The first round of The Masters finishes in Milton Keynes on Saturday night when the top half of the draw is played down to the quarter final stage. After a high quality opening night the eight men on show have plenty to live up to in this session but the top names keep on coming.
Mensur Suljovic vs Jelle Klaasen
World numbers eight and nine meet in the opening match of the evening with Mensur Suljovic taking on Jelle Klaasen in a clash of styles. Suljovic will be looking to make the most of his chance here while Klaasen will be using this as excellent preparation for the Premier League.
While I think Suljovic belongs at this level I don’t think he is comfortable there yet and that is an issue heading into the match. When he was storming up the rankings 3-4 months ago he was doing it as a dark horse and an underrated player but now he is being hunted and expected to win things aren’t as easy.
Jelle Klaasen doesn’t have any of those issues. He has been coping with expectation ever since he won the world title so that is water off a ducks back. The initial concern was that he would struggle with the lack of rhythm that Suljovic provides but given that Klaasen leads the head to head 5-3 that isn’t too big an issue. With Suljovic perhaps struggling with his new found status I’ll go with Klaasen here.
James Wade vs Robert Thornton
Former winner James Wade begins his quest to win a second Masters title when he takes on a hit or miss Robert Thornton. The Scot has really struggled on the big stage in the last 12 months or so but at some point those struggles will end and we will see the best of him once again.
James Wade has looked in good form for the last three months or so and will be hoping to take that into this tournament. I expect Wade to win this but the odds, the lines and the prices all look about right so I’ll sit this one out.
Michael van Gerwen vs Simon Whitlock
Michael van Gerwen’s first assignment as world champion is a match against Simon Whitlock for a place in the quarter finals. We don’t really need to elaborate on MVGs form as it is clear for all to see but Whitlock is no mug and he’s been in good touch in recent times too.
That said I’m not sure Whitlock is good enough to truly trouble MVG here although with van Gerwen celebrating winning the world title by parading the trophy at football matches and the like he might not be totally at it here. I’d rather see the form of MVG rather than guess it so I’ll sit this one out too.
Adrian Lewis vs Kim Huybrechts
Two men who will embark on Premier League campaigns in the coming weeks meet in the final match of the first round when Adrian Lewis and Kim Huybrechts clash. Both will be looking to bounce back from earlier World Championship exits than they would have liked too.
I think this will be the closest match of the night. They are pretty evenly matched in that they both score heavily and neither of them are overly shabby on the doubles. Generally when these two meet they are close matches and I fancy this will be likewise. Over 16.5 legs looks the bet in this one.
Tips
Back J.Klaasen to beat M.Suljovic for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Back him here:
Back A.Lewis vs K.Huybrechts – Over 16.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Skybet
Back it here:
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