Nhat Nguyen to be too strong for Matthias Kicklitz in 2023 Scottish Open

The 2023 Scottish Open starts on Thursday, with top seed Nhat Hguyen looking to become the first Irishman to win the event since James Doyle in 1955. The four-day event comes from the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, and here we tell you if Nhat Nguyen is worth backing and what the best bets are in our latest Badminton betting picks.

What; 2023 Scottish Open Badminton
Where; Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
When; Thursday, October 5th - Sunday, October 8th

The Scottish Open is the third oldest Badminton event in the world. The Open dates back to 1907 and has lasted to this day.

Historically, it has been dominated by English players. England’s men have won the event 44 times, and their women have won the ladies' event on 48 occasions. More recently, the new world order in Badminton has taken over, resulting in multiple wins for players from countries such as China, India, Denmark, and France.

The English are still competitive. Their most recent winner in the men’s competition was Toby Plenty in 2017. But with no English in the top eight seeds this year, it looks like they will have to wait at least another 12 months before the men can add to their 44 titles.

Who are the top seeds in the 2023 Scottish Open Badminton?

Nhat Nguyen of Ireland during the badminton Men's Singles Round of 16 match against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark during the European Games 2023 in Poland.

📸 @sportsfiletyler https://t.co/G4dQ487mbH pic.twitter.com/3bX5XpIFHJ

— sportsfile (@sportsfile) June 29, 2023

Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen is the number one seed. The 23-year-old is originally from Vietnam but relocated to Ireland at the age of six. Nguyen was coached by his father in his early years. So despite growing up in a different system, he still has learned the same skill set most of his Asian-based contemporaries have.

The number two seed this week is Jan Louda. He is on the opposite side of the draw to Nguyen. Louda is scheduled to play one of Thursday's qualifier winners in the first round. He will also play a qualifier in the second round, so may have a more comfortable route to the last eight.

The remaining seeds are Kalle Koljonen (3), Mark Caljouw (4), Mads Christophersen (5), Luis Enrique Penalver (6), Kai Schaefer (7), and Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian (8).

In the top half of the draw are Nguyen, Koljonen, Penalver, and Muthusamy Subramanian. In the bottom half are Louda, Caljouw, Christophersen, and Schaefer.

First-round betting from the 2023 Scottish Open is on our odds table. The Badminton betting odds we have used are taken from the best online sports betting sites, ensuring the best value for money when you place your wagers.

Player			Player
Elias Bracke	+800	-2500	Mark Caljouw
Pablo Abian	-115	-115	Samuel Hsiao
Bernardo Atilano	+333	-500	Kai Schaefer
Collins Valentine Filimon	-3300	+900	James Robertson
Kalle Koljonen	-115	-115	Joran Kweekel
S. Sankar	-225	+162	Max Weisskirchen
Nhat Nguyen	-500	+333	Matthias Kicklitz
Samuel O'Brien Ricketts	+175	-250	Markus Barth
Luis Enrique Penalver	-115	-105	Victor Kauffmann
Lucas Claerbout	-1200	+600	Tobias Kuenzi

Nhat Nguyen vs. Matthias Kicklitz

The number one seed is Nhat Nguyen (-500) of Ireland. Nguyen faces Germany’s Matthias Kicklitz (+333) in the first round. This match gets underway on Friday at 7:20 a.m. ET.

The Irishman is the heavy favorite to win, with Kicklitz the outsider. As we can see from our Badminton betting table, odds of -500 in a two-horse race aren’t too short in the world of this sport.

Nguyen had a disappointing time at the 2023 BWF World Championships in August. His competition ended prematurely when he lost 2-0 in sets to Viktor Axelsen in the Round of 32. The defeat to Axelsen was comprehensive, with the current world number one winning the first set 21-6, and the second, 21-11.

In the end, Axelsen suffered a shock defeat to H.S. Prannoy of India in the last eight. Prannoy then lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-final, who went on to win the competition.

🚨World Champion Alert!🚨

After a 109 minute marathon, Kunlavut Vitidsarn becomes Thailand’s first-ever men’s singles champion! 🇹🇭#BWFWorldChampionships | #RoadToParis2024 pic.twitter.com/8gNH96xnM9

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 27, 2023

Nhat Nguyen is just about at the top table in Badminton. But at the moment, he is just falling short of competing with the world’s top players.

His opponent on Friday is Germany’s Matthias Kicklitz, another player who falls below the elite level. Kicklitz is ranked 97 in the world, and in his last outing, he lost 2-1 in sets to Mark Shelley Alcala at the semi-final stage of the 2023 Trinidad and Tobago International in August.

The match against Nguyen is a substantial step up in class. We think it will be too much for Matthias Kicklitz and we are picking Nhat Nguyen to win and take his place in the second round.

Nhat Nguyen To beat Matthias Kicklitz

-500

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Kalle Koljonen vs. Joran Kweekel

For our second pick, we are looking at the match between Kalle Koljonen and Joran Kweekel. The best betting sites have this close with both players at -115. On the total games market, over is the call. This could easily go all the way to three sets.

Overs Koljonen vs Kweekel

-110

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