Masters Betting Tips
Snooker Masters Outright Preview
As one sport concludes at Alexandra Palace in the form of the PDC World Darts Championship, another begins with the Masters, the second of this season’s Triple Crown events, which brings snooker’s elite together.
Seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will be hoping to build on December’s UK Championship victory and the Rocket kickstarts his campaign against good friend Ding Junhui, the player he defeated to take that recent title at the York Barbican.
Given the tournament features the world’s top 16, the competition is fierce, and defending champion Judd Trump, who has won three ranking event titles already this season, may be the one they all have to beat.
Tip 1 - Judd Trump to win the Masters @ 7-2
Trump claimed his second Masters title last season, building on his 2019 success with a 10-8 victory over Mark Williams in the final.
Trump has barely put a foot wrong ever since and this campaign has already been one littered with success, with him winning 41 of his 51 matches and securing three ranking event titles.
The Juddernaut was also a semi-finalist at the UK Championship, where he defeated Pang Junxu, Jamie Jones and Mark Selby before bumping into eventual runner-up Ding Junhui.
It is incredibly hard to dispute that consistency and he is going to take some stopping in his title defence.
On recent evidence, Trump should have little to fear from an opening-round showdown with Kyren Wilson, who is way down at 35th on the one-year ranking list. The top seed, in contrast, is £100,000 in prize money ahead of his nearest pursuer, O’Sullivan, at the head of the one-year rankings.
A rematch with Williams could await in the quarter-final, but Trump has won three of their last four meetings, losing only in a recent invitational event at the Macau Masters.
The Ace In The Pack is likely to be more motivated for one of snooker’s most lucrative prizes, though, and at the back-end of a tournament is when he really comes alive.
Mark Selby, Mark Allen or John Higgins are potential semi-final obstacles, but this season’s form man would be a worthy favourite against any of them.
Tip 2 - Barry Hawkins to win third quarter @ 10/3
Fifth on the one-year ranking list is Barry Hawkins, and while he clearly faces a tough test with O’Sullivan in his quarter, there is reason to believe that he is the value play at 10-3 to make the semi-final.
The Hawk has been rejuvenated this season, with victory at the European Masters in August supported by semi-final runs at the Northern Ireland Open and the Champion of Champions.
The reason Hawkins could be the bet in the third quarter is because, while Ronnie faces a tricky best-of-11 test against Ding, he looks to have the beating of Neil Robertson.
Robbo has had a season to forget, losing six of his last seven matches and falling in the first round of his five ranking event appearances.
Tip 3 - Jack Lisowski to win fourth quarter @ 3/1
Jack Lisowski made the semi-final of the Masters last year, beating John Higgins and Hossein Vafaei before bumping into an inspired performance from Mark Williams.
Having also formerly made a UK Championship semi-final, as well as a World Championship quarter-final, Lisowski thrives for the big stage and he could at least repeat last season’s heroics.
Jack-Pot opens up against reigning world champion Luca Brecel, who has so far struggled to handle that pressure, before a potential quarter-final with an out-of-sorts Shaun Murphy or Zhang Anda.
That is by far the weakest of the four sections and Lisowski, having made the final of the recent Macau Masters, could capitalise with another sensational semi-final run.