Solid Joe Perry should boss group in race for Crucible

Continues 10am Thursday

There's no doubt Sam Craigie is a danger to all in qualifying group 12 of the Betfred World Championship, but the Geordie is no certainty to beat the ever­green Jimmy White in his opener and there's also the task of stop­ping Joe Perry, who still has an outside chance of Crucible glory.

Perry, runner-up in the Masters last season, is evens favourite to earn another trip to the home of snooker. While he has occasion­ally been found wanting in similar circumstances, the Fen Tiger's game has generally got better with experience.

White is 5-2 to upset Craigie. That can be considered and the Whirlwind will dig as deep as he can for his backers, but Craigie has been scoring heavily in recent weeks so it's no great surprise to see him prohibitively priced.

Veteran Mark Davis and Coral Shoot Out hero Michael Georgiou also contest the group, while mention should also be made of Ross Muir, who may be better than his 100-1 quote suggests.

Anyone on Cao Yupeng at odds of up to 2-1 to come through group 11 could be on a winner, but the sponsors' 6-4 about the Chinese ace in a section featuring Ricky Walden, Andrew Higginson and Joe Swail looks a bit stingy.

Recommendation
J Perry to win qualifying Group 12
2pts Evs Betfair, Paddy Power

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