abarrybonds

No one has dominated the ranking tournaments this season so far, with no player owning two ranking titles at this point yet. One of those who has won a ranking title is Shaun Murphy, who has a fine record in the Players Championship, making the final three times already. He won the British Open and, raised in Northamptonshire, he won the Championship in 2023 in Wolverhampton. He does not have far to travel to Telford for this tournament this week either. Odds of 10/1 to win look worth taking.

Chinese player Zhang Anda has really developed as a player over the past three seasons, making all four of his ranking finals within this time span. In his last appearance in the Players Championship a few seasons ago, he reached the final in his very first attempt. He was also a finalist in his last event, the ranking event World Grand Prix in Hong Kong. Odds of 28/1 each way for this in-form player this week in a sixteen-player field look worth taking.

St. Louis Blues looks like a decent long shot for this season's Stanley Cup. Under new coach Jim Montgomery, he steered them to their first playoff berth since the 2021/22 season with an overall record of 35-8-7. They have added wins to their regular season in each of their last three seasons. They won 19 of their last 26 games. Middle of the pack in both goals for and against. There are pluses such as Jordan Kyrou potentially scoring over 40 goals and increasing his overall production. Also, the goalies duo of Hofer and Binnington were both above-average tenders. I think overall they are capable of a playoff run and good value odds at 50/1 each way.