This could be the year that Ding Junhui finally makes good on his potential and becomes World Champion. He has come on leaps and bounds this season and played some awesome snooker. Yes he lost the China Open final in front of his own fans but this is a chance to make amends with, with interest!
I expect to him get to the quarters where hell meet Ali Carter in all likelihood, which I would expect him to win. A semi final with John Higgins would be a fantastic match to watch, but Ding is certainly capable of winning, especially when Higgins looked so out of sorts in China.
The final then is up for grabs. I have the other semi being between Mark Selby and Mark Allen, but if that semi gets gate crashed by either Ronnie OSullivan or Mark Williams, then so be it. Ding on his best day can beat any of them.
Well worth a shot that Ding fulfills his destiny...
Mark Allen @ 20 (for trading purposes mainly
I like Mark Allen and think he has a huge future in snooker, and he has a fantastic chance over the next 2 weeks to showcase this.
He actually has a very good draw, and he should be aiming at a semi final minimum this week. A quarter final with either an out of sorts Maguire or an inconsistent Ebdon is certainly winnable, and then a semi with Mark Selby is what I have him lined up as facing. That match would be tight, and he may come up short, but he has a chance. If not Selby, itll be Williams or OSullivan hed be facing in the semi. Again, tough matches, but still winnable.
TOP ASIAN
Ding Junhui @ 1.51
Mainly for the reasons already stated. Marco Fu is the only challenger but he would need to beat Higgins and Ding to accomplish this and not convinced he will.
2nd QUARTER WINNER
Ding Junhui @ 3.00
Again, see my outright bet description for Ding. Murphy is not at the level to beat Ding right now and Carter will likely fall short.
3rd QUARTER WINNER
Mark Allen @ 3.25
My outright description again covers most of it. Cant be having Maguire as favourite as hes been so out of form this year. Day and Ebdon cant hold it together for long enough either, so Allen looks a nice price.
1st ROUND MATCHES
Mark Allen @ 1.28 to beat Tom Ford
Mark Allen is a player who I like and seems to be so close to really solidifying himself as a top player. I expect big things from him ins this tournamnt and am expecting a quarter final at the very least. I like his form and style of play, and being a crowd favourite is always a bonus. Tom Ford is solid if unspectacular but hes several levels below Allen and it would be a massive shock if Ford could somehow pull this off. Allen will be expecting to make a statement in this tournament, and to do that he must win this one, should be comfortable.
Stephen Hendry @ 1.28 to beat Zhang Anda
This match just has the headline writers salivating. The legend who has won everything in sight, the 7 time World Champion, Stephen Hendry, plays the 18 year old Shang Anda in his crucible debut. Can the youngster pull off a huge shock and his biggest ever win?
No. Well, not from what Hendry showed at the China Open. Hendry has played in fits and spurts this season but in China he was very, very good. The best hes been in a long time, and was only denied a place in the semis in a final frame shootout.
Zhang won the U21 Asian title last year which got him his nomination for the pro tour, and looks to have a bright future, but being at the Crucible, playing the legend Stephen Hendry, hes going to find it very difficult. For me, Hendry wins.
Joe Perry @ 1.68 to beat Michael Holt
I wouldnt normally take Perry here but he looked in good shape at the China Open recently and knocked in some decent breaks, and just generally looked in good form. Hes been inconsistent this season but he looks to be coming into top form at the right time. Michael Holt is another who is inconsistent, he could trouble Perry if at his best but I just think hell fall short here. He would need to seriously up his game from where it currently is to stay close to Perry, given the China Open form. Perry should win this by 3-4 frames in all likelihood.
Mark Selby @ 1.32 to beat Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty has had a resurgence of sorts this year, after being absolutely terrible last year, but he will really need to be on top of his game to beat Mark Selby. Doherty can do it, Ive no doubts, but he will need to find a little more consistency. Selby loves the longer matches and is completely at home here, he will be expecting to challenge for the title and if he doesnt go deep into the tournament it will be a massive failure for him. Hes shown some strong form so far and has to be considered strong favourite to advance.
Marco Fu @ 1.46 to beat Martin Gould
Marco Fu is one of my favourite players and Ive mentioned it numerous times, however I try not to let it blind me when it comes to betting on him. Marco is a fantastic match player, he scores well, has a great temperament, can hang with the best of them, and is just a really nice guy as well. He had a poor start to the season but hes been edging back to form in the last couple of months and its come at a perfect time. He should be expecting a quarter final place at least here.
Martin Gould will need to be on top of his game to keep up with Marco early on if hes to stand a chance, but I can see Marco pulling away late on. Gould is solid, but Marco is hitting form again and will be very dangerous over the next 2 weeks.
Ali Carter to beat Jamie Cope
Ali Carter had a good run in China, losing a tight semi final to eventual winner, Mark Williams, so we know hes a man in form. Hes also shown solid form over the season as well. Jamie Cope remains somewhat of an enigma to me. One minute he can rattle off 3 frames in 10 minutes and take total control of a match, the next minute hes extremely disappointing. The key for me here is the length of the match. Jamie firing off quick frames in a best of 9 match will always put him in a good position. However, in a best of 19 he needs to do something he doesnt do much - be consistent. Ali has a big edge on him here and should put it to good use.
Ding Junhui @ 1.12 to beat Stuart Pettman
Its very hard, if not near impossible to visualise a way that Ding loses this match. Touch wood! Seriously though, hes in the form of his life this season, hes been simply brilliant for the most part, and has finally added 2 things to his game that were needed most - consistency, and with it, confidence. They also work the other way round. I expect Ding - and I would think Ding will too - to go very deep this fortnight, and the semis should be the bare minimum we expect from him. Stuart Pettman is capable of a shock every now and then, but the way Ding is playing it doesnt look likely by any stretch of the imagination. _________________ Theo Walcott will score at least 20 in all competitions this season.
Michelle Larcher de Brito - World Number One 2012 (c)2008
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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:15 pm Post subject:
And something I have to add, which I may look very silly come the end but noevertheless...
I expect nothing from Ronnie O'Sullivan over the course of this tournament. I think he will get knocked out by Mark Williams and not even make the quarter final. If he gets past Williams, I think he'll be KO'd by Selby. He was pathetic in China and while I know some will say "But he doesnt like it abroad", thats not true, and what he did in China was worse than any of his foreign tournaments in a long long time. Regardless of this, his form this year has not been good by his standards regardless of how far hes gone in competitions.
I think backing him at any stage in this tournament is very dangerous.
Of course he may turn up and crush everyone in sight, but there is nothing to support backing him other than "oh but hes so good WHEN he plays well".
To be fair though, I half expect him to make a 147 before he gets knocked out, as it would be typical...
And before anyone accuses me of being a Ronnie basher, go find the Shanghai Masters 2009 thread, I backed him outright, early season, based on just 2-3 matches and a couple of things he'd said. With Ronnie, you CAN get in his head when hes on the up - but when hes not up, or down, hes just all over the place, theres no logic in supporting him. _________________ Theo Walcott will score at least 20 in all competitions this season.
Michelle Larcher de Brito - World Number One 2012 (c)2008
2010 #2 LSP Football Blogger
2010 Last 6 months #1 LSP Tennis blogger
For me it's not about Ronnie being inconsistent, it's when he chooses to play well. He clearly puts more effort into the major tournaments, the Masters for example he made it to the final in style and was only a frame away from securing yet another trophy - instead he attempted a daft shot and ended up losing his marbles. You have to say BK that he is the best snooker player on the circuit, so if he turns it he wins - no doubt.
Enough Ronnie-bashing for now, my money is on Neil Robertson [ 14s ] , who is in fair form - and had a gutsy performance against Peter Ebdon scoring a more then impressive maximum 147. He was a semi finalist in last years World Championship , losing out to Shaun Murphy. His most recent trophy was last years Grand Prix, where he beat Ding Junhui in the final, he was definately the most eye-catching player of that tourney and i'm expecting something fairly similar from him here! A tough first round draw against Rocket O'Sullivan meant an early exit in the Masters , albeit a courageous effort in an eventual 6-4 loss. _________________ Scallywags
Do you think Robbo would be at all deflated by that defeat? He played some of the best snooker of his life that day ( 3 centuries in 4 frames from memory ) and still got beat! Throwing away an early advantage too!
Just wondering if it might leave a scar as happened to Ding after an O'sullivan defeat..
Great write up Betking, I think Higgins will win it again because he's just unbelievably consistent and he's been a little bit quite since the turn of the year and he's got a big performance in him.
Have plumped for Allen @ 19 EW though because like you I really rate the kid, he's had a solid season and he looked in superb form at the Crucible last year. He's a really focused kid and he's got a fearless attitude, when things click and he's aggresive he's very hard to play against.
Michael Holt could be a good shout to be the furthest progressing qualifier @ 17 with Betfred. He's got a good first round draw on paper against the out of form Joe Perry and Holt's game has definitley improved this season. I do believe there will be shocks in the tournament but I'm not too sure where they are going to come from in the first round and for me Holt to beat Perry looks like quite a decent shout.
Betfred are offering a bet on Will a Mark win? With Mark Williams coming into tournament on a fine run of form and my tip being Mark Allen, 4.5 for people with the name Mark might be decent value, and this is without forgetting qualifier Mark Davis who has had one of his best seasons for quite sometime.
Finally a first round special @ even money with Betfred on Mark Williams, Mark Allen and Stephen Hendry to win their first round matches. All three have favourable matchups and Allen and Williams look in form, and Hendry loves playing at the Crucible and faces the lowest ranked player in the tournament. _________________ Football and Boxing expert.
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On Ronnie, he has made the most of a bad season. There have been very few tournaments this year, and he has generally done well:
Shanghai - he won, beat Dott, Fu, Ding, Higgins, Wenbo.
Grand Prix - out in R2, beat Burnett, lost to Higgins 5-4.
Premier League - runner up, lost to Murphy 7-3.
UK - out in Semi, beat Stevens, Ebdon, Selby, lost to Higgins 9-8.
Masters - runner up, beat Robertson, Ebdon, Williams, lost to Selby 10-9.
Welsh - out in Semi, beat Bingham, Cope, Allen, lost to Higgins 6-4.
China - out in R1, lost to Pengfei 5-3.
China last time out can be overlooked, he definitely didn't want to be there, he was playing exhibition shots and generally going for everything v Pengfei, he potted a Blue with so much check side in the last frame, i dont know how it went in, then he tried dropping the black in dead weight for 4-4, it went wrong and looked bad. but he wasn't bothered clearly. the rest of his season has been alright.
He will be trying his balls off to win this week, Hearn, the money and the 4th World Title are his incentives. If he turns up in top form, he will win. With no evidence of that top form lately what is more likey is that he will have to find form here, and I think he has the perfect draw to do that.
Wenbo will gift him openings, he is too agressive. I really fancy O'Sullivan to beat Wenbo (and I rate Wenbo highly) Round 2 is most likely Mark Williams, Ronnie respects Williams and he will be focused against him, as good as Williams come back has been, I doubt that he will ever get back to his very best, no one in snooker history has 'gone' and come back, so on that basis, I just don't see Williams beating a focussed Ronnie over a long format. Two good wins over 5 sessions and Ronnie is in the tournament, the 4/1 will look crazy.
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:12 pm Post subject:
LIANG WENBO to beat Ronnie O Sullivan @ 5.00 (Betfred)
Ronnie O Sullivan could easily turn up this week playing some outstanding snooker and win the World Championship title once more but it's never straight forward with Ronnie and as we have seen plenty of times in the past sometimes Ronnie just doesn't turn up and gives the impression it's the last place in the world he wants to be. He made the final of the Masters this year and found only John Higgins too good in the Welsh Open but two weeks ago in China we saw the negative side of Ronnie once more as he lost in the opening round to young Chinese qualifier Tian Pengfei. He missed a simple black off the spot to go 4-4 in the match and instead of making his opponent pot the ball under pressure Ronnie simply conceded the match going out in the first round. To be honest I know very little about Tian Pengfei ranked outside the top 75 in the world but Liang Wenbo has been on the scene for a while now and if Ronnie doesn't turn up on Monday then this guy is well capable of taking advantage - he will give Ronnie a tough game even if the Rocket is on the ball. Liang made the final in Shanghai earlier this season and though eventually losing 10-5 to Ronnie he showed that week - if it was ever in doubt - that he had real talent beating Peter Ebdon and Ali Carter in the first two rounds whilst losing only one frame. He then beat Ricky Walden and Shaun Murphy to reach the final and a few weeks later in the UK Championships he impressed again beating Ryan Day 9-3 and Mark King 9-2 before losing out to John Higgins but once again showing his ability in the bigger tournaments. Ronnie may have bettered him in the final in Shanghai but this stage of a tournament is the time to play Ronnie in my opinion when his mind might not be fully focused on the job in hand and he is potentially vulnerable especially if falling behind early on. Regardless of what Ronnie turns up on Monday I think Liang Wenbo has a chance here but after the Rocket's poor showing in China two weeks ago I think Liang is well worth an interest at the odds.
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:35 pm Post subject:
Was all going to plan until Marco Fu lost 9-10 to Martin Gould, still in shock about that one, thought Marco would be comfortable At least Hendry rolled back the years last night!! _________________ Theo Walcott will score at least 20 in all competitions this season.
Michelle Larcher de Brito - World Number One 2012 (c)2008
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Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 5:54 pm Post subject:
Ronnie was shockingly bad for a lot of today. Leading 7-2 overnight (and shoudlve been closer if Wenbo hadve been playing better. Wins 10-7 despite Wenbo missing several opportunities, he shouldbe been 9-7 up not 9-7 down.
So Ronnie wins what was a poor match for the most part with so many missed chances. Williams will eat him for breakfast if he doesnt improve on that. I expect him to improve but still, I stand by my original post, he'll lose to Mark Williams.
He really looks totally disinterested and and anyone playing consistently against him like this will win, they wouldnt even need to be at their best.
Oh, and John Virgo's constant salivating over Ronnie gets old FAST. _________________ Theo Walcott will score at least 20 in all competitions this season.
Michelle Larcher de Brito - World Number One 2012 (c)2008
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Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:52 pm Post subject:
Steve Davis beats Mark King 10-9, what a match. Not the highest quality all the way through but fantastic viewing, deserved win too _________________ Theo Walcott will score at least 20 in all competitions this season.
Michelle Larcher de Brito - World Number One 2012 (c)2008
2010 #2 LSP Football Blogger
2010 Last 6 months #1 LSP Tennis blogger
Virgin Snooker poster But how great was it to see Steve Davis roll back teh years last night with an excellent win over Mark King! You could see what it meant to him in the post match interview and its too bad he faces an opponent of the quality of John Higgins in the next round as he is my favorite to win at the moment!
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Good Luck 
At least Hendry rolled back the years last night!! 
But how great was it to see Steve Davis roll back teh years last night with an excellent win over Mark King! You could see what it meant to him in the post match interview and its too bad he faces an opponent of the quality of John Higgins in the next round as he is my favorite to win at the moment!
