Snooker betting: Sky Bet pick out the best outright odds for the Snooker UK Championship
Last Updated: 01/12/14 1:25pm
The snooker calendar’s secondary ranking event, the UK Championships, got underway in York on Tuesday, but Ronnie O’Sullivan will struggle to claim the trophy for a fifth time.
‘The Rocket’ was initially the 9/4 outright favourite, but he turned up to his first round game in a foot brace having broken his ankle whilst out running earlier in the week.
After beating Daniel Wells 6-2 in agony on Thursday, O’Sullivan has suggested he may pull out if the pain doesn’t subside before his meeting with Peter Lines on Sunday.
The tournament helped launch O’Sullivan’s career when he won it as a 17-year-old in 1993 and he arrived at the Barbican Centre, one of his favourite venues, in good form after winning the Champion of Champions event.
Sullivan made four century breaks in the final alone in that tournament, so it could be argued that he’s playing the best snooker of his career.
However – as is often the case with the unpredictable, flawed genius – it’s difficult to put all your eggs in the O’Sullivan basket, as it’s never certain which personality he’ll bring to the table.
That makes Lines worth a pop at 7/1 to beat O’Sullivan, as the 1/16 favourite is unlikely to be able to perform to his best ability if he plays at all.
Neil Robertson, the defending champion, looks a much better proposition at 13/2, although no player has won the tournament two years running since Stephen Hendry’s won three in a row in his heyday.
However, Judd Trump is a bigger price and could prove a better pick at 7-1 having won this tournament in 2011, and he’ll fancy his chances after picking up the Australian Open in July.
Neil Robertson, the defending champion, looks a much better proposition at 7/1, although no player has won the tournament two years running since Stephen Hendry’s heyday, when he won three in a row from 1994 to 1996.
Robertson is no longer ranked number one in the sport having been overtaken by Mark Selby, but that could spur the Australian on as he looks to reclaim top spot.
In fact, world champion Selby is next in the betting odds at 8/1, but ‘The Jester from Leicester’ has been in somewhat inconsistent form this season, despite a European Tour win in Latvia.
Judd Trump is 7/1 and could prove a better pick having won it in 2011, and he’ll fancy his chances after winning the Australian Open in July, getting one over Robertson in his own backyard.
Of the outsiders, Ding Junhui could be worth an each-way pop at 8/1 having performed consistently well over the past two seasons, but Shaun Murphy is the most appeal of the big underdogs at 12/1.
Murphy, the 2008 winner of the tournament, has been hitting century breaks right, left and centre of late, narrowly missing out on two 147s in Germany last week before achieving a maximum at the third time of asking.
Odds are subject to change. New customers of Sky Bet can claim a free £30 matched bet.
