The first major tournament of 2016 kicks off on Sunday when arguably the most prestigious event on the snooker calendar is played. The top 16 in the world rankings head to Alexandra Palace for The Masters with a huge prize pool and a place in history awaiting the winner.
The season so far has been a very competitive one with some real high points but things are about to get raised a notch because for the first time in the final stages of an event Ronnie O’Sullivan is getting his cue out and whenever he’s around there is always an extra buzz.
Naturally whenever he graces a snooker tournament O’Sullivan is the favourite to win and this week is no different but if he is to win it he will have to do it the hard way as his route to the title may well be Mark Williams, Mark Selby, John Higgins and either Trump or Robertson in the final. Even for someone as good as the Rocket that is tough.
Shaun Murphy defends the title this week. He is in the top quarter alongside his first round opponent Mark Allen, Barry Hawkins and Joe Perry. You would imagine whoever wins the Murphy vs Allen match will be a favourite to make the semi-final.
The second quarter is headlined by Neil Robertson and Judd Trump but Stephen Maguire and Marco Fu won’t let them have that section all their own way and in many ways that is a little mini tournament in itself.
The same can be said for O’Sullivan’s quarter where O’Sullivan is in with Mark Williams, Mark Selby and Ricky Walden while in the bottom quarter John Higgins and Stuart Bingham are alongside the Chinese duo Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo.
The top half of the draw looks to be dominated by Trump and Robertson. Trump doesn’t have the best record here though it has to be said. He has never been beyond the semi-final of this tournament and has only won one match in the event in the last three years.
Robertson has twice made the final at Alexandra Palace and will be eyeing up a first title since 2012. He comes here as the UK Championship winner so he’s the form man but I suspect he might be vulnerable here.
In fact I like the look of Stephen Maguire here. Maguire has a wonderful record against Judd Trump. He beat him here last year in the first round and looked to be playing well in York. He ran into Neil Robertson in the last 16 there and it was one of the best performances of Robertson’s career so we shouldn’t hold that against the Scot.
I’ve a feeling he can get the better of the Australian this time around and if he does there should be a spot in the final at the very least waiting for him from there so he’s well worth backing at 33/1.
The bottom half is all about Ronnie O’Sullivan obviously but he is likely to face Mark Selby in the quarter final if the Rocket gets that far and we all know he finds the going tough against the 2014 world champion. O’Sullivan is nothing like a certainty to come through there.
I’m not sure how beating O’Sullivan will fare on Selby’s mind but that’s fine because I really like someone in the other part of the bottom half anyway.
We’re all waiting for Ding Junhui to kick into life this season but I can’t see it coming here. The same could be said of Stuart Bingham. He’s more likely to spring into form but even then I don’t think either of them goes beyond the quarter final.
That is because I really like John Higgins this season. He’s gone in for me a couple of times already and looks to be showing no signs of slowing down. Higgins should be too good for Liang Wenbo in the first round and neither Bingham nor Ding have shown they are playing well enough to beat him.
The semi-final against Selby or O’Sullivan could be trickier but Higgins beat Selby in the International Championship semi-final so we know he can beat him and at a solid double figure price I can’t ignore the credentials of the Scot here.
Back S.Maguire to win The Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with BetVictor (1/2 1-2)
Back J.Higgins to win The Masters (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 15.00 with Bet365 (1/2 1-2)
