bwin Sportsblog - Other Sports - Who will be the 2011 Champion?

The UK Snooker Championships have traditionally been the second biggest Snooker tournament on the calendar after the World Championships in Sheffield. All the big star names are present and there have been no shocks so far in the early stages of the event. Ronnie O'Sullivan looked at his best when he easily dispatched ex-World Champion Steve Davis 6-1 and will be a contender for this title.

Meanwhile World Champion John Higgins has set up a mouth watering clash against his fellow Scot Stephen Maguire. The two go head to head in the last 16 and three time UK winner Higgins will have his work cut out to beat Maguire who has been consistent on the tour for a good number of years now.

The UK event has a shorter format than the World Championships and so it creates opportunities for players lower down the rankings to go deep into the event. Like when Marco Fu came within a frame of winning it in 2008 when he narrowly lost to Shaun Murphy in the final. This makes these shorter matches more exciting from a betting point of view.