mcsilks

I was tempted on the 7/1 silks but I find that Trump hits more 50+ where as Robbo hits more centuries so I was looking for "Robertson to have highest break and most centuries and Trump most 50+ breaks" if you see that anywhere please let me know? 
good luck 

What a great tournament this has been.
2 bets for the final based on the meetings between these players in the last few years which have produced some very high scoring snooker.
(+4.5) century breaks @ 11/10 paddypower
Neil Robertson to have highest break, most 50 or more breaks & win @ 7/1 paddypower
For the 2nd bet, Robertson has been the more impressive scorer of the two in this tournament and is back to his best whereas Judd has been playing at the top of his B game. If he doesn't improve on that, Robertson will win and the bet should take care of itself.
 

I hope Ronnie turns it on and dumps Selby out. Granted, I have backed Selby to win the outright, but I'd sooner Ronnie wins and I lose my bet.

I am in no doubt that Ronnie O'Sullivan is the best player in the world on his day, but he lacks consistency. His recent record at the crucible isn't anything to write home about. This is the furthest he has got since losing in the final in 2014 against Selby.
I would love to see him overcome Selby, but I believe Selby is a bad match up for Ronnie and should Selby bring anything close to his A game; I think he will play his rather predictable dogged style whereby he feeds off Ronnie's long game mistakes and wins with frames to spare.

Keep up the predictions Fader. Don't be deterred by some idiots who seem to take pleasure in nitpicking at your posts.
In response to your last ridiculous post donkey; is it really the prerequisite for posting on a forum for you to expect criticism?

For all the exciting matces it has given, it has left us with 8 teams who with the exception of Russia, have all failed to impress.
Brazil have played well only in patches in their games and look distinctly average.
France have only come alive for the one game.
Uruguay have looked good only in their last outing.
Belgium have really stuttered.
Sweden have played their usual brand of dour, Stoke City football.
England have largely played like Sweden...winning without impressing.
and Croatia have played in patches well but were very poor in their last outing.
 
If France wake up, they will walk this tournament. They have played the best football of the lot in their last game and no side, even Brazil, will come close to them if they reproduce that.
I can't get excited over England. They just bore me to the point of wanting to watch their games on fast forward. I am desperate for England to win a World Cup, bit if this current side wins this tournament, it'll be a victory for anti-football.
 
My predictions for the last 8:
Uruguay to beat France in a dour 1-0.
Brazil to beat Belgium 2-0 as this Belgian defence is not the best.
England to beat Sweden on pens after a 0-0.
Croatia to overcome Russia in a nervy 1-0.
 
Due to it's unpredictability, I have actually bet on a Uruguay v Croatia final.
Good luck all!
 

Yes, you might be right.
James Rodriguez incidentally wasn't playing in their first half against Japan when they were the dominant side. After he came on, they looked a shadow of the team from the first half.
He isn't even close to the Rodriguez from 2014.
As far as Cuadrado and Falcao go, they both failed to produce in the English game but the same can be said of Aspas, Thauvin, Fazio, Paulinho, and Boateng...all of whom have been brilliant since leaving the Premiership.
Ashley Young will have his work cut out stopping Cuadrado.

Having watched Saudi Arabia last night, I like the look of their total group points of 0 @ 10/11 quite appealing. I cannot see them picking up points against Egypt or Uruguay.
I will also take Russia's total group points of 3 @ 11/2.
And Panama's total group points of 0 @ 11/4.
 
 

It's with Paddy Power on their team specials.

Second round starts today and there are some mouth watering match ups.
Mark Allen v Joe Perry
The head says Mark Allen, but how can I back against Perry having taken out Selby with ease and playing an opponent that has a very average record at the crucible. Added to that, Perry beat Allen in their most recent encounter at the UK Championship. I'll take Perry @ 6/4.

Kyren Wilson v Jamie Jones
I make Wilson strong favourite here against a player in Jones that has done precious little this season. Granted, Jones took Smurf out in the 1st round, but he did rather contrive to lose that match. Wilson has been consistently reaching the latter stages of all of the majors this season. I'll be having a play at the handicap and Wilson -3.5 @ 11/10 looks tempting.

John Higgins v Jack Lisowski
Difficult one to call this one. Higgins loves the crucible, but Lisowski has played well in their recent meetings. I think it could be close and Lisowski +3.5 @ EVE will hook me in.

Barry Hawkins v Lyu Haotian
Will leave this one well alone. The Hawk has to improve from his dreadful performance in the 1st round and he will do. Lyu wasn't great against Fu. The bookies say Hawkins to win comfortably and I'll go along with that.

Mark Williams v Robert Milkins
Again, little value here either. MJW should steamroll an inconsistent Milkins, but you never know which Milkins will turn up. 

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ali Carter
Carter is for me, the weakest player left in the draw. I doubt they'll play many frames of their 3rd session if at all. Ronnie's B game has won him 5 tournaments already this season and he'll be far too much for Ali. I'll take Ronnie -5.5 even at the daft price of 10/11.
 
Ding was the standout of the 1st round performers for me and I've taken him @ 9/1 to win the whole thing.
 
 
 

Second round starts today and there are some mouth watering match ups.
Mark Allen v Joe Perry
The head says Mark Allen, but how can I back against Perry having taken out Selby with ease and playing an opponent that has a very average record at the crucible. Added to that, Perry beat Allen in their most recent encounter at the UK Championship. I'll take Perry @ 6/4.

Kyren Wilson v Jamie Jones
I make Wilson strong favourite here against a player in Jones that has done precious little this season. Granted, Jones took Smurf out in the 1st round, but he did rather contrive to lose that match. Wilson has been consistently reaching the latter stages of all of the majors this season. I'll be having a play at the handicap and Wilson -3.5 @ 11/10 looks tempting.

John Higgins v Jack Lisowski
Difficult one to call this one. Higgins loves the crucible, but Lisowski has played well in their recent meetings. I think it could be close and Lisowski +3.5 @ EVE will hook me in.

Barry Hawkins v Lyu Haotian
Will leave this one well alone. The Hawk has to improve from his dreadful performance in the 1st round and he will do. Lyu wasn't great against Fu. The bookies say Hawkins to win comfortably and I'll go along with that.

Mark Williams v Robert Milkins
Again, little value here either. MJW should steamroll an inconsistent Milkins, but you never know which Milkins will turn up. 

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ali Carter
Carter is for me, the weakest player left in the draw. I doubt they'll play many frames of their 3rd session if at all. Ronnie's B game has won him 5 tournaments already this season and he'll be far too much for Ali. I'll take Ronnie -5.5 even at the daft price of 10/11.
 
Ding was the standout of the 1st round performers for me and I've taken him @ 9/1 to win the whole thing.
 
 
 

I have a feeling Bingham will turn this around. He's had a result only trailing by one and I don't believe Lisowski can have as good a session as that again against such a class opponent as Bingham.
Experience will tell. Bingham 10:8

Day 1
10am
Mark Selby Vs Joe Perry
Sometimes Mark Selby can start slowly that's Mark Slowby How I like to name him . So I have a couple of bets to kick off the world championship
Joe Perry to win 1st frame @ 2.37 WON
Joe Perry to win 1st Mini Session (win at least 3 out of the first 4 Frames) @ 4.00 WON 
All bets are with Betfred 
Happy with the start 

Lu Haotian has a winning record against Marco Fu and added to that, Fu has barely picked up a cue this year due to problematic eye surgery. Lu is great value at 7/4.
K. Wilson won't have any problems dealing with Matthew Stevens. Wilson dumped Stevens out 2 years ago, and he is a much improved player since then also. At 2/5, there is some value there.
Bingham is another I fancy to win, and at 1/2, that'll do nicely to make up a treble.
 
I'm finding it more difficult each year to find banker accumulators, even in the World Snooker 1st round. Barry Hearn has a lot to answer for with the snooker punters as he has somewhat brought the field together with his million and one tournaments a season.
 

Forgot to say. Awesome post.  

Great to see you so interested in this tournament, @mcsilks. Here are the odds for outright winner to keep an eye on. I'm keen to hear the views of other snooker punters such as @louis12, @Mullahoran, @owenclass, @Fader, @kevshat, @bobix, and @RussP. Keep us up to date with your bets and outcomes as well, @mcsilks. 

I guess it's time to be getting back into the swing of snooker betting, now the development of PL is coming to an end.
I played this game for 15 years non stop and achieved a high standard hitting around 40 tons, but there's a lot of players I'm not up to date on, so I'll try and watch those and catch up.
As for Trump - I don't think he's got the game to win the title unless he gets a big lead, he just loses it under pressure in my opinion. Selby is far and away the best player around these days and to see him not as favourite, is completely bonkers as he's solid as a rock, even Ronnie thinks he's the best.
Ronnie is always the wildcard, and at the World Championships, he usually turns up with his game in good nick, but he would need to be in top gear and to get a good lead against Selby if they met further down the line.

Hawkins is worth a mention and his game is very much suited to the Uk and World Championships, and he was always solid even when we were both in the amateurs. Another dark horse for the title, don't rule him out.
Players I've played over the years for the record:

Barry Hawkins, Stuart Bingham, Ali Carter, Peter Ebdon, Fergal O'Brien, Rory Mcleod. 

Bingham was the most surprising to do as well as what he has. I remember (blowing my trumpet here) tonking him 3-0 in an amateur tournament, but he really worked hard at his game and I was chuffed for him, but I don't see him winning it again - just call it a feeling.

My favourite tournament of the year from a betting perspective.
Here is the draw in full:
Mark Selby v Fergal O'Brien: Should be a comprehensive win for Selby. These two have met 4 times previously with Selby winning all four at an aggregate of 17 frames to two. Value bet = O'Brien to win under 5.5 frames @ 4/5 (PP).
Anthony McGill v Stephen Maguire: Maguire was brilliant in qualifiers and I would make him the narrow favourite here. They met at the same stage in the same tournament two years and McGill prevailed 10-9 on that date. Expect a similar frame count here. Total frames over 15.5 @ EVENS (PP)
Kyren Wilson v David Grace: Kyren has an awful record against Grace (losing all 3 previous meetings), but he is the form player so I wouldn't advise against him. Having said that, for Grace to be 3/1 against a player that he has beaten 3/3, looks tempting.
John Higgins v Martin Gould: Higgins has the edge here but it will likely be closer than the bookies suggest. Higgins won the last meeting 9-8. Would favour the over 16.5 frames at EVENS (PP)
Barry Hawkins v Tom Ford: The Worlds always brings the best out of Hawkins and he should win this comfortably. Ford looked very good in qualifying however so I would leave this match well alone.
Marco Fu v Luca Brecel: Fu prefers the longer matches and has won all four of their previous meetings. Fu -3.5 frames at 11/10 is a price I shall gladly accept (PP)
Shaun Murphy v Yan Bingtao: A slightly out of sorts Murphy takes on the youngest qualifier. Bingtao has won 2 out of the 3 previous meetings so form suggests the value is with the outsider. Bingtao to cause an upset here is certainly a possibility though hedging your bets and taking Bingtao +2.5 @ 11/10 (PP)
Judd Trump v Rory McLeod: I really can't see McLeod getting more than 3 frames here so am happy to take Trump -6.5 @ 7/4 (PP)
Stuart Bingham v Peter Ebdon: Ebdon was very lucky to qualify and Michael Holt should have put him away comfortably. Having said that, Ebdon has won their 2 previous meetings. Shall leave this one well alone.
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Gary Wilson: Which Ronnie will we see? I have learned not to back this man as he can beat himself.
Ryan Day v Xiao Guodong: Goudong is one of the better qualifiers against Day who is one of the weaker players of the top 16. Experience should win the day here and a winning record 2-0 suggests that Day -2.5 is value @  6/5 (PP)
Ding Junhui v Zhou Yuelong: Yuelong is a star of the future and if he brings his A game, this could be a good contest. I can't see that happening and Ding's experience and previous winning record of 2 wins (11 frames to 1) suggests this won't be close. Ding -4.5 @ 11/10 (PP)
Neil Robertson v Noppon Saengkham: Robertson has a winning record but did lose their last meeting 5-3. Robertson hasn't been in the best of nick recently so the value here is with the outsider. Saengkham +3.5 @ 6/4 (PP)
Mark Allen v Jimmy Robertson: Both players whose form is very up and down. Robertson is unreliable biut does have the game to cause Allen problems. Will leave this one alone.
Liang Wenbo v Stuart Carrington: Carrington had a great win over M.J.Williams in the qualifiers and can do the same to Wenbo. Too difficult to predict this one.
Ali Carter v Graeme Dott: Ali Carter comfortably won their last meeting 4-1 though Dott has a winning record including a QF win over Carter at the crucible. This one is a near certainty to be close. Over 16.5 frames @ 4/5 (PP)
 
My bet of the tournament is Trump to win his quarter @ 10/11 (PP). He has much the easiest passage through to the last 4 and to get there faces the winner of McGill and Maguire, and then either Hawkins or Ali Cater, qualifiers aside.
For that reason, I will take Trump @ 4/1 to win the tournament (PP). Should Trump reach the last 4 and I think that will be a breeze, he faces Bingham, Wilson, Allen or Higgins for a place in the final. To say it is the easier half of the draw is something of an understatement.
And finally, I like the look of a Selby/Trump final at 13/2 with PP. Selby has this great record at the crucible and is the form player coming into the tournament having won in China. I do think he will be pushed though which is why I think Trump will pip him in the final.
 
 
 

My favourite tournament of the year from a betting perspective.
Here is the draw in full:
Mark Selby v Fergal O'Brien: Should be a comprehensive win for Selby. These two have met 4 times previously with Selby winning all four at an aggregate of 17 frames to two. Value bet = O'Brien to win under 5.5 frames @ 4/5 (PP).
Anthony McGill v Stephen Maguire: Maguire was brilliant in qualifiers and I would make him the narrow favourite here. They met at the same stage in the same tournament two years and McGill prevailed 10-9 on that date. Expect a similar frame count here. Total frames over 15.5 @ EVENS (PP)
Kyren Wilson v David Grace: Kyren has an awful record against Grace (losing all 3 previous meetings), but he is the form player so I wouldn't advise against him. Having said that, for Grace to be 3/1 against a player that he has beaten 3/3, looks tempting.
John Higgins v Martin Gould: Higgins has the edge here but it will likely be closer than the bookies suggest. Higgins won the last meeting 9-8. Would favour the over 16.5 frames at EVENS (PP)
Barry Hawkins v Tom Ford: The Worlds always brings the best out of Hawkins and he should win this comfortably. Ford looked very good in qualifying however so I would leave this match well alone.
Marco Fu v Luca Brecel: Fu prefers the longer matches and has won all four of their previous meetings. Fu -3.5 frames at 11/10 is a price I shall gladly accept (PP)
Shaun Murphy v Yan Bingtao: A slightly out of sorts Murphy takes on the youngest qualifier. Bingtao has won 2 out of the 3 previous meetings so form suggests the value is with the outsider. Bingtao to cause an upset here is certainly a possibility though hedging your bets and taking Bingtao +2.5 @ 11/10 (PP)
Judd Trump v Rory McLeod: I really can't see McLeod getting more than 3 frames here so am happy to take Trump -6.5 @ 7/4 (PP)
Stuart Bingham v Peter Ebdon: Ebdon was very lucky to qualify and Michael Holt should have put him away comfortably. Having said that, Ebdon has won their 2 previous meetings. Shall leave this one well alone.
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Gary Wilson: Which Ronnie will we see? I have learned not to back this man as he can beat himself.
Ryan Day v Xiao Guodong: Goudong is one of the better qualifiers against Day who is one of the weaker players of the top 16. Experience should win the day here and a winning record 2-0 suggests that Day -2.5 is value @  6/5 (PP)
Ding Junhui v Zhou Yuelong: Yuelong is a star of the future and if he brings his A game, this could be a good contest. I can't see that happening and Ding's experience and previous winning record of 2 wins (11 frames to 1) suggests this won't be close. Ding -4.5 @ 11/10 (PP)
Neil Robertson v Noppon Saengkham: Robertson has a winning record but did lose their last meeting 5-3. Robertson hasn't been in the best of nick recently so the value here is with the outsider. Saengkham +3.5 @ 6/4 (PP)
Mark Allen v Jimmy Robertson: Both players whose form is very up and down. Robertson is unreliable biut does have the game to cause Allen problems. Will leave this one alone.
Liang Wenbo v Stuart Carrington: Carrington had a great win over M.J.Williams in the qualifiers and can do the same to Wenbo. Too difficult to predict this one.
Ali Carter v Graeme Dott: Ali Carter comfortably won their last meeting 4-1 though Dott has a winning record including a QF win over Carter at the crucible. This one is a near certainty to be close. Over 16.5 frames @ 4/5 (PP)
 
My bet of the tournament is Trump to win his quarter @ 10/11 (PP). He has much the easiest passage through to the last 4 and to get there faces the winner of McGill and Maguire, and then either Hawkins or Ali Cater, qualifiers aside.
For that reason, I will take Trump @ 4/1 to win the tournament (PP). Should Trump reach the last 4 and I think that will be a breeze, he faces Bingham, Wilson, Allen or Higgins for a place in the final. To say it is the easier half of the draw is something of an understatement.
And finally, I like the look of a Selby/Trump final at 13/2 with PP. Selby has this great record at the crucible and is the form player coming into the tournament having won in China. I do think he will be pushed though which is why I think Trump will pip him in the final.
 
 
 

Quarter Final time in the darts. Three I like all with PP are:
 
Under @ 5/6 Total 180's(16.5) Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor
Taylor has hit 12 180's so far in his 3 matches. Barney has hit 13. They average 8.5 total 180's between them so unders seems a good call.
 
Any Checkout of 160 or greater @ 10/3
Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
This would have come up in 50% of their matches so far and it's also a longer format.
 
No @ evens  Both to Throw 7 or more 180s  James Wade v Peter Wright
Wright has managed only 6 180's in his 3 games compared to Wade's 12. Between them, they have thrown 5, 7, and 6 in the tournament so far.
 
 

Quarter Final time in the darts. Three I like all with PP are:
 
Under @ 5/6 Total 180's(16.5) Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor
Taylor has hit 12 180's so far in his 3 matches. Barney has hit 13. They average 8.5 total 180's between them so unders seems a good call.
 
Any Checkout of 160 or greater @ 10/3
Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
This would have come up in 50% of their matches so far and it's also a longer format.
 
No @ evens  Both to Throw 7 or more 180s  James Wade v Peter Wright
Wright has managed only 6 180's in his 3 games compared to Wade's 12. Between them, they have thrown 5, 7, and 6 in the tournament so far.