Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar

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The latest major begins in Newport on Wednesday as the Welsh Open kicks off. The first round is only on the live streaming facilities but the tournament hits BBC Wales and Eurosport from Monday 24th which should help with betting. Draw, schedule and format all here: http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=294

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Tournament preview: 1pt ew J.Higgins to win Welsh Open 25/1 Boylesports (1/4 1-4) One man catches the eye at the prices though and that is the three times Welsh Open champion John Higgins. It is perfectly true that Higgins hasn’t had the greatest season since the Wuxi Classic but there have been signs his form is coming back. He should have beaten Selby in The Masters and ran into an inspired Dominic Dale in the German Masters but having gone well at the Championship League last week – almost a tip in itself as Higgins doesn’t usually bother going seriously in those sort of events, preferring to keep himself fresh for the big events such as this, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Scot at his best this week. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/welsh-open-betting-john-higgins-can-land-a-fourth-welsh-crown

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Wednesday previews: 4pts S.Maguire (-2.5 frames) to beat E.Slessor 5/6 Paddy Power The way Maguire is playing I would be surprised if this is anything other than a cruise into the second round. Slessor won’t be used to the big stage yet and Maguire is playing some lovely stuff. I’ve highlighted Slessor’s struggles in elite company and few are playing as well as the defending champion right now. Expect the Scot to come through with plenty in hand here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/maguire-vs-slessor-betting-stephen-maguire-can-open-his-defence-with-easy-win 3pts B.Pinches to beat N.Bond 5/4 Stan James These two both know their way around the table but Barry Pinches is a player I like to side with when he’s on a bit of a high because there is often a six week spell where he plays really good snooker and picks up some good results. He looks like he’s in the middle of one of those runs and a win over Martin Gould in the China Open qualifiers on Tuesday only confirms that further. He’s worth a go here at odds against. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/bond-vs-pinches-betting-pinches-can-get-the-better-of-bond-in-newport

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Friday previews: 4pts P.Advani to beat J.Walker 4/5 Coral I like Pankaj Advani. He’s a very solid player and generally beats the players below him in the rankings. He has already beaten Walker this season and should be confident of doing it again. Although he hasn’t gone deep in a big event other than the Indian Open he certainly has the talent to get to the latter stages and that bodes well for him. His extra bit of quality all round should be the difference in this one. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/advani-vs-walker-betting-pankaj-advani-can-move-into-round-two-in-newport 3pts J.White to beat T.Un-Nooh 5/4 Coral I think Jimmy White is worth taking in this match at 5/4. He knows his back is against the wall in terms of staying on the tour but he showed earlier in the week that he can still play the game and needing wins massively he may well continue that winning form. Un-Nooh is capable but he still doesn’t have much big arena experience so I think Jimmy is worth a small punt in this one. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/j-white-vs-un-nooh-betting-jimmy-white-can-pick-up-vital-win-in-newport

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Saturday previews: 3pts L.Wenbo (-2.5 frames) to beat J.Jones Evs Paddy Power I expect Liang Wenbo to come through here without too many problems. Jones isn’t just losing matches this season he is barely competitive and with a fair bit of snooker behind him already in 2014 Wenbo should be much sharper. He’ll also be more used to the big stage so everything is in favour of the Chinese player here and I would be surprised if he loses more than a frame on his way to the second round. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/wenbo-vs-jak-jones-betting-liang-wenbo-can-cruise-into-second-round 4pts R.Day (-2.5 frames) to beat R.Clark 5/6 Boylesports If Ryan Day shows the form he has shown in the last month or so this should be a comfortable passage into the second round for him. Rhys Clark is a youngster who has some talent but he is still an amateur and has been found out at this level for the last couple of months. I expect him to struggle in this company once again. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/day-vs-clark-betting-ryan-day-can-take-advantage-of-a-nice-draw-in-newport

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Monday previews: 4pts I.Burns to beat M.Stevens 6/4 William Hill I think Ian Burns is a good price for this match. Stevens isn’t pulling up any trees at the minute and he struggled massively in the first round. Welsh players always feel a little extra pressure in this tournament and with an expectant crowd in attendance Stevens may find it difficult to get going. Burns has nothing to lose and at 6/4 looks a fair bet to me here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/stevens-vs-burns-betting-ian-burns-can-see-off-the-home-hope-in-newport 4pts J.Perry (-1.5 frames) to beat L.Chuang 4/5 Bet365 This is a big match for Perry’s chances of making it to the World Championship automatically and I expect him to do the business. He will be much more content in the big surroundings in front of the TV cameras and his consistency and all round game should be too much for a Chuang who has struggled of late. Chuang will look to make the most of his chance but I think Perry will come through with a bit in hand. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/chuang-vs-perry-betting-joe-perry-can-have-too-much-for-chuang

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar More Monday previews: 3pts J.Trump (-2.5 frames) to beat J.Burnett 6/5 Paddy Power I think Trump will be too good for Burnett in this match. Trump is going to get chances because Burnett isn’t a massive scorer and having notched a couple of centuries in the opening match he is clearly scoring well enough to take advantage of those chances. Unless Burnett can find a couple of frame winning breaks I don’t see Trump conceding more than a frame in this one. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/trump-vs-burnett-betting-judd-trump-should-cruise-into-the-third-round 4pts X.Guodong to beat M.White 10/11 William Hill Both men came from 3-1 down in their opening matches but it is Guodong who impressed me more and I fancy him to win this match. He played very well earlier in the season and will be confident with his game whereas White has just been off the top of his game since his solid run at the Crucible at the end of last season. Guodong is improving by the tournament and can win this match. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/m-white-vs-guodong-betting-chinese-star-can-end-the-hopes-of-local-man

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Tuesday previews: 4pts G.Dott (-1.5 frames) to beat J.Jones Evs Boylesports I like Dott here. Jamie Jones at his best would be a dangerous opponent but he hasn’t been that for a while. Dott has all the incentives he needs this week. He knows he needs to keep winning matches to get himself to the Crucible automatically and his form over the last month or so would suggest he is well aware of that. He still has plenty of quality and can win this one. http://www.punterslounge.com/dott-vs-jones-betting-graeme-dott-can-enhance-his-crucible-chances-against-jones 3pts T.Pengfei to beat M.Williams 8/5 Boylesports Williams’ scoring has really hit the buffers of late and he is missing balls you wouldn’t dream of him missing. Pengfei has a real chance in this match. He hasn’t done a lot wrong in the last couple of months and he has the real possibility of a big upset in this match. Williams needs to find his scoring boots quickly because if he misses and leaves Tian in he won’t be back to the table in a hurry. The Chinese player looks a good value punt here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/m-williams-vs-pengfei-betting-williams-faces-a-banana-skin-in-newport 3pts R.McLeod (+2.5 frames) to beat N.Robertson 4/5 Bet365 I don’t see McLeod winning this match but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he can make it scrappy enough that he wins a couple of frames. Scrappy frames don’t suit Robertson at all and with the number of century breaks he has made this season it is clear he is more at home when he gets the balls open and scores heavily. That may not always be possible here so McLeod should be good for a couple of frames. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/robertson-vs-mcleod-betting-neil-robertson-could-be-made-to-work-hard-in-newport 3pts R.O'Sullivan vs B.Pinches - Under 0.5 centuries 11/10 Bet365 I would expect this to be fairly one way traffic but so do the bookmakers. O’Sullivan looked a little rusty in the opening round but he’ll get the chances he needs to put Pinches away in this match but it is how emphatically he does it that interests me. There were signs that O’Sullivan wasn’t in top form in the opening round so it could be worth taking no centuries here with the result being most important for O’Sullivan ahead of bigger challenges later in the week. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/pinches-vs-o-sullivan-betting-ronnie-may-not-hit-top-form-in-second-round-stroll

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Wednesday previews: 4pts J.Perry to beat M.Stevens 8/11 Boylesports I like Perry in this one. He has a good record over Stevens and is playing some nice stuff coming into this match. Stevens got a bit lucky against Burns in the previous round and if he can’t find more to his game he could be given a swift departure from Perry here. Both men will be up for this with the race for Crucible places hotting up but Perry can enhance his chances with the win here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/stevens-vs-perry-betting-joe-perry-can-end-stevens-welsh-open-hopes 3pts S.Donaldson to beat A.Higginson 7/4 William Hill I think Scott Donaldson has every chance of another upset here. You don’t come past Robert Milkins and Dave Gilbert without playing well these days and while Higginson has done well to get this far in the tournament he doesn’t tend to go a lot further in events if the season so far is anything to go by. Confidence is a massive thing in these short races and given that Donaldson has it he probably should carry our money. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/donaldson-vs-higginson-betting-donaldson-can-complete-a-hat-trick-of-upsets

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar More Wednesday previews: 4pts N.Robertson (-1.5 frames) to beat M.Williams 5/6 Bet365 At his best Williams could give Robertson a game. He has a decent enough record against the Australian although they haven’t met too often in recent times and Williams has declined fairly dramatically in the last 12-18 months or so. If he can avoid the simple misses he should give Robertson a game but I feel the Australian is just that little bit better and scoring a bit too heavily to allow Williams right into this one. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/robertson-vs-williams-betting-robertson-should-be-too-strong-for-williams 4pts A.Pagett (+2.5 frames) to beat S.Maguire 5/6 Stan James Even with his back problem I would be surprised if Stephen Maguire doesn’t win this frame but you get the feeling he won’t be at his best. He certainly wasn’t in the first round where he gave Baird plenty of chances to beat him but he survived to tell the tale. I would expect Pagett to get chances in this match too and while I’m not convinced he’ll take enough to win he can bag two frames with them. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/maguire-vs-pagett-betting-back-injury-could-make-maguire-struggle-to-victory

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Thursday TV previews: 4pts A.Carter (+1.5 frames) to beat M.Selby 4/5 Paddy Power Mark Selby has come through this far but he hasn’t always looked convincing and he has given up some chances. His opponents so far haven’t been good enough to take those chances but I sense Ali Carter will be if he is afforded the same luxuries. Carter is scoring very well and has already come past one quality opponent in Mark Allen. He may not win this because Selby is very good in pressure situations but I see no reason why Carter can’t at least force a deciding frame. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/carter-vs-selby-betting-ali-carter-can-push-selby-all-the-way-in-newport 4pts R.Walden vs R.O'Sullivan - Over 5.5 frames 10/11 William Hill When these two met in The Masters last month O’Sullivan was awesome but he won’t play that well again here, that would be impossible. If he gives Walden the chances he afforded Guodong then Walden could well take a couple of them and push O’Sullivan all the way. Walden has beaten O’Sullivan before so as long as he’s put that mauling at Ally Pally behind him then he can keep this competitive. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/walden-vs-o-sullivan-betting-this-match-can-be-much-closer-than-their-last-battle 4pts J.Higgins to beat J.Trump 6/5 Coral These two have met fairly often in the past and Higgins has a decent record against the youngster and I think he can come through this one too. To get to this stage without dropping a frame you have to be playing well and all parts of your game must be in good order. His safety game can create the chances he needs. Trump has been much better this week but I sense his revival ends here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/trump-vs-higgins-betting-john-higgins-can-end-trump-s-revival-in-last-16 4pts M.Fu to beat M.Williams 4/5 Paddy Power This should be a good match but I have to side with the form man and that is Marco Fu. Williams has ridden his luck this week but to be fair to him he has delivered when it has mattered in the big moments but Fu is playing well and can win the scrappy frames or the open ones. There’s still a miss or two too many creeping into Williams’ game which will cost him eventually. I expect that to be here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/williams-vs-fu-betting-marco-fu-can-end-welsh-hopes-in-the-last-16

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Early Friday preview: 4pts M.Selby (-1.5 frames) to beat J.Perry 8/11 Bet365 I think Selby will be too good here. Both are all round good players but Selby has the edge in all departments and while Perry has had a couple of recent wins over the former world number one Selby looks back in good touch this week and set to perhaps win another title. Perry has battled hard this week but this one could just be a step too far for him. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/perry-vs-selby-betting-mark-selby-can-be-too-strong-in-the-quarter-final

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Remaining Friday previews: 5pts D.Junhui (-2.5 frames) to beat J.Walker 4/5 Coral Joel Walker has done fantastically to get to this stage of the competition but I think this will be a bridge too far for him. Ding is in immense form at the minute and his juggernaut shows no sign of stopping. He is scoring heavily and winning the scrappy frames too and he’s got his eye on a crazy fifth major title of the season. I expect him to be far too good for Walker here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/walker-vs-ding-betting-ding-should-be-too-good-for-youngster-in-quarter-final 4pts J.Higgins vs R.O'Sullivan - Over 7.5 frames Evs Skybet This should be a classic between the two greatest players of the present era. Their previous matches are all memorable encounters and both are playing well enough for this to be another epic. We’ve got the best attacking game against the best safety game in this match and something will have to give and it will be fascinating to see what it is that gives. Whatever it is that gives I don’t expect it to do so before this match has seen at least an eighth frame. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/higgins-vs-o-sullivan-betting-classic-quarter-final-can-be-a-long-one 5pts M.Fu vs B.Hawkins - Over 7.5 frames 4/5 Paddy Power This looks a tight match on paper and I think it will be just as tight on the green baize. Both men know their way around a snooker table and both score when the chance comes along. Hawkins is one of those players who struggles when he’s out in front but is very good when his back is against the wall and with Fu likely to be solid throughout everything about this game screams over 7.5 frames. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/fu-vs-hawkins-betting-tightest-looking-quarter-final-should-see-at-least-eight-frames

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Awful day :$. Hoping for better tomorrow. Saturday previews: 4pts D.Junhui vs J.Perry - Over 9.5 frames 5/4 Paddy Power I think this will be a tight semi final. Both have played good stuff this week even though I wouldn’t say Ding is at his absolute best. Such is his confidence right now though he never feels as though he is beaten and when chances come along he gobbles them up. Perry is playing well enough to create chances himself so I think we could well need at least ten frames to settle this opening semi final. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ding-vs-perry-betting-opening-semi-final-has-the-potential-to-be-close 5pts R.O'Sullivan (-2.5 frames) to beat B.Hawkins 4/5 Coral Barry Hawkins put up a fair fight in that World Championship final last year but in the end he wasn’t good enough to really push O’Sullivan and the problem Hawkins has here is O’Sullivan is probably playing even better snooker now than he was then. He looks completely dominant at the minute and in both this tournament and The Masters last month the best players in the world haven’t got close to him. I don’t expect Hawkins to here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/hawkins-vs-o-sullivan-betting-o-sullivan-can-win-the-world-final-repeat

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Re: Welsh Open 19 Feb - 2 Mar Final preview: 5pts R.O'Sullivan (-2.5 frames) to beat D.Junhui 4/5 Unibet Ronnie O’Sullivan has seen off all comers in recent times and he’ll be looking to see off Ding. Ronnie has gone on record a few times about how he respects Ding and his game so I think he’ll be out to perform to his best here. This is the acid test for Ding. He’s been playing super snooker all season but his opponent here looks at another level. Ding will give it his all and he’ll dominate some frames but Ronnie can be too good in the end. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ding-vs-o-sullivan-betting-ronnie-can-continue-to-blow-opponents-away-in-welsh-final