Ladbrokes Players Championship: Superb Trump Performance is Right on Cue
Published:
The opening days of the Ladbrokes Players Championship have seen some superb action as snooker’s finest tussle for rankings in Manchester’s Event City venue.
World number six Judd Trump credited his new tip with guiding him to a 4-1 win over Martin Gould. Notching top breaks of 88 and 63, the 2015 Shanghai Masters finalist Trump is looking for his first ranking title since 2014’s Australian Goldfields Open and faces world number 28 Ali Carter in the last 16. And we’re offering 4/9 on clear favourite Trump to dispatch Carter in tomorrow’s game.
Michael White recovered from 2-0 down to defeat young Belgian Luca Brecel in six frames, winning the final one with an impressive break of 77. Whilst Brecel has a bright future in the game, he was no match for White’s stunning comeback, and the Welshman is 7/4 to defeat Ding Junhui in the next round.
Ding has risen to 17th from 19th in the projected rankings, and securing a top 16 spot would mean avoiding the hassle of World Championship qualification and the promise of a 10th successive appearance at the Crucible. Having strolled to a 4-1 victory over Michael Gilbert, the red-hot Ding is 4/9 to beat White.
Elsewhere, Ben Woollaston squeezed past Jimmy Robertson in a 4-3 triumph which hinged on a safety battle on the brown and 2007 Grand Prix winner Marco Fu defeated Alan McManus by the same margin. Fu will face the winner of Tom Ford’s tie with Ricky Walden, with the former 5/4 to win.
The action is ongoing today, and comes thick and fast this week, with the final taking place on March 27.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
