The 2011 Premier League Snooker season starts on Thursday, with crowd pleaser Jimmy White playing John Higgins in the first match

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The first week of action begins with world champion John Higgins against Snooker legend Jimmy White.

The Whirlwind has struggled in recent weeks, failing to qualify for the Shanghai Masters, as well as falling in the early stages of the second PTC event.

He is 5/2 to cause an upset with Betfred and the same bookmaker price him as 100/1 rank outsider for the event, reflecting the high calibre of this year's field.

The second week one semi-final sees Australian Neil Robertson face Matthew Stevens in Skegness.

Roberston is the favourite going into the game and is best priced 4/6 with Boylesports, as opposed to Stevens 11/8 with Victor Chandler.

Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is unsurprisingly the outright favourite for the tournament; his 3/1 price with Coral reflecting the favourable quick-fire format.

Youngster Judd Trump has had a phenominal 12 months in the sport, winning the China Open, in addition to reaching the World Championship final.

He won the PTC event last week and is well fancied to challenge for this title. Sportingbet are offering a generous 8/1 on Trump to go all the way, in a format which suits his quick attacking style. 

World number one Mark Williams and world champion John Higgins are not to be written off; the Welshman is 6/1 with Stan James, as is the highly dangerous Higgins.

The new Premier League Snooker season kicks off on August 18 at 7:30pm from Skegness.