The English Open kicks-off four Home Nations Series events with the Brentwood Centre in Essex playing host to the ranking event.
Mark Allen took the prize last season, but with the Antrim ace not defending his title this year, the baize is set for a new champion.
English Open Tips Summary
Best Bet - Judd Trump each-way @ 10/3
Alternative Bet - Mark Williams each-way @ 12/1
English Open Prediction
Best Bet: Judd Trump each-way @ 10/3
Judd Trump goes in search of his first ranking title of the campaign at the English Open and the Ace looks set to land the crown.
The Bristol potter took the lucrative Shanghai Masters invitational title at the start of the season and the 37-year-old continues to plunder snooker’s top prizes.
Trump reached the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open at the end of last month, and that was followed by a semi-final run in the British Open.
Jak Jones got the better of the Ace in last week’s British Open, but that was another strong showing for Trump, who looks ready to claim more big prizes.
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s defection has opened up the bottom half of the draw and Trump looks to have been handed a dream run to the latter stages in Essex.
A first-round tie against Jordan Brown holds no fears for Trump, with the Antrim Ferrari struggling for form, and Jack Lisowski is the highest seed the Bristol potter can face prior to the quarter-final stage.
Shaun Murphy is a potential last-eight opponent, but the Magician lost in the first round at both the Wuhan and British Opens, and he doesn’t appear to be playing well enough to trouble Trump.
A peak performance for the Ace is almost unstoppable, and with the draw favouring the 37-year-old, he may not even need to produce his best to progress to the business end of the competition.
The second half of the tournament looks the weaker section and Trump rates a nice each-way play.
Alternative Bet - Mark Williams each-way @ 12/1
Mark Williams rates a solid each-way bet to compete for the English Open prize.
Wu Yize is the fancied runner in the section, but Williams is available at double the 6/1 on offer about the Chinese cueman and that price looks to hold more value.
The Welshman continues to churn out tournament victories and the 51-year-old claimed the Xi’an Grand Prix crown last season.
Williams was good enough to reach the final of the 2025 World Championship and the Welsh Potting Machine is capable of taking any chances which are sent his way.
A first-round English Open tie against Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon rates a golden opportunity to reach round two and Williams would be strong favourite against either Matthew Selt or Hossein Vafaei then.
Barry Hawkins could pose a threat at the last-16 stage, but with O’Sullivan out of the quarter and Wu the only other serious danger, the path looks fairly clear for the Welshman to reach the quarter finals.
Williams played well enough in last month’s Wuhan Open to suggest he is cueing well and he is worthy of each-way support.
Read more snooker betting tips and predictions on site.
Key Tournament Stats
Trump is a two-time winner of the English Open
Trump, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson are the only players to have won the English Open on more than one occasion
Three of the last six English Open finals have gone to a deciding frame
Five of the last six English Open finals have ended in a score line of either 9-8 or 9-7
rump and Robertson have each reached three English Open finals
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
