George Weyham picks out three betting selections in the China Open.
China OpenSee All Odds
After a seven year hiatus, the prestigious China Open returns to the snooker calendar for an early season slot rather than the typical early April event before the World Championship.
Nobody knew what was about to happen to the world back in 2019 after Neil Robertson lifted this title for a second time with a deadly virus looming. It was sad to see this championship leave us but great news World Snooker brought it back - it has a fantastic history and roll of honour, dating back to 1999.
Beijing hosted this event from 2005 to 2019 however it’s a brand new setting this year at the home of the Shanxi Loongs Basketball team, the Riverside Sports Centre in Taiyuan - the first time a ranking event has ever been played in this city.
Judd Trump will be looking for back-to-back titles following a dominant display at the Shanghai Masters, where he particularly impressed in the quarter-final 6-0 win over John Higgins (including 515 unanswered points/three centuries) and giving Wu Yize his first taste of defeat since becoming World champion in the semis.
Zhao Xintong is hunting Trump’s World number one supremacy this season but remains trophy-less in his homeland following a loss in the Shanghai semi to Kyren Wilson. Looking forward to this week, he is rightly or wrongly the bookies favourite to lift his seventh ranking title. I can easily bypass him at no bigger than 3/1.
China Open Snooker Odds
Chang Bingyu 20/1 Unibet 0.50pt
Chang Bingyu to reach the final - 10/1 Betway 0.50pt
The player on everyone’s mouth this season is 23-year-old, Chang Bingyu. It’s safe to say this lad can play a bit! He is a frightening talent and is already as short as 12/1 to win the World Championship next May. There’s a lot of resemblance with Zhao, being a lefty and being able to score so effortlessly.
He’s trying to resurrect his career (like Zhao did) following a suspension then ban for match fixing in early 2023. He returned to the main tour last season following success in Asian-Pacific Amateur Championship and hasn’t looked back since.
Last December, Chang made the first of what’s sure to be many ranking finals at the Scottish Open losing to Chris Wakelin. On route to the final, he beat five top class players in Stephen Maguire, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby and Mark Allen, proving that no player or style fazes him.
Then he put on an absolute clinic against Shaun Murphy at the Welsh Open in February, winning 4-0, with breaks of 136, 130x2 and 119 and a 100% pot success - jaw dropping stuff.
So far this season, Chang’s scoring has been utterly spellbinding. From 55 frames won, he’s already pounded in 15 centuries including a third maximum - his third in the last 12 months.
Wu Yize opened his ranking account in China last season at the International Championship and I see no reason why Chang can’t follow suit. He has an acid test first up against defending champion, Robertson who in his last match was dismantled 6-0 by Zhao.
If Chang can do a job on him too, that will undoubtedly give him the inner belief of replicating the run in Edinburgh and going one better.
Jackson Page 200/1 William Hill 0.25pt ew
Quarter 3 Winner: Jackson Page 33/1 William Hill 0.25pt
There’s a few players who have had a very positive start to their campaigns and are worth a nibble to go well.
Liu Hongyu is a star in the making in my opinion who will maraud up the rankings soon. He already has a ranking semi-final to his name (2023 English Open) and can cause Barry Hawkins plenty of problems.
Hossein Vafaei has certainly had his game face on since his run to the quarters at the Worlds and will fancy his chances match fit against Mark Allen in round one (after playing a wildcard) who is yet to play a competitive match this season. I’ve been impressed by Vafaei’s attitude so far this season.
At a wild price of 200/1, I cannot resist a flutter in the outrights on Jackson Page and his quarter price of 33/1.
Those odds might reflect an opener with Ronnie O’Sullivan and then a second round potential tie with Trump however I expect Page will be targeting trophies this season.
A player with an outstanding junior pedigree, Page has already made a ranking final at the 2024 Championship League and in these shores at the World Open in the same year, had a similar daunting route to this week however made the semi-final. He ousted Higgins, Wu Yize and Selby - I believe he’s a much better player now.
O’Sullivan is there for the taking for me. He was brilliant in parts in Shanghai (burst of three centuries in a row) but has lacked consistency and that killer edge for such a while now and could be vulnerable against Page who has tremendous belief in his ability.
Page appeared on Stephen Hendry’s ‘Cue Tips’ channel last week and mentioned how hard he has been working during the off season, primarily with a new cue to get used to. It’s no surprise, he’s won eight from eight at all the qualifiers showing a winning consistency he’s found difficult to find previously.
He recently became a father for the second time so all is very rosey in the Page household at present and I can’t see him not becoming a top 16 player sooner rather than later as he has so much potential to improve further.
He is far better than a player currently ranked 39 in the world and big things await the maturing 24-year-old from Ebbw Vale.
