The Snookerbacker Blog

Gould made a mess of my accumulator

Day 4 on Tuesday sees four new starters and two matches played to a finish including Ronnie O’Sullivan’s match against Liang Wenbo.

It’s been a mixed bag bettingwise so far and a couple of my more adventurous accumulators bit the dust after Martin Gould’s (pictured right) 10-9 success over Marco Fu.

I didn’t see that coming and a mixture of Fu playing terribly and Gould just well, potting balls with only a fleeting thought about position, with a dash of good fortune thrown in helped him over the line. But credit to him, he took them very well in the last frame and deserved to win overall.

It should  however, all being well pave the way for my main pick Neil Robertson assuming he makes it past Fergal O’Brien, so every cloud has a silver lining.

But let’s be honest, we need a good winner to kick things off for us today, so let’s see what we can find from the very cautious bookmakers to really get this championship working for us.

10.00am

Stuart Pettman - Hair Flick

Ding Junhui v Stuart Pettman

Stuart Pettman gave his fellow Stuart, Bingham a really good hiding to get here when a lot expected the reverse result. It is the first venue that he has made this year having been knocked out in the qualifiers in all other events. This follows his unlikely run in the 2009 China Open when he made the semi-finals with victories over the likes of Ali Carter and Mark Allen, it clearly has taken him a year to get over that experience and the shock. As well as having a rather dodgy haircut, he apparently is also writing a book about being a professional snooker player. Amazon must be wondering if their website can cope with demand and the internet itself may well go into meltdown when that epic comes out. Ding comes fresh from the China Open final and cuts a far more relaxed figure these days, he seems to be maturing and despite his tendency to have a little nap in the middle of matches when he thinks he’s already won. He is world number one provisionally on the one year list and is now firmly establishing himself as a big player in this event. Needless to say I don’t think there will be any shocks here but finding any value anywhere is really difficult. I suppose the only one that may be worth a look is the 4/5 generally available on there being less than 15.5 frames in this match, as it may be onee-way traffic  but there is precious little else to get excited about unless you fancy a shock.

Ryan Day v Mark Davis

Ryan Day as I’ve said in a previous preview is a seed that I think might be vulnerable here. He is ranked one place behind his opponent on the one year list outside of the top 16 and comes here after being well and truly beaten 5-0 by Hendry in China. By his standards he has had a poor season on the table with only a decent performance in the Welsh Open to speak of before losing in the Quarter Finals to Carter and he has had some distractions off the table that will have been taking his attention away from the day job. Of Mark Davis’ last 16 competitive matches he has lost just 5, so he is used to winning.  While the standard of opponent ranking wise hasn’t been in Ryan’s league the confidence he will take from these wins may help him up his game a bit here and he won’t go into it fearing Day. I would not put people off backing him to win the match but the bet for me has to be:

Recommended Bet: Mark Davis (+3.5 frames 4/5 generally available)

Me? Improving? You Must Be Joking.

2.30pm

Neil Robertson v Fergal O’Brien

When I was watching the China Open on Eurosport a few weeks ago one of the commentators, I think it was Joe Johnson said something very odd (not like JJ I hear you cry). He said that a lot of the players regard Fergal O’Brien as ‘the most improved player of the season’, now I feel I must take issue. He has beaten three players this season, school paperboy Sam Baird, Li Hang and the fading light that refuses to ditch that crap two-piece cue he uses Alan ‘Angles’ McManus. In the meantime he has lost in 5 out of 6 qualifying events this year, this being from a former British Open Champion and Masters Runner-Up. Improving? I think not. Neil Robertson is top of my shortlist of winners for this event and it will come as no surprise that I would not expect him to struggle here. He has got the potting and the safety game to cope with Fearless Fergal so I will recommend:

Recommended Bet: Neil Robertson -3.5 frames (4/5 Paddy Power)

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Liang Wenbo (7-2)

Ronnie was basically handed this lead by Liang and showed why he enjoys playing him. I would enjoy playing people who just did whatever you wanted them to and were probably just completely in awe of you. This is like a practice match for Ronnie, but I am a bit concerned that he only needs 3 more when the century count stands at two. To land the 6/4 at Skybet I need another one in this session. Fingers crossed.

7pm

Mark King v Steve Davis (5-4 played to a conclusion)

A noble effort by anyone that sat through the whole session last night as I did. A comical beginning ended up being not that bad a match. No world beating stuff but nice and close and set up for a potentially tight finish tonight. The recommended bet looks promising in terms of the number of frames and perhaps the Legend might just give this match his all again tonight and emerge victorious who knows? At odds of 3/1 in what essentially could come down to a decider if the old head-worker can start off well, I have seen worse bets.

Peter Ebdon v Graeme Dott

Check out the head to head record on these two by clicking here . Graeme’s sole success being on the best snooker day of his life, when he lifted the title here. I’ve come out and said that I think Ebdon might be the dark horse in this event. He is focused, coming into form, determined and I don’t think the draw has been too unkind to him. I strongly fancy him to win this match for all the reasons stated in my original preview so will therefore recommend.

Recommended Bet: Peter Ebdon to beat Graeme Dott (-1.5 frames EVENS Stan James)

Some of the players are deeper than others

I’ll post up the thoughts of the players during the tournament, it can sometimes give a clue to their frame of mind going into the next round.

Obviously you have to balance that with the ones that just throw in the old cliches every time someone asks them something, but sometimes you’ll get their innermost angst spilling out, as in the case of Michael Holt.

Nookie Bear lookalike Joe Perry said after beating Holt:

I’m really pleased to win, it’s never nice playing a friend but I had to put that out of me head and try and get the job done.  I played well yesterday but I was absolutely flattered by the score line.  I made some really good clearances under pressure which got me the 7-2 up but it could have been different. If I hadn’t been playing Michael I would have felt sorry for him because yesterday was unfortunate.

I won’t shy away from it Michael has been fool to himself with some of the matches he has lost over the years due to his loose temperament.  He didn’t crack today so credit to him.  He has been working hard on his temperament and I think he held himself together really well.  He had a lot of bad things in the match that would have cracked him up in the past.

One wonders whether Joe was actually paying any attention to him, he looked in typical balloon-head mood to me.

I will go home tomorrow as I don’t play until Saturday and go back and see my little girl. Ahhhh.

Holt - a bit bonkers

Serial nutter Holt had this to say:

I had chances tonight, I lost couple of frames I could have won. I missed a pink clearing up and that was the story of the match for me to be honest. I missed about five big balls that I don’t miss in the qualifiers, that’s why I win all the time there. Slight stretching of the truth there from Holty he’s actually lost in the qualifiers in 4 out of 6 ranking events this season and also in the Masters qualifying.

It’s not because I can’t play out there, I know that I can.  When I can get in the balls I can score, I feel good out there and I really enjoy it. I’d hate to see him when he isn’t.

I am just trying to break through. I am trying so hard to break through.  I have been here five or six years on the verge of things but I am just trying so hard. I just need a few wins to give me that belief.

I think at 7-2 down, I have had a 100 break, two 60 breaks, a fifty break and maybe a forty and a thirty. If I was told before the match begun I would have those breaks I would said it would definitely been at least 6-3. It’s frustrating because I know I can play, what do I need to do? Ermm, getting your head down and winning frames would be a start Micky

Joe is a great mate and I wish him well and I hope he goes on to do well here. I just play the game and focus on myself. It’s frustrating because I love it out there.  I thought in the last frame when he was potting, I’m going to miss playing out there. It’s so frustrating because I am better than that, so much better than that that it is scary.  But I need to prove that and hopefully I will one day.

I might need to twitch up a few times to win and get away with it and get on that roll, but I don’t, I keep getting beaten. But I do win pressure games with good clearances all the time, that’s why I win so much in qualifying. The standard of snooker in Prestatyn is the same, just full of players that don’t play very well at venues. It is just frustrating.

And there we have the thoughts of grade A looney tune Mr Holt, clearly a lad that struggles to come to terms with life in the big time.

As for Mark Selby, he is a very different kettle of onions when it comes to temperament and played as good as he has all year in giving Ken Doherty a firm beating, he said afterwards:

Never trust a cheap tent

Ken’s a former winner so he’s been there and done it so I knew he wasn’t going to come out and freeze and I would have to be on top of my game otherwise I’d be going home.

There are no easy draws nowadays I suppose there are harder, playing Ken I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It would have been if I hadn’t fallen over, once I’d potted frame ball and started thinking about it I collapsed like a cheap tent (referring to his maximum attempt). Good old jester with his strange quirky lines, always guaranteed to have the journalists rolling in the aisles he is.

The history, the roll of honour and knowing that you’ve made one would have been a massive honour.

I’ve proved it in the past that I’ve got the game to win it but it’s very difficult to do over a two week period, it’s a matter of trying to stay fresh and put in as much hard work as you can.

I did an interview back home before I came away and I could possibly play a former World Champion in every single round if I went on to win it, so quite an easy draw really. He just can’t resist these one-liners, he’s such a hoot.

His beaten opponent Ken was characteristically noble in defeat.

Pope Benny - Loves Kissing Stuff

Obviously I’m disappointed to have got beat, but I’m also pleased to have qualified for the final stages and with the form that I’ve shown in the last couple of months.

I played ok out there, but I have got to put my hands up and say that I got beat by a player who is at the top of his game. Mark played great throughout the match. He scored heavy and consistantly, his safety was strong and tactically he is up there with the best.

It was tough for me out there over the two sessions because I was punished for every single error that I made, no matter how small the error was I got punished. I didnt miss many balls (to be fair, he did), but I was comprensively beaten by Mark, who has got a very good chance of winning the title this year. For me he is up there with the likes of O’Sullivan, Higgins, Ding and Williams.

Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire then came in and said to Ken ‘What about us?’ but Ken simply continued.

The reception I received when I was introduced yesterday was fantastic. This is the place of my greatest achievement, and I was so pleased to return here that I kissed the carpet as if to say, “it’s good to be back”.

A bit too ‘Pope-ish for me that but never mind’

I have so many good memories from the Crucible, that I will cherish, he went on.

I’m looking forward to next season and hopefully more tournaments to play in, it will be nice not to be a part-time professional. Obviously the players have got a lot to think about this month, with the proposal that Barry Hearn has put forward. We need to get answers to all our questions. So we will have to see what the outcome is.

More reactions from the players will come throughout the championship. I will also continue to spend half an hour every morning correcting spelling mistakes from various reporters that are paid to do this, unlike myself.

They're waiting for you Stephen.

The seven-time former winner of the World Championship looked like making a humiliating first-round exit at the hands of a player who was not even born when he landed the first of those titles in Sheffield last night and revealed afterwards that if he’d have lost he would have retired from the game.

In front of the eyes of the world including my man Si-Ting Chi-Lee Hendry looked dead and buried and destined for a life of free bus pass use, pipe and slippers and talking about the price of fish and how it’s not like the old days as his young eager opponent surged ahead to lead 9-7.

But you can’t keep the old dog down and from nowhere our Stevie produced a time defying comeback to dump the young whipper-snapper out of the championship. Finishing with breaks of 89, 52 and 55.

He said afterwards: “It’s my 25th year here and the amount of times I’ve done that – I find something from somewhere”.

“At 9-7 down I had my retirement speeches ready. I felt it just summed up a dismal season, going out in the first round of the World Championship”.

“But something just clicked and I wish I knew how to do it because if I could produce it more often I’d be in contention to win tournaments”.

“But it came just at the right time.”

Hendry - A Battler.

Hendry was serious about thinking about quitting snooker for good, but then added: “I’d probably have had to have a serious think over the summer”. So perhaps I am guilty of sensationalising things just a tad there.

“I’ve had a poor season, been struggling on, and it’s just been frustrating not to produce the form I produced in the last three frames.”

To summarise how things have gone so far. I’d say the best player on show up to now has been Mark Selby, very solid against Ken and the best he’s played in a whole match since the Masters, early signs are good for fellow Selby quarter backers, our man now goes on to meet Hendry in round 2. Ali Carter to me looked to be cueing well too, and was given countless chances to do so by Cope.

Bettingwise, the century break markets have been a bit disappointing though going under 2 on the Joe Perry match brought a return. To me the tables are playing very tight and it will be interesting to see how the top notch single ball potters Williams and O’Sullivan cope with them today.

All roll-ups are still in a healthy state and betting in running on the Hendry game last night brought a welcome boost to the kitty, for some reason I always had the feeling, even at 7-9 that he’d win and the kind of prices available to people of that opinion meant minimum risk for big returns, always the best kind of bet. Anyway, it made up for the two bad calls so far, hopefully now we can settle in for the long haul and produce consistent winners.

Tomorrow’s preview will be up a bit later today and updated as necessary. But in the meantime, a picture account of a day in the life of Si-Ting Chi-Lee at the Crucible yesterday is available by clicking here. Or why not have a go at the Mystery Player Competition by clicking here?