Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan

[kriss]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Im having a great tournament- predicting Higgins and Ronnie would be out in the first round. Now it would be outrageous to suggest Hendry may beat Robertson wouldnt it! Im sure both players will take confidence from seeing Higgins, Ronnie and Selby are all out.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Had recovered a -11 opening day to a +0.18 overall total after day 2 but O'Sullivan's exit puts me back to -3.82 now. I'm taking two tonight. 3pts M.Fu to beat S.Maguire 6/4 Paddy Power 4pts Over 5.5 50+ breaks 4/5 Paddy Power 5 out of 5 outsiders have won thus far and I'm hoping and think Marco Fu can make it 6 from 6. Neither of these have had good results this season really. Maguire made a couple of PTC finals and has made a couple of ranking quarter finals but that's not good enough for a player of his class and quality. Fu's been even worse if anything but he showed in the Premier League that he's got something about him. But for an insane burst of scoring from Shaun Murphy in their semi, Fu could've made the final and who knows from there. I just Fu has the better temperament of these two and with occasions where he plays the one table format becoming fewer he may relish the situation a bit more than Maguire does. I've seen Fu at Wembley a couple of times and he's played ok whereas even when Maguire wins here it looks like it's a huge struggle. Maguire made the semi finals here last year but to be fair he was crap all tournament. Credit to him for having the fighting instinct in him but Fu has that too. This should be fairly close but at the price I'll take Fu. One thing Maguire has done in this barren run of his is score pretty well. When he's in the balls he still looks good as does Fu so I think we'll get a few 50 breaks tonight. The table looks to be playing nicely so I think this will be a good game but for me Fu's slightly more level mentally and that can be the difference.

[FiveOrZero]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan 3pts Marco Fu to beat Stephen Maguire at 6/4 with Paddy Power This is my first involvement in this tournament and even though all the matches so far have not been the easiest to predict i like this price for Fu tonight. The favourites haven't fared too well so far and i am hoping that trend continues throughout this match. Before looking into any form this price would stand out as being quite high because Maguire, in my opinion, is not the best at handling the pressure of being a favourite. Neither player are in the best of form but i feel Fu is slowly coming back to a decent level after a nightmare last few months which saw him lose matches a player with his talent should find relatively straight forward. One thing Fu has always been strong at is the mental side of the game, he never gives up and has in the past severely disrupted opponents rhythm. I think this is a very tight match to call and think 6/4 is far too big for either of these when neither are at the top of their game. Not the biggest stake because of how hard it is to call with any great conviction but maybe a point bigger than i would have normally because of the price.

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Finally hit a winner last night to claw back some of the deficit and leave me at -4.62pts for the tournament so far. Great to see a full house for everyone last night as well. :clap 4pts - Stephen Maguire v Marco Fu - over 9.5 frames @ 2.02 with >Betfair This line would have come in for every match so far and, with two players struggling for form taking to the table tonight, I think it's got a good shout of doing so again. Fu has been struggling for a while now and is in real danger of losing his top 16 spot, whilst Maguire flatters to deceive in the major tournaments. Both of them will look at this match as winnable and I think that could really rack the tension up and lead to a close, nervy encounter. I've opposed both players (with varying success!) in recent tournaments and I just can't split them here, so I'm happy to take evens for this match to finish no worse than 6-4 either way.

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Wow, Ronnie out too. 1 for tonight and but I'm going against the grain here. S.Maguire (-1.5 frames) to beat M.Fu 3pts @ 10/11 BlueSq This could be a bit risky considering the first 5 favourites have all gone out this week but I think the tide could be about to turn. I've not always been a big fan of Maguire but there were definite signs in the UK, particularly with his break building. He will be buoyed by the defeats of the likes of Selby, Ronnie & Higgins so far this week and will hope to build on his 3 semi finals in the last 4 years. His form hasn't been great but, all the same, none too shabby. 2 PTC finals, and quarter finals in both the World Open and UK losing to O'Sullivan & Higgins, is nothing to be ashamed of. Fu meanwhile has now dropped out of the top 16 and has struggled for form. Lost 9-2 to Bingham at the UK after edging out Pinches 9-7 in the opening round, lost to Higginson at the World Open and in the 1st round at the Shanghai. Maguire hasn't been the most convincing recently but his impressive break building lately could change that. I'll add in the 2 victories he's had over Marco in the PTC's this season and will take to win this 6-4 or better.

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan C'mon Marco, bring it home son:ok. Well done to those on the overs too. Anyway, an early one for me tomorrow after a loss today with Maguire/Fu bet lost as well as Ronnie outright gone too. S.Hendry v N.Robertson, over 5.5 50+ breaks 6pts @ 5/6 Paddy Power This price looks a tad generous and I'm happy to wade in. Both of these are open, attacking players and know how to construct a break. In all but the Williams/Ding match, this bet would have been up in this tournament so far. They last met in the 2009 Masters, a 6-4 win to Robbo where 7 50+ breaks were scored. They each scored 50's in 75% of the frames they won in the opening round of last years Masters, whilst recent form also supports this bet, Robbo hitting 17 50+ in the first 18 frames he won at the UK and Hendry 5 in his opening round win. Robertson is excellent amongst the balls and is proving every inch a deserving world champ whilst Hendry will need to roll back the years to stay with Neil here. We should be looking at 9+ frames here and that should be more than enough to land this low line of 6 50's needed.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Much better night for me with both bets winning. Good stuff Western and FOZ too. Up to +3.88 overall now. Going to sleep on tomorrow's matches I think. Will come back with anything in the morning.

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Yep, superb stuff tonight lads:clap:clap Sorry I let the side down though:sad

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Great call on Marco from Kev and FiveOrZero. :clap I've managed to claw myself back to something resembling break even (-0.74pts to be precise), so hopefully it's upwards and onwards from here. One for this afternoon for now. 3pts - Neil Robertson (-2.5 frames) to beat Stephen Hendry @ 2.1 with Betfair I'm going against the prevailing wind here: no favourite has won in 6 first round matches so far and every match has gone over 9 frames at least. Obviously, no trend can last forever and I think this is the day where a favourite will at last have a fairly smooth ride. Robertson has assumed the mantle of World Champion with great ease, adding the World Open to his collection of ranking tournaments and just looking the part whenever he plays. He's a very heavy scorer, has a great temperament, and has played some of the best snooker of his life over the last 12 months or so. On the other hand, Hendry has been on the wane for some time now and hit an all-time low in the UK Championships where he really should have been beaten by Jimmy White and managed to lose to possibly the worst display I've ever seen from Mark Williams. It's hard to see Hendry playing that badly again, but neither is it likely that he will suddenly regain something resembling his top form. His lone practise regime has been questioned by many and he really hasn't looked sharp in tournament play for a long time, gifting his opponents chances in almost every frame he plays. Of course, it's always a slight risk opposing Hendry at Wembley, but against a player of Robinson's class on the big stage, I really don't think he can cut it anymore and 11/10 on Robbo to prevail 6-3 or better looks pretty decent in my book.

[Spooner]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan First bet for me, -2 after Maguire crashed out for one of my outrights. I won't be playing in the evening match as I have Murphy outright which has already halved in price without him potting a ball due to the shocks that have been around. 7pts N.Robertson v S.Hendry - Over 5.5 50 Breaks @ 10/11 Paddy Power This looks a very good bet, the line is quite low yet we are being offered 10/11 here, other bookmakers go much lower. The trouble could be that Robertson takes the match with ease, say 6-0, but even then he could make 6 50 breaks in those frames, I personally think Hendry will give Robertson a game, we know he was a great break builder but not so much now however if in the groove he'll add to this total. Robertson is very strong when in the balls and I think we'll see this line covered.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan I agree with you Rob. Something in my mind stopping me from pulling the trigger in this match though. Not sure whether it's the records of the outsiders this week or the hope to see a close game but I've decided it's a no bet match and just one to watch. Or not watch actually as I'm off to the Luton game half way through it :lol. I'll go with one for tonight though. 4pts S.Murphy (-1.5 frames) to beat J.Cope 5/6 VC Shaun Murphy will look at his draw now and think there's a place in the final open for him. I guess Jamie Cope will as well but this is his first appearance at Wembley so he might have a few more nerves than Murphy. He's nowhere near as good as Murphy anyway and his form this season isn't the best. He made the semis in Shanghai with a favourable draw but since then has lost in the last 16 of the World Open and the last 32 in the UK Championship. For me at the very highest level I don't think Cope's safety game is anywhere near good enough and that will be severely tested tonight with Murphy one of the best cueists and therefore long potters around in the game today. Murphy made the semi final in the UK and the final of the Premier League so he's been in good touch through the season off the back of some good results in the PTC's and I think he wins this and if Cope isn't at his best Murphy could well win this by a big margin. However Cope plays though I think Murphy wins this no worse than 6-4.

[FiveOrZero]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan 5pts Shaun Murphy (-1.5) to beat Jamie Cope at 5/6 with Victor Chandler I'm a bit surprised the price is as high as this because it is as low as 4/6 in some places and before looking i assumed it would be around 8/11. Jamie Cope is a bit of an enigma, he can produce brilliant shots in one frame and look very average in the next. There is no doubt he has the ability to win ranking events but has lacked consistency since we first saw him on our screens and for that reason i will always be a bit uneasy about backing him to do well in a match. Murphy couldn't have wished for better in terms of the amount of favourites being knocked out so far. His side of the draw has opened right up and he will no doubt see this as a great opportunity to better his previous bests of reaching the quarter-final stages. When on form he can compete with anyone and overall i think is the complete opposite to Cope in terms of consistency and temperament. I can't see Cope winning this one and think a Murphy win will be by at least the 2 frames needed to bring this in.

[slizorn]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan

First bet for me, -2 after Maguire crashed out for one of my outrights. I won't be playing in the evening match as I have Murphy outright which has already halved in price without him potting a ball due to the shocks that have been around. 7pts N.Robertson v S.Hendry - Over 5.5 50 Breaks @ 10/11 Paddy Power This looks a very good bet, the line is quite low yet we are being offered 10/11 here, other bookmakers go much lower. The trouble could be that Robertson takes the match with ease, say 6-0, but even then he could make 6 50 breaks in those frames, I personally think Hendry will give Robertson a game, we know he was a great break builder but not so much now however if in the groove he'll add to this total. Robertson is very strong when in the balls and I think we'll see this line covered.

:wall:wall:wall Was on this as well for 6pts. Very unlucky for this bet to not come through. Hendry was 2-1 up with breaks of 64 and 74. Robertson pulled back 3 games with breaks of 85, 86 and 81 to lead 5-2. Hendry pulls one game back with a break of 49 :@ to trail 5-3. Robertson won shooting 48 :@ then a 34. :sad(Gutted)

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Taking a very quick one. J.Cope v S.Murphy, 0 centuries 3pts @ 7/4 Bet365 I think this will be a tense encounter. Cope is a decent player but often struggles in front of the cameras and Wembley won't help. Murphy comes here in decent nick but, by his own admission, struggles at this venue and often underperforms. Neither of these are the most frequents of century hitters so, with worries over both at this venue and with safety being key tonight, I'll take there to be no centuries here.

[Spooner]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Sick luck but what can ya do, fishy times at the minute imo.

[otherside]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan :wall :wall What hell was wrong with Murphy? I have never seen him playing this bad. Overall terrible match... Funny that only Neil was able to make it further.

[FiveOrZero]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Not seen a match that bad in a while!

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan

Not seen a match that bad in a while!

I enjoyed it from a 'no centuries' perspective;). Seriously though, awful standard of snooker. Murphy proving yet again he just can't play at Wembley whilst Cope was brought down by the poor show of Murphy as well as the occasion being too much. Anyway, after today's awful luck with a 49 and 48 break in the last 2 frames meaning the overs didn't happen, I'm back to +2.06pts. In an unpredictable first round, I'm pleased with anything resembling profit. Quarters start tomorrow & I'm on 2 in the afternoon match. G.Dott to hit first century v D.Junhui 3pts @ 2/1 Paddy Power G.Dott v D.Junhui, over 9.5 frames 3pts @ Evs Paddy Power Again, I see a close match here. Both these players will fancy their chances of making the final so will be fired up massively for the win. Each of them had a good win in the first round, Ding disposing of Williams and Dott taking out Higgins. Ding's the sort of player that rarely runs away with a match, irrespective of how well he is cueing, as he often has a nap mid match for a few frames. Dott's pretty similar in that he's a fighter and is generally involved in a battle rather than win with much to spare. It's really a 'pick em' here so I'm confident we won't be seeing anyone win 6-3 or better. In terms of break building, I'm expecting to see at least 1 century. In the last 8 quarter finals at the Masters ('09 and '10), we've seen at least 1 ton in 7 of them. A continuation of that stat makes this a 2 horse race, one I expect Dott to win. In his last 2 matches at the Masters (his win in round 1 over Higgins and his defeat against Maguire in '09), he's hit a century. In that same period, Ding has played in 4 matches and has yet to hit to ton. As a Masters form guide, that's pretty conclusive so I'll have some of the 2/1 on offer for the Scot to hit 3 figures first.

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan One for me this afternoon and I'm with Russ on this. 4pts - Ding Junhui v Graeme Dott - over 9.5 frames @ 2.0 with Betfair Both players looked solid in their opening matches although I thought Ding was a bit fortunate to get through against Mark Williams, missing a few surprising shots in between knocking in five 50+ breaks, and I don't think he'll have it all his own way here. Dott's long potting is pretty much the equal of Ding's these days and he scored heavily enough in the early part of his match with Higgins to suggest he could be a match for anyone this week. With seven of the top eight players out of the competition, either of these two could realistically challenge for the title and I think this could be one of the matches of the round. I'm not entirely sure Dott is as comfortable playing someone as attacking as Ding and for that reason I'll steer clear of him on the outright market, but I think he's playing well enough to ensure this will be a close game and bring the overs in.

[ash69]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan King - Cope After that what i saw yesterday King for me is veeery overpriced. King can produce quite nice stuff, wich we`ve seen against Selby. Cope is really stressed and only b`cause totally shitty form of Murphy he`s in second round. With odd 2,00 / 2,10 i`m taking King as a winner with no hesistation. Hope i won`t regret that :ok King - Cope Tip: 1 Odd: 2,10 Bookie: Stake 5/10 If You want a handi Betsson has +1,5 for King with great price 1,72 :) GL!

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan One for me tonight. 4pts M.King to beat J.Cope Evs Blue Square Backing Mark King at even money isn't usually to be recommended but I think it has it's merits this evening. I thought King was excellent against Selby in the first round. Coming back from 2-0 down to win 6-4 against someone as good a match player as Selby is not shoddy at all. King put in a 139 and 4 other 50 breaks in a real burst of scoring which must've given him so much confidence to progress through in this event. Contrast that with Jamie Cope who if he wasn't awful he wasn't a lot better in his opening round match. Luckily for him Shaun Murphy was abysmal. Now Cope's better than that. A lot better in fact but he hasn't had much time to put his poor performance last night right going into tonight. I think King enjoys the one table situation. He doesn't get to play in that environment too often so he relishes it and being local it's a good tournament for him. I'm not sure Cope is completely happy with his game at the minute. Even prior to last night a couple of his results weren't up to scratch. I think King will win this and if Cope doesn't improve King could even win 6-1 or 6-2 if he repeats his performance of the 1st round. King for me.

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Well, that was a disappointing afternoon. I really thought Dott would make more of a fight of it and he had his chances, especially towards the end of the match, but never looked like taking them. It's been a tough week so far and that loss plunges be back down to -1.61 for the tournament. Onto tonight and I'm in agreement with ash here. 5pts - Mark King to beat Jamie Cope @ 2.04 with Betfair If King plays anywhere near the level he reached against Selby then he's got this match in the bag. Even if he doesn't, I still fancy him to see off Cope, who looked a bag of nerves in winning his scrappy encounter with Shaun Murphy last night. There's never been any doubt about Jamie's ability but he tends to look a bit lost on the big occasions and his game is riddled with self doubt. King, on the other hand, makes the absolute most out of his more limited talent and showed remarkable composure under pressure when beating Selby. I can't imagine he'll score as heavily as he did in that match again (although he has been working hard on his breakbuilding recently) but I do think he'll get plenty of chances courtesy of Cope's fragile confidence and slightly ropey tactical game. At even money, I think King just has to be backed.

[ash69]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Does anybody seen anywhere market for centuries and over 50 breaks for King-Cope clash?

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan

Does anybody seen anywhere market for centuries and over 50 breaks for King-Cope clash?

Skybet, SportingBet, BlueSq, Paddy Power:ok

[Otter4]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan unbelievable shot by king there!

[ash69]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan thx :cheers RussP

[ash69]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan WTF is going on??? Yesterday Cope couldn`t keep the cue straight. And today is like no. one of professional ranking. I can`t belive that Cope is not bookie moneymaker or something fishy is going on. If You call Higgins a scam, how will You call Murphy and today`s star Cope :puke

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan Annoying couple of nights for me with poor performances gifting Cope two wins. -4.12 overall now. One for the afternoon match which should be a cracker. 4pts M.Allen vs N.Robertson - Over 6.5 50+ breaks Evs Skybet I can't see much safety being played here. Both are superb long potters and both love playing attacking, aggressive snooker. Both score heavily when they are in the balls so I think we're going to get a barrage of decent breaks here. Allen played well in establishing a lead against Ronnie and although he tensed up a bit with the line in sight that's understandable. He'll have to score well to put pressure on the world champ here. Robertson has been scoring like a dream all season and the only way this bet looks like it's going to lose is if this ends 6-2 or worse. I don't think it will. I think this could be a tit for tat I'll take the lead, no I'll come back at you sort of match. I think we'll get 10 or 11 frames here and that gives us enough back up and time to get the requisite 7 50's in here.

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan

WTF is going on??? Yesterday Cope couldn`t keep the cue straight. And today is like no. one of professional ranking. I can`t belive that Cope is not bookie moneymaker or something fishy is going on. If You call Higgins a scam' date=' how will You call Murphy and today`s star Cope :puke[/quote'] I'd call it unpredictable and annoying mate, but I certainly wouldn't be shouting fix. Cope is a decent player but he blows hot and cold. Unfortunately, he chose tonight to blow very hot indeed whilst King could only show glimpses of the form that saw Selby off in the last round. Such is life unfortunately - otherwise, we'd all be very rich indeed.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: The Masters - 9-16 Jan

I'd call it unpredictable and annoying mate' date=' but I certainly wouldn't be shouting fix. Cope is a decent player but he blows hot and cold. Unfortunately, he chose tonight to blow very hot indeed whilst King could only show glimpses of the form that saw Selby off in the last round. Such is life unfortunately - otherwise, we'd all be very rich indeed.[/quote'] I agree. King was clearly ill and Cope did nothing special but capitalised more often than not on anything King left him. That's sport.