Champion of Champions snooker outright predictions and betting tips: Allen can land back-to-back titles

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Mark Allen to win Champion of Champions
1pt each-way 7-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Champion of Champions predictions

Defending and two-time champion Mark Allen looks capable of clinging on to his Champion of Champions crown in Bolton this week.

The Pistol beat Scott Donaldson, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Neil Robertson to capture the title in 2020 while victories over Chris Wakelin, Ding Junhui, John Higgins and then Trump in the final saw the Antrim ace win the invitational event for the second time last season. 

And, having successfully negotiated devilish draws during both his title successes, the defending champion has been handed what appears a more straightforward route to glory this time around. 

Allen's victory last year earned the Northern Irishman, who has won six major trophies over the last three seasons, his place in the field and the number one seed begins his tilt at a third title against Brazil's world seniors champion Igor Figueiredo.

Allowing the winner of the World Senior Championship a spot in the field adds some variety but it may not make for a competitive first-round contest. 

The Antrim Ace is 1-8 to progress past the 47-year-old in round one, which would then set up a group final – effectively a quarter-final – against either Gary Wilson or this year's Crucible runner-up Jak Jones. 

That clash will clearly demand more of Allen but, with Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan housed together and Ding Junhui, Trump, Robertson and Ali Carter due to meet in Group Four, Allen's draw certainly doesn’t look as taxing as those sections. 

O’Sullivan is the fancied runner in the top half but the Rocket takes on an in-form Xiao Guodong in round one and will then meet either Murphy or Selby in the quarter-finals. 

A clash with the seven-time world champion is the toughest semi-final Allen could face, but overall the Pistol has a far easier route to the last four than any of his top-half rivals. 

The potential match prices for a showdown with the Rocket indicate that, at 7-1, the Antrim Ace is too big a price in the outright betting. 

World champion Kyren Wilson, Robertson, Ding, Mark Williams, Carter and Trump are all in the bottom half of the 16-man draw and an each-way bet away from that high-quality section looks the best approach.

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