Top 3 bets for Thursday's snooker, racing & darts

Who is playing in Snooker’s Champion of Champions event today?

The final group gets underway in the Champion of Champions this afternoon at the University of Bolton Stadium and it looks an absolute cracker. Ronnie O’Sullivan plays Stuart Bingham in the first game, followed by John Higgins against Ding Junhui. The two winners then come back at 7pm to face each other with the victor going through to the semi-finals. Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson will face each other in the first semi tomorrow night, with tonight’s winner facing Yan Bingtao, who beat Mark Selby last night to claim his final four place.

Points Supremacy Ronnie O’Sullivan/Stuart Bingham (79-109)

Ronnie has been on fine form of late, scoring 461 straight points in a match against Michael Georgiou at the English Open a fortnight ago, making three successive centuries. Bingham will be a tougher opponent, but Ronnie fans know that if their man in in the right head space and up for the fight, no one can live with him. Which version of the enigmatic six-time world champion will turn up in Bolton today?

What horse racing action is there this afternoon?

There are meetings today at Newcastle, Market Rasen and Wincanton. The action at Newcastle starts at 12.37 with a fun heads-up match with only two runners, Catlin and Bobbie the Dazzler. There are seven races on the card in all, culminating in the 3.40.

Jockey Super Mega Performance Brian Hughes (89-93)

Brian Hughes has one of the highest Super Mega spreads you’ll see, but looking at the rides he has at Newcastle it’s no surprise. He’s on odds-on favourite Catlin in the opener and rides two more short-priced favourites in Betty Baloo in the 2.07 and Kingfisher in the last. He also has two other rides, outsider Adelphi Prince in the 1.07 and Khanmurjan in the 3.07. The Super Mega Performance market awards 25 points for a win, with double points for a second victory and treble for a third. There are also 10 points for a 2^nd place and 5 for a 3^rd.

Are there any big games in the Grand Slam of Darts tonight?

The second round of the Grand Slam of Darts concludes in Wolverhampton tonight with a mouth-watering line-up. Michael Smith plays Joe Cullen and Peter Wright faces defending champ Jose de Sousa before the two most talked about games of the tournament so far. First, Fallon Sherrock, fresh from her 170 check out victory that sent her into the last 16, faces a rematch with Mensur Suljovic, the man she beat in the World Championships in her breakthrough run at Ally Pally. After that, two of the biggest names in the game clash as former world champs Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson meet for a place in the quarter-finals.

Thursday Evening Specials: Total 180s (38.5-40.5)

This evening’s line-up has got the darts world talking, with four great games in store, and each one a little more exciting than the one before, culminating in the clash of two of the biggest names in the game in MVG and the Flying Scotsman. Punters have been buying the Thursday Evening Special on total 180s across all matches, and with the quality of players on show, the maximums should fly in. Buyers will be desperate for Anderson especially to make a fight of the last match of the night, as short matches deny the opportunity for either player to add to the total 180s. MVG has looked back to his best of late, but Anderson has improved too this month after an indifferent October, and that could be a close game as the quarter-final line-up is finalised tonight.