Eye-catching draw makes Hawkins an attractive bet

Day one
Eurosport 2, 1pm Friday

Barry Hawkins continues to be underestimated by layers and is the pick for the Gibraltar Open this weekend.

Taking the draw into consideration, a potential last-16 clash with Shaun Murphy could have a huge bearing on the destination of the €25,000 prize, but Hawkins goes into the tournament as one of the best players on the tour and looks a match for anyone.

Drawn in one of the softest quarters, last month's World Grand Prix winner can maintain the high level of performance he has shown this season, which has also seen him contest semi-finals in the Masters and Coral English Open, as well finishing runner-up to Mark King in the Coral Northern Ireland Open.

Now a constant among the top-ten ranked players in the world, world number seven Hawkins is a class act and no stranger to success over this ultra-short format with best-of-seven matches throughout.

Further down the betting is last season's Shanghai Masters champion Kyren Wilson who, although he has seriously struggled for any sort of consistency this season, is hard to ignore from a great draw in the second quarter.

The Kettering potter has to be respected as a ranking-event winner, and having contested the Championship League recently in Coventry, should be well tuned up for a decent showing.

At a much more exotic price, Belgian livewire Luca Brecel is of interest as an each-way play.

A quarter-finalist at the Betway UK Championship earlier this season, he is capable of competing with most and could easily reach the quarter-finals without playing his best.

Recommendations
B Hawkins
2pts each-way 18-1 general
K Wilson
1pt each-way 66-1 BoyleSports
L Brecel
1pt each-way 150-1 Betfred