Gibraltar Open predictions & snooker betting tips: Judd Trump chasing hat-trick

Free snooker tips, best bets and analysis for the Gibraltar Open, which starts on Thursday at the Europa Point Sports Complex.

When to bet

Starts 8.30am Monday

Where to watch

Live on Eurosport 1, from 1pm Monday

Best bets

Luca Brecel
0.5pt each-way 40-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Ali Carter
0.5pt each-way 40-1 general

Tournament preview

Judd Trump is chasing a hat-trick of wins in the Gibraltar Open and a recent uplift in form sees him with a favourite’s chance of completing the feat.

The world number three made an uncharacteristically slow start to the campaign but is looking more complete as the World Championship approaches.

Trump responded well to his defeat in the Welsh Open final against Joe Perry earlier this month by going one better at the inaugural Turkish Masters and is sure to have his followers again.

However, with the tournament held over just three days and played over a best-of-seven format throughout, there is room for an upset, even if Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Yan Bingtao, Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy are notable absentees.

Neil Robertson has a difficult early path, with an opening game against Liang Wenbo followed by a potential second-round clash with David Gilbert, which may make the price of Luca Brecel appealing.

The Belgian has been hit-and-miss since winning the Scottish Open in December but has evidently matured this season and finds himself fifth on the one-year ranking list.

Brecel may have to face Robertson in the last 16 but his toughest test before then would be a third-round meeting with Hossein Vafaei, for which he would be favourite.

The 14th seed, who also reached the UK Championship final at the end of last year, has shown he is capable of mixing it with the best and there will be plenty of big scalps who get found out early.

Another cueman to consider is Ali Carter, who has been knocking on the door in recent weeks.

The Captain finds himself in Trump’s top half, and in the same mini-section as Kyren Wilson, but recent performances suggest he will be confident about toppling any player in this event.

Carter has gone five years without a ranking event title, although he has made back-to-back quarter-finals in Wales and Turkey, defeating John Higgins, Scott Donaldson, Jamie Jones and Matthew Stevens in those two events.

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