Literally a few hours after one snooker tournament finishes another one begins when the players jet out to China for the final stages of the Shanghai Masters which begins on Monday. We are in the middle of a very testing schedule on the snooker circuit at the minute and it will be interesting to see what the big names have left in the tank.
The likes of Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby and John Higgins all give the tournament star flavour but we’ve seen plenty of players emerge this season and this feels like a chance for that to continue.
Recent Winners
2016 – Ding Junhui
2015 – Kyren Wilson
2014 – Stuart Bingham
2013 – Ding Junhui
2012 – John Higgins
2011 – Mark Selby
2010 – Ali Carter
2009 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2008 – Ricky Walden
2007 – Dominic Dale
The Format
With the tournament finishing on Saturday this week rather than Sunday this is a pretty relentless week for those involved. The first round through to the quarter finals are the best of nine frames with the last 16 and the quarter finals all being played on a busy Thursday. The semi-finals are played on Friday over the best of 11 frames and then Saturday’s final is the best of 19 frames.
Top Quarter
Ding Junhui was meant to be the headline act in this group but he has pulled out with an eye problem which leaves this section wide open. It means Mark Allen and Ryan Day are the only top 20 ranked players in the quarter. They are not the only star attractions though. The recent International Championship semi-finalist Yan Bingtao is in this quarter as is the in form Jack Lisowski. Tom Ford is another player capable of going deep in this part of the draw as are Michael Holt and Jimmy Robertson.
Second Quarter
Judd Trump is the highest seed in this part of the draw with Ali Carter another top ranked player in it. Stephen Maguire is not in any form but he is capable of turning that around. Luca Brecel is the other leading man in the section but having been playing in England on Saturday evening he is going to have it tough. Local lad Xiao Guodong will be looking for a big run here as will the likes of Mark King, Matthew Stevens and Ben Woollaston. Yuan Sijun is another who could be ready to break through from the home nation.
Third Quarter
John Higgins will attempt to win another title from this part of the draw with Marco Fu seeded to be his main danger after Stuart Bingham was ruled out of the event with his suspension. Liang Wenbo will probably be the headline attraction in the event given that Ding has now pulled out. English Open semi-finalist Alexander Ursenbacher will be looking to back up that effort in this quarter with the likes of Dave Gilbert, Martin Gould, Robert Milkins and Hossein Vafaei all looking to show their class this week.
Bottom Quarter
In theory this looks like being the pick of the quarters because it has the world number one Mark Selby, Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O’Sullivan in it. If they weren’t enough then there is Mark Williams and Michael White too. Joe Perry, Alan McManus, Dominic Dale, Matt Selt and Mark Davis will all be hoping the bigger names arrive in Shanghai tired and aiming to take advantage if that is the case.
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Betting
I would not be in the least bit surprised if we get a surprise winner this week. The schedule for the top players over the last few weeks has been brutal and with Northern Ireland next week and the UK Championship the week after I wouldn’t be surprised if their focus is away from this event. With that in mind I’m going in search of some big prices.
Ali Carter was nowhere near the Champion of Champions and he could benefit from that this week. He looked really good in the International Championship until he ran into a really good Martin Gould in the quarter final where he went out in a deciding frame. I fancy he’ll be up for this. He is a former champion so he’ll have good memories of the event and the way this draw could open up he looks a big price at 40/1.
Martin Gould lost in the semi-final of the previous tournament but he was back in form there and I see no reason why that can’t continue here. He is usually a streaky player and when he finds form he sustains it for a period of time. He doesn’t have the easiest part of the draw but as I’ve said I expect it to open right up and if it does he could turn into a very big price at 80/1.
I wasn’t going to go with anyone in the top quarter but Ding pulling out means you almost have to and with that in mind I will. Yan Bingtao and Mark Allen are two class acts in it and it is a bonus from a betting point of view that they face each other in the first round. I believe the person who could take advantage of that is Jack Lisowski. We’ve seen him in excellent form recently and if he catches fire again this week it would only be the winner of the Bingtao/Allen match that you wouldn’t have him an automatic favourite against. Ding’s withdrawal makes Lisowski an automatic bet here.
Tips
Back A.Carter to win Shanghai Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with William Hill (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back M.Gould to win Shanghai Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Betfred (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back J.Lisowski to win Shanghai Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 81.00 with Paddy Power (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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