China Open Snooker Betting Tips

• Format Of The China Open
• China Open Betting Markets And Snooker Betting Tips
• China Open Previous Winners
• China Open Players - Championship Chances
• FAQs

The China Open is a ranked snooker tournament played toward the end of the season. It has one of the largest prize funds on the circuit, and since 1997 has promised to become one of the most prestigious tournaments on the world snooker tour. As a result of the Covid pandemic, this competition hasn't taken place since 2019.

The Chinese tournament was set to return in March 2022, but it was once again cancelled because of Covid concerns. It was announced on 17 April that top-level snooker would return to China in 2023.

The China Open betting markets always offered a lively game, so, in anticipation of the markets re-opening, we're going to take a look at a few handy betting and odds-making strategies.

Format Of The China Open

The last China Open was played in Beijing between the 1st and 7th of April 2019 with a total prize fund of £1 million. The winner received £250,000; the runner-up, £90,000; and the semi-finalists received £45,000 each. The prize money made it the second-richest tournament of the season.

The event was preceded by a non-ranking qualifying tournament that determined the 64 players who ultimately competed in Beijing.

The snooker tournament comprised six rounds of competition, with the first three rounds and quarter-finals played as best of 11 frames. The semi-final was best of 19, and the final best of 21.

China Open Betting Markets And Snooker Betting Tips

China Open betting is all about finding the bets which work for you. Bookmakers will roll out quite the spread of betting odds, so an odds comparison across the market is always advisable.

An event like the China Open offers deep betting markets and plenty of free tips. Your favourite betting site can also be a great guide. Let's take a look at three popular markets and how to identify winning odds:

Accumulator betting

In the China Open of 2019, the large field produced a few early mismatches, notably Neil Robertson vs rank outsider Kishan Hirani. Placing a straight win on Robertson wouldn't have returned much profit on its own.

But the long format of the competition gave punters the chance to combine bets into an accumulator. Bettors could pick short-priced favourites and benefit from the better returns an acca's extended pricing pays.

Match betting

Due to snooker's knockout nature, match betting is always a popular flutter. Since a drawn result isn't possible, match betting is a straight 50-50 call. The trick is to find the best betting odds and tips to make profitable wagers. So, study as many matches and matchups as you can.

The best China Open betting tips will stress the importance of research. Look at the favourites' recent records. Have they won tournaments in the last year or six months? Did they perform in major tournaments? If they didn't win, did they at least reach the last four?

Head-to-head player comparison is another very useful pointer. Look into the history of encounters between players to assess how they might progress in their draw.

Handicap betting

We've already talked about the mismatches between seeded players and low-ranked qualifiers. This situation presents a chance for handicap betting during the early rounds of competition.

To apply a virtual "handicap," handicap bettors must first select short-price favourites who hold a clear advantage over their opponents.

For instance, in 2019 you could have picked Robertson to defeat Hirani with a handicap of -2.5. This would require Robertson to win by at least three frames.

Because Robertson prevailed 6-2 in the match, this handicap bet was a winning wager. It would have earned you better paying odds than a straight match bet on the winner.  

China Open Previous Winners

Neil Robertson is the defending China Open champion, having beaten Jack Lisowski 11-4 in 2019. The Australian jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and was always a step ahead. A slightly demoralised Lisowski pulled back to 8-2 at the break. He managed to scramble another two games in the second session as Robertson glided to victory.

Let's take a look at the top performers in the five years preceding 2019:

China Open Players - Championship Chances

It's evident that Selby has been a dominant force in this event since 2015. If a China championship is staged in 2023/2024, expect the "Jester from Leicester" to feature strongly once again. After an unsettled 2021-2022 season, Selby is back to handy form. Defending champion Robertson, on the other hand, has been rather quiet of late.

2016 victor Judd Trump leads a pack of younger contenders. Old stagers Mark Williams and John Higgins will always fancy their chances.

The China Open was traditionally held right before the World Championship; one of the reasons reigning world title holder, Ronnie O'Sullivan, didn't always make the trip.

The 2019 China Open saw thirteen Chinese players in the draw of 64. 2014 winner Ding is Asia's most successful player (though he lost in the opening round in 2019). He is currently ranked world number 14.

Ding is the central figure among a group of Chinese snooker professionals based in Sheffield. Unfortunately, many of these Sheffield pros were recently implicated in a match-fixing scandal.

Leading Chinese players including Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao were suspended prior to the 2023 World Championship. Disciplinary hearings into the fixed betting allegations are pending. Ding is not part of this betting scandal investigation.

FAQs

Will there be a China Open snooker competition in 2023?

It's unlikely there will be a snooker competition in China in the 2023 calendar year. However, discussions about bringing back a ranking Chinese event to the snooker schedule continue. It is hoped the China Open will take place again in the first part of 2024.

How long are the Chinese snooker players suspended for?

The investigation into the manipulation of match outcomes is ongoing, but the players could potentially receive a life ban if found guilty.