By Keith Draft

Betting Box Tipping Guide

BETTING BOX
FIXED ODDS
	3pts win Stephen Hendry at 10/1 (general).	Not quite the force of old but still competitive and capable of winning on the tour.
	1pt e.w. Neil Robertson at 50/1 (general).	One of the game's rising stars and impressed with when taking some notable scalps last season.

A lack of sponsor interest has seen a further reduction in the number of events on the tour this season – not the best news for players or punters.

The move may mean fewer appearances from the sport's biggest draw Ronnie O'Sullivan, who, due to a lack of opportunities to play in the UK, is eyeing a pool career in the US.

"I'm a snooker player and that is all I have done all my life. I love playing snooker but I have found I'm not playing enough," he said.

"We used to play in 14 or 15 events and there are now six. That makes it tough for everyone involved in snooker."

Indeed it does, only six tournaments remain and there are six-week gaps between the pre-Christmas contests which makes confident form assessments tricky.

O'Sullivan, a player who has landed a few events for this column over the years, always warrants respect and will arrive at the Guild Hall as the defending champion and 3/1 favourite.

However it seems best to follow The Rocket when you know that he is in decent touch and set for the mental demands of tournament play - with the recent pool speculation and his comments after the Worlds last year, that remains to be seen.

The first event of the 2005-2006 campaign saw Matthew Stevens bounce back after his perennial near miss at the World Championships, where he suffered an 18-16 final defeat for the second time in five years.

The Welsh cueist put on a gritty display to beat Stephen Hendry 9-7 in the final of the Northern Ireland Trophy in August after beating Ken Doherty, Stephen Maguire and Neil Robertson en route to the final.

Two big tournament wins, at the 2003 UK and the 2000 B&H Masters, do not adequately reflect Stevens' abilities and due to his lack of sustained success he is regularly chalked up at attractive prices. Some 14/1 is available here which is fair but no more then that with his wins-to-events ratio.

However two of his beaten opponents from Belfast appeal at decent odds for this first ranking event of the season.

Firstly Hendry, who plays well in Preston and is still capable of taking titles, secondly Robertson, who impressed at a number of events last term and looks a player to follow at big prices.

The Scot has won the Grand Prix more then any other player recording four wins, the last of which came when beating John Higgins 9-5 in the 1995 final. Admittedly his Guild Hall showings since then have not been spectacular, barring a semi-final place in the 2001 LG Cup.

Hendry's only win last season came in Malta but he was generally consistent, also reaching the finals in China and Wales.

Age has obviously taken some toll on the seven-times Embassy champion but he is still a capable performer as he demonstrated in Northern Ireland.

While he may be found out in the higher profile, long-format matches, he will still be a real force on the tour this season and double-figure quotes should be snapped up here with the Scot berthed in the easier half of the draw.

Robertson, however, must overcome a tougher test if he is to capture his first ranking event with O'Sullivan and Maguire also in the top half.

The Australian has been an up and coming prospect over the last couple of seasons, particularly catching the eye in the Welsh Open last year when getting the better of Jimmy White and John Higgins to reach the quarter finals.

O'Sullivan was the opponent in the last eight and the Melbourne-born potter gave the then world champion a real scare, taking him to 4-4 before losing out in a tight decider.

25 match victories in last season's eight ranking tournaments propelled the Aussie into the top 32, he recorded a maximum when when winning the West Coast Internation at Perth in July and impressed again in Belfast – he is certainly worth an interest despite the tough draw.

If in form Maguire and O'Sullivan could prove too strong but 50/1 is an inviting price about a player who has the class to be a tournament winner in the next couple of seasons.