Snooker - 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy

[WoodyTHFC]

Re: Snooker - 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy Outright bets, 10 pts staked: Stevens 66/1 var 1 pt e.w and to win his quarter 16/1 wh 3 pts The main danger in this section of the draw is Maguire who was one of the best players on the tour last year and started the worlds in awesome form before losing just to Perry in the quarters when looking like the only man to 'challenge' Ronnie. However quite how he and the other top ranked players will be for this first event of the season remains in some doubt and Im willing to take him on with Stevens. Stevens has never really been a player who has prospered in the shorter frame matches throughout his career and that partly explains why he dropped out of the top 16 two seasons back and just missed out getting back this year by being 17th in the rankings. However his quality is never in doubt and he is the type of player who is he gets on a roll could be a big danger, certainly 16/1 for a player of his quality to win his quarter seems big to me. His best event last year actually came first event of the year in shanghai when he reached the q/f beating maguire on route 5-4 having been 4-0 down and he may be set for a fast start again. McManus and King are opponents before he faces Maguire potentially but that is not to difficult, certainly not as hard as it could have been and I can definitely see the Welshman winning both those games to start with and from there he can be a danger to the bigger names in the latter stages. Liang 66/1 var 1 pt e.w and to win his quarter 20/1 wh 3 pts Liang burst on the scene at the Worlds last year in taking fashion, he thrashed Doherty to send him back out of the top 16 and blew Swail away early on in their clash before just holding off Swail's late challenge to win 13-12 in a highly entertaining second round clash, he lost to ronnie after that but wasnt disgraced and showed an enjoyable attitude for the game. His undoubted strength is his break building capablities, he can rack up the half century breaks in particular for fun and that makes him very dangerous, particularly in these short frame matches and that includes against anyone. Sure he is also the type of player who could just blow out completely but Im willing to chance that this week. He faces tough match players in his first game/s in Davis and Ebdon but he is capable of beating them for sure and whilst the likes of Higgins and Selby lurk in his section, their form is an unknown compared to Liang who has already won a match 5-0 with 100 and 50 breaks for fun, just to get here, 20/1 to win his quarter overestimates his chance for me.

[kevshat]

Re: Snooker - 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy I'm going with a few outrights for this one. Staking more on Dott only because he's in what looks the easier half of the draw. 2pts ew G.Dott to win NI Trophy 66/1 Stan James (1/2 1,2) 2pts G.Dott to win 1st Quarter 12/1 Stan James Graeme Dott played in the Berlin section of the world series last month and won the tournament beating John Higgins in the semi final before destroying Shaun Murphy in the final. In that final he beat Murphy 6-1 and made breaks of 113, 60, 78 and 68 as well as a 99 in the semi final and countless other half centuries along the way. It certainly looks like Dott is over his depression problems that clouded the end of last season for him and it appears he's got his scoring boots back. We know Dott knows his way around the table tactically. You don't win world titles if you don't and when he's firing on all cylinders he's a match for anyone. He's in that quarter of the draw which looks open apart from Maguire. If Dott brings his Berlin form to Belfast this week though he could take some stopping and is well worth an ew punt at 66/1 or indeed 12s to win the top quarter. 1pt ew M.Williams to win NI Trophy 40/1 William Hill (1/2 1,2) Mark Williams is another one who looks overpriced although granted he's in a nasty looking section of the draw. Williams has been playing in a pro-am tournament over the last 6 weeks in which he made the final which he lost to Lee Walker on Thursday. However in that final he missed the 15th red and 15th black on two maximum attempts. He also made two other centuries in the tournament so it looks like Williams is getting back to the sort of Williams that dominated this game for a few years. There were signs of that towards the end of last season as he made the last 16 of the world championships and pushing Ronnie close until the rocket won every frame in the 3rd session of their match. There was also a quarter final appearance in the China Open too. If the form Williams showed in that pro-am is the form Williams takes to Belfast he could well come through his tricky draw. I know pro-am form isn't the best guide but we have no other guide here but at least Williams has some matches under his belt unlike some others. Small stakes only but the former world champ is worth a tickle at 40/1. 1pt ew M.Williams Tournament Highest Break 33/1 Skybet (1/4 1,2,3,4) Mark Williams can break build with the best of them when he's in the mood and his recent brealbuilding exploits in a recent pro-am where he missed a couple of maximum chances late on shows he's knocking the balls in nicely. In the past Williams has sewn up the frame and moved on but I sense that won't be the case anymore as he will look to build up confidence and let the other players know that even though he's no longer in the top 16 that he's still around. He's had some matches under his belt which is an advantage coming into the 1st tournament of the season and at 33/1 the Welshman could easily take the high break prize come next Sunday.