Ronnie O’Sullivan gets his tilt at a third Scottish Open crown underway against Xing Zihao in Edinburgh on Tuesday and the Rocket should blast past his Chinese rival.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has yet to win a tournament this season, but the seven-time world champion will have eyes on the Scottish Open crown and £100,000 first prize.
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Xing Zihao betting tips and predictions
O'Sullivan -2.5 on the match handicap - 1/1
Ronnie O’Sullivan gets his Scottish Open campaign underway with a first-round tie against Xing Zihao and the Rocket is the red-hot 1/6 favourite.
On the evidence of what we have seen from the Chigwell cueman this season, it’s not difficult to argue that those odds are pretty cramped.
Summer semi-final runs in the Shanghai Masters and Xi’an Grand Prix have been the best efforts the 49-year-old has registered this season, but it’s been more of a struggle when O’Sullivan has been in action of late.
The seven-time world champion declined the invitation to compete in the British Open, Wuhan Open, Northern Ireland Open and Snooker Shoot Out and the Rocket’s appearances in recent tournaments have been brief.
The Chigwell cueman was beaten 6-4 by Barry Hawkins in the first-round of the UK Championship last month and that followed a second-round defeat to Pang Junxu in the International Championship.
On that evidence, you would suggest that Zihao has a shot at a huge victory, but there is more to consider than just O’Sullivan’s recent form.
The Rocket is a seven-time world champion, arguably the greatest cueman of all time and there is no end of evidence that O’Sullivan can bounce back to form, seemingly at the flick of a switch.
Clearly, the 49-year-old is nearer the end of his career than the start, but the Rocket won five major titles last season and an anywhere-near-peak O’Sullivan should be a clear winner against his inexperienced opponent.
The Scottish Open is a good prize, but given the events that O’Sullivan has opted to skip this season, his entry is an indication that motivation may be a little higher for the Chigwell cueman than in many previous Home Nation Series events.
At 1/1, O’Sullivan can be backed to win giving Zihao a 2.5-frame start on the handicap and that looks worth a punt.
O’Sullivan to win 4-0 - 10/3
It’s 10/3 that O’Sullivan wins this best-of-seven-frame contest 4-0 and the Rocket can be backed for a shut out victory.
Zihao is short of competitive experience, having only won his tour card after successfully qualifying from the CBSA qualifying events held in Beijing in April 2023.
The Chinese cueman has qualified for only three ranking events this season and won only two matches in that trio of tournaments.
Clearly, time is on the 20-year-old’s side, but the Yushan potter has won only eight of 18 matches on tour this term and two of those victories have come in the low-key Championship League.
Not only does Zihao have plenty to find in terms of ability, but the 20-year-old will need to handle the occasion of playing against snooker’s biggest star and he has little experience in high-profile matches.
If O’Sullivan gets in front, it’s not hard to see the Rocket blasting past his young rival and the odds on offer about a 4-0 victory look generous.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan v Xing Zihao odds
Ronnie O'Sullivan - 1/6
Xing Zihao - 4/1
View the full market and more odds for Ronnie O'Sullivan v Xing Zihao on site.
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.
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