Mark Allen heads the staking plan for this year's Masters, where Ronnie O'Sullivan will open the show against John Higgins on Sunday.
Snooker betting tips: The Masters
1.5pts e.w. Mark Allen to win the Masters at 12/1 (Betfred)
0.5pt e.w Barry Hawkins to win the Masters at 30/1 (Star Sports)
As the Masters prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday next week, it’s quite remarkable to think that one man has been champion eight times.
That man, of course, is Ronnie O’Sullivan, victorious 12 months ago when perhaps less spellbindingly brilliant than in previous years, on this occasion more dogged and bloody-minded, but equally irresistible when the winning line came in sight at the end of his grudge final with Ali Carter.
Despite returning as defending champion with very little to recommend him on more recent form, O’Sullivan is rock-solid in the outright market as the 4/1 second favourite behind Judd Trump.
The 49-year-old might well shorten further as his army of supporters back their man, but while his first-round match with John Higgins sets the pulse racing for the rest of us, it’s not a draw either player would’ve wanted.
For Higgins, his game has been there for most of the season, but an inability to close out big matches typified by the manner in which he lost to Judd Trump at the UK Championship continues to plague him, while O’Sullivan might not think the current state of his own game matches up to a man he has always held in the highest regard.
Don't write off O'Sullivan
I’m not so sure about that. Higgins has generally performed to a high level all season, the highlight coming when reaching the British Open final, but I’m of the view that O’Sullivan has actually played much better than his recent results would suggest.
To watch O’Sullivan in the early part of his Champion of Champions clash with Xiao Guodong, you’d have been forgiven for thinking it was The Rocket of old, before the Chinese produced the comeback of his life.
Xiao went on to reach the final that week, just as Barry Hawkins did after pulling off a similarly impressive comeback against O’Sullivan in York when both men played to a high standard in a good match.
Mark Allen then beat O’Sullivan in Saudi Arabia on the way to winning his first title of the campaign. If this were horse racing, the short comment would read something along the lines of form continues to work out well and his turn shouldn’t be far away.
I patently wouldn’t last long on the Timeform desk, but don’t be surprised if we witness a bold title defence from O’Sullivan, with neither Shaun Murphy nor Gary Willson appearing to have the tools or recent credentials to stop the hometown hero in the quarter-finals should he overcome Higgins first.
Things will get tougher thereafter, and my idea of the winner does come from the top of half of the draw.
Mark Selby and Ali Carter are in there, though I’m struggling to get a good handle on either man at present.
Selby won the British Open at the beginning of the season and showed up well at the Shanghai Masters and English Open, but otherwise, there has been very little to cheer about if you’re inclined to put a line through the Shoot Out.
I still believe Selby’s best game is about as good as anything on the tour, and I could see him winning another world title one day, but those best days do appear to come along less frequently than they once did.
He’s still a very hard man to beat, tough with an iron fist stronger than Stalin, and we shouldn’t forget that he himself has three Masters titles on his CV. But that dominating, almost flawless Selby doesn’t show itself as much nowadays.
In truth, I don’t really know what to expect from him, but his more recent record here is moderate, and I’m not interested in taking single figures about Masters win number four.
Who is the best bet for the Masters?
At 12/1, I think there is far more upside in MARK ALLEN.
The Northern Irishman began this season as world number one having last term added two more major titles, and the Shoot Out, to a now glittering CV.
However, Allen started poorly this time around, making no secret of the fact he was low on confidence and struggling with his game, and the style of play he wanted to adopt.
That has meant he hasn’t escaped criticism, most notably from fellow professional and BBC commentator Murphy at the UK Championship, but I’m sure most would be happy to take Allen’s results from the last few years.
In fact, this season has been far from a washout. He started by making semi-finals at the British Open and Champion of Champions, and then reached the last four of the UK Championship and Scottish Open.
These are big events and a staple of the snooker calendar. That Allen has still been contending while clearly unhappy with his form says a lot about his own ability and the standards he demands of himself.
And clearly, his form has been trending upwards for a while now, culminating in a commanding victory in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship just a few days before Christmas. He hammered Luca Brecel 5-1 in the final there.
I’ll be very surprised if Allen takes a backwards step from that and really, it would appear fair to assume we might see the best of him in the new year, should his game continue to go the right way and with that win sure to have given his confidence a boost.
Having won the Masters and the UK Championship already, we know Allen is made for the big stage, with the all-round game to go toe to toe with the very best on all terms.
The other factor favouring those leaning towards betting Allen is that you know that even if he does have a bad day at the office, he’ll need to be dragged from the table in the face of defeat. There are others for whom that isn’t always the case.
Si Jiahui represents a dangerous opponent first up, but this is the Masters and if you’re expecting to avoid one of those, you’re in the wrong place.
Furthermore, this will be Si’s Masters debut and while he has generally appeared an unflappable character blessed with terrific talent, he’ll be faced with an atmosphere like no other on Tuesday and better players than him have been dazzled by the headlights of Alexandra Palace.
There is lots to like about Allen, then, a proven Triple Crown winner with a top-class game and big-match temperament. I’m happy to snap up the 12/1 on offer.
CLICK HERE to back Allen with Sky Bet
Quality on show from top to bottom
The bottom half of the draw is littered with genuine contenders.
Right at the bottom you have current world champion Kyren Wilson who has won two major titles already this term and starts off against a real tough nut in Zhang Anda.
That’s a tricky match to call, and I have to say I was disappointed with Wilson when he limply surrendered a good lead against Trump in their semi-final at the UK Championship.
Those off days can happen, of course, but he hasn’t been quite at his best since dazzling in Belfast when trouncing Trump in the final there.
The more recent signs would suggest Brecel is finally working his way back to form, but his first-round tie with the vastly-improved Chris Wakelin is no penalty kick.
And even still, I’d want to see a rejuvenated Brecel on a more consistent basis before I started backing him to win a Triple Crown event. That said, I most definitely didn’t see his World Championship win coming.
Had he not prepared for this week by flying to Tibet to play in an exhibition, Mark Williams would’ve been very close to making the staking plan.
The Welshman remains as good as ever, reaching a big-money final and another semi-final in Saudi Arabia either side of the winning the Champion of Champions in tremendous style.
These are big tournaments that every player is chasing, and Williams has needed to be every bit as good as he was to regularly contend for them. He was a two-time title winner last term, too.
His best snooker could easily see him win a third Masters crown next week, though in truth, he should’ve beaten Trump in the 2023 final here when bossing much of the evening session before burning couple of good chances to close out the match.
Williams has the potential to make quotes of 18/1 look silly, but I backed him in 2023 and still have the scars. With his preparation this year putting me off, I can look elsewhere for another bet.
The presence of Trump at the top of this section does mean there are big prices flying about elsewhere, and three tournament wins and counting already this season, along with two more finals, make for impressive reading.
The caveat to that is that Trump has tended to be most vulnerable in the early rounds of tournaments, and he laboured past Wilson 6-5 here last year before losing to Carter in the following round.
In fact, he has lost four times in the first round of the Masters and his record at the UK Championship is very similar. Feast or famine comes to mind.
Chance Hawkins from trappy section
He’s not unbeatable anyway, especially not early in the week, and he’ll need to play well to beat BARRY HAWKINS first up.
Trump and Hawkins played out a memorable final at the UK Championship only last month, the former clinging on to win 10-8 at the end of a dramatic evening session in which Hawkins will rue not being that little bit more ruthless among the balls.
A local who always has plenty of support here, Hawkins has real Masters pedigree having reached a couple of finals, the most recent of which when defeated by Neil Robertson in 2022.
He has quietly gone about his business this season, so perhaps a deep run at York shouldn’t have come as a great surprise, and he’s playing well enough to offer Trump another stiff examination.
Hawkins has a Masters win over Trump to his name, too, having won their 2016 semi-final 6-4, so we know he is capable of causing a shock, particularly if Trump displays those vulnerabilities early on.
From there, the draw could well open up for Hawkins in what looks an unpredictable section, and those 30/1 outright odds would shorten significantly.
To small stakes, I want to have a dart on Hawkins, with half the odds for reaching the final making those each-way terms very appealing.
CLICK HERE to back Hawkins with Sky Bet
Posted at 1040 GMT on 09/01/25
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