2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb

[ImLovinIt]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Maguire should be Murphy right? He seems a lot more clutch and clinical with his chances?

[Mirage]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb One for me today: Saturday: Shaun Murphy vs Stephen Maguire 4/10pts Over 9.5 frames - Evens with Paddy Power This looks like it could be a very tight match so I like the looks of the odds for it to be 6-4 or closer to either player. Both of these men have come through some tough matches this week so will go into this semi-final fully confident they can go all the way and add another title to their list of tournament wins. Between them they have seen off the likes of Walden, Selby, Trump and Higgins and deserved every victory. The head to head reads 3-3 so we know both are capable of beating each other and it has gone to a deciding frame before. When on form their games are pretty similar all round so we should see plenty of big breaks being knocked in. It's a tough one to call either way and for that reason i'll take it to be 6-4 or closer and hope they have a close fight to come through.

[RussP]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Tournament has been a bit up & down for me, now standing at +8.24pts after Williams crashed out. Great stuff by everyone else in here & well done to Kev for his quarter bet on Lee. Just hope he can go on now & land the whole thing for a monster payday. I'm taking 3 in the opening semi. S.Lee v R.O'Sullivan, over 1.5 centuries, 4pts @ 6/4 Paddy Power S.Lee to beat R.O'Sullivan, 2pts @ 3/1 SportingBet S.Lee (-2.5 frames) to beat R.O'Sullivan, 4pts @ Evs Betfred This best of 11 semi should be a real high quality match and a close one at that. Apart from the 5-1 thrashing of Joe Perry, ROS hasn't had an easy route and probably should have lost to both Higginson & Stevens, having to come from big deficits to win both. Stephen Lee, meanwhile, came through a couple of easy openers before disposing of the current holder, Mark Williams. That's a massive confidence boosting win, firing in 3 of the last 4 frames to win 5-3. Lee hit 1 century in that match, whilst Ronnie hit 2 against Joe Perry. I do feel that these 2 players go for their shots and are 2 of the best break builders around and, in a match where both will have to up their game, there could easily be a number of frames that will be won at a single visit increasing the likelihood of the 2 centuries we require. From a straight 'who will win' perspective, everyone is talking about Ronnie because of his semi-return to form and the fact he's twice come from losing positions. However, he's had a pretty easy run IMO and this will be more difficult. If the Rolls Royce cue action of Stephen Lee doesn't desert him today, I fancy him to run the Rocket very close indeed and it wouldn't surprise me if he closed it out to land a place in the final. Looking forward to it.

[kevshat]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Semi final prices: [TABLE=class: couponTable]

[TR] [TH][/TH] [TH=class: firstColumn]Saturday 4 February 2012[/TH] [TH]Player 1[/TH] [TH]Player 2[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn] Lee, S v O'Sullivan, R (13:00 GMT) [/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd] 4.2 [/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd] 1.3 [/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]100.73 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn] Murphy, S v Maguire, S (19:30 GMT) [/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd] 1.93 [/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd] 2.04 [/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]100.83 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

[kevshat]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Lee's win last night coupled with Murphy stumbling over the line has put me up to +44.69pts for the tournament. Two for me in the second semi final tonight. Nothing in the first semi final as I'm already on Lee at effectively 33/1 so I hope Russ is right :hope. 4pts S.Maguire to beat S.Murphy Evs Ladbrokes 4pts Over 9 Frames Evs Ladbrokes I think this semi final will be a tight semi final. There's no love lost between these two and so it will be something of a grudge match. I always feel the grudge is more on the side of Maguire so I'm sure he will be fired up for this semi final after the issue the two had in the Grand Prix years ago. Both men have stated they are not best friends so this will be hard fought snooker I'm sure. I think on the balance of what we have seen this week Stephen Maguire will win the match. Murphy has stumbled over the line on a couple of occasions while Maguire thrashed Day and Higgins earlier in the week before coming from 4-2 down to beat Judd in a high quality match last night. Murphy sailed into a 4-1 lead over Mark Selby but literally, by his own admission, fell over the line. Nevertheless he is scoring well when his chances come along but for me Maguire is playing the better snooker over the week. He's dishing up the chances he is given and his safety play in his last two matches has been very good. I don't think this match will be won easily and I would be very surprised if given the form these two are in if it's not 6-4 or 6-5 at the end but I think Maguire will stand up when it really counts and edge his way into Sunday's final.

[western skies]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb

Lee's win last night coupled with Murphy stumbling over the line has put me up to +44.69pts for the tournament. Two for me in the second semi final tonight. Nothing in the first semi final as I'm already on Lee at effectively 33/1 so I hope Russ is right :hope.

Fair play Kev, you're more on fire than Maguire this week. :clap Can't find anything that I like on this afternoon's match. I have the feeling Ronnie should win quite comfortably, but Lee is the sort of player who can hit a purple patch and be just about unplayable if he's in he mood. Will have a think about tonight's semi later.

[western skies]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Right, a good session last night leaves me +13.62 for the tournament. Going to take 2 tonight and joining the overs party with the first one. 3pts - S Murphy v S Maguire over 9.5 frames @ evens with Paddy Power 5 pts - over 5.5 50 breaks @ 4/6 with Paddy Power I have to agree with the majority view that this one will go closer than 6-3 either way. As Kev said, Maguire has looked marginally the more impressive over the week, but Murphy must be full of confidence, having beaten world number 1 Mark Selby twice in the last few weeks, reached the final of the Masters, and now battled his way through to the semis here. Gun to head, I'd probably fancy Maguire to come out on top here, but Murphy certainly has the game and form to run him close at the very least. That being the case, I can't see a scenario where 10 frames are played and anything less than 6 half century breaks are registered. Both these guys are heavy scorers and I'd anticipate we'll see several frames won in one visit this evening, so the 4/6 on offer looks slightly generous to me.

[RussP]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb I'm jumping on the Mags bandwagon too. S.Maguire to beat S.Murphy, 5pts @ Evs Boylesports S.Maguire (-2.5 frames) to beat S.Murphy, 3pts @ 9/4 BlueSq I really fancy Maguire to reach the final here and, in this grudge match, I'm hoping he can dispose of Shaun Murphy. There's history between the 2 and I think this is the type of match the gritty Scot will relish. His form this week just adds weight to his claim, especially with crushing victories over both Day & Higgins and a huge confidence booster over Judd last night. He's scoring well too and seems to be more the player he was a few seasons ago. Ok, Murphy did beat both Walden & Selby but he hasn't exactly played vintage stuff and I think that the grudge may just play on his mind a little bit tonight. Everyone suggests it will be close but I just have this sneaky feeling that Mags will come out the blocks fast and won't relent. This, to me, is his final and I believe he wants it more. At a shade over 2/1, the odds to beat Murphy 6-3 or better is too big for me to ignore.

[Mirage]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb

Saturday: Shaun Murphy vs Stephen Maguire 4/10pts Over 9.5 frames - Evens with Paddy Power

Well, that couldn't have went much worse. Murphy was in amongst the balls a few times but messed up time after time so that loss puts me back down to +7.15pts for the week now.

[PerryPFC]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb

I'm jumping on the Mags bandwagon too. S.Maguire to beat S.Murphy, 5pts @ Evs Boylesports S.Maguire (-2.5 frames) to beat S.Murphy, 3pts @ 9/4 BlueSq I really fancy Maguire to reach the final here and, in this grudge match, I'm hoping he can dispose of Shaun Murphy. There's history between the 2 and I think this is the type of match the gritty Scot will relish. His form this week just adds weight to his claim, especially with crushing victories over both Day & Higgins and a huge confidence booster over Judd last night. He's scoring well too and seems to be more the player he was a few seasons ago. Ok, Murphy did beat both Walden & Selby but he hasn't exactly played vintage stuff and I think that the grudge may just play on his mind a little bit tonight. Everyone suggests it will be close but I just have this sneaky feeling that Mags will come out the blocks fast and won't relent. This, to me, is his final and I believe he wants it more. At a shade over 2/1, the odds to beat Murphy 6-3 or better is too big for me to ignore.

Two great calls there Russ! Stand out on the handicap with most thinking it would be close. Can anyone enlighten me why this was a grudge match? Have they had handbags at dawn previously or something? Mainly watching the darts so only caught a few frames but various quotes about Maguire being well up for it and a bit of needle etc on twitter?

[kevshat]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb

Two great calls there Russ! Stand out on the handicap with most thinking it would be close. Can anyone enlighten me why this was a grudge match? Have they had handbags at dawn previously or something? Mainly watching the darts so only caught a few frames but various quotes about Maguire being well up for it and a bit of needle etc on twitter?

A few years ago they met in the Grand Prix. Maguire turned up without his chalk. He asked the ref if he could go and get it and the ref agreed but Murphy claimed Maguire hadn't shown up on time because he hadn't got all his equipment with him and made a fuss and eventually Maguire was docked a frame for not showing up on time even though he only forgot his chalk. Since then it's been hate at first sight. If you saw the fluke and two fortunate positional shots Maguire had tonight you'd have seen there was no apology, I suspect that was intentional ;).

[RussP]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Cheers Perry. Grudge info below..... After Maguire broke off for his last 64 encounter against Murphy in the 2004 Grand Prix, he realised he had forgotten his chalk and asked the referee if he could pop to his dressing room to get some. No problem, said the ref. In the meantime, Murphy intervened – although he denies ever asking for a frame to be docked. By this point, though, tournament director Mike Ganley had appeared and duly docked Maguire by the time he returned to the table, although the Scot still won 5-1. The Murphy-Maguire rivalry has been keen ever since.

[PerryPFC]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Cheers fellas. Lol... That's quite funny. Surely though if he had broken off, he was on time? Anyway, makes me feel better about turning up to play darts without any flights!

[Mirage]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Sunday: Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Stephen Maguire 3/10pts S. Maguire to beat R. O'Sullivan - 13/10 with BoyleSports This has the potential to be a cracking final with both men playing very good Snooker at the moment. Stephen Maguire demolished Shaun Murphy today to come through 6-0 and although Murphy had his chances the scoreline was probably deserved. Beating Trump, Murphy and Higgins this week will have gave his confidence a great boost and when that is up there are very few who can stop him. The trouble with him is that he is far too critical of himself so when on form he is a good man to side with. He looks good when in amongst the balls and his safety play is improving a lot. Ronnie O'Sullivan has also looked good this week - since the moment Higginson let him back into his first match here. He has come out today and said he has been struggling with gladular fever for a while now and feels drained a lot of the time so if Maguire needed any more of a boost then that news will give him it. O'Sullivan has looked hungrier than I expected him to be in this tournament so will no doubt be tough to beat. As I said earlier, a confident Maguire is hard to beat and whilst I think it will be a tight match and O'Sullivan is probably a worthy favourite, I reckon these odds are far too big. Hopefully he will get the job done.

[kevshat]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Excellent shouts on Maggy, Russ :clap:clap Broke even on the Maguire match tonight and lost 2pts on the Lee match although the lack of luck he had was so annoying. +42.69pts coming into the final. I'm taking Russ' lead in this final and loading up on the Scot. 6pts S.Maguire to beat R.O'Sullivan 5/4 Ladbrokes 4pts S.Maguire (-1.5 frames) to beat R.O'Sullivan 7/4 Blue Square 2pts S.Maguire to win by 3-4 frames 5/1 Ladbrokes 1pt S.Maguire to win by 5-6 frames 10/1 Ladbrokes I'm smashing into Maguire here because as good as Ronnie O'Sullivan is, Maguire has been flawless this week and if the title is given out on the best player of the week then he'd win it by a distance. I still think he'll win it even though he has to win this final. You only have to look at Maguire's results this week to know he's playing well. 5-1 vs Day, 5-0 vs Higgins, 5-4 from 2-4 vs Trump and 6-0 vs Murphy. That's a sensational run of results whatever your name is. What I've liked about Maguire this whole week is when he's been given a chance he hasn't even looked like missing let alone actually missed. Murphy was 40 and 50pts up in a couple of frames in their semi final, let Maguire in and he dished up. It's that scoring which could be crucial here. I say that because all week Ronnie has been giving his opponents chances and they haven't taken them. Higginson had 3 or 4 chances from 4-0 up to knock him out and choked, Stevens led him 3-1 and could've gone 4-1 but didn't and how Lee only won 4 frames with the number of chances he had will remain a mystery for a good while. Ronnie isn't winning frames in one visit and as we saw with Maguire's semi final Ronnie won't get a second chance too often. That puts pressure on a man who is under enough pressure to win a title and ease his ranking. Ronnie's title drought is becoming akin to Sachin's elusive 100th 100 and it could be he leaves Germany still searching for a title again. Ronnie has mentioned he's suffering from glandular fever and while it seems like an excuse it would marry up to the amount of balls he's been missing this week. If he misses chances here he will lose this final and lose it heavily unless Maguire loses his form. Having won a PTC event a couple of weeks ago, also in Germany it's clear he's in a rich vein of form and I actually think no matter how Ronnie plays Maguire will win this final no worse than 9-7. If he steals a couple from the Rocket he could well win it somewhere between 9-3 and 9-6. I'll take the chance with the winning margins and stuff but I'm confident whatever the score is, that the Scot will be the German Master on Sunday.

[western skies]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb

S.Maguire to beat S.Murphy, 5pts @ Evs Boylesports S.Maguire (-2.5 frames) to beat S.Murphy, 3pts @ 9/4 BlueSq

Fair shout Russ - great calls. :clap

3pts - S Murphy v S Maguire over 9.5 frames @ evens with Paddy Power 5 pts - over 5.5 50 breaks @ 4/6 with Paddy Power

Don't mind admitting I got very lucky last night, with exactly 6 breaks over 50 being made in the 6 frames played, so somehow came out of the night with a tiny profit (0.33pts) to leave me +13.95 going into the final. No surprise that I'm going to throw my lot in with Maguire as well... 5pts - S Maguire to beat R O'Sullivan @ 6/5 with Bet365 9pts - over 9.5 50 breaks @ 8/13 with Paddy Power Maguire has played far and away the best snooker out of anyone so far this week. I can barely remember him missing out on an opportunity to score heavily against Murphy last night and whitewashes over Smurf and Higgins, together with his remarkable comeback against Trump prove that he's remembered how to beat the other top players in the big ranking events. Ronnie brings a different challenge of course, and Maguire has only beaten him 3 times in 16 meetings before today, but the Rocket was poor in his match against Stephen Lee yesterday and claims to be suffering from glandular fever. Whether that's Ronnie's way of damping down expectations in his first major final since 2010 or not, there's no denying he looked tired by the end of yesterday's match and he was swinging his cue in pure frustration at some ridiculously low percentage pot attempts. I think he'll need to up his game by a good 30-40% to live with Maguire here and, whilst he's capable of doing that, even if he manages it that may not be enough given the Scotsman's current form. After my lucky escape yesterday, I'm having a pretty hefty punt on the 50 breaks again. Fingers crossed Maguire doesn't run out a 9-0 winner, but this bet is mainly based on his very heavy scoring this week and the pretty much certainty that Ronnie will chip in with at least 2 or 3 50s over the course of a 17 frame match no matter how badly he's playing. I'm risking quite a slice of my profit this week on this bet, but after weighing it up overnight, I find it hard to envisage a scenario where it won't come in. Good luck to everyone having a punt today. :hope

[kevshat]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb You sure it wasn't over 9.5 centuries, WS :loon. Absolutely incredible first four frames that :notworthy:notworthy.

[western skies]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb

You sure it wasn't over 9.5 centuries' date=' WS :loon. Absolutely incredible first four frames that :notworthy:notworthy.[/quote'] Incredible stuff :loon I'd have preferred eight 50 breaks though. ;) 7 breaks over 50 in that first session and a minimum of four frames to be played tonight. Not counting my chickens just yet, but it looks promising. :hope

[ImLovinIt]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Incredible choke there from Maguire, just don't know wtf he was thinking. Ugh!

[kevshat]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Not the end to the week I was looking for. It's fair to say Ronnie had it in for me in the last three rounds taking out both outrights and then barely missing a ball when it mattered in the final until late on. I end the week +29.69pts. Congratulations to everyone who made a profit in the tournament and I think that was most of us in a thoroughly profitable snooker thread. Roll on the Welsh Open next week :ok.

[Mirage]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb Thought Maguire was going to do it for us there but Ronnie played well enough when it mattered. I end the week +4.15. Well done to all who ended with a profit!

[western skies]

Re: 2012 German Masters 1-5 Feb I really didn't see Ronnie coming back once it went to 6-3, but fair play to him - that's the risk you always take when you back against him I suppose. Made a small profit from the 50 breaks bet and finished the week on +14.49pts, which I can't complain about. Well done to everyone who ended up in profit - I think pretty much all of us in this thread, which is great - and bad to luck to Kev, who would have made an absolute killing on the event if Maguire had won. Still, +30 ain't to be sniffed at. :ok