Snooker: China Open 2009

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: China Open 2009 I was going to go with a wildcard match bet but I think I'll leave it. Will just take the one outright. 1pt ew J.Trump to win China Open 33/1 Boylesports Judd Trump was shocked in the final qualifying round for the world championships by Stephen Lee but he's done well to qualify for this event and comes into it bang in form after qualifying for the Premier League via winning the Championship League last week. In that event, in the semi final he came from 0-2 down to Stuart Bingham to win 3-2 with a 133 on the way and then beat Mark Selby 3-2 from 2-1 down in the final. We saw at the Grand Prix earlier in the season that when he's in good form he's very tough to stop and he's in the half of the draw you'd want to be in here. This tournament can produce a surprise winner/finalist with it being so far away and the prize money generally poor so motivation is low and the top players have their eye on Sheffield next month. Trump's ability is well known and his temperament is good and I think he's ready to win and it could be this week.

[WoodyTHFC]

Re: Snooker: China Open 2009 Walden 50/1 tote 2 pts e.w and 7/1 bet3 5 pts to win quarter 1 Walden did me a great favour when a 125/1 winner in Shanghai and 50s is a fair price for him here. Clearly he likes this part of the world and whilst his form has been solid if not unspectacular since his win, he appears to be hitting form at just the right time. He qualified for sheffield in some style with a 10-1 win and then beating the previously inform Hamilton. His motivation for this is high because he wants as many ranking points in a bid to try and get a top 16 spot and his draw isnt as bad as it could be. There are some tough games: Perry, Maguire maybe before the semis but they are not impossible games and Walden could just be a threat again this week. Williams 33/1 sj 2 pts e.w and 9/2 bet3 5 pts to win quarter 3 Another player whos motivation will be high this week or at least should be. Williams would love to be in the top 16 again and whilst he is in a decent position to achieve such a feat, things are still tight and he needs a good week here to try and secure a top 16 place. Williams is a former winner of this event and he has played better this season on a more consistent basis I feel. He isnt the old Williams but he is starting to achieve a bit more consistency and not quite as many early exits. He has still had a few, Gilbert in the welsh open recently would be an example but he bounced back to beat a very promising up and coming player in Ford to qualify for the worlds and even knocked in a 145 in the process. Also the draw looks fair here. Murphy the highest seed here but he has been hit and miss this season and King seems a nice enough first game for Williams to get himself into this event and once he is, he could make 33/1 seem a big outright price. One for the wildcard round: Tian Pengfei 13/8 sj 10 pts I dont know much about these chinese players apart from Liang really but this one I have heard of before. He actually had the odd result on the tour a year or so back. He beat Stevens in the welsh open, has beaten Cope and couple of times, Hicks, King to name a few so he isnt a complete mug. I couldnt find any recent form which is a bit of a worry but I believe that maybe visa related and he had to stop playing the tour but I maybe not right on that. Anyway he plays Gray here who is a player who generally has been in a real decline. Since he was thrashed in a UK final he has done nothing and has really dropped down the rankings. His form for most of the season has been poor too with a host of first game exits. Apart from one other event, this is the first time he has actually won a game this season and thats just to be here, indeed he has won two and that includes an impressive 5-0 win over a player normally tough to beat in Hawkins. However thats just one game and with a real lack of wins in other events his general form doesnt seem special, he hasnt had a century on the whole tour and whilst the Chinese player is a bit of an unknown, he has taken some scalps before and could do so again.