The Snookerbacker Blog

There have been some suspicious betting patterns reported on the forthcoming Sky Shootout match between Joe Jogia and Matt Selt. This has been referred to the WPBSA.

The official statement reads:

‘The WPBSA have been made aware, by bookmakers of unusual betting patterns on the match due to take place at the Snooker Shootout in Blackpool on Saturday 28th January 2012 between Joe Jogia and Matthew Selt. An unusually high number of bets have been placed on Selt to win the match. The matter has been referred to Nigel Mawer, Head of the WPBSA’s Integrity Unit.’

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said  “Maintaining the integrity of snooker is essential to protect the sport. Working with our partners we will take all necessary steps to establish what has taken place and take appropriate action.

...not strictly true.

The Championship League is continuing today but I’m not really that into it at the moment and with the Sky Shootout at the weekend followed by the Gloucester Leg of the SB Classic on Monday and then off to Berlin for the Gerrman Masters I’m going to have a snooker-free few days and instead look back on an eventful week last week at the Masters.

Every event has highs and lows, heroes and villains, winners and losers, call them what you will. Here are my top dogs and flea-riddled cats of last week. 

Winners:

Neil Robertson: Fairly obviously. The man in form prevailed and now firmly has his sights set on a second world crown in just over 12 weeks time. 

The Blog: Just did a tot up of the bets recommended on the Masters last week and discovered that the total profit for the event is actually a record since the blog began. This is in stark contrast to last year’s event which saw an all time biggest loss on any one tournament. I have therefore decided that I whole-heartedly approve of the move to Alexandra Palace.

Alexandra Palace: For the reasons given above. Also because it automatically felt a bit more alive than Wembley.

Patsy Fagan: Patsy’s profile was given an unlikely boost by his lifelong friend Dennis, who failed to spot the difference between him and some random bloke off the street that looked nothing like him. Maybe he should stay away from events more often, it is clearly the way to increase his fame and consequently his after-dinner speaker fee.

The V-Neck Sweater Industry: The Nugget, JP, JV, Ken and Rishi all did their bit last week for knitwear. But the V-Necks were the clear leader in the sweater stakes.

Stephen Hendry, Ace Commentator: The King of the Crucible may be losing a few more on the table but off it he is a natural. Doesn’t talk too much, has yet to fall into the cliche trap, a soothing velvet-like voice which barely raises above a whisper. Some people are just good at bloody everything aren’t they?

The Paul Hunter Foundation: Plenty of publicity for them with Smurf, the Nuggett and co doing a half-marathon for the cause. If you are not doing so already you can follow Paul’s Foundation on Twitter here.

‘Flog it’ and the ‘Hairy Bikers’: Snooker fans turning on to watch the end of the afternoon matches on BBC2 were greeted instead by that mincey bloke with the gap between his teeth holding a vase that had been bought for £18 and sold for £14.50 at auction or two great big hairy northerners cooking up a stew ‘like mee mam used to make’. TV fodder for the ignorant masses.

London Drug Pushers: Whether it was wired up Robbo or fellow finalist Shaun Murphy offering to buy his fans a large coke with some straws, this was surely a great week for dealers.

Virgin Trains: After I was forced to cancel my trip to London at the last minute due to an unforseen and rather unscheduled death, they kept my fare and the associated administration charges. Nice.

Willie was busy doing research last week

Losers:

Willie Thorne: Shelved for this event in favour of Hendry though rumoured to be back for the Welsh Open for BBC Wales. Not even sporadic mentions of ‘The Great WT’ by Dennis or shots being ‘Top Drawer’ by JV could cheer up their old pal who appears to be the first since Clive to be sidelined.

Certain members of the Judd Trump Posse: #nuffsaid   

Children who like snooker and snooker fans in Europe: The next generation of baizers were again disregarded as the final session of the final began at 8pm, this is bad enough for UK viewers but viewers in Central Europe are even worse off. There is no rhyme or reason for this scheduling to accommodate absolute toss on BBC2 between 7-8pm. 

Mark Selby: It is back to the drawing board for the World Number One who looked a shadow of his former self in this event. He wasn’t the only one to throw in a bad performance but is the pressure of being at the top of the game when nobody actually believes that he is the best player getting to him? Perhaps his walk-on song says it all.

Final Frame Deciders: We all love a final frame decider but out of the fifteen matches that took place between the best players in the world who can all beat each other on any given day we had precisely, ermm, none.

The BBC: They seem content to let snooker die a slow death and despite fairly consistent afternoon coverage and the final session on Sunday live, the red button is now well and truly where they see snooker living. Ironic, given the feelgood factor that is currently pervading the sport.

Jimmy White: I love you Jimbo, I really do. But the big announcement wasn’t really something us normal folk could get too excited about. Auctioning off your career cue is all well and good but in a world crippled by global recession and debt you might as well just tell Ronnie Wood what you want for it as he’s one of the few that will be able to afford it. 

So who or what were your winners and losers last week?

Mrs SB's Pamper Hamper: The duck might not last the week.

Next Monday sees the second section of the Snookerbacker Classic as myself and my good lady hit the road to Gloucester to see who will join Allan Taylor and Jamie Barrett in the final eight.

We have today been preparing the Players Welcome Packs which went down so well in Leeds. There will be a few differences for these packs but I am sure they will be welcomed by the baizers on the day.

Now, while I have been watching the Masters, little did I know that Mrs Snookerbacker was planning a little surprise of her own and today she has unveiled her unique Pamper Hamper which will be awarded to the player that she believes deserves it most on the big day.

I caught up with Mrs SB on the sofa in the living room a few minutes ago and asked her how she came up with this concept. She said ‘I know there are great prizes for the winners but I feel manners and other things are very important too, it’s about time we rewarded nice people for just being nice so I thought I would put together my Pamper Hamper’ she continued ‘We all need a little TLC now and again and my Pamper Hamper contains everything for your mind. body and soul to help you unwind after a busy day on the baize. For instance for your mind we have a relaxation CD, for your body we have lots of lovely grooming products and for your soul, a pretty notebook and pen to jot your innermost thoughts and maybe a little bit of poetry’.

When I pressed her on exactly what she was looking for from the winner she listed her categories.

1. Manners: ‘If you are brought up well you will have good manners and you will not forget them as you get older. It costs nothing to be polite and have good manners and anyone that doesn’t will not be winning my hamper’.

2. Pride in Appearance: ‘This is a competition and you are on show, I don’t expect or need designer labels as they can be a bit vulgar sometimes, just make sure you have ironed your shirt. If you have hair, make sure it’s nicely combed, if you don’t have hair maybe give your head a little polish and who knows, you might win the prize’.

3. Sporting Behaviour: ‘Nobody likes a bad loser or a bad winner. We are looking for good ambassadors for our tournament and our sport so always take defeat and winning graciously’.

4. Charm: ‘All the ladies like a charmer, but there is a fine line between charm and cheese. You can even be a bit cheeky, but bear in mind a real charmer is never too cheeky.’

5. Being Individual: ‘Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd. Embrace your feminine or creative side. Express yourself and you might be going home with my hamper.

6. A Secret: ‘I’m not going to tell you everything! I might just take a little shine to you.’

And with that she gave a little wink and wished everyone all the best.

So, who do you think will win the Pamper Hamper? All the names are listed here.

Picture Courtesy of Mrs Snookerbacker. Whippet not included in the Pamper Hamper.

For those of you that entered the season long Tipster contest to win £300 worth of World Championship bets courtesy of Boylesports the standings after the Masters are here.

We have a new leader in the race for the big prize but it’s very tight at the top.

The Championship League resumes at Crondon Park at midday with the newly crowned Masters champion Neil Robertson amongst those in action. I’ll wager he can’t wait to get started. It’s a particularly nice touch that he’s first on…

You can keep up with the action here and there will be live streaming at a number of bookmakers websites as well the World Snooker Live TV service. 

Group Three 
Mark Selby (1), Neil Robertson (4), Martin Gould (12), Matthew Stevens (13), Mark Davis (17), Stephen Hendry (20) and Jamie Cope (21)

DAY ONE FIXTURES – MONDAY, JANUARY 23 (all times are approximate)
TABLE ONE
12pm – Mark Selby v Mark Davis
1.15pm – Martin Gould v Jamie Cope
Not before 3pm – Mark Davis v Neil Robertson
4.15pm – Jamie Cope v Stephen Hendry
Not before 7pm – Mark Davis v Matthew Stevens
8.15pm – Neil Robertson v Stephen Hendry

TABLE TWO
12pm – Neil Robertson v Matthew Stevens
1.15pm – Stephen Hendry v Mark Selby
Not before 3pm – Matthew Stevens v Martin Gould
4.15pm – Mark Selby v Neil Robertson
Not before 7pm – Martin Gould v Stephen Hendry
8.15pm – Jamie Cope v Matthew Stevens

DAY TWO FIXTURES – TUESDAY, JANUARY 24 (all times are approximate)
TABLE ONE
11am – Mark Selby v Jamie Cope
12.15pm – Matthew Stevens v Stephen Hendry
Not before 2pm – Mark Davis v Stephen Hendry
3.15pm – Neil Robertson v Martin Gould
Not before 6pm – Play-off – first v fourth
7.15pm – Final

TABLE TWO
11am – Mark Davis v Martin Gould
12.15pm – Neil Robertson v Jamie Cope
Not before 2pm – Mark Selby v Martin Gould
3.15pm – Mark Davis v Jamie Cope
4.30pm – Mark Selby v Matthew Stevens
Not before 6pm – Play-off – Second v third.

I can buy the bank job but not the Robbo story

On the original preview to this tournament I listed 11 ‘greats’. Players who have won both the Masters and been World Champion, well today a 12th will join this elite group as former World Champions Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson contest what is for both of them, their first Masters final.

So how did they get there yesterday? Well Robbo produced what can only be described as perfect match snooker and displayed again that he is becoming a master at playing the player rather than the table. The first frame demonstrated this perfectly as the Aussie doggedly made sure that every colour at some point was glued to the cushion. Fantastic stuff. Judd easily became frustrated as the pundits in the bubble tried to tell us that Neil ‘didn’t have a game plan’, they then went on to claim that Elvis is alive and well and living in Stoke-on-Trent.

As Judd said afterwards, he has to lose sometimes and he was soundly beaten, he also claimed that he would have won easily if he had played his best, which is always a pretty gormless thing to say. But overall Judd took it on the chin and continues to believe that Robbo is slow, which he isn’t really.

But however daft Judd’s comments were they were surpassed in strides by his hapless supporters. The ‘Gormless Twits of the Day’ award was shared between his mates, who quite frankly made total bellends of themselves before, during and after the match. There was talk of getting ready to ‘intimidate’ the statuesque and unintimidatable Aussie by some bloke who appears to be turning into the Paul Ross of the snooker circuit and who soon will doubtless be appearing on a third rate celebrity reality TV show to cries of ‘who the fuck is he?’ from the watching hundreds. But Judd’s out now so they will all have to put up with a day on the swings and that scary climbing frame today, followed by a bag of sherbet lemons and a fizzy drink before beddy-bo-byes time at 7.30. No tears now little ones, it’s time to turn the lights out.

Robbo as ever rose above these childish methods and gave a gracious and generous assessment of the match and his opponent. I think he is probably not alone in believing that Judd needs to have a think about who he takes with him on his road to wealth and riches as sometimes people can make judgements about you from the company you keep. Judd is a really decent lad and fantastic for the sport, it’s great that he says what he thinks, he just needs to make sure it is what he thinks and not what his hangers-on do, he should also not leave people in charge of his mobile phone while he’s playing. It’s time to ditch the freeloaders, they’ve had their 15 minutes of fame now.

Once all that nonsense died down it was time to return to the baize and a fine performance from Shaun Murphy put John Higgins out. Three century breaks from Smurf helped shake off the dogged Scot who battled and battled and was within a ball in the end of forcing the decider, but he missed the pink, left it over the pocket and that was that.

Afterwards Smurf expressed how happy he was with his performance but decided to not match Robbo’s offer of buying a pint for any supporters he might get in the final. He did rather overestimate how many this might be when claiming that he’d buy a large coke with 1500 straws I’m sure 20 or so would do, if there are any more they could just use a rolled up five pound note to sniff up what was left. What is it with snooker players and drugs lately? It’s like Trainspotting this week with all the substances flying around, a sad state of affairs which Bazza so far has been TOO SLOW to act on. Lives are at stake here, we don’t want them going all Amy Winehouse on us.

Anyway, they meet today to see who wins a whopping £150,000 from the sponsors. Let’s hope it’s a great match that doesn’t go on too late given the daft decision to start the final session at 8pm.

Who'll be sitting down the most today?

The Final: Neil Robertson v Shaun Murphy (Head to Head 7-5) 

One of my favourite Blackadder quotes happens in an episode of Blackadder Goes Forth where Captain Blackadder and General Melchett are discussing tactics to win the latest battle. Blackadder correctly guesses that the latest ruse from the hopeless General is to do the same thing that they have done 18 times before to which Melchett roars excitedly:

‘E-e-exactly! And that is what is so brilliant about it. It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard. Doing exactly what we’ve done eighteen times before will be the last thing they expect us to do this time.’   

Why am I telling you this in the middle of a snooker preview? Well, because Neil Robertson has never lost in a final as a professional. He has played in nine of them and he’s won every single one. This run started in 2006 with a defeat of Jamie Cope in the Grand Prix and runs right up to a defeat of Judd Trump in PTC8 in October.

So why should we have any reason at all to think that this one might be any different? Why would Neil not simply stick to Melchett’s plan of doing the same thing again?

Murphy has been fantastic in spells this week and I’m sure will have that ‘greats’ list stored somewhere in the back of his mind. The fact that he is also a UK Champion would further cement his ranking when the baize history books are written as one of the real winners in the game, will be an added incentive to win. This kind of thing means a lot to Shaun who often states that he was born in the wrong era and yearns for simpler, more polite times. Though he does often say that he’d like to have lived in the 1930′s, not quite grasping that this was the bleakest decade of the last century with the Great Depression and people dying in the streets.

So who is going to win then? Well in terms of a bet I don’t need one on the match as Robbo was recommended at 10/1 in the original preview and the saving was done on Murphy yesterday before his win over Higgins. Mrs SB has also staked her £5 on Murphy at the beginning and is looking forward to a nice hairdo courtesy of her favourite player. I marginally favour Robertson but think it will be tight. For anyone looking at a correct score for a bit of interest I’d probably plump for 10-8 to the Aussie at around 8/1. But personally, I just hope it’s a good match and will be sitting there enjoying it and no doubt taking the mickey out of the commentators on Twitter. I wonder if Patsy Fagan will be watching?

Hope you have had an enjoyable week and thanks for visiting the blog. There is Championship League action tomorrow before the madness and mayhem of the Sky Shootout gets underway on Friday. Boyles have prices on it, 16/1 the field, click the banner below to open an account with them and get your bets on. 

My message to Robbo. If I can save one life it will be worth it.

It’s reached the semi-final stages now over at Alexandra Palace and one of them is a repeat of the UK semi-final as Judd takes on Robbo. The other sees Shaun Murphy return to the business end of a major tournament as he takes on World Champion John Higgins.

Yesterday afternoon saw Robbo beating MJW 6-4 in a match that could arguably be classed as one of the best of the tournament, although as has been the pattern in almost every match so far it always had a feeling of inevitability about it.

Robbo must have come out of the match arena and straight to the BBC Hall of Mirrors Bubble in the Sky via a short detour to the Gents to take some drugs as what greeted viewers was a clearly wired up Aussie walking in shouting some inaudible nonsense at the top of his voice to a clearly bemused JP and Hendry, who always has a look of ‘yeah, whatever, been there done that’ about him when confronted with the stars of today. Robbo rambled on with sentences even longer than the one I have just written without stopping for breath and was clearly delighted to have won. When the Aussie realised he might have been talking a tad too much the ever professional JP interjected to offer some advice on how to solve his tip problem. It was a typically Scouse piece of advice which proved once and for all that JP hasn’t forgotten his roots. Briefly summarised it was to don dark clothes, break into a local snooker hall and steal a cue.

Neil also said that if anyone turned up in Aussie gear today to support him he would buy them a pint. He listed the criteria as being anything green and gold or a corked hat or ‘something like that’ but when he went on to say ‘or a Chelsea jersey’ Hazel, a consummate professional with timeless hair quickly put the cracked up blonde in his place and said ‘nooo’. Clearly fearing an outbreak of snooliganism should everyone turn up in soccerball tops. Instead we can expect hundreds of belching arm-wrestling alcoholics with unhealthy obsessions with male bonding and some dodgy views about how to keep your Sheila in her place packing the arena today to cheer their man on. Given his fellow countrymen’s liking for the amber nectar Neil will have that extra incentive to win as he’ll need to if he plans to settle the bar bill.

Last night saw the Tarby and Brucey of the Baize Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy doing battle. I can imagine these two in later life ripping up the after-dinner speaking at golf events circuit with some Chaplinesque visual gags from Mark accompanied by well rehearsed anecdotes from Shaun. Earlier in the day we were taken back in time by the BBC to laugh at Mark’s haircut as a kid. He had clearly taken a lot of time to prepare for his first TV appearance all those years back, but what greeted us was the ultimate ‘bad hair day’ as we watched Mark potting away oblivious to the fact that everyone watching was in hysterics. The amount of chip fat he must have put on his head that day would probably keep McDonalds going for a month and must have taken him even longer to wash out. I would not be a bit surprised if some traces of it are still in there.

In terms of the betting this week. We managed to right the wrong of making Selby the main selection for this week by landing a nice 8/1 treble as well as taking advantage of the hapless bookies price on Murphy. They really will never learn will they? We are assured of a finalist as the initial preview called the top half spot-on and Judd and Robbo have both been backed. The bottom section did not pan out as predicted but at least we will have someone to cheer on tomorrow. Let’s now have a look at the semi-finals to see if we can find a bet.

1pm

Judd Trump v Neil Roberston (Head to Head 4-3)

Judd is threatening to dominate the BBC events at the moment. Fresh from his UK title he now finds himself facing Neil in the semi-finals again to make his first Masters final. His victory over Ronnie is being widely heralded as a torch passing moment between the two crowd-pullers of their era and snooker is indeed lucky that it seems to have found it’s man to carry us all through to the next level and ensure that the Bieber generation are on board. It’s always great when these two meet up as Robbo inevitably tries every trick he knows to make the pace of the match more to his liking. But it has to be said that Judd has his measure in the head to heads and try as he might to get inside Judd’s bonce he just can’t quite find the combination. I’m sure he’ll find some way to sort out his tip for this afternoon without resorting to JP’s rather extreme and frankly illegal methods but for me he isn’t playing anything like as well as he can and it would be a shock if he won this afternoon, Judd is simply playing too well and shows little sign of stopping. I won’t recommend a bet as I don’t need to have one on it with having them both in the outrights but if I was waking up this morning with a stack of cash to invest I would be wheeling it over to William Hills in a barrow to take the 8/13 on Judd. The Evens available on the handicap market at Ladbrokes that he will win any other score than 6-5 is also worth considering. If you disagree and fancy Neil to upset the odds he is best price 6/4 at Boylesports here.

7pm

John Higgins v Shaun Murphy (Head to Head 7-6) 

A repeat of the 2009 World Final when John rang a Ladbrokes call centre in Aintree to have a bet on Shaun (allegedly), proving that even though he is a fine snooker player he’s not a great tipster as of course he won 18-9. Smurf beat an under par Jester last night and is beginning to look like his old self again, similarly John looks to be striking the ball well and his winning mentality and sheer matchplay brilliance is the best tool any player could have in their locker. Pre-match interviews will no doubt feature the words ‘greatest respect’ from both of them as they prepare to do battle in what could be an evenly fought contest. Shaun beat John 5-2 the last time they met over in China but Higgins is a totally different animal when he sees the big BBC trailers outside a venue. I’m not sure whether the bet I am going to recommend is because of the outcome I’d like or whether it is genuine value but I just have a sneaking feeling that Smurf might win so I’m going to plump for him at best price. I’ll also recommend a best price outright bet on him to balance the books.

Recommended Bet: 2 points on Murphy at 3/2 with Paddy Power

Recommended Outright Bet: 1 point on Shaun Murphy at 9/2 with Boylesports

Boyles are again in enhancing mode for todays double and if you fancy Judd and Higgins to get through to the final you can find odds of 8/5 on them doing so here. 

Dick

It’s Friday at the Masters and today sees what for me is the match-up of the tournament so far as MJW takes on Robbo in the third quarter final at 12.30.

Regular readers will know that I was planning to be there today and for the rest of the weekend but unfortunately I am not able to make the trip. There are a couple of things that I need to do this morning which only transpired last night and it would not have been right for me to go.

But happily my loss is Virgin Trains gain as their refund policy is clear as crystal. Basically it says that if you don’t use the overpriced ticket you pay for, no matter what the reason is, that’s just hard luck and they are keeping your money. Also if you want to transfer it to another trip you can’t do that either and will just have to buy another ticket and risk having to unexpectedly cancel that one too. Alternatively you could just buy a ticket on the day of travel and pay about five times more for it. Oh, and did I mention the admin charge?

What a fair and customer friendly policy this is in these gloomy economic times when we are constantly told that we should all be pulling together. At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask, unlike his direct descendant Branson.

Anyway, the fact that I can’t get there will not get me down as I have decided that I will use some time this morning to recreate a typical media room at SB Mansions for the weekend. Mrs SB doesn’t know this yet but I’m sure she won’t mind. Reardon, our butler, is giving me a hand and I will promise my lovely wife that we will clear it all up or probably pay someone else to do it, on Monday.

The basics of my plan are initially to get every chair and sofa that we own and put them in one room. I am then going to buy a few wallpaper pasting tables and put them up in a skewed line, leaving them just high enough so as I can crawl under them when I want to go to the bog (I’ve bought a Gents toilet sign for the downstairs toilet, Mrs SB won’t mind using upstairs for a few days). I will then find some wires and scatter them all over the floor, taking great care to ensure that I trip over one or two of them at least four or five times a day. I have also ordered some catering from the other end of town at peak hour to ensure that it is neither fresh nor hot when it arrives.

I will then invite some strangers in off the street, the odder and smellier the better, there’s plenty to choose from at the rough end of the main road. I will ask them to sit in front of me so I can’t see the TV. I’m going to turn the sound down and encourage them all to shout and indulge in some schoolboy humour during the snooker whilst answering sporting trivia questions and playing random You Tube videos at full volume. Of course, to get that true authentic feel I will also ensure that Mrs SB is upstairs turning our internet connection on and off at random points during the day.

By the end of the day I will feel like I’m there anyway.

So to what’s actually been happening on the baize. It’s fair to say that Judd blew Ronnie away yesterday and you wonder if this really is the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. It’s a long time since someone has dished out a hiding like that to the Rocket when he’s been putting the effort in and following the UK beating it establishes Judd now as top dog between them. All the fancy prices on the playboi becoming world champion were disappearing at a rate of knots as the match was in progress and he is now a firm favourite to lift the crown at the Crucible in May.

Billy Snaddon: Top 10 shoo-in.

The Daily Mail has been getting very poetic this morning in their assessment of snooker’s new saviour with talk of ‘hands as sensitive as a pickpocket and as clinical as a surgeon’ and ‘dimensions of grace’. I think the guy who wrote that one had been on the wine last night, rather like myself as I was tweeting away winding everyone up that I could think of. Some people seemed to think that I was being serious when I referred to Judd as ‘a miserable twat’ when nothing could be further from the truth, but you can’t please everyone can you? Anyway, you can read the article here, it’s actually pretty good, but as we know the Mail are always nice about polite white people.

Last night saw World Champion John Higgins safely through against Dotty. The all Scottish clash gave me the chance to construct my own list of my top ten favourite players of all time from North of the Border on Twitter, which again for some reason rubbed a few people up the wrong way. I can’t think why as I included all the greats, Dott, Big Marcus, Angles, Hendry, Jim Donnelly and his lovely moustache, Billy Snaddon, Ants McGill, Murdo McLeod, Chris Small, some bloke I met in Perth who I saw hit a 143….I don’t think I missed anyone yet was accused by some of being racist. As I said, you can’t please everyone.

Anyway, it’s MJW versus the ice-rattling Aussie this afternoon and we are still waiting for a match to go to a decider, maybe this might be the one? Then tonight Smurf takes on Selby, perhaps that might be the surprise classic? You can read my thoughts on those matches here.

Enjoy the action today and feel free to have a good chat in the comments section. I’m just off to B&Q.

We'll meet again.

So the first round has come to an end and we are half through the tournament. So far I don’t think it can be described as a great one, but hopefully with the early nerves out of the way it’s uphill all the way from here to the final on Sunday. The line-up, as you would expect in the Masters is top quality.

The betting side of things has gone well with all maximum recommended single bets landing as well as the enhanced accumulator that Boyles took us on with at 9/2, so all in all it should not now be a week where a loss is shown.

I’m off to Ally Pally tomorrow and can’t wait to get there to have a good old nose around but in the meantime here’s my take on the last eight. 

Thursday 12.30pm

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Judd Trump (head to head 4-4)

The razzmatazz tie of the round sees the new crown prince of the baize up against a fading Rocket who is attempting one last relaunch at this stage in his career. Ronnie was impressive when the going got tough against Ding and closed the match out well, something that over the past couple of seasons he can be accused of not doing enough. Judd meanwhile tempered his more attacking side eventually to beat Stuart Bingham from 3-2 behind, 6-3. It shows just how much we are taking Judd’s performances for granted when he hits two centuries and his performance is classed as average. They met in the UK of course and many think that Ronnie was unlucky to lose and by definition Judd was lucky to win, but I don’t agree with that and think Judd was the better player and the best player there all week by a mile. Ronnie’s long game is better than it has been for a while but it still isn’t as good as Judd’s. I reckon that defeat in the UK both hurt and surprised Ronnie and he’ll be well up for revenge. If I had to call a winner it would be Judd but I think you are safer with a neutral bet on this occasion. Now come on boys, put on a show for us, we need one.

Recommended Bet: 2.5 points Over 9 frames in the match at Evens with Bet 365

7.00pm

John Higgins v Graeme Dott 

Opinion is split on Higgins first round performance, was it the best he has played since the Crucible? (my opinion) or was it ‘scrappy in parts and a long way from his best’? (words to the effect of what the BBC said). Either way, when he got in, which Matthew allowed him to too many times, he looked pretty sharp to me. Last night Dotty produced a characteristic terrier-like performance to land a rather hefty gamble and he did of course beat John in the first round at Wembley in this last year. They also had a right old tussle in the UK a month earlier which John won 9-8 and I remember thinking then that Higgins was fantastic and Dotty very unlucky to lose. All this points to this one possibly being quite close between two players that know each others games and respect each other. Higgins is not yet in top form and Dott is a master at exposing weaknesses, but try as I might I can’t find any value out there in this match so it is another I am leaving alone as I have no particular strong fancy and have backed Dott to small stakes in the outrights.       

Friday 12.30pm

Neil Robertson v Mark Williams (head to head 3-1 with 3 draws)

A match that I will hopefully be in the arena to witness between undoubtedly my two current favourite players. They have had a few meetings in second rate events and bitty little tournaments which mean little and the 6-0 defeat Mark suffered at the hands of Robbo in the 2007 Masters was when MJW was still struggling to get back to where he is now. Probably the most meaningful meeting came in Shanghai Masters semi-final in September when Mark won a decider. I had to actually look back on here to remember that match, which is a sign that I am either in need of a rest or it was a bit uneventful, it’s a bit of both. My take on that match at the time was that it never got going and both players didn’t like the table. So what we are left with is their performances in this to go on. MJW was excellent in the first four frames against Maguire and perhaps understandably relaxed a little after the interval having done the hard work already, but he never really looked like losing. Neil played very well to beat Mark Allen and is probably looking the best of all of them after round one. It’s one I plan to enjoy but as ever I have to think about a bet and something is telling me that Robertson will win.

Recommended Bet: 2 points on Robertson (-1.5 frames) at 11/8 with Paddy Power    

7.00pm

Mark Selby v Shaun Murphy (head to head 4-7)

I write this after watching Selby’s performance against Lee which at times was as bad as you will see from a top professional player, let alone a world number one. Murphy on the other hand looked solid in his win over an under-par Martin Gould and will take a lot of confidence from that and from the Jester’s performance if he saw any of it. I do however get a sense of deja vu here with Smurf as he has started tournaments very well in the past and then inexplicably played badly in the following match and gone out. Murphy does hold an advantage in the head to heads between the two pals but Selby has done some damage in the past, winning on a decider in the semi-finals at the Crucible in 2007 and again in a decider in Shanghai on his way to winning that in September, their last meeting. Though I have backed Selby for the tournament I would be telling porkie pies if I said I remained confident having seen what I have so far and I am beginning to regret him being my main choice. I wasn’t going to have a bet in this one until I saw the prices. For the outright bet I am hoping that Mark can start moving up several gears but I’m not at all sure that he will and if he doesn’t and Murphy plays as he did in round one I can only see one result here. If Murphy raises his game a notch it could be a fairly comfortable win for him so at the surprisingly generous price he has to be the bet.

Recommended Bet: 2 points win on Murphy at 11/8 (generally available)

Recommended Multiple Bet: 1 point treble on Trump, Robertson and Murphy pays 8/1 at Stan James. 

(Original main image courtesy of World Snooker)

Boyles are again enhancing the daily double, today they have gone for Ronnie and Higgins so if you fancy those two a price of 8/5 awaits you here.

If you don’t have an account with Boylesports, click the banner below to take advantage of their bet 20 get 40 opening offer.

Today sees the final two first round matches being played with two times Masters champion and World Number One Mark Selby kicking off this afternoon against Stephen Lee, followed by Ali Carter taking on Graeme Dott tonight.

Yesterday saw what in the end were fairly comfortable wins for John Higgins and Neil Robertson. John wasn’t quite at his best although there were periods where he didn’t look like missing, but he was helped by Matthew Stevens not punishing him when he had the chance. I’m sure Matthew will look back on the match as a chance missed to push the World Champion, but Higgins as ever was workmanlike.

Last night was classic Robertson. Mark Allen looked to be in good shape early in the match and at the mid-session interval with them locked at 2-2 you would have probably put money on it being close. But in the end it wasn’t. Robbo slowed the pace of the game down to his liking, started playing the player rather than the table and settled into a rhythm which saw him run away with it. Mark Allen tried to compete in the psychological stakes by rattling his ice (wonder where he got that idea from?) while Robbo was on the shot, not an important shot, but this only served to wind him up more as Robbo simply ignored it and upped his game to another level. This sets up a meeting with MJW in what should be a cracking match on Friday, which barring delays I’m hoping to be there for.

So to today and Selby will be looking to erase the memory of Mark King in the first round last year against Lee, who by all accounts is on a bit of a health kick. He’s sitting in bars and restaurants eating lettuce and drinking water if his recent tweets are to be believed, clearly believing that a diet is long overdue.

See, this is the thing about diets. They are a good idea if you are fat I suppose, but if you are not fat and just think you are they can lead to a spiral of self-doubt and insecurity which ultimately will result in you becoming a food bore that nobody wants to hang around with and while you might look great, you will end up alone, devoid of human companionship and will sooner or later die a painful lonely death with little more than cats and empty weight watchers ready meal boxes for friends. When I say friends, cats are never really friends of course as they will start eating your perfectly toned but lonely rotting undiscovered (as you have no friends) carcass the minute Tiddles and co are past their dinner time and beginning to feel peckish.

My idea of the perfect balance is to eat a bit of rubbish now and again, but just not all that often as good food is always fresh food not the processed shit you get at places like Nandos, drink a bit more than the experts tell you to and feel good about doing so, keep an active healthy mind, smile and laugh as much as possible, don’t be too nasty to people, do a bit of singing at the top of your voice even if you can’t sing, read the odd book, get a couple of whippets and a rescue dog that nobody else wants and go on nice holidays. Oh and if you are a bloke, listen to what your mum and/or your wife tells you as they will always know what is best. If you are a woman, ignore most of what your other half advises you to do, as they are probably doing it out of their own self-interest.

Anyway, back to the snooker and later today Ali Carter, who may or may not be retiring after the World Championship takes on Dotty. I know there has been a bit of a gamble on wee Graeme for this so there will be plenty of chewed nails and soiled underpants if it goes close. 

You can read my thoughts on all the first round matches here.

Boyles again have some enhanced doubles for you to have a look at here. The Enhanced Accumulator flagged up in the preview reaches it’s conclusion with today’s matches with the first two parts having landed, so I may well be joining the underpant soilers later this evening, so no change there then.

If you don’t have an account with Boyles just click the box at the bottom of this post to take advantage of their opening free bet offer.

Please feel free to chat away again today to discuss your thoughts on the matches, diets or just snooker and life in general.

Thanks for all the Blog 2nd Birthday wishes on here and on Twitter yesterday, there really are some great people out there, a lot of whom read this blog. 

12.30pm

Mark Selby v Stephen Lee

7pm

Graeme Dott v Ali Carter