Scottish Open Snooker Betting

Scottish Open

Few snooker tournaments have had as many iterations as the Scottish Open, with this having been hosted as both a ranking and non-ranking event at various points during its 31-year history. Since 2016, however, the Scottish Open has formed part of the Players Tour Championship and become a fully-fledged ranking event on the world snooker tour.

In this comprehensive snooker betting guide, we’ll take a closer look at Scottish Open betting and wagering, while taking a brief look back at the history of the tournament.

The Best Scottish Open Snooker Betting Sites

Typically, the Scottish Open takes place every December, with the event having been held in Glasgow, Llandudno, and Milton Keynes over the course of the last three years.

While the 2022 iteration may be some way away, however, it’s important to identify the best sportsbooks for Scottish Open snooker betting. Here are four options to keep in mind:

🥇 Best Betting Site

BoyleSports

🎁 Best Free Bet Offer

Bet365

📡 Best In-Play Betting Site

Betway

💯 Best Odds Betting Site

Ladbrokes

Best Scottish Open Snooker Betting Site – BoyleSports

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There are more than 320 BoyleSports outlets located throughout Ireland, while the site also boasts a huge presence online. The operator is also among the very best Scottish Open snooker betting experience, both in terms of odds and the available range of markets.

Ultimately, snooker is one of 42 different disciplines covered by BoyleSports, while there remains a large selection of ante-post and in-play markets associated with the Scottish Open. BoyleSports also offers competitive prices and enhanced odds promotions, which typically targets events like the Scottish Open.

In terms of incentives, BoyleSports offers new customers access to a €20 free bet when they credit their account with the minimum amount of €10 or more. This wager can be deployed on your choice of Scottish Open snooker betting markets, with the provision that you identify outcomes with minimum odds of 2.00.

Best Scottish Open Snooker Free Bet Offer – Bet 365

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If your main motivation as a punter is to leverage the best possible bonus offer, we’d recommend checking out what Bet365 has to offer.

Currently, this operator is offering a 100% deposit match up to the value of €50, which can translate into one or several English Open bets that must be deployed on outcomes with minimum odds of 1.20.

Bet365 also streams live action from tournaments like the English Open, enabling you to wager on the action as it unfolds.

Best Scottish Open Snooker In-Play Betting Site – Betway

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The typical snooker audience is increasingly inclined to target in-play betting markets as they watch the action unfold, and Betway offers access to arguably the largest range of micro bets and wagers.

From betting on the identity of the next century maker or who will win the next frame to guessing the colour of the next ball to be potted, Betway enables you to place any number of small wagers at competitively priced odds.

With Betway, you can currently claim a free bet offer up to the value of €30 as a new customer. When you deposit your account between €5 and €30, Betway will provide a free bet of the equivalent value, while this must be deployed on outcomes with odds of 1.75 or greater.

Best Scottish Open Snooker Betting Site for Odds – Ladbrokes

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Last up is Ladbrokes, which is one of the few sportsbooks that can claim to rival BetinIreland in the Irish marketplace.

Ladbrokes also offers the enticing combination of extensive live sports streams and enhanced odds promotions, while the site is often among the very first to publish ante-post prices for tournaments such as the Scottish Open.

As a brand-new Ladbrokes’ customer, you’ll qualify for a welcome offer worth €20 when you credit your account with a minimum deposit of €5. This offer comprises four free €5 bets, each of which can be placed on Scottish Open snooker bet with minimum odds of 1.50.

Scottish Open Snooker Betting Odds for 2022

Given that the 2022 Scottish Open is unlikely to take place until December, it should come as no surprise that we currently don’t know the line-up or the composition of the main draw.

As a result, we’re yet to see any official outright or ante-post prices for the Scottish Open. However, we’ll update the table below as the event draws closer and sportsbooks begin to publish their prices!

Player BoyleSports Betway Bet365 Ladbrokes
Zhao Xintong TBC TBCTBCTBC
Neil Robertson TBC TBCTBCTBC
Luca Brecel TBC TBCTBCTBC
Ronnie O’Sullivan TBC TBCTBCTBC
Mark Williams TBC TBCTBCTBC
Mark Allen TBC TBCTBCTBC
John Higgins TBC TBCTBCTBC
Barry Hawkins TBC TBCTBCTBC

Scottish Open Snooker Betting Markets

While the Scottish Open isn’t the biggest ranking event in world snooker, there are plenty of matches to keep punters occupied. So, what are the best and most interesting Scottish Open betting markets? Here are a select few to keep in mind:

Accumulator Betting

The opening round of the main draw sees 64 players compete across 32 matches, many of which pit qualifying seeds and top-ranked players against less established rivals. This can create several mismatches with short-priced favourites, and while such contests offer little value to punter by themselves, they can be combined into an accumulator or combination bet to offer lengthier prices and increased returns.

Certainly, the rounds of 64 and 32 offer the ideal opportunity to engage in acca betting, as you can select multiple matches that appear relatively easy to predict.

Match Betting

Perhaps the single most popular and easy to understand Scottish Open snooker wager is the match bet. This simply requires you to select a winner from two competiting players in a particular match, based on the selected odds, the form of the two participants and their head-to-head record against one another.

As the draw is eliminated from the occasion in knockout snooker tournaments like the Scottish Open, match betting offers access to even money wagers that ultimately deliver a 50% chance of success.

Outright Betting

It’s also hard to ignore the appeal of outright betting, which is the most popular form of ante-post wagering and requires you to back the winner of tournaments like the Scottish Open.

You can also find particular value in the outright betting market, especially if you look outside the immediate favourites such as Judd Trump and Mark Selby. Often, players like John Higgins and Kyren Wilson are available to back at longer prices prior to events such as the Scottish Open, despite the fact that they’ve won 35 ranking titles between them.

Certainly, it’s possible to back outright tournament winners at extended prices at the Scottish Open, enabling you to pursue larger returns with relatively small stakes.

Scottish Open Snooker Betting Tips

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If do decide to target these betting markets prior to and during the Scottish Open, you need to understand how to get the very best value for money.

This is where BetinIreland can help, as our expert team of pundits have laid out some betting tips to help you make the most of your bankroll in 2022.

Don’t Be Greedy with Acca Betting

When building acca or combination bets, it’s crucial that you strive to create the ideal balance between optimising potential returns and ensuring that the wager as a whole is successful.

"So, although you can include up to 20 individual selection in your acca, we’d recommend restricting the number to no more than six and targeting mismatches where there’s an obvious, short-priced favourite"

Remember, the odds of each selection are multiplied to create a single, extended price, so it’s still possible to create a valuable acca that has a realistic chance of winning.

Consider Handicap Betting Early On

During the early rounds of the Scottish Open, you may also be inclined to engage in handicap betting. This sees a small handicap applied to one player during a single match, usually a short-price favourite who’s expected to win by a comfortable margin. For example, during the first round of last year’s Scottish Open, you could have applied a handicap of –1.5 on Mark Selby to beat the world number 53 Owen Lines.

Selby prevailed by four frames to one, guaranteeing a successful handicap wager and enabling punters to lengthen the ante-post odds without overly compromising their chances of winning.

So, this type of wager also has merit earlier on in the tournament, so long as you have knowledge of the participants and are willing to study the form in detail.

Look at the Form and Player Head-to-Heads

This leads us neatly onto the importance of player form, particularly as snooker is a sport of rhythm and confidence. The season also runs almost continuously throughout the year, so it’s relatively easy to gauge each player’s form in the build-up to the Scottish Open.

Not only can form be highly insightful and enable you to seek value in otherwise unappealing match odds, but it also lets you make confident and informed decisions in the outright betting market.

"Another key data metric when match betting is the head-to-head record between two players, as this may suggest that one has a tactical or psychological edge over another. This is highly prevalent in individual sports and may be exacerbated during specific tournaments like the Scottish Open"

Scottish Open Snooker Format

After the qualifying event in September (which adopts an open format and includes all top-ranked players), 64 players enter the main Scottish Open draw in December.

The opening round-of-64 kicks off the tournament’s knockout format in earnest, with the winners progressing straight to the round-of-32. This is followed by round-of-16, from which eight players will progress to the quarter-finals.

After the semi-final matches, the two halves of the main draw are combined, with the remaining players competing in the showpiece, best-of-17 frames final.

The first three rounds of the event are contested as best-of-seven frame encounters, creating short and punchy matches that may increase the chances of the favourites being usurped. The quarter and the semi-finals are contested as the best of nine and 11 frame encounters, while the final is contested over two sessions on the final day of the tournament.

There’s a total prize fund of £405,000 in play here, mirroring the structure and payouts of the English and Welsh Opens. The winner banks a cool £70,000 for their efforts, while the runner-up and losing semi-finalists earns £30,000 and £20,000 respectively.

Defeated quarter-finalists walk away with £10,000, while those who exit in the last 16 and the last 32 bank £7,500 and £4,000. Players who are eliminated in the first round are paid a nominal £3,000, while the player who makes the highest break will pocket an additional £5,000. The player with the highest break at the end of the tournament will take home an additional £5,000.

The 2022 Tournament Schedule

There’s currently no news on the exact tournament schedule for the 2022 Scottish Open, either in terms of the official dates or the composition of the main draw. There’s even some time to go until the qualifying matches are drawn, with the event always taking place towards the end of the calendar year. The good news is that we’ll update this page with the relevant information as it’s released, along with the published outright odds and initial match betting data.

Scottish Open Snooker Top Players

At this stage, it’s hard to predict the players most likely to prevail at the 2022 Scottish Open, at least without any assurance about which 64 players will compete in the main draw.

However, it’s expected that most of the sport’s leading lights will qualify compete in the event, so here’s a sneak peek at three players who will challenge for the title.

Mark Selby

While Mark ‘The Jester from Leicester’ Selby may not be as eye-catching on the baize as Judd Trump or Ronnie O’Sullivan, he remains one of the most consistent players on the tour. This is borne out by his world number one ranking and 20 ranking titles, including nine coveted ‘Triple Crown’ titles. Selby also has form in the Scottish Open, having won two consecutive finals between 2019 and 2020 (beating Jack Lisowski and O’Sullivan respectively). Selby also lost in the 2003 final to David Gray in Edinburgh, and he will surely be looking to add to his haul this December.

John Higgins

Scottish veteran John Higgins is another to have won the Scottish Open twice during his stellar 30-year career, while the ‘Wizard of Wishaw’ has also reached the final on three separate occasions. He definitely has an affinity with his home ranking event, while the evergreen former world champion has also won an impressive 31 ranking events since turning pro in 1992. Interestingly, the Scot was beaten 9-5 by Belgian Luca Brecel in last year’s Scottish Open final, and he’ll aim to go one better this time around.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Widely considered to be the best player ever to pick up a cue, O’Sullivan has won a record 38 ranking titles during his incredible career, including two Scottish Open titles in 1998 and the year 2000. Interestingly, the ‘Rocket’s’ next final appearance didn’t come until 20 years later in 2020, when he was beaten by Mark Selby in Milton Keynes. Despite a relatively indifferent 2020/21 season, O’Sullivan ended a 16-month title drought at November’s World Grand Prix, when he beat an in-form Neil Robertson to return to the top table.

Alternative Scottish Open Betting Sites
1.
Boyle​Sports
Bonus:
€30

18+ | New customers only. Min stake €/£10 | 30 days to qualify | Payment method restrictions exist | Play Responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply. http://www.begambleaware.org

2.
Mr Green Sport
Bonus:
€50

18+ New players only. Qualifying bet(s) must have minimum odds of 3/1 and must be settled before triggering free bet. Free Bet must be used on an accumulator with 3 or more selections. 18+. begambleaware.org. T&Cs apply. www.begambleaware.org

3.
Betinia Sports
Bonus:
€100FIRST DEPOSIT BONUS

18+ | New players only | Min. deposit 20EUR | The wagering must be met within 30 days | Additional wagering, banking, terms & conditions apply | Play Responsibly | www.begambleaware.org

The Previous Winners

Officially, there have been eight different iterations of the Scottish Open, along with 18 different winners since the tournament’s inception way back in 1981. Back then, the legendary Steve Davis won the inaugural iteration of the event, whitewashing Irishman Dennis Taylor in an iconic 9-0 victory. Interestingly, Davis remains the Scottish Open’s most successful player, with six titles from eight final appearances.

But which players have prevailed since the tournament returned as the Scottish Open following a four-year hiatus in 2016? Here’s a quick breakdown!

DateWinnerRunner-UpScore
2016 Marco Fu (Hkg) John Higgins (Sco)9-4
2017 Neil Robertson (Aus) Cao Yupeng (Chn) 9-8
2018 Mark Allen (Nir) Shaun Murphy (Eng) 9-7
2019 Mark Selby (Eng) Jack Lisowski (Eng)9-6
2020 Mark Selby (Eng) Ronnie O’Sullivan (Eng) 9-3
2021 Luca Brecel (Bel) John Higgins (Sco) 9-5

Your FAQs Answered

Here at BetinIreland, we’re regularly asked a wide range of questions about the Scottish Open, its history and core betting markets.

We’ve listed a selection of the most popular FAQs below, while doing our level best to provide detailed and insightful answers!

Who Are the Scottish Open’s Most Successful Players?

As we’ve already touched on, Steve Davis is the single most successful Scottish Open player with six title triumphs from eight finals in total. The similarly legendary Stephen Hendry has won three Scottish Open titles between 1993 and 1999, while also being defeated by Davis 9-4 in the 1989 final showpiece.

Do You Have Any Other Scottish Open Betting Tips?

In addition to maximising acca and handicap betting during the rounds of 64 and 32, we’d also commit to proactive outright wagering once the ante-post odds for 2022 have been published. It’s also important to manage your bankroll in a disciplined manner, only wagering what you can afford to lose over the course of a day, week or month.

So Should I Back the Favourite to Win the 2022 Scottish Open?

Ultimately, we cannot say with any certainty which players will compete at the 2022 Scottish Open. However, we can surmise that most of the top 16 will qualify, and in this case, recent history tells us that Mark Selby and home favourite John Higgins will be among the most widely back. Defending champion Luca Brecel will also have an eye on retaining his title, and he may offer good value as an outside outright bet.

Where Can I Watch the Scottish Open?

Like a number of ranking tour events, you can catch all the Scottish Open snooker action on Eurosport. In 2022, you can also catch some matches on Discovery+, while those of you prioritise in-play betting may want to stream specific matches through popular sportsbooks like Bet365, Ladbrokes or Betway.