Tour Championship predictions & snooker betting tips: Longer format plays to Warrior's strengths

Where to watch the Tour Championship

Live on ITV4 from 1pm Monday

Best bets for the Tour Championship

Kyren Wilson to win the Tour Championship
1pt 6-1 general

Kyren Wilson-Mark Selby final
1pt 13-2 Hills

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Snooker Tour Championship predictions

With Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and Ronnie O’Sullivan missing, a new champion is to be crowned in the fifth edition of the Tour Championship and bookmakers rate recent WST Classic winner Mark Selby as favourite of the eight-man field.

Four-time world champion Selby peaks for this time in the season - this is the final event before the World Championships in Sheffield - and the best-of-19 format only aids his chances.

An opening encounter with Ryan Day looks routine, but it is the potential semi-final showdown with Shaun Murphy, who is also in decent touch after winning last month’s Players Championship and finishing runner-up at the Welsh Open, which should be of more concern to favourite backers.

That makes the top half of the draw the place to go for value and Kyren Wilson, another solid match player who thrives at this time of the season, is the selection.

Mark Allen is the tournament top seed after a stellar season that has featured three title successes, but his levels have dropped in recent outings, while his quarter-final opponent Ding Junhui is an even more unreliable betting proposition given his inconsistencies.

So provided Wilson can overcome Ali Carter in his opener, which should be expected over two sessions, then the Warrior could take some stopping.

The Warrior has made at least the quarter-final stage of the World Championship in six of the last seven years, so is clearly suited to this marathon test, and he has played much better in recent months than he has been given credit for.

However, instead of going each-way on Wilson, bettors can also forecast a final with Selby who would still be a worthy favourite to have Murphy’s measure in the last four.

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