Snooker: World Championships

[Duckets]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

Another match Graeme Dott and Ali Carter will watch on and i think will go on Ali Carter' date=' i hope he looses the first one or two to get the odd up and then will go on him :D Have a nice, profitable day all! :dude[/quote'] Yeah me too

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Lee falling one frame short of covering the handicap against Higgins has wiped out my meagre profit so far, but Williams v Cope is looking promising. :hope Once again, I'm with Russ & Kev and think that this price is just too good to ignore. 3pts - Mark Allen (-3.5 frames) to beat Barry Hawkins @ 2.28 with Betfair Neither of these were at their best in the first round, but I thought Hawkins in particular was fortunate to get past Maguire. I'd go as far as to say he only really impressed me at the very end, where he finally won a frame in a single visit. Other than that, I didn't see much to give Mark Allen any sleepless nights. Allen has had a poor season, but his win over Matthew Stevens has pretty much guaranteed his top 16 place for the start of next season and so, to some extent, the pressure is off him here. There were signs in that match that he was starting to cue well, despite the odd very unexpected miss, and I expect him to kick on from there. His Crucible record is good and that can be the key to this match with Hawkins playing his first ever three session match here. It's not easy to keep focus in these longer matches and less experienced players often have a dip in the middle or final session, and I think that could well lead to a comfortable victory for the Irishman.

[Berlington Bertie]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Will take one for now on a match in running I am on my phone so I will keep it brief. 3 pts Martin Gould to bt Trump @ 7/2 William Hill. As good as Trump has been I fancy Gould here just two frames behind I was impressed with him yesterday despite finding himself two frames down.Also as good as Trump is he tends to struggle when he is expected to win and with a overnight lead to sleep on feel he might struggle here aswell.

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Mark Williams comfortably beat the handicap to give just about everyone a win yesterday and also to take me back into a small profit for the tournament overall. Hopefull Barry Hawkins will have that dodgy session I talked about today to help Allen deliver as well. :hope 2 more for today: 3pts - Shaun Murphy v Ronnie O'Sullivan - over 3.5 century breaks @ 1.9 with Betfair It's a reasonably high line for a best of 35 frame match, but if Ronnie shows anything like the break-building form he did against Dominic Dale, then it should be covered. The Rocket made 3 centuries and broke down on 96 chasing a maximum. Now, Shaun certainly won't gift him as many chances as Dale did, but the signs are encouraging that Ronnie is scoring well when he gets in. Murphy isn't quite as prolific a century break maker, but I'd expect him to chip in with at least one over the 35 frame distance and that may well be all that's required to bring this line home. 4pts - Mark Selby (-4.5 frames) to beat Stephen Hendry @ 2.0 with Betfair These two met at the same stage last year and Selby ran out a 13-5 winner. I don't think much has changed over the last 12 months: Hendry still shows flashes of his former brilliance but can be woefully inconsistent from one frame to the next, whilst Selby comes into the tournament in great form having made the final in China. The Jester wasn't at his best in the first round, but he didn't need to be as Jimmy Robertson seemingly got more nervous as the match went on. I'd expect that easy run out to have sharpened him up for the battle ahead and any repeat of Hendry's 2nd session performance against Joe Perry, where he basically fell over the line courtesy of the lead he'd built up in the 1st session, could see Mark running out a very comfortable winner indeed. As it is, whatever Hendry turns up, I can't see him taking more than 8 frames off the Jester here.

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Allen handicap is looking a bit dodgy but I'm taking another in this game. M.Allen to beat B.Hawkins, 5pts @ 11/10 Stan James Looks a huge price to me. We are one session in and Hawkins leads 5-3 but remember this is first to 13 and there's an awful long way to go. Neither player was fluent and Mark Allen cannot play that bad again, I'm certain of that. He still managed to get 3 frames so that just shows how poor his opponent was. Everything points to Allen for me; in round 1, Hawkins was 6-2 and 8-4 up in a first to 10 but still only scraped through 10-9 whilst Allen was 9-6 down and went on to beat Matt Stevens 10-9. Once this gets to the business end, I see only one player coping with the pressure and that makes 11/10 on the Irishman to win much too big.

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

3pts - Shaun Murphy v Ronnie O'Sullivan - over 3.5 century breaks @ 1.9 with Betfair It's a reasonably high line for a best of 35 frame match, but if Ronnie shows anything like the break-building form he did against Dominic Dale, then it should be covered. The Rocket made 3 centuries and broke down on 96 chasing a maximum. Now, Shaun certainly won't gift him as many chances as Dale did, but the signs are encouraging that Ronnie is scoring well when he gets in. Murphy isn't quite as prolific a century break maker, but I'd expect him to chip in with at least one over the 35 frame distance and that may well be all that's required to bring this line home.

Good luck WS but remember it's best of 25, not 35;)

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

Good luck WS but remember it's best of 25' date=' not 35;)[/quote'] It's too early in the morning for me Russ :lol I'll stick to calling it first to 13 from now on. ;)

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: World Championships :lol:lol Going for 2 in the tie of the round. S.Murphy vs R.O'Sullivan, over 3.5 centuries, 4pts @ Evs Betfred S.Murphy vs R.O'Sullivan, over 5.5 50+ breaks 1st session only, 7pts @ 8/13 Skybet This one will be an absolute classic, I'm certain of that. There's no love lost between these 2 either which will just add to the excitement and both will be keen to put one over on the other. Based on 1st round form, these 2 are the form players. Murphy came through 10-1, hitting more 50+ breaks than anyone with 10 in total. Amongst that was 1 ton and 3 more over 90. Ronnie, meanwhile, who had been winless for a while switched on the old magic winning 10-2 against Dale with 3 tons and 2 more over 90. Based on those stats, we're going to see lots of 1 visit frames and, in a match I see going at least 22/23 frames, there's plenty of time to see the required 4 tons. In the 1st session, we have 8 frames and I just don't see where we're going to see 3 frames without a 50 so I'll take the overs line on 5.5 50+ 1st session breaks. Looking forward to what should be a Crucible classic.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: World Championships 3 for me in the main match. I'm joining the century party as well. 5pts R.O'Sullivan (-2.5 frames) to beat S.Murphy 11/10 Blue Square 3pts Over 3.5 centuries Evs Betfred 1pt A 147 to be scored 16/1 Coral Sometimes letting your mouth run out of control in sport is a bad thing and I get the feeling Shaun Murphy may be guilty of that heading into this match. He was very vocal about O'Sullivan prior to the event and it appears he's still quite vocal this morning. The simple fact is that if the O'Sullivan that played Dominic Dale turns up in this match then Murphy won't get close. What was most concerning for Murphy fans was O'Sullivan's long game showing signs of returning to it's usual high standards having been missing all season and letting results show the effect of that. Murphy is in great form at the minute and came past Marcus Campbell pretty easily enough but this is a step up and a half on that. I've a sneaky feeling we're going to see something special from O'Sullivan in this match in light of Murphy's comments. When the two met in the Premier League final Murphy never got a look in and if he doesn't start well here it could be a similar outcome. I think O'Sullivan will win this no worse than 13-10 and set up the quarter final with Higgins that we all want to see. In their first round matches these two hit 4 centuries between them in 20 winning frames. Murphy also had a 99 and a couple more 90+ breaks while O'Sullivan had a couple of 96 breaks. I expect us to see around 20-22 frames in this match which would be enough to bring this line in on that form. If we don't see that many frames then O'Sullivan will have won easily and the chances are he'll have played exceptional snooker whereby he's more than capable of 4 tons on his own. Coming into this event O'Sullivan said he wants to entertain the crowd with big breaks. He showed that against Dale going for a 147 on two occasions and I think he's playing well enough that there could be one coming from him this week. It could easily be here. I'm sure he'll get a go at it as Murphy is fairly attacking so could miss a long pot and leave Ronnie in. If he does have a go at it I just hope he bothers to pot the final black :lol.

[MARTINLAURSEN]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

Mark Williams comfortably beat the handicap to give just about everyone a win yesterday and also to take me back into a small profit for the tournament overall. Hopefull Barry Hawkins will have that dodgy session I talked about today to help Allen deliver as well. :hope 2 more for today: 3pts - Shaun Murphy v Ronnie O'Sullivan - over 3.5 century breaks @ 1.9 with Betfair It's a reasonably high line for a best of 35 frame match, but if Ronnie shows anything like the break-building form he did against Dominic Dale, then it should be covered. The Rocket made 3 centuries and broke down on 96 chasing a maximum. Now, Shaun certainly won't gift him as many chances as Dale did, but the signs are encouraging that Ronnie is scoring well when he gets in. Murphy isn't quite as prolific a century break maker, but I'd expect him to chip in with at least one over the 35 frame distance and that may well be all that's required to bring this line home. 4pts - Mark Selby (-4.5 frames) to beat Stephen Hendry @ 2.0 with Betfair These two met at the same stage last year and Selby ran out a 13-5 winner. I don't think much has changed over the last 12 months: Hendry still shows flashes of his former brilliance but can be woefully inconsistent from one frame to the next, whilst Selby comes into the tournament in great form having made the final in China. The Jester wasn't at his best in the first round, but he didn't need to be as Jimmy Robertson seemingly got more nervous as the match went on. I'd expect that easy run out to have sharpened him up for the battle ahead and any repeat of Hendry's 2nd session performance against Joe Perry, where he basically fell over the line courtesy of the lead he'd built up in the 1st session, could see Mark running out a very comfortable winner indeed. As it is, whatever Hendry turns up, I can't see him taking more than 8 frames off the Jester here.

there's hawkins dodgy session you wanted! allen's won 6 on the bounce

[afruzmiah911]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Ok this might seem like a stupid question :rollin I know a little bit about snooker, and i put a bet on ronnie o sullivan to beat murphy, i was wondering how does the structure work? How many games would they play today? When will it be finished by, silly really but any help would be much appreciated Thanks! :clap

[slizorn]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

Ok this might seem like a stupid question :rollin I know a little bit about snooker, and i put a bet on ronnie o sullivan to beat murphy, i was wondering how does the structure work? How many games would they play today? When will it be finished by, silly really but any help would be much appreciated Thanks! :clap

Okay I am pretty new to snooker myself but I know this much. It is a 25 frame format, so the first person to win 13 frames wins the match. If I am not wrong there are three sessions in total, and the session thats being played right now is the second session. The third session should be later on tonight at 7.30pm (UK time). So everything should end by today. Hope this helps :ok

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

there's hawkins dodgy session you wanted! allen's won 6 on the bounce

Yep, was looking dead in the water at 3-7 but if Allen can finish it off for the loss of no more than 2 frames tonight, I'll be a happy man. :ok

Okay I am pretty new to snooker myself but I know this much. It is a 25 frame format, so the first person to win 13 frames wins the match. If I am not wrong there are three sessions in total, and the session thats being played right now is the second session. The third session should be later on tonight at 7.30pm (UK time). So everything should end by today. Hope this helps :ok

You're right in that it's best of 25 mate over 3 sessions, but the match hasn't started yet. They play the 1st eight frames at 2.30pm this afternoon, the next 8 frames at 2.30pm tomorrow, and then however many more frames are needed from 7pm on Monday. So, unless one of them runs away with it and wins 13-3 or better, it'll finish on Monday night.

[Sm0k3rZ]

Re: Snooker: World Championships i need some help with the allen hawkins match. I have allen on a -3.5handicap..so i can only afford hawkins to win max 9 frames(2 more) for my handicap to come in..now if i give hawkins a handicap of +3.5..that would make his score to 10.5 frames to 9(allen). If he wins 3 more frames my 2nd bet will come on. if he doesnt win 3 more frames my original bet comes in. Am i thinking this correctly?

[slizorn]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

i need some help with the allen hawkins match. I have allen on a -3.5handicap..so i can only afford hawkins to win max 9 frames(2 more) for my handicap to come in..now if i give hawkins a handicap of +3.5..that would make his score to 10.5 frames to 9(allen). If he wins 3 more frames my 2nd bet will come on. if he doesnt win 3 more frames my original bet comes in. Am i thinking this correctly?

Yes you are thinking this correctly. Current score 9-7: Allen vs Hawkins To win your original -3.5 handicap on Allen: Allen must win 13-7, 13-8, 13-9 To win the second +3.5 handicap on Hawkins: Allen can win 13-10, 13-11, 13-12 Hawkins can win 13-9, 13-10, 13-11, 13-12 Those are all the scores that would win it for each individual handicap bet you mentioned. Hope that clear it up for you :ok On another note: Thanks for the clarification Western Skies :)

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Luckily for WS, I'm opposing him in the match starting soon:lol S.Hendry (+4.5 frames) to beat M.Selby, 3pts @ Evs Totesport S.Hendry vs M.Selby, high break over 124.5, 5pts @ 5/6 Skybet I'm a huge fan of Mark Selby but just don't fancy him to run away with this like many pundits do. Hendry is still a force to be reckoned and played some terrific stuff in the 1st session against Joe Perry before struggling later on. If he can reproduce his 1st session, then Selby will not be winning that easily. The Jester ran out a convincing 10-1 winner over Jimmy Robertson but, in fairness, I'd have beaten JR:lol. He wasn't the fluent Mark Selby we all know & love and, if he gives chances to Hendry like he did to Robbo, he'll be losing quite a few frames along the way. Both players like to go for their shots and are capable of making massive breaks. Hendry's had a maximum this season and hit a 133 against Perry whilst Selby struggled to gain momentum in round 1 but, with a bit more pressure on, I expect his scoring to be a little more consistent. Overall, I'm going for a match of 13-9 or closer, with a big break in amongst the 22+ frames. After the damp squib of Murph/Rocket, I'm hoping for something a little better this evening.

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

S.Hendry vs M.Selby, high break over 124.5, 5pts @ 5/6 Skybet Both players like to go for their shots and are capable of making massive breaks. Hendry's had a maximum this season and hit a 133 against Perry whilst Selby struggled to gain momentum in round 1 but, with a bit more pressure on, I expect his scoring to be a little more consistent. Overall, I'm going for a match of 13-9 or closer, with a big break in amongst the 22+ frames. After the damp squib of Murph/Rocket, I'm hoping for something a little better this evening.

Comes in after frame 1. Cheers Skybet:lol:lol:lol:lol

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: World Championships +22.03pts now with Dott outright still running for me and Ronnie looking good to bring more profit in. One for tomorrow morning and it's a max bet. My first in snooker. 10pts J.Higgins (-6.5 frames) to beat R.McLeod 4/5 Paddy Power This is a handicap which looks big on paper but for the life of me I don't see how Rory McLeod is taking 7 frames off a Higgins who's just slapped in 4 tons against a very competent Stephen Lee. Higgins was ultra special in the scoring phase of the game against Lee and the difference in class here is absolutely huge. Rory's playing his first 25 frame match and he's a bit camera shy at the best of times. I don't see how he's winning frames here. If frames go scrappy then there's nobody with a better tactical mindset than Higgins and if he keeps the frames open with the balls split Higgins will tie him in knots with the safety and then hoover up what's left. I don't know if the little spat with Walden after their first round match will affect Rory here but even so he's out of his depth massively. Higgins probably has a point to prove after losing to Davis in this round last year and might be under a bit of pressure from the snooker public to set up that magical quarter final. He copes with pressure well and with the Old Firm game on Sunday lunchtime I'll take the Wizard of Wishaw to race into a big lead very quickly and not surrender it. Higgins by at least 7 frames for me but I wouldn't be surprised if this one doesn't see it's scheduled 3rd session on Monday afternoon.

[RussP]

Re: Snooker: World Championships One for me, and following Kev's max bet. J.Higgins (-6.5 frames) to beat R.McLeod, 8pts @ 5/6 Bet365 I'm with Kev here although not going with a full 10pts. Let's face it, Rory is totally outclassed here and, despite his gritty win over Ricky Walden, he just won't be up to the quality of Higgins here. McLeod won 10-6 but, quite frankly, the standard was crap (I've seen Mowgli play better:lol). Just 6 50's between them in 16 slow frames, that isn't great. Higgins, on the other hand, played an in form Stephen Lee and disposed of him easily, 10-5. 5 tons in this match, 4 of which came from John as well as 4 more 50+ breaks. He's been in great form this season and is a player that doesn't let himself get bogged down by playing an inferior player. No surprise to see a 7-1 or 8-0 scoreline from this mornings session, the only thing that could stop this coming in is if Rory really bores the pants off John and makes it too tactical. Doubtful though.

[Possmann]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Hey mates, do you think Higgins can still cover -6.5 spread?

[Sm0k3rZ]

Re: Snooker: World Championships cant believe rory is 7-12 against higgins!! by the look of it will be a bad day for the board!

[owenclass]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Ding Junhui vs Stuart Bingham match to go to deciding frame 9/4 skybet total frames over 23.5 8/11 skybet i think this match will be close bingham has not been in this situation before so he will be quite nervous Ronnie O Sullivan vs Shaun Murphy match to go to deciding frame 7/2 skybet this could go all the way Murphy is a fighter and will make it hard for O Sullivan to win

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Frustrating day for me today. No surprise that Selby made short work of finishing off Hendry from 12-4 up to land the handicap bet, but Ronnie waited too long to start firing in the centuries so the overs went down. Which all leaves me -0.31pts down for the championship, with my Williams outright still running. One for tomorrow for now: 3pts - Graeme Dott to beat Judd Trump @ 2.14 with Betfair Really hard to call this match, but I think the odds should be 50/50 or even slightly in Dott's favour, so that makes him the value pick here. Judd followed up his victory over an out of sorts Neil Robertson with a performance of real maturity against Gould, although Martin made him sweat a bit more than the scoreline suggests. In fact, I'd say the whole match swung on the 13th frame, where Judd won on a respot after Gould had missed the frame-winning black. Had he potted it, I think the match would have been a lot closer, but instead Gould crumbled and Judd ran out quite comfortably. Contrast that with the war of attrition between Dott and Carter. I'm sure the Captain is still wondering how he could play so well in the 2nd & 3rd sessions, yet still lose the match with a frame to spare. That performance sums up Dott at the Crucible - he's so tough to beat and has the ability to stay in a match or a session even when he's not playing his best. For that reason, I think he'll present a very different challenge to Trump than he's faced so far, and I fancy him to put the youngster under some real pressure. It'll be fascinating to see who comes out on top but, at these odds, I see Dott as the clear value pick.

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: World Championships

Ding Junhui vs Stuart Bingham match to go to deciding frame 9/4 skybet total frames over 23.5 8/11 skybet i think this match will be close bingham has not been in this situation before so he will be quite nervous

Nice pick mate. :clap

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Agree with you WS. Especially when you factor in Dott's 4-0 and 4-1 wins over Trump in the PTC's earlier in the season. I'm on Dott outright so I'll probably leave it be. I've got a sneaky feeling for Mark Allen but I think I'll see a session before committing given his off table problems and such like.

[RedDevil92]

Re: Snooker: World Championships What do you guys think of O'Sullivan?He is in a good form while Higgins isn't.Odds too high for O'Sullivan.Will Hill offers 1,90 for O'Sullivan. thanks:ok

[2damnhype]

Re: Snooker: World Championships I think the Higgins v O'Sullivan match is one that is best watched without a bet attached. Good arguments can be made for backing both players. O'Sullivan saw off a very determined Shaun Murphy, and it can be said that Higgins struggled somewhat to put (an also very determined) Rory McLeod away - which would lead you to backing O'Sullivan. The danger of doing so is that O'Sullivan is highly predictable, and can go to sleep during matches. It is said that O'Sullivan is untouchable when on his game - I personally think the only player that can give him a game in that mood is John Higgins. Higgins still has a point to prove here, winning the world title will help to heal the wounds of last year's controversy, and this tournament is all about getting through the rounds, not about blitzing through the first couple of matches and being knackered for when thr longer games come. So sit back, keep the powder dry and hopefully enjoy the best match of this year's championship do far. :ok

[western skies]

Re: Snooker: World Championships Well, Dott's nicely poised to bring home the bacon on my first quarter-final bet. :lol Seriously, that was very impressive from Judd Trump and a joy to watch even though I backed the other guy. Graeme played poorly and the fact that the only frame he won was from needing a snooker says it all. Could easily (and deservedly) have been 8-0. I won't write Dotty off completely yet, but he needs a 6-2 or better scoreline tonight if he wants to stop Judd here. So, let's see who I can jinx this afternoon: 5pts Mark Selby (-2.5 frames) to beat Ding Junhui @ 1.98 with Betfair 2pts Selby v Ding - over 3.5 hundred breaks @ 1.79 with Betfair For me, the Jester is rightly the firm favourite here. He was imperious against Hendry and he looks very focused and "in the zone". In contrast, Ding has played exceptionally well in patches, but really struggled to overcome Bingham and I think that tough match could take its toll here. I still don't think he really likes the Crucible set up and has yet to look settled or produce his best game at the venue. It would be rude not to have a dabble on the centuries market as well after Selby's record breaking 6 tons in the last round. I don't expect a repeat performance here, but these two are well capable of knocking in 4 centuries between them, even if I do expect Selby to triumph with a few frames to spare.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: World Championships +13.53pts overall now. Taking 3 in this afternoon's matches. 4pts M.Selby vs D.Junhui - Over 3.5 centuries 10/11 Boylesports 3pts M.Selby to win 1st session 11/10 Blue Square I'm sometimes reluctant to take a relatively high line at odds on but I do think these two can cover it. Ding's hit 3 tons in the tournament so far and Selby 7 and I don't see a lot of safety play being played in this one. Both are heavy scorers and given the form they've shown so far I think this is a line that's achievable in a 25 frame match. I don't see either winning it too easily so we should get more than enough frames to bring this line in. I do however think Selby could have an advantage in the opening session of this match. Ding finished relatively late last night and the emotions of his thrilling comeback and the adrenalin it takes out of you must have some kind of negative effect on him this afternoon. Selby basically had a lengthy practice session against Hendry and that would have taken nothing out of him. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Ding struggles for 4 or 5 frames today and that can lead Selby into an overnight lead. 5pts R.O'Sullivan vs J.Higgins - Over 22.5 frames 11/10 Skybet 4pts Over 16.5 50+ breaks 8/11 Betfred I absolutely can not wait for this match. If it's anything like some of their past meetings then this will be an epic. Some snooker matches stick in my mind for a long time and one of them was the Masters final these two played out in 2006 which was of the highest quality for 18 frames then Higgins stepped it up to a new level with 'that' clearance in the decider. Both men are playing well enough for this to be like that match. Unlike some of their meetings there hasn't really been too long for this to be overhyped so both can relax and treat us to some lovely snooker. Ronnie has looked close to his best at periods in this tournament and although Higgins was dogshit last time out that was as much due to his opponent as it was him. He'll get a better rhythm in this match and we saw in the opening round he's still playing as well as anyone. This should be set up for a superb night of snooker on Wednesday night as it's a match I can't see being won any easier than 13-10 either way. We've just seen a session of snooker which contained 10 50+ breaks and while I don't think these two will produce 10 in a session because they are more clinical, I do think most of the frames will be won in one visit in this match. I foresee 24 or 25 frames in this and I refuse to believe 7 frames will go without a 50 break between these two expert technicians of the sport. Overs for me in frames and 50's.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker: World Championships One more for the QF's. 2pts M.Allen to beat M.Williams 4/1 Betfred Mark Allen goes into tonight's second session 5-3 down but he could and probably should have been 6-2 up. He hit 6 50+ breaks in this morning's session and came out of it with 3 frames to his name. We know he's a battler and he often comes on even stronger in adversity and the two centuries he hit from 5-1 down to come out 5-3 shows so much resolve it's untrue. Mark Williams has been on cruise control in this event but going into today's match he'd only made 5 80+ breaks in the 23 frames he's won in the tournament so he isn't finishing frames off at the first time of asking. Indeed 2 of the frames he won this morning were from a mile back with good clearances after 50 breaks from Allen. If the Northern Irishman can just add a consistent 10-15pts onto his scoring then I think this match is still well within his reach over the next couple of days.