York plays host to UK Championship snooker for the next two weeks and Kyren Wilson stands out as the value bet in the outright market.
As per usual, Ronnie O’Sullivan leads the betting for the second biggest tournament on the calendar but that is of little surprise, such is the weight of his popularity amongst the punters.
The Rocket is the clear 3/1 favourite, a short price given he has not won a ranking event this season and is starting to lose matches befitting of a man now in his 40s who drops in and out of the Tour.
Beyond Ronnie, world champion Mark Selby is a nicely-priced 7/1 and the in-form John Higgins 9/1, but Kyren Wilson at 33/1 is a real eye-catcher.
Wilson came from 3-0 down to beat O’Sullivan in Belfast last week and is a player O’Sullivan rates highly. He has some serious scalps to his name – none greater than Ronnie – and that price is a real tempter as he looks for a breakthrough win.
The 24-year-old from Kettering starts his campaign on Tuesday against Mitchell Mann and we can expect to see him go into the second week and possibly all the way, with 20/1 available for him to reach the final.
This was the event last season which saw unknown Leeds potter David Grace emerge from the pack and reach the semi-finals, with the flat draw of 128 players opening up opportunities for the lesser-ranked players.
As such, value bets are always worth a look, so why not cast an eye over Michael Holt, Jack Lisowski and Peter Ebdon?
Holt is a seasoned pro who remains as good as most on his day – recent wins over O’Sullivan prove that – and he is 150/1 to win the tournament, provided he comes through his opener with Kritsanut Lertsattayatthorn.
Lisowski was a hot prospect once upon a time who has so far failed to fulfil that potential. He starts against Mei Xiwen and is 200/1 for the title while Ebdon, the 2006 winner and a man who keeps coming back for more, is the same price.
O’Sullivan fans can watch the five-time world champion on Wednesday night when he is 8/1 to suffer an early exit against Boonyarit Kaettikun of Thailand.
