European Tour 2 2013: Breaking Down Favorites for Rotterdam Open

The European Tour heads for Rotterdam where some of the best players in the world compete for £50,000 in prize money.

Although clashing with the World Championships, the likes of Mark Selby, Judd Trump and John Higgins will travel to the Netherlands for the event. Of course, all of them are in the hunt for the title, taking the best odds from most bookmakers.

Here is a look at how each will fare during the tournament:

Mark Selby

Leading the betting market on William Hill at 11/2, Selby is ranked second in the world after a fine end to 2012. The 30-year-old has previous experience as the World No. 1 and has won three major championship awards and four minor-rankings titles.

Selby is one of the last to kickoff Sunday against Scott Donaldson and is priced 1/6 to progress to the next stages in Rotterdam.

John Higgins

Scottish player Higgins is the most successful player on Tour at the elite level. The 38-year-old is a former four-time world champion and has 25 professional championships to his name. He has made a quick recovery from allegations of match-fixing and a spell away from the game.

With 510 century breaks, Higgins still possesses some high quality, which should make him a favourite for this tournament.

He is priced at 6/1 on William Hill and that is generous given his 2013 form. Higgins reached the final of the Bulgarian Open, including a win over Ronnie O’Sullivan, so he will be a tough player to defeat in Rotterdam.

Judd Trump

Marked as the same price as Higgins, Trump takes on Vinnie Calabrese and is aiming to build on his excellent ranking in the standings. At just 23, he is third in the world with considerable success, including three rankings titles and four minor-ranking honours. He reached the latter rounds of the Wuxi Classic in China before heading into the European Tour Event 2.

Trump beat Higgins in the Bulgarian Open final and the two would make an exciting head to head should they face each other in the next rounds. Trump has also won the Players Tours Championships and the Antwerp Open over the last 18 months in the professional scene.