Trump Favourite to Go One Better Than Last Season
The bookies make the 2021 UK Championship field a wide open one, although it’s Judd Trump who is regarded as the marginally most likely player to get over the line. The 32-year-old won this tournament ten years ago and it remains the Bristolian’s only success in this major, although he has since reached the final twice.
However, before last season’s runner-up performance, Trump had failed to get beyond the fourth round of the competition in the previous five renewals and perhaps we can look beyond him on this occasion. He has failed to be in the winners’ enclosure so far this season.
Ronnie, Robbo and Selby All Single Figure Prices
Ronnie O’Sullivan continues to be box office when it comes to snooker tournaments and the Rocket was knocked out in the second round of the 2020 UK Championship when being defeated by Alexander Ursenbacher. He also lost in fourth round in the previous season although the Londoner did land consecutive victories in 2018 and 2019.
Meanwhile, Neil Robertson is the reigning champion and this is a tournament where he has achieved three successes during his career. The Thunder from Down Under has won three times in the previous eight seasons and the Australian demonstrated a fantastic performance when triumphing in the English Open.
Mark Selby is clearly a player who nobody will want to face as the tournament progresses, with the Jester from Leicester reaching the quarter final stage of the competition last season in Milton Keynes. He lost 6-2 to Robertson on that occasion, with Selby having won the UK Championship on two occasions although the latest victory came in 2017.
Yan Bingtao and Ding Junhui Lead Chinese Challenge in York
It’s perfectly feasible that we’ll get a bigger priced winner and perhaps one of the Chinese players will come to the fore. There were two players from this country that reached the semi-finals last season, with Zhou Yuelong and Lu Ning having achieved career bests although there are another pair of Asian players who look the value.
Yan Bingtao reached the semi-final stage of the 2019 UK Championship which was something of a breakthrough tournament, although he’s been in good form this season. There was a semi-final performance in the Northern Ireland Open and a quarter final appearance in the English Open.
Ding Junhui won the UK Championship the last time that the tournament was held at this venue although he was comfortably beaten by John Higgins in the English Open and improvement is needed this time around.
2019 UK Championship betting preview
The 2019 Betway UK Championship takes place between 26 November – 8 December, with no less than 128 of the world’s best snooker players descending on York to compete in a tournament which is classed as one of the sport’s majors.
Indeed, this is the first triple crown event of the season and it looks set to be a wide open encounter, with Judd Trump trading as slight favourite to win his second ever UK Championship title.
Trump is in excellent form at the moment, having just won the Northern Ireland Open and that means that the Bristolian has won three out of the five tournaments in which he’s participated.
However, the fact that the 30-year-old is trading at 3/1 illustrates that this is a competitive tournament where any player will have to come through several rounds in order to prosper.
Indeed, his solitary success came in 2012 and since then, we have only seen Judd reach the final on one occasion, while he’s failed to progress beyond the fourth round since then.
We will see Ronnie O’Sullivan back in action at the Barbican Centre and the Rocket is currently at 7/2 with Paddy Power to announce himself as being back with a bang in York.
This isn’t Ronnie’s favourite tournament considering the number of matches he will be required to play in order to win, although he does come to north Yorkshire bidding to win a third consecutive title.
Neil Robertson is regarded as the next likely winner after this leading pair and his performance levels have been very high this season, with the Australian seeded four for this event.
The Thunder from Down Under recently claimed a victory in the Champion of Champions event although his previous form was somewhat erratic and he can be passed over in favour of some of the players trading at a bigger price.
Mark Selby is possibly not the force of old but will still take some beating and he’s a 10/1 chance to win the UK Championship, while Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy could both be in the business end of the competition and they are available at 16/1.
If you’re looking for an outsider to win, then perhaps Dave Gilbert is your man at 40/1. The Farmer will be looking to get back to the sort of level which saw him push John Higgins all the way at The Crucible last year.
Every player will enter the competition at the Last 128 stage before the field is narrowed down through a series of knockout rounds. Half of the field are seeded and Ronnie O’Sullivan is the number one by virtue of having won this competition last year.
York is hosting the elite of world snooker for two weeks as they compete for the UK Championship. Ronnie O’Sullivan has been made favourite, but does his form back that up? Here we have everything you need ahead of this huge event. From betting tips to odds comparison, we have it all covered to help you make a profit from your snooker bets.
Champion Neil Robertson is looking to defend his title here, but he could be up against it. The Australian has drifted out to 11/1 with Coral, he’s coming here in some pretty poor form. While Robbo struggles, the bookies have made O’Sullivan the favourite in the outright winner market, but his last tournament win was The Masters back in January of this year. He took a break from the game earlier in the year, and he’s not won anything since returning in August.
You could argue that the Rocket might now finally be up to speed, but he still seems like a risk. When you’re looking at his odds of 7/2 with Bet365, you have to say that he’s too short to be worth backing this time around. He could go out and dominate this event, but he just doesn’t have the form to make him worthwhile. We suggest casting an eye elsewhere for the likely winner.
Mark Selby is slightly better value. He’s second favourite after a strong display in some recent events in China. He won the Shanghai Open and the International Championship in recent months, but he made a quarter-final exit at the Champion of Champions earlier this month. He’s priced at betting odds of 6/1 with BetVictor, but it might be worth swerving the Englishman at those prices – though keep an eye on our odds comparison in case he drifts into the realms of value with some bookies.
Our outright winner prediction, however, is Judd Trump, who is available at nice odds of 8/1 with Betfair. He didn’t feature at the Northern Ireland Open, but he did well in another of the Home Nations series. He made the final of the English Open, on the back of a win at the European Masters in Romania. He has a solid record this term, and he has the talent to kick on and win the UK Championship. His betting odds represent good value, so he’s our main betting tip.
If you’re thinking about backing any of our betting tips, or your own predictions, we suggest checking out our odds comparison. It trawls through all the odds available on each market to ensure you get the best possible price for your bet.
The odds comparison is available across many markets, including the outright winner and match betting. It’s the quickest and easiest way to ensure you’re getting the best betting odds around. No matter how you’re betting, or who you’re planning to back, you don’t want to be left short changed by the bookies. A quick glance at the odds comparison can prevent that from happening.
Of course, there are other contenders outside of the ones we’ve mentioned. John Higgins certainly deserves a look; he’s been brilliant this month. He’s won the China Championship and the Champion of Champions in recent weeks, and he’ll carry that form into this event. He didn’t have a great year before that, but he’s in form ahead of this tournament.
Higgins won the UK Championship back in 2010, while he was a finalist here in 2009 as well. The Scotsman has the experience of winning this event, and he’s going to be eying a strong display here given his recent success. Ladbrokes make him a 12/1 shot for the title, and that looks like excellent value given his victories this month. He’s our outsider betting tip for this tournament, as we can’t see too many further down the list who are capable of challenging.
Don’t forget, there will also be betting odds available for each individual match, plus in-play betting on each. Your predictions for this tournament don’t have to just be in the outright market, there’ll be an array of specials to keep an eye on over the two weeks. To stay up to date with any movement in the odds or additional markets added, keep an eye on our odds comparison. Not only will it list every market from each bookie, but it’ll let you see where the value lies.
Don’t forget to take a look at our odds comparison before you make your selections for this tournament. That way you can check the latest prices on our betting tips and predictions. You can also see a full list of the latest betting odds for the event, so you might spot an outsider worth backing that could land you a massive return.