Coral Northern Ireland Open final tips: Hawkins to belie recent record and beat King
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Coral Northern Ireland Open final tips
Be honest, you didn’t have Barry Hawkins and Mark King down as Coral Northern Ireland Open snooker finalists did you?
A whole host of higher-profile potters tumbled off the tables inside Belfast’s Titanic Exhibition Centre, leaving just The Hawk and Romford Battler to face off in a best-of-17 frames fixture.
Hawkins, a former World Snooker Championship runner-up, is a firm odds-on 1/3 favourite for the title here, though must belie a three-match losing streak against 9/4 outsider King.
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What are the value bets among Hawkins v King odds then? As tournament sponsors, we provide Coral Northern Ireland Open final tips for you to take…
Hawkins v King odds: Hawk should soar to success
Although King had an easier time in the semis against young Kyren Wilson, The Hawk’s final frame decider victory over Anthony Hamilton continues to show that gritty matchplay snooker reaps rewards. A 5/1 price says this encounter will also go down to the wire.
On a hot streak of three successive victories over Hawkins, all of which came last year, Romford potter King is well worth siding with a 16/5 to be the frames 1-4 winner.
You would think based on his Crucible exploits of recent times that this two-session, first-to-nine format would suit The Hawk better, but he has a history of starting poorly in this fixture.
Siding with a 5-3 lead for Hawkins after eight frames is a terrific alternative at 13/5. Backing over 14.5 frames in this best-of-19 battle is a safer 11/10 price, but also not without merit because both men must realise they will never get a better chance to win a ranking title than this.
The handicap market (with tie) is set at three frames, and The Hawk is 23/20 to cover that imagined deficit.
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