Allister Carter will be confident he can win the Championship League Group 4 as he prepares to play his final three group matches on Thursday. The world no.17 ended Wednesday’s play in a good position after winning two of his three encounters.

The 39-year-old is starting to find his best form at the right time, after reaching the quarter-finals of the English Open and International Championship. Carter also made the fourth round of the Northern Ireland Open and Scottish Open towards the end of 2018 and he carried that form into the Championship League on Wednesday.

He opened the day with a routine win over Wales’ Ryan Day, with the latter now bottom of the group. Breaks of 61, 126 and 51 set the tone before he then beat Scotland’s Graeme Dott by the same scoreline.

A break of 134 gave him the momentum he needed but he ended the day with a defeat after Luca Brecel got the better of him in a 3-1 success. However, Carter is third in the standings and level on points with Dott and Brecel who have played a game more.

Mark Selby leads the way but Carter will play him first on Thursday and a win would put him in a great position to top the standings.

After his battle with Selby, he then plays Stuart Bingham but the latter is the 1.70 favourite. Carter is priced just above evens at 2.10, while he is the same price to win his last match of the day against Barry Hawkins.

Despite his inconsistent form, Hawkins is as short as 1.70 to win.