Bingham can stay on course for big bonus in Belfast

Eurosport 1 from 12.45pm Monday

The second of four Home Nations Series events starts in Belfast and in a high-quality field Stuart Bingham looks the pick to add to his English Open success and keep alive his hopes of a £1m bonus jackpot.

Given the depth in the game, it’s hard to plot a straightforward passage when studying the draw, particularly in the early best-of-seven sprints, but quarters two and three are stacked with talent, so the fourth quarter could be the place to be.

Mark Selby lurks there, but the wily Anthony Hamilton is a tough first-round tie for the Jester, while recent European Masters Champion Jimmy Robertson is his likely second-round opponent, so Selby will have to come out firing.

Bingham ought to win his first three games without much difficulty, and an early exit at Coventry to Ronnie O’Sullivan wasn’t the end of the world as it allowed him a few days off before this.

Bingham is the only player to land multiple Home Nations events, defeating Judd Trump in the 2016-17 Welsh Open alongside last month’s English Open triumph, and the layers may have underestimated him.

O’Sullivan, who puts a lot of stock in this series to complement his assault on the Majors, heads the market but this is a quick turnaround from the Champion of Champions and the chance to oppose the Rocket can be taken.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since Marco Fu’s devastating run to glory in the Scottish equivalent in 2016-17, and laser eye surgery to treat retinal degeneration seriously impacted on the second half of last term.

This year has been solid rather than spectacular, a quarter-final exit at the World Open his best effort. On the flip side, he’s back out to a very appealing price and a toughest possible passage would see him face Chen Feilong, Martin O’Donnell and Scott Donaldson in the first three rounds, providing the likeable Fu with a good chance to get a foothold in the tournament.

Talented 24-year-old Sam Craigie is capable of devastating bursts of scoring, ideal for this short format, and a run to the last 16 a year ago was encouraging.

He arrives after a brace of early exits, but final-frame defeats to Barry Hawkins and Dave Gilbert illustrate that he’s by no means out of sorts.

Recommendations
S Bingham
1pt each-way 22-1 general
M Fu
0.5pt each-way 50-1 Coral, Ladbrokes
S Craigie
0.5pt each-way 250-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

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