Snooker: 2011 UK Championship Dec. 3-11

[Mirage]

This event starts on Saturday and the draw for it was made a while ago..... John Higgins vs Rory McLeod Stephen Maguire vs Stephen Hendry Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Steve Davis Judd Trump vs Dominic Dale Ding Junhui vs Mark Davis Matthew Stevens vs Marcus Campbell Graeme Dott vs Matthew Selt Neil Robertson vs Tom Ford Mark Williams vs Joe Jogia Stephen Lee vs Ricky Walden Martin Gould vs Peter Lines Shaun Murphy vs Li Yan Ali Carter vs Robert Milkins Mark Allen vs Adrian Gunnell Stuart Bingham vs Marco Fu Mark Selby vs Ryan Day Fire away :ok

[Mirage]

Re: Snooker: 2011 UK Championship Dec. 3-11 Took a few for this tournament earlier today as i have a busy few days coming up. Here are my outright thoughts..... Outright Winner Taking just the 2 small-stake selections in this market as i think any of 8 or 9 are in with a good shout. 1/5pts Each-Way John Higgins to win UK Championship - 8/1 with BoyleSports (1/2 odds 1-2) As with most established tournaments on the circuit, John Higgins has a great record in this event. He has won it 3 times and been runner-up on another 2 occasions so certainly knows what it takes to come through and challenge. In PTC 10 he is currently going well so will come into his first round match in decent form and knowing where his game stands although, even if he wasn't at his best, he shouldn't have many problems getting past the grinder that is Rory McLeod. The Scotman is in the toughest half but he won't come up against anyone who he hasn't beaten previously. He also has a decent tie for the 2nd round so will be able to play himself into this nicely and whilst O'Sullivan is the obvious danger, we all know how up and down the Rocket can be so i think it is worth opposing him here. I think the 8/1 on offer is more than fair. 1/5pts Each-Way Ding Junhui to win UK Championship - 12/1 with BoyleSports (1/2 odds 1-2) I am going to take another one in the top half as i think Ding has a more than decent draw to take him deep into the competition. Ding was hammered by Ronnie in the Premier League final and that did make me think twice about taking this bet at first. He is in the same half as the Rocket and seems to have troubles against him mentally sometimes. However, there is nothing to say they will definitely meet and when in the zone he does have plenty of ability to see him through against anyone. Ding is another who loves this tournament (won it twice) and he will also love the fact that he has got a good looking first couple of rounds where he will play Mark Davis then either Stevens or Campbell. He is a scoring machne when at his best and if he was to meet Robertson in the quarter-finals i would, at this stage, definitely being on Ding's side. Personally, i think 10s is a fair price for him so i am happy to take the extra couple of points on offer and hope he does the business.