[church66]

Snookerbacker
November 5, 2018
Champion of Champions
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:28 am

Exhibit A

It’s the time of year again when World Snooker choose to completely ignore the hashtag #COC and pretend it doesn’t exist. Yes, it’s off to Coventry again for this season’s Champion of Champions, or as it should really be called Champion of Some Champions and others that are there because they are highest in the rankings and they have run out of champions.

So let’s get this out of the way, the main talking point about this tournament will be the table they are using. It can best be described as an oversized pool table when it comes to looks, it’s kind of what a snooker table would look like if you let a 3 year old design it with some crayons to keep them quiet on a rainy afternoon.

But that said, I’m actually a fan of changing things around a bit now and again. I used to look forward to the Benson and Hedges Masters at Wembley when they used that light wood table. I know that sounds a bit sad but it made me happy as a nipper.

I can’t say that I’m a fan of the standard Star Tables when it comes to aesthetics, they look a bit tacky to me and my first thought about this table was that it resembled what a Star Table and a Pool Table’s bastard offspring would look like if they had a drunken shag after a heavy night out. But we’ll give it a chance I suppose and I hope it all works out for the best.

I actually really like this tournament, not only because it is a small select field but because we also get to watch the excellent ITV team in action (as well as the Johnstone Decorating Centre adverts). I’m particularly pleased that this year Dave Hendon is going to be along for the ride for the first section of the coverage, he continues to be head and shoulders above his regular Eurosport colleagues when it comes to commentary and pitches it at a level which Phil Studd could only dream about, combining his encyclopedic almost anorakian knowledge of the game with anecdotes aplenty.

As ever, they play this in mini-sections. Essentially it’s a 16 man knockout but the COC chiefs prefer to call them all groups. We play two best of seven ‘semi-finals’ in the afternoon followed by a best of eleven group ‘final’ in the evening. The four group winners then progress to the best of eleven frame semi-finals on Saturday and the two winners from those play a best of nineteen frame final on Sunday.

Last year saw Shaun Murphy topple Ronnie O’Sullivan (who for reasons only known to him calls this The Champions Cup) in an exciting final and as holder, Murphy kicks off the event this time against recent European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson, with Ding Junhui and Shootout King Michael Georgiou completing the Group 1 line up.

You can see how the draw pans out here and check out the official Champion of Champions website here.

We’re on a bit of a roll on the outright betting with recent winners Bingham (40/1) and Allen (22/1), so this is a chance for the treble. If you are a fan of horses for courses, there are some very big prices around about the holder Murphy, who has had a week off, has a winnable group and must at some point come back to form. There are likely to be a couple of weary souls in Robertson and Allen who are racing back from China as I write, and as ever it’s O’Sullivan that starts favourite in a format that we always think is tailor made for him, but he’s lost two finals on the spin here and has a potentially very tough group so I reckon there is some value in taking him on.

Recommended Bets: Barry Hawkins to win the COC @ 20/1 (Boosted at Ladbrokes). Stuart Bingham to win the COC at 33/1 (Skybet). 21 or more centuries in the event at 7/4 with Ladbrokes.

[church66]

Originally Posted by Bob Jewett

I find them interesting.

SPITTING IMAGE STEVE INSTRESTING DAVIS ;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sGjYgDXEWo

Bob forgive me but my sidekick Scaramouche hasn't posted for a while.....

[church66]

Originally Posted by alphadog

Yes he writes well and makes some interesting points.

Posting up Mark Allen @ 22/1 for the International Open , Snookerbacker really does have some interesting points.....

[church66]

http://www.snookerbacker.com/

Snookerbacker
November 12, 2018
Northern Ireland Open
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:30 am
The snooker train ain’t slowing down and now Coventry is done it’s over the water we go to the Belfast Waterfront arena for the second leg of the Home Nations Series and the Northern Ireland Open, where we find a huge field of 128 players competing to lift the Alex Higgins trophy.

The only one of them who is still in with a slim chance of taking Bazza’s million pound bonus, otherwise known as the unicorn sitting at the foot of the rainbow, is English Open champion Stuart Bingham. Our pal First Poke is the only potter who can put the wind up the chairman by getting this hands on this trophy and placing it in his already overcrowded khazi.

Fresh from his success in Coventry, Ronnie O’Sullivan also lines up in this, which is surprising considering he’s no longer in with a chance of the million pound bonus and given all he’s had to say about this style of car boot snooker in leisure centres that stink of piss. Joining him following his disappointing defeat is Kyren Wilson and we’ll see what he has in terms of bouncebackability this week.

It’s covered by Eurosport and Quest TV, so expect the first few days to follow the tried and trusted format of one-sided matches on the main table until it gets to around the last 16 when they start getting a bit closer.

Also expect references to adopted Irishman Shaun Murphy, who has recently moved to the south of Ireland and will no doubt at some point start being heard saying things like ‘top o’the mornin’ to anyone who’ll listen whilst supping a pint of Guinness and wearing a shamrock. I actually think he stands a chance this week at a decent price as to me he showed signs of getting back to something like form in Coventry. All eyes will also be on home favourite Mark Allen, who is of course bang in form and I’m sure would love to win here, he’ll not be without his backers.

You can take a look at the draw for this here and even play around with it to make your picks.

Recommended Bets: WIN ONLY: Shaun Murphy (28/1), Jack Lisowski (35/1), EACH WAY: Ali Carter (50/1), Noppon Saengkham (250/1), Chris Wakelin (300/1).

If you want to book tickets to go and watch you can call 028 9033 4455 or CLICK HERE

[church66]

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Snookerbacker
November 13, 2018
Ronnie Stirs the Pot
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 9:12 am

Doesn’t mince his words

Over the course of the last 24 hours, Ronnie O’Sullivan has followed up his brilliant Champion of Champions win with a series of social media discussions about the state of the game. It seems that our Ronald isn’t that happy with the current regime of conveyor belt snooker and seems to be having a right old slanging match with Barry Hearn.

But as we all know, Ronnie likes to mix it up a bit and as well as putting the wind up Old Bazza he’s never happier than when he’s talking health and fitness.

I’ve been given an exclusive from the boys and girls at Betway who got an insight into the pinball table mind of snooker’s most enigmatic potter, here he talks about why it’s important to refuel with the right petrol in between matches and why he believes that it’s this, rather than his other passion of running, that is responsible for his longevity in the game.

He said so himself in July 2018 while cooking a Thai curry on Facebook Live alongside Rhiannon Lambert, the Harley Street nutritionist who he says has “re-educated him” about food.

“Before I met Rhiannon, I was playing well enough, but I was running out of steam, I got tired because I was eating bad food. But once I started working with her, I started eating differently.”

Lambert’s website explains that ‘keeping nutrition simple is the easiest way to maintain a healthy lifestyle’, and her recipes left O’Sullivan feeling “more energised” and “alert” during matches.

“I’m getting 100 per cent out of myself now, whereas before I was probably getting 85 per cent of myself, I think the difference between winning two tournaments a year and winning five is the moments where I was able to see the match through to the end without feeling like I wanted to go and have a kip.”

His explanation is not as romantic as the one about him being a genius who can pitch up to any event and win it, irrespective of whether he has been practising or not. That’s why those who have followed his career – some for more than a quarter of a century – are reluctant to believe it. He did win five World titles eating whatever he wanted, after all.

But that, he says, is most definitely not the case…

“I think most people think I was born with a cue in my hand and that when I get on the table it’s all a piece of cake,” says O’Sullivan. “But that’s not the reality. I have to work hard. There’s other top players, they’re so slight, but to make those gains on your opponent takes so much hard work and preparation. They make the difference between winning 6-4 and losing 6-4.”

O’Sullivan, who describes healthy eating and fitness as his “main passion”, first met Lambert in July 2017. “I was her guinea pig, really,” he says. “I bought totally into it and it made a massive difference to my life. I’ve learned how to put better nutrition into my body.”

He cooks every day when he’s at home and does so in batches. “I like to train, I like to go to the club, so I don’t want to be around a stove all day,” he says. “Everyone’s got busy lives, so it’s good to have food prepped and ready to go – plus you save yourself a few quid.”

Healthy eating is harder to maintain when on the road competing in tournaments – “I’ll always take stuff with me… snacks like a jar of peanut butter, some rice, some tuna” – although he says the food in Thailand and China, which host several tournaments a year, as “incredible – some of the best I’ve ever eaten”.

“I think the UK’s probably the worst place I’ve ever been for food, it really is. I see what some places serve up and I just think: ‘Wow. No wonder we’re not producing great athletes.’

“You look at other countries, what they eat, and it’s fresh, proper grub. I think it makes a huge difference to your development. I travel in Europe a lot, to places like Bulgaria and Romania, and even there the tomatoes taste different, the cucumbers taste different. In the UK, it’s quantity over quality, and I’m trying to avoid being part of that system.”

O’Sullivan wants to help other people avoid being part of it, too, which is why he and Lambert will release a health and fitness book, Top of Your Game: Eating for the Mind and Body, in December 2018.

“I meet a lot of people who are trying to lose weight, but they’re making decisions on food by reading food labels that say low in fat but are actually caked in sugar and certain stuff that’s worse than fat. That’s what Rhiannon done for me. She re-educated me. I’ve been fast-tracked in a way, and I think it’s nice to be able to pass that on. People want to be able to make proper decisions.”

O’Sullivan’s other passion of course is running but unlike healthy eating, he doesn’t believe that has improved his snooker.

“You don’t really have to be fit to be a snooker player,” he says. “If you eat well and play snooker, you’ll be absolutely fine.

“I just done it because it was a good outlet for me. I had quite an addictive nature, so I thought: ‘Well, if I’m going to be addicted, I might as well get addicted to something that’s really good for me.’

“That was running, keeping fit and training. At least if I am going to over-do it on something, the worst that’s going to happen to me is that I end up with a few sore calf muscles, or my shoulders are a bit tight.”

Or a damaged heel, which O’Sullivan currently has. It’s not stopping him from exercising, but he is likely to need surgery if he wants to perform at his best again.

He did a Park Run, which he thinks are “great”, last weekend and finished the 5km course in 20 minutes, a time he describes as “useless”. It’s not, but it is some way below his record of 17 minutes and nine seconds.

“I want to get back that to that,” says O’Sullivan. “But to do that I’ll probably have to get my foot done. I’ve convinced myself I’m going to have the operation, so it’ll mean three or four weeks in a boot ‘til it heals properly.”

But with snooker’s glamour events still to come, any extended absence will have to be carefully planned, with Ronnie hinting that after The Masters, we may not see a lot of him.

“I might just wait ‘til after the World Championships or after the Masters – I don’t know,” says O’Sullivan. “I do know it’s something worth getting done.”

Being “where I want to be, when I want to be” is important to O’Sullivan at this stage of his life, of which snooker remains a huge part.

“I still love playing, when I say love playing, I like playing. Some days I love playing, some days I’m like…” He exhales (and probably decides to tweet Hearn).

O’Sullivan’s role as a pundit for Eurosport, which often means he provides analysis on tournaments he is also competing in, complicates that relationship further.

“That’s my problem,” he says. “I love doing it. I love sitting there with Jimmy White and Neal Foulds. I love the crew at Eurosport – there’s no pressure. And I get to talk about a subject that I’m quite knowledgeable on. It’s a dream job, really. But then I’ve got my other head on, thinking that I want to be competing and doing the best at snooker, so… I don’t know.”

O’Sullivan relishes playing in exhibitions as “they take me back to my early days” and plans to keep playing competitively until that desire “goes, really”. He says he’ll head to York for the UK Championship, which at 12 days is snooker’s second-longest event, and “give it my best”.

Original Interview credit to Betway Blog

[church66]

Snookerbacker
November 23, 2018
UK Championship Preview
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 10:29 am

It’s a great time of year for snooker fans this as we all shift attention to The Barbican in York for the UK Championship, the first of the BBC events this season and only a few short weeks later the other side of Christmas we have The Masters, for which the final field of 16 will be decided in York.

There is a lot of talk amongst snooker fans that the UK isn’t the event that it used to be. Indeed, I myself feel a bit less excited about it than I used to, the eroding of the match lengths and the flat 128 draw to me make it feel a bit less prestigious, but weigh that against the excellent venue, apart from the Sports Hall, and the fact that the BBC give it some airtime (though again not as much as they used to) and it is what it is.

As you’d expect, all the big names are involved and once we get past the first three rounds (or as Ronnie prefers to refer to them, the Numpty Rounds) things will begin to take shape. Looking at the draw, the main protagonists all seem on paper to have a strong chance of making the latter stages but I’m sure we’ll see someone take on the mantle of David ‘Amazing’ Grace a few years back and go deep when you least expect.

I’m firmly of the opinion however that we’re not going to see an unexpected name lift the trophy at the end, the draw simply can’t allow it as the players who come good in major events are mainly keeping out of each others way until the last 16 or in some cases the last 8. I’ve looked at each quarter individually below and given my usual masterful, crystal-ballesque insight.

Quarter One:

The holder Ronnie O’Sullivan is a firm favourite to make the semi-finals and you have to say that the draw has been particularly generous to The Rocket. His form is rock solid and he’s winning and knocking in tons for fun so he is definitely the man to beat here. On balance I’d say the two players with the best chance of doing that in this section are Jack Lisowski and Shaun Murphy. Last year’s runner-up Murphy is in desperate need of a run in this to get into the ranking events later in the season as he is languishing currently at 54th in the one year list and struggling to find his game, conversely, Lisowski is flying and continuing where he left off last season and is assured of his place in at least 2 of the Coral series of events. If Jack ends up playing Ronnie in the last 16 I think he’ll run him close and from there anything is possible. The prices on Murphy being quoted at some firms are bordering on farce and are worth a punt regardless, but on balance this quarter should go with the seedings.

Predicted Quarter Outcome: O’Sullivan to beat Murphy in the Last 8.

Quarter Two:

Another who seems to have benefited from a pleasant draw is John Higgins, as if he needs it. I can’t see any issues that he can’t overcome prior to a quarter final meeting with Judd Trump, the only potential banana skin for me being Liam Highfield. Man of the moment Judd will be buoyed by his win in Belfast and hungry to add another major to his CV, he has form here of course and something tells me that the win last week will get that pesky monkey off his back and he too will fly through to a quarter final match up with Higgins, with only Ryan Day who I feel might have something to say about that. I really fancy Higgins to go deep in this and add this title to his list of major successes.

Predicted Quarter Outcome: Higgins to beat Trump in the Last 8.

Quarter Three:

The bottom half of the draw to me looks much more competitive than the top half. There are a multitude of possible outcomes and my guess is that if we are to see a ‘shock’ semi finalist it will come from this half of the draw. The obvious name that stands out is of course Mark Selby, he’s looking a bit more like Mark Selby these past few weeks rather than the Mark Selby who has been doing an impersonation of Mark Selby for much of the last year or so but without the winning titles bit. His path to the last 8 though isn’t easy and amongst others he’ll have to possibly tackle the in form Dave Gilbert, who could be the man to be on at a huge price if you fancy an upset this year. Other live contenders in this section are Barry Hawkins and Judd’s best mate Kyren Wilson, both with proven big stage pedigree, I’d be surprised if the quarter final from this section didn’t feature two of the names mentioned here, which includes the four times I mentioned Mark Selby, OK five times.

Predicted Quarter Outcome: Selby to beat Hawkins in the Last 8.

Quarter Four:

Another fairly open quarter which involves the in-form Mark Allen and snooker’s newest international playboi Mark Williams. Drinker and part-time snooker world champion Williams has said that he’s not arsed if a) he doesn’t win another match all season and b) he isn’t ranked number one in the world. He’s as mad as a hatter so he’s probably telling the truth. Allen will be coming here on the back of a disappointing homecoming in Belfast after his most recent triumph in China and I’d say he’s favourite for this section of the draw on his current form. Neil Robertson is coming back to form too so it would be no surprise to see him at the business end again at a venue that I know he enjoys and for me his predicted last 16 with Allen holds the key to the winner of this quarter, with possibly Stephen Maguire coming through to meet the winner in the quarter final.

Predicted Quarter Outcome: Robertson to beat Maguire in the Last 8.

You can play around with the draw here to arrive at your outright conclusions.

You can view the match schedule here.

Recommended Bets: John Higgins to win the UK Championship at 11/1. Each Way – Dave Gilbert (250/1), Neil Robertson (22/1), Shaun Murphy (55/1 – Boosted) and Jack Lisowski (40/1).

Quarter Winners Acca: O’Sullivan, Higgins, Selby and Robertson pays 114/1.

Match bets will be posted when the championship gets underway.

[church66]

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2018/11...kiNtFaiJUcT4fE

Snookerbacker
November 30, 2018
The UK Championship – The BBC comes to town
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 10:31 am

Hazeybaby

It’s that time of year again when Joe Public in the UK thinks the snooker season starts. Yes, the first BBC coverage of the six month old season gets underway tomorrow in York with the last 64 of the UK Championship.

I’ve had a lovely time this week, we’ve just rescued another hound so I’ve decided to stay at home for the duration of this event, apart from a couple of days next week when I’m heading there, and I’ve been watching the excellent live streaming on Eurosport Player.

The reason it’s been so enjoyable is because firstly, there is no commentary, just the relaxing clicking of the balls and polite audience applause and secondly, they leave the cameras rolling all day so you really get a sense of what it’s like to be there.

If I could wish one thing it would be that they did this for all events; that we at least had the option of watching and listening and just interpreting the action on our own instead of being subjected at times to inane babbling and daft catchphrases and jokes as old as Anthony Hamilton’s trousers. That’s what I want for Christmas.

But for all that, I do still look forward to the BBC coming back, granted my sense of heightened anticipation is more or less done the minute Dennis opens his mouth but there’s still something nostalgic about it all, like slipping on a comfy old pair of fluffy slippers and having a mug of tea while listening to Val Doonican’s greatest hits, we all love a bit of nostalgia don’t we? No? Just me then? Oh well.

The first round has thrown up two big shocks, firstly Mark Selby continuing his ongoing York-based nightmare and getting pumped by James Cahill and secondly, the woefully out of form Shaun Murphy falling to the Chinese player Chen Feilong. Both big surprises and even more so when you see that Murphy was seemingly coasting at 3-1 up then managed to lose five on the bounce.

This prompted one particular poster on Twitter to suggest that Shaun pursue a different career, which I’d suggest is a little harsh given he’s made quite a bit of bunce out of knocking balls around with a stick, he’s even got one of those mowers that you sit down on, that’s how you know life is going well. Anyway, I’m sure Shaun won’t follow this well-meaning chap’s advice, instead he’ll probably double his effort in an attempt to silence the critics. Failing that he can always wave to them from his sit-down mower.

All the other big names are through though Anthony McGill counted himself out of the race to The Masters with a defeat, with Jack Lisowski still in the driving seat for the 16th spot as things stand and the likes of Ali Carter, Marco Fu, Joe Perry and Dave Gilbert in hot pursuit and Maguire, Brecel and Day (also out) still not certain of their starting place at Ally Pally.

I’ll be posting match bets on Twitter and anyone who has been following will know that it’s been a pretty good week on the punting front, particularly yesterday, we were also just one frame shy of landing a whopper from the main preview, I’ll be having stern words with Eden Sharav next time I see him. The main acca only missed out because Ken Doherty rolled back the years and he now meets Ronnie on Sunday afternoon, I wonder if he can raise his game again?

Here is also a look at the latest standings in the Tipster Contest, the exit of Selby hitting a lot of those involved with a hammer blow.

The match schedule can be found here. Over to you Hazel….

[church66]

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Quote .

" Snookerbacker
December 3, 2018
UK Championship Last 32
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 11:40 am

Ronnie’s been at it again

It’s time to say goodbye to the Sports Hall as all the players now move into the 4 table main arena for the Last 32 of the UK Championship, with 8 matches played today and the remaining ones tomorrow.

It’s been an eventful few days not just on the table, but as ever off it.

First off we heard the news about Cao Yupeng and Yu De Lu. This pair of cheats have been coining it in at the expense of punters by fixing matches all over the shop, rightly they have both received lengthy bans, in the case of De Lu probably a career ending one, whilst Cao seems to have plea bargained by dobbing in a few of the others so hopefully we can expect more of them to be rooted out, as I’m pretty certain there are more than just the two of them who have been at it for substantial personal gain.

Then John Higgins said he was considering retiring at the end of the season following his loss to Alan McManus. He was really down in the dumps and seems to have totally fallen out with the sport. The obvious solution to me would seem to have a few months off and try and prepare for the World Championship, but perhaps the thought of trying his heart out there only to fall short at the end for the third year running is what is behind his current mood, we’ll see.

Not to be outdone by us talking about someone else for five minutes, the man grabbing the headlines back again is Ronnie. Old Rent-a-Gob is outdoing himself this week and has been telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s ready to make a move away from the current tour and form his own lucrative one in China. He seems oblivious to what Higgins said after his match as he claims he’s on board with him as well as ‘a few others who are fed up with the current set up’, so it sounds like they’ll be playing a lot of round robins and seeing quite a lot of each other.

He also claimed that De Lu and Cao were harshly treated, which is of course absolutely ridiculous. Barry Hearn rightly served him with a public rap on the knuckles for this and seems on the face of it to be getting a bit sick of his constant babbling, aren’t we all?

On the table we’ve seen a few shocks, notably Higgins, but also some fine performances, notably from Neil Robertson who staged a marvellous comeback against Un-Nooh and from Dave Gilbert who knocked in four tons in his defeat of Peter Ebdon, another who is considering retirement at the end of the year, along with Dominic Dale, there will be none of them left at this rate.

We’ve also seen the debut of Shaun ‘Ten Jobs’ Murphy on the BBC team. He’s slotted right in and is already kitted out in the regulation knitwear favoured by the team, though Alan McManus, ever the rebel, broke ranks yesterday with a patterned cravat, making him look quite the dandy Scotsman of the team. Get you Angles.

Here is the draw as it stands and you can have a look at the schedule here.



RECOMMENDED LAST 32 BET – 4 FOLDS AND AN ACCUMULATOR ON ALL THESE MATCHES TO HAVE OVER 9 FRAMES: Bingtao/Wilson, Ford/McManus, Carter/Maguire, Pengfei/O’Donnell, Bingham/Gilbert – acca pays around 29/1.

[church66]

A belated post from our friend Snookerback but it's ok to back track and look forward to the future :

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2018/12...GZii_S91c1UGDs

Quote .

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Snookerbacker
December 9, 2018
The UK Championship Final
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 11:27 am
It’s the final of the UK Championship today as the defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on the Masters champion Mark Allen, assuring us again of a very familiar name being engraved on the trophy this season, O’Sullivan aiming for a record number of UK titles, while Allen hopes to add his first to his CV.

You would probably say on balance that these have been the best two players in the tournament, but they’ve had very different paths here, with Ronnie coasting to his victories after a scare from Ken Doherty against players, other than world number 16 Jack Lisowski, all outside of the higher ranks. Allen on the other hand has had a much tougher path and has had to take care of Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and Stuart Bingham to get here.

The big question is whether Allen will bring his trademark fighting spirit to the table against not just the best, but the most intimidating player in the world. Ronnie seems to have such a hold over some players that he’s more or less got a three frame start before the off, but you’d like to think that Allen is in an elite bunch of players that this doesn’t apply to.

Their head to head confirms this. The most recent meeting between to the two came in Allen’s march to the Masters with a very convincing 6-1 victory over The Rocket and indeed over the years, just one match and two frames seperate them in the seven matches they have played.

I’m going to stick my neck out today and go for Allen. I think the 5/2 available on him to win is decent given their most recent meeting and the fact that the Northern Irishman is in sensational form. I also think if he does win he’ll win with a bit to spare so there are some decent handicap odds around if you agree.

As well as the final, today sees the draw for The Masters, which no doubt will be live on the BBC to varying degrees of ooooo’s and aaaaaahhh’s from the audience when the matches are called out.

The top eight in the seeding list below will be randomly drawn against the players seeded 9-16 in the opening round draw.

Mark Allen (Holder)
Mark Williams (World Champion)
Mark Selby
Ronnie O’Sullivan
John Higgins
Judd Trump
Barry Hawkins
Ding Junhui
Neil Robertson
Kyren Wilson
Shaun Murphy
Stuart Bingham
Ryan Day
Stephen Maguire
Luca Brecel
Jack Lisowski
The Scottish Open starts tomorrow but I’ll not be covering that on here, just all a bit too congested and it’s nearly Christmas."

[church66]

January 17, 2019
The Masters Quarter Finals
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:15 am

Quote .

" With eight of the original sixteen still left it’s now time to move on to the Quarter Finals of this great tournament. The first round produced quite a few moments of drama and the odd shock with notable early fallers including the defending champion Mark Allen and four times World Champion John Higgins who both lost in deciders. So who can make it to the last four?

Click on the match for the head to head stats.

Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui (17th Jan – 7pm)

A match up between two players who’ve not really been quite themselves this season but one of them will find himself in the semi-finals after this. Luca produced the goods in the first round against Mark Allen but his big issue has always been maintaining that high standard consistently. Ding put in a workmanlike performance in Round 1 against a hapless Jack Lisowski but on first round form he’ll need to step up a gear here to win. Luca appears from his interviews to have a new hunger for the game, he’s had issues with his cue and his shoulder that now both appear to be sorted and it also seems that he’s been a little hurt by criticism on social media that he doesn’t practice very much, so much so that he’s decided to do the sensible thing and bin it. Ding however looks happy and incredibly relaxed, the family life clearly suits him and as ever when he gets going he is absolutely devastating in the balls. I’ve ummed and aaared on this one as I initially thought Luca would step up and win, but as the hours have passed I’ve now come to my senses, experience wins here and that has to be Ding.

Prediction: Ding to win 6-3

Ryan Day v Ronnie O’Sullivan (17th Jan – 1pm)

Not for the first time in my life I was called ‘careless’ the other day, this time it was by the World Champion, who said that I was careless for not noticing how often Ryan Day wins deciders in one visit, as he did against John Higgins on day one. I’ll admit it’s a trend that I hadn’t noticed and I still haven’t checked the validity of Mark Williams’ claims, so if anyone would like to I am happy to accept the tag. Ronnie, by his own standards was not fizzing in round one but we’re getting so used to him looking unbeatable it’s a surprise when he only knocks in a couple of tons in a match, his opponent Stuart Bingham for whatever reason just didn’t turn up and Ronnie simply went about his business to win in a canter. Surprisingly, these two haven’t met in anything meaningful since 2011 and Day has in fact won their last two meetings, but back then Ronnie’s chimp was totally out of it’s box and causing carnage wherever it went, he’s a different kettle of chimps these days and I expect him to do the job here, he’ll probably lose the first frame again though

Prediction: O’Sullivan to win 6-3

Mark Selby v Judd Trump (18th Jan 1pm)

Two players coming into this in good form and without doubt on paper this is the tie of the round. Judd ditched the naughty snooker in dispensing with Kyren in round 1, the first four frames were as good as I have seen him play in terms of maturity and matchplay, he looked determined, played the right shots on all occasions and was ruthless in punishing Kyren’s carelessness. Selby started to be Selby again in his match against Maguire, tons for fun and looking like he’s getting his game back in shape just in time for the run up to Sheffield, where this year I think he’ll be the man to beat. It’s surprising how few times these two have met in anything meaningful, but where they have it’s 3-3, with Trump winning all three they have played over more than best of nine. It’s so difficult to predict what will happen here and in terms of a bet I’d say it’s a just sit and watch it match rather than wasting your money. I’ll side with Trump because he has the look of someone who means business this week and you have to factor in that Selby hasn’t been as consistent as him this season.

Prediction: Trump to win 6-4

Barry Hawkins v Neil Robertson (18th Jan 7pm)

I’m really looking forward to this one. The Hawk was clinical in putting away Shaun Murphy in round one, who like Bingham, Lisowski and Wilson seemed to fall apart at the seams when faced with the Ally Pally crowd. Robbo looked very impressive from 3-1 down against Williams and in full flow it’s very difficult to see him missing at times, if he keeps up the kind of form he showed in winning those last five frames I fancy him to make the final this week. Barry tends to save his best for the big occasions and it doesn’t get much bigger than this so this is an intriguing match up. Hawkins got the better of the two in last season’s China Open semi-final but in meaningful matches Robbo holds a slight advantage, their most famous encounter saw a 13-12 win for Barry at The Crucible in 2015 and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if this one goes the distance too, but on first round form, it’s Robbo for me.

Prediction: Robertson to win 6-4 "

[church66]

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2019/01...3HqQ5pT88kamss

Quote .

" Snookerbacker
January 19, 2019
The Masters Semi-Finals
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:51 am
Well, that was fun while it lasted. Anyone who has been keeping up to date with all things snooker on Twitter this week will have seen the centuries bet I requested gain some momentum, but alas, last night saw the end of the 66/1 dream as Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins failed to muster up a ton between them, but at least you are spared me going on about it forever and a day so every cloud…..

It’s a stellar line up for the last four as you’d expect from The Masters. Ronnie O’Sullivan remains a strong favourite to lift the Paul Hunter trophy on Sunday and while he’s not been at his sparkling best he’s not yet been troubled and has eased his way through, he plays Ding Junhui (head to head here) who came through a decider against Luca Brecel in the last round which included of course the three miss frame forfeit on his part.

These two met in the famous final here back in 2007 when the London racists were out in force and made Ding cry. The crowd are getting rowdier and rowdier as the weekend approaches with one particular absolute helmet having to be removed as he shouted ‘Barry’ for the millionth time, clearly an oxygen thief with a very limited vocabulary.

Ding is a totally different human being these days and in both his walk-ons he’s come down the steps with a big smile on his face and fist-pumping people who aren’t even asking for one, I swear he fist pumped someone’s head the other day, hopefully it was the racist from 12 years ago. Anyway, he’s clearly in a very good place mentally at the moment and while his game isn’t as sharp as it might be, his bonce is bang on the money.

Ronnie gave a strange interview to his pals at Eurosport the other day, seemingly a little frosty early on towards Colin Murray whilst almost sitting on top of a stoic Alan McManus, who looked at one point like Ronnie’s ventriloquist dummy with The Rocket’s arm lodged up his backside, but eventually Ronnie released a clearly relieved Angles and let him sit undisturbed once he got his mouth into gear. It’s as close to unhinged as we’ve seen him in a while but on the table his chimp is definitely in its box eating bananas rather than swinging from the TV lights in a tyre throwing shit at the referee. I can see a better performance from him today and perhaps a couple of tons, I’ll go with 6-3 to O’Sullivan. His old pal Andy Goldstein is back today as Colin heads off to the footy so his interview later will probably be less of a spectacle, much to Alan’s relief.

In the other semi-final Judd Trump takes on his Grove stablemate Neil Robertson (head to head here). They last met here in 2016 when Judd won in a decider and there won’t be many out there who won’t be expecting another close one tonight in what I’m sure will be a real ‘Saturday night’ atmosphere in London, god help us.

Judd has definitely looked a lot more solid this week and is keeping the naughty snooker to the bare minimum, only occasionally showing signs that he’d like to really lamp one. He’s been working hard on his game and practising more than ever and it’s clearly paying off, he’s getting the game that he needs to have now to be any threat in Sheffield and his fans, while missing the old Judd, will I’m sure be hoping new Judd keeps this winning attitude going.

By a similar token, Robbo is regaining his form and looks to be approaching something like his best as we move into the juicy part of the season. How he didn’t make at least one ton against Barry is beyond me but the main thing (for him at least) is that he’s winning a lot of frames in one visit, something that Judd is perhaps not doing as regularly as he is so I’m thinking that might be the difference between the two today.

In terms of a prediction, I’ll take Robbo to edge it 6-4 and set up a final against O’Sullivan, in terms of a bet, a bit of interest only for me as I deflate from the excitement I’ve been having since day one, those 66/1 pokes don’t come round too often….

Recommended Bet: Double pays just over 11/2 on O’Sullivan to make more than 1 century and Robertson to win. "

[church66]

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2019/01...zY87uwL_gTrmxc

January 20, 2019
Masters Final
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:38 am

Quote .

" I’m not going to waffle on about this, we’ve potentially a riveting final in store between Ronnie and Judd and hopefully it will showcase snooker to the wider audience in the best possible way.

It’s fair to say that Judd has as good a record against Ronnie as most if not all other players on the tour, apart from Elliot Slessor, so it’s all set up to be a close run thing. Despite this, Ronnie is a heavy favourite with the bookies so if you fancy Judd to turn him over again there is a bit of value there.



Personally, I think whilst Judd will probably rise to the occasion, we are due a virtuoso display from the Rocket and part of me feels this is all geared up for the 147th 147 (25/1 at Boylesports). I’ve managed to predict all Ronnie’s correct scores this week and weirdly not for the first time. It’s a bit like when Muhammad Ali used to tell everyone how many rounds he’d take to knock someone out, except I do it for Ronald and it’s not boxing so the similarity is somewhat tenuous.

Needless to say I haven’t had a penny on any of them so today I’ll be investing in him to win 10-7 and lose. Let’s hope for a great final and weep that Hawkins and Robertson let that century bet down as if there isn’t one today I’ll eat my vegan hat. "

[church66]

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2019/01...NN1TxCGMSWd2vk

Snookerbacker
January 29, 2019
The German Masters
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:00 am

The Templedrum

Most bloggers and fans will proclaim the German Masters to be one of their favourite events on the calendar. Having made the trip to Berlin myself I can confirm that there is a great atmosphere and packed crowds inside the Tempodrom (or if you are Phil Studd ‘The Templedrum’) with a unique table set up that offers the crowd a great viewing experience, so what’s not to like?

I ask this question as it’s become obvious to me over the years that whilst this is a firm favourite with fans, it’s not so for the players. They site a few quirks that they aren’t that happy with, the lighting levels on the outside tables and the fact that often the crowd near their table are busy watching (and clapping) shots from another match are often top of the list of moans but overall, for the viewing public both at the venue and at home, it’s a pretty entertaining few days.

The starting field for the qualifiers was pretty strong, though as ever Ronnie didn’t grace this one with his presence. Masters champion and the boy who would be king Judd Trump is here though and faces his first outing after being much touted by many in the know as the new ‘man to beat’ in snooker, his win in London even prompted some to talk of the great coronation, the new Davis/Hendry moment, when the pupil became the master and Judd finally assumed the mantle from O’Sullivan.

I’m not so sure I have to say. O’Sullivan had a howler in the final and it’s clear he was outplayed, but I really need to see more of this new style of play from Judd on a consistent basis before I believe that this new dawn isn’t another false one that we’ve seen now a few times from him. A win in similar style this week would go some way to really rubber-stamping his Crucible credentials so it’s interesting too from that viewpoint.

It’s a nice compact 32 man field this and my main focus from the betting point of view is trying to call Shaun Murphy home to complete this bet, he qualified for this before Xmas in some style, knocking in 8 tons in the 10 frames he won, but his subsequent performance at Ally Pally wasn’t that encouraging and I hope he finds what he had in December back soon or I fear he may be the man to let me down.

It will also be interesting to see if the Mark’s at either end of the draw can get their season going. World Champion Williams shows no signs of letting up on his kebab drizzled lifestyle while Selby clings on to the Number 1 spot like a one armed man clinging to the side of a skyscraper with no help in sight, with only a matter of time before the inevitable drop occurs.

One player I sense might have a decent week here is Ding Junhui, for me he looked pretty decent at The Masters and he at least looks like he’s enjoying it again now, which is of course half the battle with him, I’d also have a look at the 147th 147 man Dave Gilbert, who might be able to take advantage of a Selby wobble if it happens in his section of the draw. In the top half, I think Joe Perry stands a fighting chance in the top quarter after a fairly quiet season with Judd battling it out in the second quarter, though something tells me he won’t win it.

It’s covered on Eurosport from Wednesday and if you haven’t tuned in before, do so. It gets really pumped as the days go by.

Recommended Bets: Win – Ding Junhui (13/1 – Boosted), Each Way – Joe Perry (40/1), Dave Gilbert (100/1).

You can plot your own German Masters here, I will be posting match bets on Twitter of a morning.

Here’s the updated draw and format for the final stages of the 2019 German Masters at the Tempodrom in Berlin, following the completion of the qualifying rounds.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

[church66]

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2019/02...7bW_f3TKpNJJHE

Snookerbacker
February 4, 2019
The World Grand Prix
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 11:52 am
The snooker takes no rest and it’s now time for the World Grand Prix to take centre stage on ITV. This forms the first part of the three ‘Coral Series’ events, a new innovation this season, and pits together the top 32 players on the one season list (or to be more specific the 7 month list) in a 32 man knockout.

Ronnie O’Sullivan returns to competitive action following his dismantling by Judd Trump at The Masters, Judd however, rather than realising that he might have discovered a way to win consistently returned to his old habits in Berlin, whizzing and banging all over the shop in a homage to Naughty Snooker, something that he’s going to have to consign to the snooker history books if he’s going to ever be World Champion.

Ronnie plays Marco Fu tonight, I’ll have to admit I’m surprised to see Marco in this as I can’t remember seeing sight nor sound of him so far this season. He must have done well in something I took no notice of. Among other names that you might not usually expect to see in an event like this are Martin O’Donnell and Noppon Saengkham.

The MO’D is of course a huge favourite with myself, having been the first ever champion of the SB Classic, he’s really improved in all aspects of this game his season under the coaching of Ian McCulloch and he’s having a fantastic season, including of course that run to the Quarter Finals in the UK, he takes on Ali Carter in the first round. As for Thailand’s Noppon (aka the Palindomic Potter), he’s been ploughing away and is a prolific scorer, very much like his fellow countryman Thepchaiya Un-Nooh although nowhere near as quick, he faces John Higgins first up.

German finalists Kyren and Gilberto get a couple of days off and don’t play until Wednesday so fatigue shouldn’t be an issue for them, so all in all it’s an intriguing line up.

In terms of outright bets, the two I like in the top half are Mark Allen and Neil Robertson. Allen didn’t enter Germany and of course lost on Day 1 of his Masters defence, but prior to that he was playing the snooker of his life and I think a couple of bookies might have forgotten that and made a bit too much of his recent absence, at 12/1 he has to be backed.

Robbo is clearly ready to win again and surely it’s just a matter of time before he’s back with a trophy in his hand, whether it’s this week I don’t know as I do fancy Allen in that top half but he’s worth a few quid at 16/1.

In the bottom half, plenty will be looking at a Judd/Ronnie/Selby combo of the probable semi-finalists. But I’m going to take a punt on Barry Hawkins at 33/1, for no other reason than that he usually starts putting in the performances around about now, it might be a bit early and the draw isn’t easy to say the least but he’s worth a bit of shrapnel with Ronnie being far too short in the betting. It’s a while since Selby has been double figures but his inconsistency is still a concern so he’ll not be backed by me this time.

Unfortunately, this is a return to the best of seven format so that kind of takes the shine off it for me, I can’t see why they couldn’t make the matches a bit longer as it’s hardly a rammed schedule, it make the match betting too much of a lottery for me.

You can play around with the draw here.

The first round schedule is:

Monday February 4

7pm

Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Marco Fu
Mark Allen vs Gary Wilson
Barry Hawkins vs Ryan Day
Stuart Bingham vs Zhao Xintong

Tuesday February 5

1pm

Martin O’Donnell vs Ali Carter
Jimmy Robertson vs Dark Mavis
Mark Williams vs Yuan Sijun
Neil Robertson vs Xiao Guodong

7pm

Joe Perry vs Tom Ford
Stephen Maguire vs Mark King
Judd Trump vs Stuart Carrington
Jack Lisowski vs Ding Junhui

Wednesday February 6

1pm

Mark Selby vs Shaun Murphy
John Higgins vs Noppon Saengkham
David Gilbert vs Yan Bingtao
Kyren Wilson vs Matthew Stevens

Recommended Bets: Mark Allen 12/1, Neil Robertson 16/1, Barry Hawkins 33/1.

[church66]

February 26, 2019
Indian Open Preview (well sort of)
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 8:30 am :

Snookerbacker
February 26, 2019
Indian Open Preview (well sort of)
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 8:30 am

Captain Mohan – The Main Man.

Tragic circumstances surrounded the postponement of the Indian Open earlier in the season, but as promised, the World Snooker Tour returns to Kochi in the Kerala region of India for the short but sweet Indian Open, which starts on Wednesday.

There has been a rare two day break in the calendar following Thepchiaya Un-Nooh’s win in the Shootout. I didn’t watch much of it but what I did see didn’t offend me too much in terms of the action on the table, but off it the crowd of shaved chimps continues to annoy so it wasn’t something I was ever going to embrace again with open arms.

They add nothing with their primitive, repetitive and frankly meaningless chants. They remind me very much of hardcore jazz musicians, in that the noises they emit are pure enjoyment and genius to them, but an absolute load of ****ing bollocks to everyone else.

Before that, Judd Trump continued his namesake’s bid for world domination with another big trophy win in the World Grand Prix in Cheltenham. He’s truly the man to beat at the moment and appears to have the advantage over all the other main players, including O’Sullivan. It remains to be seen whether he can retain this form for the rest of the season but if he can, it’s surely the most justifiably fancied he’ll ever have been going into Sheffield.

Following that, another player who will really fancy his chances in Sheffield Neil Robertson, ran out the winner in Cardiff at the Welsh Open beating one of the favourites for this week Stuart Bingham in a great final.

At the other end of the spectrum, we continue to try and find out where Mark Selby has left his A Game, he’s leaving it late this year but he’s done similar in the past and turned up nigh on unbeatable at The Crucible so it would be folly to write him off as a big contender just yet.

At least he’s only looking for his A Game though, Shaun Murphy is half way through the alphabet and must be approaching the high Scrabble scorers when it comes to his current form. As ever, he’s been publicly lamenting his invisible game on the airwaves and explaining the negative effect that social media was having on him. In fact with this and his various ambassadorial and committee duties, plus of course his commentary work one wonders where he finds the time to put some practice in, perhaps there lies the problem, it’s usually the simplest solution that is the correct one after all.


‘I’m sure I left it round here somewhere’

Shaun is back in action this week and faces one of the Indian wildcards, Lucky Vatnani, who can play a bit and is double figure prices to beat him. Make no mistake, given that Shaun also recently lost to Adam Stefanow in a match in which he played at times like a man with no eyes and as a consequence also misses the China Open, any repeat of that form will see him on the way home no sooner than you can say Chicken Madras, or most likely he’ll just rock up to the commentary box to tell the others where they are all going wrong.

In terms of this week, the short best of seven format again presents an opportunity for a new name on a ranking trophy. The final of course is just the best of nine so this really is a whistlestop tour of the region before we head to Preston for the Players Championship, which should be a decent ‘Masters style’ 16 player event next week.

This event is usually available on the bookies sites and if you are really lucky you will be able to hear the in-country commentary. This is a thing of great beauty, unashamedly biased towards the home players, scathing in it’s criticism of ‘club standard’ snooker and totally populated by people called Captain who have wonderful facial hair.

There is also a rumour circulating that it will be covered on Eurosport Player, which at this time of year is well worth investing in on a month by month basis if you are an avid snooker fan, given that it’s only a few weeks to the World Championship qualifiers.

I make Bingham quite a strong favourite for this one, the draw he has is kind and it strikes me that he’s in great form, but at 6/1 I wouldn’t say he’s exactly value given the format. Instead I’ll plump for a few of the others each way and the first ranking win for Lisowski, all those below I think are capable of a decent week at long odds, including Un-Nooh who can be boosted to absurd odds at Ladbrokes if you are quick, like he is.

Recommended: Win – Jack Lisowski (11/1). Each Way – Luca Brecel (28/1) Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (60/1) and Sam Baird (160/1)

You can play around with the draw to select your outright picks here.

Click here for the format