The Masters - 12-19 Jan

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The biggest invitation tournament in the game begins at the Alexandra Palace on Sunday. The BBC and Eurosport carry all the action in what should be a great tournament. Draw, format and schedule here: http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=290

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan 2pts E/W N.Robertson to win The Masters 6.50 Bet365 Best player on tour for me right now. His long shots continue to be immense, his break building is faultless and his form is top notch too. Won yesterday 3-0 twice and the other 3-1. I just watched him win with ease 3-1 again today at the short game format. Won The UK Open in December from being 5-1 down to win 10-7 so he can fight when he needs to and he is world number 1. Odds of nearly 6/1 for that? yes please.

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan 2pts E/W S.Bingham to win The Masters 21.00 Skybet Bingham is another man in some very good form and I think he could also go well. Id fancy him to beat Higgins and his head-2-head against Selby isn't too bad (last year Selby won 2, Bingham won 1) one of which of Selbys win was last years Masters where Selby won 6-5. If he manages to win that one then he'd probably face Trump in the semi finals. In the short format championship league Trump won both ties but in the longer format Bingham has had some success against Trump winning 6-2 in the Champions of Champions last year. He'd then face Robertson in the final and we'd have an e/w final showdown between picks (touch wood)

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan 3pts S.Bingham to beat J.Higgins 2.00 Boylesport Higgins started last year in good form but recently he has had some poor results. He lost 4-1 to McGill in Asia and a 4-0 and 4-1 loss to Andrew Higginson and Sam Baird on the tour. In The Masters of Masters he went out early to Maguire and then again going out to him in the UK Championship. Even most recently he has hardly been emphatic beating the likes of Joe Swail & Sydney Watson 5-3. Players he should be beating with less trouble. Bingham got to the final of the Champions of Champions narrowly losing to O'Sullivan 10-8. He then got to the Semi-final of the UK Championships losing 9-8 to Robertson. Since then easy 5-1 wins over Williams and a Championship League event in which I'm sure Bingham was readying himself for the masters. He will be up for this one.

[WWWYKI!]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Mark Allen to win outright e/w 20.00 SportingBet Haven't seen Allen go off at this price in a big tournament for a while. Has a really tough draw but is more than capable of causing an upset.

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Tournament preview: 1pt ew S.Murphy to win The Masters 28/1 Coral (1/2 1-2) There is another player looking to show he still belongs at the top table in the game of snooker and that is Shaun Murphy and he is an incredible price going into this tournament. Admittedly the Magician hasn’t lifted a trophy for a while but he has been a finalist and a semi finalist in the two years this tournament has been at Alexandra Palace so he clearly enjoys the venue and he brings some good form into the week with him. He hit a 147 in a solid week of Championship League Snooker last week and having worked on his diet, stamina and fitness he claims he feels good going into this tournament. With the two genuine dangers – Robertson and O’Sullivan – in the bottom half I’ll chance my arm on Murphy at 28/1. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/the-masters-betting-shaun-murphy-can-bounce-back-to-form-with-a-bang-at-alexandra-palace

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Sunday previews: 4pts M.Selby (-2.5 sets) to beat M.Davis 10/11 BetVictor The head to head record doesn’t make pretty reading if you are a Mark Davis fan and it is no real surprise. Selby looks too strong in all departments of the game and when you throw in his excellent record in this tournament too then the Jester looks a good thing in this match. Generally he has a bit in hand when these two meet and he can once again here as well. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/selby-vs-davis-betting-mark-selby-can-come-past-mark-davis-once-again-at-alexandra-palace 5pts S.Bingham to beat J.Higgins Evs Boylesports I like Bingham in this match. I accept he doesn’t have the greatest head to head record in the world against Higgins but Higgins admits this isn’t his favourite tournament and his form so far this season has been very poor for his standards. Stuart Bingham seems to be getting stronger and stronger and he has a lot of belief in the big events now which he didn’t always have in the past. He looks a good bet at evens here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/bingham-vs-higgins-betting-stuart-bingham-can-send-higgins-packing-in-the-first-round

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan 3pts J.Trump -1.5 frames to beat M.Fu 1.80 Bet365 Judd looked really good in the Championship League getting to the final and losing out to Joe Perry. Seems to have really excelled on his safety play now and still possesses very good long range shooting and is good around the balls so Id fancy him to start off with a solid win here. Judd's beaten Fu last 5 matches in a row and all 5 of those he would of covered this handicap. 3pts J.Perry to beat S.Maguire 2.62 StanJames Maguire holds a good record against Perry recently winning the last 6 however on Perrys recent form he is looking a good bet here. Championship league ofcourse he won beating Robertson in the semi's and then Judd Trump in the final convincingly. He has really upped his game as of late and last head-2-head between these 2 in the champs league he kept it very close losing out to a final frame, 3-2. The overs in this match looks very solid but I'm going for the outright win.

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan This is the worst I've ever seen Bingham :O

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Bingham was awful :(. Agree with Fader on Monday. Monday previews: 4pts J.Trump (-1.5 frames) to beat M.Fu 10/11 William Hill Judd Trump seems to have the Indian sign over Marco Fu at the minute and there’s no reason why that won’t continue here. We haven’t seen the best of Trump this season it is fair to say but he often produces in the one table environment and he lives for winning prestigious events like this. Marco Fu is having a good season but he bombed out early in the UK Championship and another early exit beckons for him here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/trump-vs-fu-betting-judd-trump-can-entertain-the-alexandra-palace-crowd-in-first-round 4pts J.Perry to beat S.Maguire 6/4 Ladbrokes I think Perry has every chance in this match. He has winning momentum from last week and he faces an opponent who can blow his lid from time to time. Perry is a solid scorer and his safety game matches up to most so he won’t be a pushover. Maguire’s season hasn’t really hit the very top yet and if he is a little under par here Perry is good enough to send him packing. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/maguire-vs-perry-betting-joe-perry-can-use-last-week-s-confidence-to-see-off-maguire-in-london

[Mylo Xyloto]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan

3pts J.Trump -1.5 frames to beat M.Fu 1.80 Bet365 Judd looked really good in the Championship League getting to the final and losing out to Joe Perry. Seems to have really excelled on his safety play now and still possesses very good long range shooting and is good around the balls so Id fancy him to start off with a solid win here. Judd's beaten Fu last 5 matches in a row and all 5 of those he would of covered this handicap. 3pts J.Perry to beat S.Maguire 2.62 StanJames Maguire holds a good record against Perry recently winning the last 6 however on Perrys recent form he is looking a good bet here. Championship league ofcourse he won beating Robertson in the semi's and then Judd Trump in the final convincingly. He has really upped his game as of late and last head-2-head between these 2 in the champs league he kept it very close losing out to a final frame, 3-2. The overs in this match looks very solid but I'm going for the outright win.

I think I'll follow these 2 as they seem solid tips. Sorry to go all 'Grammar Police' on you but I've seen you make this mistake quite a lot Fader - It's 'Should have,' 'Would have,' etc not 'should of' or 'would of.'

[Simeon Borisof]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan

I think I'll follow these 2 as they seem solid tips. Sorry to go all 'Grammar Police' on you but I've seen you make this mistake quite a lot Fader - It's 'Should have' date='' 'Would have,' etc not 'should of' or 'would of.'[/quote'] Fader you got busted!!

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan

Fader you got busted!!

Lol sorry. Not the best with grammar. Ill try to remember that.

[Simeon Borisof]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan

Lol sorry. Not the best with grammar. Ill try to remember that.

Haha i am just kidding.I am not good in grammar either.Only Mylo Xyloto is from the "Grammar Police"

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan well that was rubbish. -11pts now for the Masters 2pts S.Murphy to beat D.Junhui 2.62 Bet365 I think Murphy has a good shout here. Head-2-head between the two reads very close between the two. Last year in the Shanghai masters Ding won 5-4 but with Murphy's new diet and new vigor he is playing pretty good. He had a good championship league event after a dodgy day 1 he went on a nice run and Ding didn't have a great world championship and hasn't really been tested since. Murphy could be sharper. 4pts Under 8.5 games R O'Sullivan Vs R.Milkins Evens Youwin I think the difference between the two is too large. Ignoring the shoot-out because it's a flip of a coin, these 3 have played three matches and they have ended 5-1, 13-2 and 6-0. Nothing really needs to be said about how good Ronnie is and if he can be bothered this month then he will win this event but he should get off to an easy winner here.

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan The under 8.5 price on osullivan is meant to be 2.20 on bet365. Misread the odds.

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Tuesday previews: 4pts D.Junhui vs S.Murphy - Over 9.5 frames 6/5 Paddy Power I think everything is set up for a classic match here. Both afternoon matches in the tournament so far have been nail biting epics and this one could go all the way too. These are two star players and the winner of this match could easily win the tournament. Both appear to have their confidence high and playing solid stuff so I expect to see more than 9.5 frames in this one. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ding-vs-murphy-betting-tuesday-s-opener-can-be-a-lengthy-affair-at-alexandra-palace 3pts R.O'Sullivan (-3.5 frames) to beat R.Milkins 6/5 Ladbrokes Milkins’ big problem in this match is that he has no chance to get his feet under the table so to speak because if he doesn’t take the chances he is given then O’Sullivan will wipe the floor with him like he did in York last month. Ronnie isn’t playing as well as we’ve seen him in the past but if you leave him in the balls you’re not likely to see the table again in that frame too often and at the minute Milkins is leaving his opponent in too much so I only see a comfortable O’Sullivan win here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/o-sullivan-vs-milkins-betting-ronnie-o-sullivan-can-cruise-past-milkins-once-again

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan The quality of the snooker so far in this tournament has been abysmal.

[Mylo Xyloto]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Really frustrating that, I'd taken 'neither player to win three consecutive frames' at 4/1 which I think was a cracking bet and I think it would have paid but for an absolutely ridiculous run of the balls and an unbelievably bad performance from Ding. One of the better 4/1 shots you'd see this year, not a price I'd usually bet at and upsetting to see it lose in this fashion.

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan 2/2 helped to go back to -2.96 pts 3pts N.Robertson [-1.5 frames] to beat M.Allen 1.85 Bet365 I think Robertson should win here. Head-2-head between the two shows Robertson normally wins the matches that matter. This is the third time in 3 years these two have come up against eachother. He beat Allen 6-5 in the quarter-finals last year and 6-3 in the last 16 of the 2012 Masters.He also beat him 5-1 last year in the China Open. Robertson for me 6-3. 2.5pts R.Walden to beat B.Hawkins Evens Paddypower Barry Hawkins performance in the championship league was pretty dire. He played 6 and lost all 6. He only managed to get 4 frames in them 6 games. It's normally pretty tight between the two and I'm going for Walden to edge it.

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Off to Ally Pally on Wednesday. Hoping to see a couple of decent matches. Wednesday previews: 4pts N.Robertson vs M.Allen - Over 9.5 frames 6/5 Paddy Power I think this has all the makings of a Masters classic and I expect it to go beyond nine frames. Both score heavily when they are in amongst the balls and both have decent long games to get themselves in. Both also enjoy the one table scenario too and on a table which is playing very well we should get a high quality, tense and tight match to begin Wednesday with. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/robertson-vs-allen-betting-these-two-can-produce-another-masters-classic-on-wednesday 4pts R.Walden to beat B.Hawkins Evs Paddy Power This has all the makings of another close battle but I think the even money on Ricky Walden is worth taking here. He blew away the Christmas cobwebs in the Championship League last week where he impressed and ran well in the UK Championship too. Hawkins has struggled for a lot of the season and we don’t always see him play his best snooker in the one table environment so I’m happy to take Walden in this one. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/hawkins-vs-walden-betting-ricky-walden-can-get-revenge-for-his-world-championship-defeat-at-ally-pally

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan I'm jealous Kev. How much were the tickets?

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Robertson wins 5-4 typically. Walden comes back from 4-1 down to win 6-5. Kev, you certainly got your moneys worth. 3pts M.Fu to beat S.Murphy 2.30 William Hill Last years Australian open was the last time these two played and Fu won 5-2 and went on to win that event. Murphy didn't look very good in his first round match and Fu looked very good in his first round match albeit Trump throwing the frames away at times. Fu the player in the better form so I'm on him. 3pts Over 9.5 frames M.Selby Vs J.Higgins Evens Bet365 1pt J.Higgins to beat M.Selby 2.50 Bet365 Both of these players are in some poor form right now. Selby was playing well to begin with and then just shut down completely but still won. Higgins looked abit more impressive but Bingham was awful like a few others we see in round 1. I'm going again with the value but better still with the frame market as this should be a tight one.

[Aidymac]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan I said I would watch the first few days before getting involved. Good luck with your bets Fader & Kev. My own fancies for tomorrow. Although Marco Fu played well, I think Judd was his own downfall, he just wasn't himself and he still nearly won the match. Fu is a decent player but is nothing special, if Murphy is on song tomorrow I think he will beat him comfortably. The standard of the snooker so far this week has been awful so let's hope it picks up. Ding was hitting the balls very well against Murphy, had early breaks of 99 and 84 and had a nice lead but Shaun battled back really well against a top player. Shaun has lost 2 stone, he is in good shape and I fancy him to get to the next round. Mark Selby won this event last year and although sometimes he does not impress, there is no better man out there that can win playing badly. He is a grinder, just like Higgins was. He did well to win the match against Davis after leaving a huge lead go and he won a deciding frame. Higgins beat Bingham with ease but Bingham was shocking and I would not read too much into that result. Higgins is shoving on now, Selby is at the peak of his game, if both players play their game there should only be one winner. Shaun Murphy to beat Marco Fu - 10 Points @ 4/5 Spreadex Mark Selby to beat John Higgins - 10 Points @ 4/7 Boylesports

[kevshat]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan

I'm jealous Kev. How much were the tickets?

£20 for the day :ok. Very good day too! Thursday previews: 4pts M.Fu vs S.Murphy - Over 9.5 frames 11/10 Paddy Power All four afternoon matches in this tournament so far have gone beyond 9.5 frames and this one has all the hallmarks of doing the same too. Both men played very well in patches in their first round matches and both had the run of the ball against them at times too. Overall they look fairly well matched so with a big prize on the line expect both to scrap hard and ensure we see 10 frames once again. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/fu-vs-murphy-betting-opening-quarter-final-could-be-another-game-to-go-all-the-way-this-week 4pts M.Selby (-1.5 frames) to beat J.Higgins Evs Boylesports Usually I would think we would be in for a close match here but unless Higgins finds a dramatic improvement on his first round performance then I think Selby could win this a shade easier than we would expect. Selby is in good form and playing well and he can punish Higgins’ mistakes to the full. Selby has a good enough game to get in from distance whereas you feel Higgins needs Selby to make mistakes to let him in. I don’t see those mistakes coming, or certainly not enough of them. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/selby-vs-higgins-betting-mark-selby-can-see-off-the-struggling-scot-in-quarter-final

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Does "Fu" stand for "F**k U" with a big middle finger up? 4-1 up and now going to lose 6-4. Pathetic choke-artist. Open yellow was on and he sh*ts his pants and tries to play the snooker. Get some f***ing nerve.

[Aidymac]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan

I said I would watch the first few days before getting involved. Good luck with your bets Fader & Kev. My own fancies for tomorrow. Although Marco Fu played well, I think Judd was his own downfall, he just wasn't himself and he still nearly won the match. Fu is a decent player but is nothing special, if Murphy is on song tomorrow I think he will beat him comfortably. The standard of the snooker so far this week has been awful so let's hope it picks up. Ding was hitting the balls very well against Murphy, had early breaks of 99 and 84 and had a nice lead but Shaun battled back really well against a top player. Shaun has lost 2 stone, he is in good shape and I fancy him to get to the next round. Mark Selby won this event last year and although sometimes he does not impress, there is no better man out there that can win playing badly. He is a grinder, just like Higgins was. He did well to win the match against Davis after leaving a huge lead go and he won a deciding frame. Higgins beat Bingham with ease but Bingham was shocking and I would not read too much into that result. Higgins is shoving on now, Selby is at the peak of his game, if both players play their game there should only be one winner. Shaun Murphy to beat Marco Fu - 10 Points @ 4/5 Spreadex Mark Selby to beat John Higgins - 10 Points @ 4/7 Boylesports

A bit lucky but I'll take it. I think on balance both deserved to win.

[Aidymac]

Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Ronnie is a very warm order to win tomorrow but Walden is playing some good stuff at the moment and came back really well against Hawkins even though he didn't have luck on his side early on. Ronnie was impressive when he beat Milkins 6-1 in the opener and I think he will get quick out of the blocks again tomorrow. The prize-money is huge, £200,000 for the winner, there is no way Ronnie is not going to try win that! I thought Neil Robertson was terrible against Mark Allen but he came through a very tough match. No offence to Joe Perry but a player as good as Maguire should be beating him and Robertson is a very determined player that never gives up. He won the UK Championships recently and although he certainly has to improve his game, I can't see him playing that bad two games in a row. If both play to their best, Robertson will win. 4 Frame Betting - Ronnie O'Sullivan to lead 3-1 - 7 Points @ 13/8 Stan James Neil Robertson to beat Stephen Maguire - 10 Points @ 1/2 Paddy Power

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan Friday previews: 4pts R.Walden (+2.5 frames) to beat R.O'Sullivan 11/10 Betfred Ricky Walden has a tendency to play his best snooker against the top players. He has nothing to lose and it sort of concentrates his mind knowing that he has to play well and take his chances. O’Sullivan is often the opposite. He can be a bit sloppy in matches he’s expected to come through with ease. Although he did enough in the first round I didn’t think Ronnie was at his best and he might need to improve to come through this one easily. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/o-sullivan-vs-walden-betting-ricky-walden-can-keep-the-rocket-honest-at-alexandra-palace 3pts S.Maguire to beat N.Robertson 7/4 BetVictor I think Maguire has every chance in this match. Robertson was nowhere near his best in the first round and there were shades of tiredness about him. Both players in that match were complaining about various things but the distance Robertson was away from some of his long pots was particularly concerning from his point of view. Maguire’s game was spot on earlier in the week and if he has the same touch here he’ll run Robertson close. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/robertson-vs-maguire-betting-stephen-maguire-can-get-the-better-of-the-world-number-one-in-london

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Re: The Masters - 12-19 Jan deserved to win my arse lol. Fu 4-1 up and on the table and loses 6-4. Higgins 5-3 up and on the table loses 6-5. Bonkers! Higgins definitely deserved to win for me. Fu should of taken his chance because Murphy was awful first 5 frames. I have Robertson on the outright but I do fancy Maguire today so I'll leave that one alone. Walden also could provide a scare but again I'll leave that because Ronnie could win 6-0 or he could throw it away.