Snooker / David Hendon / 01 December 2011 /

Snooker journalist David Hendon makes his picks ahead of the action in York and it's an Aussie with new found all-round skills who he fancies to lift the trophy

It's all change for the UK Championship, which returns to the Barbican in York after a five-year tenure in Telford. More significant, though, is the reduction in length of matches from traditional best of 17 frames to best of 11s up to the semi-finals. This hasn't gone down well with most top players. John Higgins even claimed the tournament had been "ruined" but it remains a great and prestigious event, and I suspect the cream will still rise to the top.

And of all the top players, Neil Robertson is playing as well as anyone at the moment and has a good claim to win the UK title this year. Last season he had the growing pressure of being defending world champion, with all the talk of the Crucible 'curse' of first time champions failing to defend their title. Robertson duly lost on the first day to Judd Trump in Sheffield and a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

This season he's done well: semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters plus two victories in the smaller Players Tour Championship events. He has now played in eight televised finals and won them all, but more importantly is the way his game has developed. The Aussie is no longer and out-and-out potter. He has discovered a hardened safety game that his famous compatriot Eddie Charlton would have appreciated and allied to his big match temperament this makes him particularly difficult to beat.

There are virtually no weaknesses in Robertson's game. His only problem seems to be preparation, which has been sloppy at times, turning up for tournaments only minutes before his matches, plus comical tales of lost passports and catching the wrong train which have marked him out more Frank Spencer than John Spencer.

So as long as Robertson actually gets to York in good time he is worth supporting. His first round opponent, Tom Ford, is a solid player but has not done much on TV before. As a top four seed, Robertson avoids the real big hitters until later in the tournament. He has bags of self belief, as he should, and is playing the sort of tough, intense snooker that served Higgins so well last season. And Higgins won the UK Championship.

From the other half of the draw, Shaun Murphy appears to have a favourable run to at least the semi-finals. He starts out against Li Yan, a complete unknown from China who turned pro earlier this year, and would avoid Robertson, Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan until the final.

Murphy is such a talent and so dedicated that it is surprising he has not won more than his four major ranking titles, although one of those was the world title in 2005 and another the UK crown three years ago. He almost reached the final a year ago but was undone in the semi-finals by an inspired Mark Williams. Murphy could very well go one better and reach the final 12 months on.

Although matches are shorter this year, the key point to make is that every match will now be televised, whereas in previous seasons some were played in cubicles away from public gaze. This environment was a leveller but on TV the top players are much more comfortable. For this reason shocks will probably be thin on the ground.

However, Mark Selby, the current world no.1, could be vulnerable in the first round against Ryan Day, who just 18 months ago was ranked fifth in the world. Day suffered a huge slump but is on his way back and will well remember the 2008 Grand Prix in which he made a terrific 55 clearance under pressure to beat Selby in a decider. Selby remains a class act but it is three months since he won the Shanghai Masters and his form in PTCs has been patchy since.

There look to be a number of near certainties in the first round which could be rolled into an Multiple: Williams to beat Joe Jogia, whose experience on TV is limited, Murphy to beat Li and Mark Allen to beat Adrian Gunnell.

It would also be a huge shock if Higgins lost to the methodical Rory McLeod, who he saw off after a marathon battle at the Crucible last season, 13-7 in the second round. McLeod is slow but, as Higgins told me last week, "it doesn't matter how the other guy plays if he's sat in his chair. It's up to you to dictate what sort of match it will be".

Recommended Bets
Neil Robertson to Win @ [10.5]
Shaun Murphy to Reach the Final @ [5.5]

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