Snooker betting tips: World Masters of Snooker outright preview and best bets

Snooker betting tips: World Masters of Snooker

2pts Luca Brecel to win the World Masters of Snooker at 11/1 (General)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

• Preview published prior to addition of John Higgins and Ding Junhui to tournament field

Snooker begins its relationship with Saudi Arabia on Monday, with the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh offering an eye-watering pot for the top eight players on the 1-Year Ranking List, along with two local wildcards.

We won’t worry too much about them, but Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump head a very strong field and the betting, with recent Players Championship hero Mark Allen another name to note along with Masters runner-up Ali Carter, who just scrambled into the final qualifying spot.

Brecel eyes Riyadh riches

Carter is on course to meet LUCA BRECEL in the quarter-finals, should he see off one of the wildcards, but the reigning world champion looks to have plenty going for him this week and I’ll be backing him at 11/1.

Brecel is by no means the first to struggle the season after winning his first world title, but following a quiet time of things, there were definite shoots of promise when he reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open recently.

In fact, he played really well all week there, routing the likes of Joe O’Connor, Graeme Dott and Tom Ford until Martin O’Donnell, who eventually finished runner-up, played out of his skin to prevail when they served up a high-quality match in the last eight.

Brecel looked much more like his old self, scoring heavily and appearing to have recaptured his mojo, the result of a renewed effort on the practice table having admitted to struggling for motivation earlier in the campaign.

The reigning world champion has certainly talked more positively in recent weeks and he might well have turned a corner now.

That’s not to say this season has been a total disaster. He reached the final of the valuable Shanghai Masters back in September, and you get the sense that the Belgian star is the type of player who much prefers the big stage and the biggest events, when the riches are greatest.

Brecel certainly gets those riches this week, and if he can take another step forward from Wales, he could be a hard man to stop in a format that holds no fears for him. He looks a spot of value at 11/1.

Selby dangerous if back on song

Enthusiasm is tempered only slightly by the presence of Mark Selby in the same half of the draw, the Leicester cueist another who looked to be working his way back to his best when trouncing Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 at the Players Championship last week.

Selby would eventually suffer defeat to Zhang Anda in the semi-finals, but he rallied brilliantly from 4-0 down before losing that match 6-5, a mighty effort given how good his opponent was on the night and has been all season.

It was certainly a big step in the right direction from Selby and he’s always a man to fear at this time of year, when his beloved World Championship is approaching and his form generally takes an upward curve.

Another factor in Selby's favour is this format, best-of-seven frames up until the final which will be played over best-of-nine frames. Selby has won the Scottish Open twice, and the English Open only last season.

I definitely give Selby a chance this week, but he faces an awfully tough match against the aforementioned Allen first up, whereas Brecel looks to have things slightly easier against Carter.

• CLICK HERE to back Brecel with Sky Bet

With Selby chalked up at 8/1 and Brecel three points bigger, it’s a relatively straightforward decision to side with the man who prevailed when these two met in the World Championship final last May.

Big two dominate the betting

Many will expect the winner to come from the bottom half of the draw, with O’Sullivan and Trump on a collision course to meet in the semi-finals, but as ever, they completely dominate the betting.

O’Sullivan pulled out of the second and final day of the Championship League on Thursday, with rumours suggesting he had an issue with his feet.

It’s hard to know what to make of that, but when big money has been up for grabs this season, O’Sullivan has generally been the one picking up the cheque at the end of the week.

Picking a winner between O’Sullivan and Trump is never easy, however, and that’s if he can navigate Mark Williams first. Trump faces the always dangerous Shaun Murphy, so I’m happy to take my chances with the top half of the draw.

I like Brecel’s chances this week, with double-figure odds very appealing as snooker enters new territory.

Posted at 1525 GMT on 01/03/24

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