 finishes respectively.
At 25 years of age, KA WAI CHEUNG is a little older but the manner of his amateur win in Albania earlier this year was striking, whitewashing the promising Iulian Boiko in the semi-final before doing likewise to the fairly well-established Gao Yang to gain a tour card.
A painful 10-9 reversal from 9-6 up against Ross Muir in Sheffield qualifying was probably a timely reminder of life on tour for Cheung but he’s started this season in good order, a 5-4 win against Stephen Maguire to qualify for Wuhan the pick of his results.
Cheung takes on Oliver Lines at Cheltenham on Wednesday and while the layers make the Yorkshireman clear favourite at a best price of 8/11, that looks too short to me.
A trio of deciding wins this season suggests that Lines has the stomach for the fight but he’s also suffered a couple of heavy defeats against Ben Woollaston (twice) while he recorded just one frame when tipped in a previous column to spring a surprise against Zhang Anda.
Lines has always looked pretty good when amongst the balls but a cursory glance at Cuetracker’s break-building stats strongly suggest that Cheung has been the heavier hitter of the pair so far this season and the current rating I have for both at present indicates that we are pretty much in coin-toss territory so while the 13/10 has now evaporated, the 6/5 available is still appealing.
A player with a good amateur pedigree in his native Scotland, CHRIS TOTTEN found the main tour a bit too much when first pitched into that level.
He was also forced to wait five years for his return but he did that through the Q School this summer and the early evidence suggests he’ll make a better fist of things this time round.
Wins against Ben Mertens and Jimmy White are commendable in their own right but Totten dropped just the one frame against that pair which confirms his game is in reasonable nick.
There has been the odd heavy defeat along the way, which is part and parcel in this company and while no-one expects him to cause a major upset against newly-crowned English Open winner Neil Robertson, hopes are high that Totten can register at least two frames in this best-of-seven clash.
It’s almost certainly too early to announce Robertson as back to his best, particularly given the heights he reached at his peak but Sunday’s win might be viewed as the turning point in the Australian’s career given the fairly lengthy spell he had in the doldrums.
In many ways it’s hard to get a handle on Robertson as a punter but that is part of the puzzle of gambling and my stab at a +2.5 frame handicap based on my frame-by-frame numbers has Roberson covering the cap 58% of the time, which means prices of 13/8 and 7/4 available on Totten covering are worth snapping up.
Posted at 1950 BST on 23/10/24
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