Snooker betting tips: International Championship outright preview and best bets

Snooker betting tips: International Championship

1pt e.w. Shaun Murphy to win the International Championship at 12/1 (General 1/2 1,2)

1pt e.w. Ding Junhui to win the International Championship at 14/1 (General 1/2 1,2)

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Whisper it quietly, but snooker fans might see Ronnie O’Sullivan back in action in the coming days, with the international Championship offering a chunky prize for a host of big names set to line up.

O’Sullivan lost to eventual winner Zhang Anda in the semi-finals here last year, and I really don’t think motivation will be a factor, despite The Rocket having skipped a host of tournaments already this term. Match sharpness might not be either, given just who we are dealing with.

I won’t be betting him but a deep run from O’Sullivan would certainly not surprise, while snooker’s ironman, Judd Trump, bids to back up following his silver medal finish at the Northern Ireland Open last time out.

Trump lost heavily to Kyren Wilson in the final in Belfast, but remains one of the main players again, while Wilson himself starts off against Mitchell Mann, before things get tougher with the likes of Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins drawn in his section.

They all feature in the bottom half, which Trump heads.

That certainly looks the strongest half, though I can’t resist a few quid big home hope DING JUNHUI (14/1).

Ding really is a puzzle nowadays, but I don’t think anyone is doubting the quality he still possesses, and he beat Ali Carter at the Shanghai Masters earlier in this season, before losing to O’Sullivan in the next round. He was then involved in a brilliant, high-scoring match with Stuart Bingham in the Saudi Arabia Masters.

Chris Wakelin put together breaks of 139, 132, 128, 92 and 78 when beating Ding 5-3 at the Wuhan Open, when the latter probably did well to make a game of it, so well did his opponent play.

Ding won some matches that week, and with his beloved UK Championship now firmly on the horizon, it seems fair to assume that something like his best form is just around the corner. Ding has won the UK Championship three times now, as well as reaching the last two finals, so the signs for a resurgence are there.

The first Triple Crown event of the season is only a matter of weeks away and Ding will know that, though it’s not just North Yorkshire the Chinese superstar saves his best form for. As well as the UK Championship, Ding’s other runner-up finish last season came back home in China at the World Open.

In fact, all of Ding’s better performances nowadays tend to come at the very biggest events either in the United Kingdom, or in China where so much is made of the snooker and he is adored throughout.

I’m happy to chance that Ding will be keyed up for this week, with one eye already on York, so will take him to small stakes.

And small stakes is the theme of the week really, with no strong desire to oppose the likes of Trump and O’Sullivan at the top of the market with too much vigour.

However, I do think there is a fair case to be made for SHAUN MURPHY who has largely played well this season, often bumping into form players at the wrong time. His turn might not be far away.

Murphy produced a wonderful, nerveless clearance to beat Bingham in Belfast in another solid week, but Trump played out of skin when they met in the last eight. It was just the same when eventual winner Xiao Guodong put on a clinic against Murphy at the same stage of the Wuhan Open.

Going further back, Murphy lost to another eventual winner in the aforementioned Robertson at the English Open, just as he did when edged out 6-5 by Trump in a brilliant semi-final of the Saudi Arabia Masters.

Murphy, who reached the final of this very tournament in 2019, has a runner-up finish to his name this term following his run to the final Shanghai Masters, and the overall body of his form over the past few months is strong and paints a picture of consistency. He clearly enjoys the Far East, too.

Murphy really does just need a few things to fall his way, so being drawn away from the likes of Wilson, and particularly Trump, can be no bad thing. In fact, it might be just what the former world champion and 12-time ranking event winner needs to turn the corner and reap the rewards his play deserves.

It’s no secret what a powerhouse Murphy is when hitting top gear, and I don’t think that level is too far away at all. He looks worth a dart at 14/1.

International Championship Draw

FIRST QUARTER

• Zhang Anda (1)/Ishpreet Singh Chadha v David Grace/Wildcard
• Haydon Pinhey v Lyu Haotian
• Simon Blackwell v Matthew Stevens
• John Higgins (17) v Ben Woollaston
• Zak Surety v Chris Wakelin (24)
• Anthony Hamilton v Shaun Murphy (9)
• Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Stuart Bingham (25)
• Mark Davis v Mark Williams (8)

SECOND QUARTER

• Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)/Mink Nutcharut v He Guoqiang
• Pang Junxu (28) v Elliot Slessor
• Ali Carter (12)/Wildcard v Ross Muir
• David Gilbert (21) v Jackson Page
• Gong Chenzhi v Jack Lisowski (20)
• Ben Mertens v Si Jiahui (13)/Andrew Pagett
• Ricky Walden v Xiao Guodong (29)
• Aaron Hill v Mark Allen (4)

THIRD QUARTER

• Judd Trump (3) v Sanderson Lam
• Joe O'Connor (30) v Anthony McGill
• Stan Moody v Xu Si
• Ryan Day (19) v Daniel Womersley 
• Robbie Williams v Stuart Carrington
• Dean Young (v Gary Wilson (11)
• Jimmy Robertson v Noppon Saengkham (27)/Wildcard
• Jamie Clarke v Mark Selby (6)

FOURTH QUARTER

• Jiang Jun v Amir Sarkhosh
• Michael Holt v Yuan Sijun
• Ding Junhui (10)/Reanne Evans v Martin O'Donnell
• Hossein Vafaei (23)/Wildcard v Dylan Emery
• Joe Perry v Barry Hawkins (18)
• Fan Zhengyi v Neil Robertson (15)
• Andrew Higginson v Wu Yize (31)
• Liu Hongyu v Kyren Wilson (2)/Mitchell Mann

Posted at 1215 BST on 31/10/24

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