The Welsh Open is underway at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff and a flat draw means that all 128 players are involved from round one. However, defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is seeking to lift the Ray Reardon trophy, as it’s now known, for a record-breaking fifth time and he looks a worthy favourite to do so. Having won a record seventh Masters Title at Alexandra Palace, ‘The Rocket’ lost 5-4 to Mark King in the last 32 of the German Masters and 4-1 to Neil Robertson in the last 16 of the World Grand Prix but, while he may always be at his most vulnerable in best of seven matches, all things are relative and his odds aren’t likely to lengthen as the tournament progresses. In fact, with the likes of John Higgins and Matthew Stevens already having bitten the dust, you may need to hurry to obtain the 9/2 available with Sporting Bet at the time of writing.
Selection: Ronnie O’Sullivan to win outright (9/2 with Sporting Bet)