Snookerbacker

church66

church66

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May 30, 2018
Rank and File
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 2:50 pm

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" We’re not going to see a lot of action on the baize for a bit so I have been considering a decent bet on one of the season long markets that has appeared online recently. Ladbrokes have priced up players to win a ranking event this season and are allowing multiple bets on it, so I thought I’d do a bit of research and share my findings with the group.

Snooker obviously now has a lot more ranking events than it used to, which explains the fact that we now have to look quite far down the ranking list to spot someone that has never won one (currently Yan Bingtao at 23rd on the list). I’ve done some analysis of the last four years rankers, I have even taken the trouble to list all the finalists and the results for you on this page, now that’s what I call top drawer service.

Here are some of my conclusions following my painstaking investigation:

Firstly, over the past four seasons there have been 67 ranking tournaments, those 67 have produced a total of 26 different winners, so it doesn’t take a genius to work out that for a lot of them we are seeing a familiar face and repeat winner get his hands on the trophy.

Over the past four seasons however there are only three players who have won a ranking event in every season and it may not be the three you would automatically think. The first as you would probably expect is World Number 1 Mark Selby. The Jester has won a total of 11 ranking events over the past four seasons, comfortably more than any other player on the tour, hence his number one tag and bulging wallet.

The second is Judd Trump, who has won 6 ranking events over this period and is just one behind Ronnie O’Sullivan who has won 7 but who failed to win one in season 2016/17, although he did win the Masters and was runner up in the UK to Selby, before returning to winning ranking form in style last season with 5 titles.

The third is Neil Robertson whose 4 ranking titles in this period have all come in different seasons. So these are the only three on the whole tour who can claim this level of consistency when it comes to winning rankers. You actually have to go back 11 seasons to the last time Robbo didn’t win at least one ranking event which is pretty impressive as well as amazingly consistent.

As well as the three names above, plus O’Sullivan, there are only a further four players who have 3 or more ranking titles to their name in this period, those being John Higgins who has 5 and Ding Junhui, Stuart Bingham and Mark Williams, who all have 3 to their name, Williams’ all coming last season.

It may come as a surprise that Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen haven’t been mentioned yet, but they are both stuck on 2 ranking titles in the last four seasons, the same number as Ali Carter, Michael White, Barry Hawkins, Marco Fu, Ryan Day, who won both his last season and Anthony McGill, although one of his was that awful Shootout so he can only have one and a half. That actually completes the list of multiple ranking event winners in the last four seasons.

So what about this market? How easy do you think it is to predict that a player will definitely win a ranking event this season from the current calendar of 19? Selby you would assume will at some point get his hands on one, Ronnie will probably win one of the home nations ones and/or one of those other ITV ones he likes, Higgins shows no signs of letting up and Judd seems to develop a winning habit at some point in the season for a short spell. World Champion Williams will also be looking to carry over his winning streak and add to his recent run of successes. But apart from them who else? Can Robertson deliver again and keep his incredible ranking run going? Will Ding play in enough of them this time to be worthy of a bet or is he too risky to ermm risk? Will Kyren Wilson, still with just one ranking event to his name, kick on this season and add trophies to his collection given the promise he’s been showing?

I can’t believe that Murphy hasn’t won anything ranking-wise recently other than the lowly Gibraltar Open, he’s been in quite a lot of finals in this period and has lost in 7 of them and surely Masters Champion Allen is a prime contender to add something again this season? What about any new ranking winners? One of the new crop of Chinese players perhaps like Zhou Yuelong or Yan Bingtao? (though I’d not chance any dosh on Cao Yupeng for obvious reasons) or perhaps one of the recent improvers like Jack Lisowski?

Maybe some of the old firm like Joe Perry, Dark Mavis, Stephen Maguire or Ricky Walden might get back to the winners enclosure? Can the likes of Carter, White, McGill, Fu, Gould or Wenbo add to their ranking stats? So many questions….

After much deliberation I’ve decided to have a go on this market for some long term interest and I’m going to go with a sixfold which brings in a mix of established winners and those I think are due another trophy, I’m in this one for the long haul, best of luck if you join in. "

Recommended Bet: Pays 9.07/1 (with odds boost at Ladbrokes) Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson, Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham all to win a ranking event in the coming season.

1 comment .

Avatar
Bet Finder • a day ago
Ladbrokes would only allow me a measly £15 on it. Good luck!

I've no idea who Snookerbacker is but they obviously study the game inside out and did say they used to be a Tournament Director so I think Snookerbacker deserves their own column here on AzBilliards , better tipster than the rest in my opinion .

Snookerbackers recommended bet looks good on paper and it lasts for the season so I might have a tickle or two on that one ! :rolleyes::wink::grin-square:
 
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June 1, 2018
Snookerbacker.com to Sponsor Sean Maddocks
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 10:53 am

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" After all the hullaballo of a marathon Q-School I am delighted to announce that Challenge Tour qualifier Sean Maddocks from Liverpool who last year made a competitive 147 at the tender age of 15 to write himself into the snooker record books, will benefit from a sponsorship package put together by myself and a couple of investors.

Sean entered Q-School this year for the experience and was kindly sponsored through that by my mate Kev Ellis at Matchday Media. He came through it successfully to qualify to play the series of new events which start in Burton on Saturday June 2nd, resulting in our sponsorship deal kicking in.

There are further events planned in Riga (Latvia), Furth (Germany), Lommel (Belgium), Preston (bit cheaper, bus fare covered – off peak), Barnsley (ditto) as well as others to be confirmed (hopefully in the UK, otherwise we’re paying for swimming lessons for Sean) and it’s nice that we can go some way to covering the fees and expenses that this will incur for a player who is showing great promise and will surely benefit from playing these and other events next season.

I first met Sean and his dad Steve when he was just 12 (Sean that is, not his dad) and he received one of my Snookerbacker Scholarships which got him free entry into a couple of Snookerbacker Classic events, his coach at the time Neil Johnson has been a friend of mine for many years and alerted me quickly to the promise Sean was showing even then. Neil has remained by his side as he’s grown, both in age and more recently in height, with all the challenges that brings to technique, he’s been keeping me updated on Sean’s progress ever since.

Myself and the others involved are delighted to be helping a young player and giving him the chance to just play snooker and off-load any financial worries and constraints and concentrate on what he is good at. We are all hoping that this is the start of a longer term relationship as Sean’s career progresses over the next few years.

For his part, Sean’s coach Neil said ‘I am absolutely delighted that Snookerbacker.com is sponsoring my student Sean at such an exciting point in his career. Having known SB for over 30 years now I have so much confidence in what can be achieved together, we can’t wait to get started’.

I’d just like to formally wish Sean the very best of luck for the coming season, hopefully this will help him reach the next level with Neil’s help and guidance and let’s see how it all goes from there, just you go off and do what you’re good at and we’ll look after the rest. "

If anyone would like to enquire about a further logo deal for Sean, whose progress will be featured regularly on this website, please contact snookerbacker@ymail.com
 
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June 21, 2018
The New Season – Ones to Watch
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 8:00 am

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" Amid all the hullabaloo of the World Cup, we might not notice that early July signals the beginning of the snooker season. The players head to Preston Guild Hall to play the Riga Masters and World Open qualifiers before another short break sees them launch into pretty much wall to wall snooker right up to Christmas. Before we know it the cold nights will have drawn in and we’ll be heading to freezing York for the UK Championship. Bliss.

It’s always exciting looking forward to what the new season will bring and looking at who the big movers and shakers will be. Last season was very much about the Class of ’92, O’Sullivan, Higgins and World Champion Mark Williams dominated the season and there was very little room for anyone else. There were only two breakthrough ranking winners in Ryan Day and Luca Brecel (I don’t count the Shootout, sorry Michael) as all the other events were captured by repeat ranking winners, so will this season see a different trend?

Well, the good news is I have found my crystal ball in a dusty old box in the attic and I’ve given it a polish to give you my players to watch this season, all for different reasons, maybe I think they will be holding trophies or maybe I think they will make giant strides in the rankings or just have a decent season without making the business end. Either way, here are my ones to watch, you can always list yours to me on Twitter if you have nothing better to do with your life.

The one I think will win trophies: Kyren Wilson

Kyren proved in Sheffield to any remaining doubters that he is the real deal. His run to the semi-finals was not unexpected and I’m happy to jump on board the standing-room only bandwagon that predict he is a future Crucible champion. My feeling is that it won’t be for at least a couple of years yet because he’ll have to get used to winning big events first and this is the season where I think that particular stage of his career can begin. He’s firmly lodged in the top 16 now and I see this as the year he goes top 6, I’d not be surprised to see him carry off a couple of the lesser ranking events this season and perhaps even push for the UK and The Masters, where I think he could well go one better than his runners-up spot last season.

The one I think needs to make that leap forward: Jack Lisowski

It seems like Jack has been around for donkey’s years, but in snooker terms he’s still very young. He’s always been a ferocious potter and by all accounts in practice you’ve got more chance of Elvis serving you your pie and chips behind the snooker club bar than seeing Jack miss. But he’s never quite fulfilled what everyone knows he is capable of and has also to some extent lived in the shadow of Judd Trump. Despite his crushing defeat at the hands of John Higgins at The Crucible he can take heart that he’s had his best professional season and that he is now not losing very often to players ranked below him. I hope he keeps his head down, continues to cut out the silly risks from his game (it works Jack!) and makes that big push. He’s as exciting a future prospect in terms of putting bums on seats that snooker has these days.

The dark horse who can have his breakthrough season: Chris Wakelin

I have summed up here why I think Chris is one to watch this season, he’s a player that I think really has the temperament to make it into the top 16 in the next couple of seasons. He’s also probably won me more money betting on him in matches than 90% of the tour, not that this plays a part in my choice of course.

The next big thing from China: Zhou Yuelong (aka Ghou Yolonge)

The vast majority of avid snooker watchers seem to believe that stablemate Yan Bingtao is the next Chinese sensation, but I’ve always thought Zhou was the more rounded player of the two and the one most likely to keep his nerve and his cue action when the pressure is on, something that I still think is the downfall of a lot of the Chinese players. His grounding in Sheffield with the other Chinese boys is obviously key to his success and the reason why I now think that we will see a challenge to Ding coming from someone other than Liang Wenbo. Whilst he is still young, he is already showing maturity in his game that I think can win him titles, I’d not be at all surprised if he won one of the lesser ranking events this season to a fanfare of ‘Chinese Revolution’ articles online and further afield.

The lowly ranked improver: Liam Highfield

Liam caught my eye last season at the UK Championship when I was there and I thought immediately after seeing him close up how much he had improved since the last time I’d seen him play live the season before. His cue action was a lot more assured, his demeanour around the table was confident and he didn’t beat himself up when he threw in a careless one. He still thinks India is the size of Blackpool but you can’t have everything (little snooker in-joke there). His qualification to The Crucible will have given him added confidence going into the new season and I think he’ll be a player that makes his way quietly up the rankings and not looking over his shoulder like he has been for most of the last couple. He’s ranked 60th at the minute but I’d say he’s potentially top 32 so keep a close eye on him in match betting early on in the season as I reckon he won’t lose to many, if any, who are ranked below him and could easily shock a few who are higher up.

The second-chancer: Sam Craigie

Somehow, Sam managed to fall off the tour last season but immediately bounced back through Q-School to take his place back where he belongs straight away. For a player with his talent this should work as a wake up call to start really putting the graft in. I’m not exaggerating here when I say I really think he is a top 16 player in the making. His break building is solid, his shot selection is measured and his safety play is as good as anyone on the tour so one can only assume that the problems start and end upstairs in the department marked ‘Brain’. I hope the shock to the system that losing his place gave him will act as a positive, he’s got a second chance now and two years experience under his belt at this level, so now is the time to kick on. "

The season begins on July 2nd in Preston with the qualifiers for the Riga Masters and World Open. Tickets are available on the day or through the Guild Hall website.
 
Snooker Returns – The Riga Masters

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" Snookerbacker
July 24, 2018
Snooker Returns – The Riga Masters
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 8:00 am

Ryan defends in Riga

OK, technically it had already returned with the qualifiers in Preston, but let’s be honest, only the most ardent of anoraks will have taken any notice of that. This week however it’s back on the box as the annual Riga Masters from Latvia opens up the snooker season proper.

Ryan Day made his ranking breakthrough in this last season, the first of three tournament wins in his best season as a professional and he is back to defend his crown having had his match heldover, also involved is World Champion Mark Williams.

Unfortunately, but largely understandably, a few of the other top players have decided to give this one a miss, there’s no Ronnie, no Selby, no Ding or Judd but there is the likes of Robbo, Murphy, Allen, Carter and Hawkins. The take up however was so low that there were a few walkover versus walkover matches in the qualifiers (to be fair they were more entertaining than a few of the others), so it’s fair to say that this one isn’t exactly ticking all the boxes with the players, I think probably through a mix of the time of year and the relatively low prize money.

But on the plus side it gives the numpties more of a chance. It’s a good opportunity for the lower ranked players to hit the ground running in what is again a marathon season, but even at this early stage, a semi-final or better showing from a lowly ranked numpty might mean the difference between staying on tour and dropping off, so it could be a good week for one or two to find some early season form and get their tail up for when we really get going.

In terms of the blog, I’ll be again dipping in and out of the snooker this season. The days of chasing hits and visits are long gone and it can get a little repetitive covering everything so I’ve decided to also work on a seperate snooker-related project that I’m quite excited about. I’ll be starting this when the weather gets a bit cooler and probably asking a few general questions on here and on Twitter as research.

In the absence of anything that makes any sense on the World Snooker website of late, probably the best way to view the draw (and enter the competition if you so wish) is the excellent Event Prediction draw page at snooker.org – until the governing body make some sort of effort to sort out their website to make it more informative and accessible then I’ll carry on linking to these, which are much simpler to work out, sometimes as they say, less is more.

I’ll leave you with a few outright bets, which looking at the draw might be worth a few early season quid.

Recommended Outright Bets: Kyren Wilson win at 7/1, Marco Fu each way at 35/1 (Bet Boost at Ladbrokes), Jamie Jones each way at 66/1, Zhou Yuelong each way at 80/1. "
 
church66 said:
Quote .

" Snookerbacker
July 24, 2018
Snooker Returns – The Riga Masters
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 8:00 am

Ryan defends in Riga

OK, technically it had already returned with the qualifiers in Preston, but let’s be honest, only the most ardent of anoraks will have taken any notice of that. This week however it’s back on the box as the annual Riga Masters from Latvia opens up the snooker season proper.

Ryan Day made his ranking breakthrough in this last season, the first of three tournament wins in his best season as a professional and he is back to defend his crown having had his match heldover, also involved is World Champion Mark Williams.

Unfortunately, but largely understandably, a few of the other top players have decided to give this one a miss, there’s no Ronnie, no Selby, no Ding or Judd but there is the likes of Robbo, Murphy, Allen, Carter and Hawkins. The take up however was so low that there were a few walkover versus walkover matches in the qualifiers (to be fair they were more entertaining than a few of the others), so it’s fair to say that this one isn’t exactly ticking all the boxes with the players, I think probably through a mix of the time of year and the relatively low prize money.

But on the plus side it gives the numpties more of a chance. It’s a good opportunity for the lower ranked players to hit the ground running in what is again a marathon season, but even at this early stage, a semi-final or better showing from a lowly ranked numpty might mean the difference between staying on tour and dropping off, so it could be a good week for one or two to find some early season form and get their tail up for when we really get going.

In terms of the blog, I’ll be again dipping in and out of the snooker this season. The days of chasing hits and visits are long gone and it can get a little repetitive covering everything so I’ve decided to also work on a seperate snooker-related project that I’m quite excited about. I’ll be starting this when the weather gets a bit cooler and probably asking a few general questions on here and on Twitter as research.

In the absence of anything that makes any sense on the World Snooker website of late, probably the best way to view the draw (and enter the competition if you so wish) is the excellent Event Prediction draw page at snooker.org – until the governing body make some sort of effort to sort out their website to make it more informative and accessible then I’ll carry on linking to these, which are much simpler to work out, sometimes as they say, less is more.

I’ll leave you with a few outright bets, which looking at the draw might be worth a few early season quid.

Recommended Outright Bets: Kyren Wilson win at 7/1, Marco Fu each way at 35/1 (Bet Boost at Ladbrokes), Jamie Jones each way at 66/1, Zhou Yuelong each way at 80/1. "
Click to expand...

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2018/07/24/snooker-returns-the-riga-masters/
 
http://www.snookerbacker.com/2018/08/05/the-yushan-world-open/


August 5, 2018
The Yushan World Open
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 3:39 pm

Back to winning ways in Haining

The second ranking event this season gets under way on Monday in what has in the past affectionately (I think, might be wrong here) known by one of the players as ‘the arse end of China’ AKA the county of Yushan in China’s Jiangxi Province, where last year Ding Junhui lifted the title on home soil.

It’s a real planes, trains and automobiles trip for the potters this one, some of whom will turn up, get beat and then wonder why they bothered. But that’s the nature of the beast these days and for all the tough decisions about leaving your wife and that little person who doesn’t know who you are back home, that’s what it takes to make it at this game and these Chinese comps aren’t going anywhere soon. This week sees total prize money of £735,000 with a top prize of £150,000.

The past week has seen a few of the potters doing battle with some select Chinese players in the very secretive annual Haining Open, though in truth it’s about as open as that Book of Condolences they had for Jimmy Savile in Leeds Cathedral. I’ve no idea how the players playing in this are selected but anyway, there were some right old shenanigans going on there over the course of the event.

Marmite Matt Selt continued his charm offensive by letting a huge roar out with accompanying fist pump when beating a Chinese opponent who it is claimed was determined to put poor old Selty off at every opportunity, the after match handshake was more of a brush of hands and the Chinese player appeared to flick the finger at someone just after it. All very schoolyard.

Elsewhere, Liang Wenbo continued to do his second rate impression of Ronnie O’Sullivan by conceding a match early after missing a black off its spot. The petulant bendy faced cueman worships our Ronald and is frequently seen out dining with him on ducks gonads and antelopes arsecheeks and Ronnie has clearly been giving him advice on etiquette, I wonder what the Chinese for gobble is?

Anyway, amongst all this anarchy at least one thing didn’t change. World Number 1 Mark Selby ran off with the title having trailed Li Hang 4-1 in a best of nine final, so The Jester comes to Yushan with a trophy in tow and looking more like the man we all know and love.

As for this, it’s still very early in the season for me to bet with any confidence but I’ve had a good look at the draw and I think there might be one or two lesser known names making the last four, so I’ll just play on a few outrights and possibly put a few match bets up on Twitter each morning. Best of luck if you are getting involved.

Recommended Bets: Win Bets – Neil Robertson @9/1 Mark Allen @22/1. Each Way Bets – Marco Fu @40/1, Luca Brecel @125/1, Chris Wakelin @160/1 and Gary Wilson @200/1.

The best way to work out your outright bets probably continues to be by playing around with the main draw here whilst the Eurosport 2 television schedule can be found here.
 
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Snookerbacker
August 23, 2018
The Paul Hunter Classic
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:24 am
After a busy week of qualifiers in Preston the tour returns this weekend to Germany, the town of Fürth near Nuremburg to be precise for the annual Paul Hunter Classic, which celebrates the all too short life of one of snooker’s great young stars.

Amateur players are already battling it out over there while the professionals make their way to the venue. It has to be said that it’s quite disappointing that so many of the top players are giving this a miss, it always seems like a very well run event in a nice arena, but unfortunately the prize money and prestige of it lessens year on year, despite the healthy German crowds that turn up to enjoy it all.

Of the really top players you can only really pick out Shaun Murphy and Kyren Wilson, which means that this is potentially a tournament that might produce snooker’s next ranking event winner, it’s not often you find Jack Lisowski, who is arguably the early player of the season, vying for favouritism in the outright markets but that’s exactly what has happened here.

Much like a lot of the tour, I’m not going to really be covering this in any depth but given the field it would be silly not to at least have a crack at the outrights, so a few against the field follows…

RECOMMENDED OUTRIGHT BETS (ALL EACH WAY): GARY WILSON 25/1, JAMIE JONES 33/1, TOM FORD 33/1, ROBERT MILKINS 40/1, JIMMY ROBERTSON 50/1.
 
Shanghai Masters – All Change

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Snookerbacker
September 7, 2018
Shanghai Masters – All Change
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:30 am

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" I've been dipping in and out of the snooker so far this season and I plan to keep it that way for the most part, but now and again, as well as the big three UK based tournaments, I’ll awake from my semi-retirement slumber to focus on a decent event and this year, the newly formatted Shanghai Masters is one that I think might be a good watch.

The 2018 World Snooker Shanghai Masters will be held from 10th to 16th September at Shanghai Regal International East Asia Hotel and this year it becomes the richest ever invitational event in snooker’s history. 24 players, the top 16 from the current ranking list and 8 further Chinese players will battle it out for a total prize fund of £725,000.

Given that it’s always been referred to as a ‘Masters’ competition, it didn’t really make sense it being effectively a professional open event all these years and this fits far better with the remit.

Given the exclusive nature of this new format and the money at stake it now has a chance to cement itself in the calendar as the Chinese version of our own blue riband event at Alexandra Palace and it’s no surprise that all the big names will be there competing in what unanimously seems the Chinese city of choice amongst the players.

China is also keeping up its recent tradition of extending matches to a longer format, that’s one thing they do better than the UK. Matches here up to and including the quarter-finals will be played over the best of 11 frames, semi-finals best of 19 and the final a unique best of 21 frame encounter.

Possibly the best way to work out your bets is by clicking away on the event prediction page at snooker.org as it seems the governing body still haven’t worked out how to get something resembling a readable, never mind interactive draw onto their spiders website, a website which is in dire need of some long overdue attention, it really is a mess.

It’s difficult to know how all of the top players are playing at the moment as they are mostly still feeling their way into the season, but early season winner Neil Robertson could face Ronnie early doors and recent (minor) ranking event winner in Germany Kyren Wilson could face Judd Trump. The whole draw just screams quality and I’d like to see all the players ranked 9-16 come through the first round to give this a real Masters feel. There is full coverage on Eurosport so this I reckon will really feel like the real start to the season as we look forward to some cracking ranking events around the corner, almost wall to wall until Christmas.

There is no such thing as a good draw in an event like this but you can look and see that a couple of the proven winners have potentially more comfortable paths to the semi-finals, after that of course it becomes coin-toss central. But looking at the draw I’d be prepared to risk a few quid on John Higgins. He tends to start winning stuff when he realises his holidays are done and dusted and he comes into this fresh having only played two competitive matches so far this season, winning both very easily. To me he looks a good bet to make it to the semis and there he could face O’Sullivan, who he has beaten 5-0 and 5-1 in their most recent meetings, over 2 sessions I’d be prepared to plump for the Scotsman again there.

In the other half, I’d say similarly World Champion and recent World Open winner Mark Williams looks to have a winnable path to the last four and I’d back him to be there before backing any of the players in the quarter of death above him. Mark Selby has won a minor event already this season but he admitted that he didn’t play that well to win it afterwards, but of course that’s what he does best and who would argue with him being able to do it again this week?

So, in short I’d be backing the top 4 seeds to make the semi finals here, Higgins v Ronnie and Williams v Selby, but simply because I think he’ll have had the most comfortable route there and given his recent record against The Rocket, my only bet in the outrights here is Higgins. But you could of course try the quarter betting roll up too. I’ll post a first round acca here when all the wildcards have hopefully been dispatched. "

RECOMMENDED BETS: John Higgins to win the Shanghai Masters @10/1 with Sportingbet. Acca pays over 17/1 boosted at Ladbrokes on Quarter winners being O’Sullivan, Higgins, Selby and Williams.
 
http://www.snookerbacker.com/2018/09/21/china-championship/


September 21, 2018
China Championship
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:00 am

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"
You wouldn’t know from the photo but Shaun actually lost.

It’s back to China we head again next week, this time for a ranking event and the China Championship in Guangzhou, which this year sees total prize money of £725,000 with the winner bagging £150,000 of that purse. Luca Brecel is back to defend the title he won in style here last year before he turned rubbish for the rest of the season. It’s the third year of this event and the second time it’s been a ranker.

Shanghai Master Ronnie has decided to skip this to give the others a chance and there are a few players who would really benefit from getting their seasons up and running as we enter the busy winter months on the baize.

One of them is current world number one Mark Selby, who looks set to be knocked off his perch by Williams in the not too distant future. If he’s to finish the season yet again as the number one player these are the events that he needs to start winning, but as yet he’s not really looking in great shape and seems to be continuing where he left off at the back end of last season, namely badly.

Others who will be looking at this event to springboard their seasons will be the likes of Judd Trump, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham, while the recent form player so far this season Kyren Wilson will be looking to continue on the upward slope and climb up the rankings further EDIT – Kyren Wilson has withdrawn from the event since this preview was written.

Given O’Sullivan’s absence and the mediocre early form of some of the big players it’s wide open this one and this is reflected in the bookies going 11/2 on favourite Higgins, probably the first time for a while that Selby hasn’t gone off favourite in an event Ronnie isn’t in.

Looking at the draw however the 12/1 widely available on Ding Junhui could be a bit of value. I also raised an Roger Moore like eyebrow at the price on Bingham so that has to be backed.

Of the outsiders I think there is potential for the top quarter to throw up a semi-finalist at long odds so it’s worth having a punt on defending champion Brecel at 190/1 (Bet Boost) and Tom Ford at 200/1, either of whom are capable of making the last four if things go their way, Luca does look like he is returning to form and if you are a believer in horses for courses you’ll be positively salivating at that price. I’ll also throw in Graeme Dott at 190/1 (Bet Boost) from lower down in the tougher bottom half, so that’s my lot for this.

Recommended Outrights: Ding Junhui 12/1 (WIN), Stuart Bingham 45/1 (E/W), Luca Brecel 190/1 (E/W), Graeme Dott 190/1 (E/W), Tom Ford 200/1 (E/W).

Recommended Acca pays over 7/1 Joe Perry, Jamie Jones, Stuart Bingham, Dave Gilbert and Gary Wilson.

You can view the full draw and even work out your predictions in this handy event planner here (and even enter the competition if you want to submit your predictions), view the match schedule here and view the Eurosport schedule here. "
 
http://www.snookerbacker.com/

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October 1, 2018
European Masters
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 11:03 am
No sooner has one ranking event finished than another one gets underway, this time the tour moves to Belgium for the European Masters in Lommel.

Mark Selby hotfoots it here following his China Championship triumph but runner-up over there John Higgins has joined World Champion Mark Williams in deciding to withdraw. It’s also an event that Ronnie O’Sullivan has chosen not to enter.

Judd Trump defends the title he won last season and you can take a look at who has entered and how they fit into the draw here, it’s being covered extensively on Eurosport. "


EUROPEAN MASTERS : https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker/

Bracket : https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker/european-masters/2018-2019/standing.shtml
 
The English Open
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 3:07 pm :

Quote .

" This week sees the first of the four legs of the Home Nations events, with snooker being played in Crawley, where apparently there has been an event before, but I can’t remember what it was.

These are of course the events that form part of the pot at the end of the rainbow that is £1 million for anyone that can win all four of them. In fact, finding the pot at the end of said rainbow is probably a piece of piss compared to the nigh on impossible task here.

Ronnie O’Sullivan returns to competitive action and seems to be getting a bit confused with the ranking list. The recent Shanghai Masters winner and current world number three believes that if he were to win this event he’d be the lowest ranked player ever to win a professional tournament.

The hapless Rocket is basing this ridiculous assertion on the fact that he’s not earned any money so far this season in ranking events, on account that he hasn’t been playing in them. But he’ll clearly reassert this stupifying piece of buffoonary several times as the week goes on to try and make people believe him.

Don’t. It’s fake news.

He’s also been having a go at the poor old Numpties again, reminiscing back to the good old days when he just played at venues in front of huge crowds and never had to qualify for anything and wondering why people who in his words are ‘very poor at the game’ are professional.

What he appears to be blotting out is that as well as the holy trinity of the Class of ’92, who are still owning three of the top four spots on the tour in which he is of course included, there are also a few thousand others who were in that class who now put ‘ex-professional snooker player’ on their social media profiles, leaving out the bit that they were only professional because they paid to do it when the floodgates were opened for anyone with a cue and a bulging wallet to do so. Mark my words, he played a lot more numpties in his early days than he does now, The Norbreck in Blackpool was like a mecca for numpties back in the day.

Again, fake news.

What isn’t fake news is the suspension of Jamie Jones that happened this week which I wrote about here and also a rather bizarre outburst from Mark King in the qualifiers in Barnsley during his match with Gerard Greene. Poor old Kingy got so frustrated at his lack of form that he huffed and puffed, banged and clanged and even told the referee to piss off. I think despite his protestations and sincere apologies at the end of the match he might be at least £250 lighter in the coming weeks.

Anyway, oh yes, this comp. You can predict your own outcome of it here and watch it on Eurosport all week. It’s best of sevens until the latter stages with 128 players in from the start, or as Ronnie likes to call it ‘car boot snooker’.

Here’s my outright selections for Crawley (where is Crawley by the way?). I have a feeling O’Sullivan will win it, but his price is way too short so some value each way pokes are the order of the day.

To Win Outright: Barry Hawkins (25/1) and Mark Allen (45/1 – Boosted)

Each Way: Stuart Bingham (40/1) Ryan Day (66/1) Yan Bingtao (66/1) Dark Mavis (150/1) and Gary Wilson (250/1)

Big up to Snookerbacker for the Stuart Bingham 40/1 E/W selection if you were on well done cause this is a late post and I never bet it ! :wink::D

Never too late to see a 147 !

Have fun folks ! :thumbup:

Ronnie O'Sullivan Latest Maximum 147 - English Open 2018 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frfbiGoiRyU
 
October 25, 2018
International Championship
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:30 am

From 28th October snooker once again moves over to China, this time to Daqing for the annual International Championship, where China specialist Mark Selby will be looking to make it three on the spin in this particular event and bag the impressive £175,000 first prize.

Once again a huge arena awaits the players over there, if only the same could be said about the spectators, or should I say lack of them. One question that I am frequently asked is why the Chinese in general fail to turn up in numbers at venues when we are told how huge the sport is over there.

My best guess is that this is largely cultural, perhaps they like playing more than watching, or watching on TV more than live at the venue. Perhaps with China being so vast the venues are not accessible to sufficient numbers to form a respectable crowd, perhaps the ticket prices are restrictive…..perhaps it’s a bit of all of these.

But the fact is that year on year, event by event, the crowds are woefully poor. There is the odd exception which perhaps points to the fact that the cities they are holding these in are the main issue, the more affluent areas of Shanghai and Beijing always seem to attract the larger audience but some of the events in the arse end of the country are probably just too far away from the crowd or anyone with any money to draw in the punters. I do continue to wonder why they choose to hold them in vast arenas though, it adds nothing to the tournament and if anything makes it look a bit desperate as a spectacle in my opinion.

Anyway, Selby returns to try and take his third successive title here and he is becoming a player just lately who seems to be performing better on Far Eastern shores than he does at home for whatever reason. He’ll soon be facing a real fight with snooker’s newest playboi Mark Williams to hold on to his number one spot in the rankings and that one could well go right to the end of the season before we know who will finish on top this time around, but a nice drop of the £175k purse for either of them in this would probably help enormously to making that happen.

You can play around with the draw to make your selections here even entering the prediction competition if you so wish. I’ve done that and my selections are included below as I try and follow up the success from last week’s English Open with the recommended winner Stuart Bingham (40/1) and runner-up Dark Mavis (150/1) both being chalked up each way before a ball was struck.

Once again this is covered by the stalwarts at Eurosport though I’m guessing this one won’t include the studio bits, first off, Jimmy White has qualified for the main event and secondly Ronnie has decided to swerve it so I assume he has other plans, not sure the Eurosport snooker budget will stretch to first class flights to China for the regulars so it’s a scaled down coverage but coverage all the same and for that we should be very grateful as the Eurosport offering continues to go from strength to strength.

Recommended Bets: WIN ONLY – Judd Trump (7/1) and Mark Allen (22/1) EACH WAY – Anthony McGill (100/1), Ali Carter (50/1) and Joe Perry(50/1).

Round 1 Acca – Anthony McGill, Martin Gould, Martin O’Donnell and Graeme Dott pays over 7/1.
 
Snookerbacker
November 5, 2018
Champion of Champions
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:28 am

Exhibit A

It’s the time of year again when World Snooker choose to completely ignore the hashtag #COC and pretend it doesn’t exist. Yes, it’s off to Coventry again for this season’s Champion of Champions, or as it should really be called Champion of Some Champions and others that are there because they are highest in the rankings and they have run out of champions.

So let’s get this out of the way, the main talking point about this tournament will be the table they are using. It can best be described as an oversized pool table when it comes to looks, it’s kind of what a snooker table would look like if you let a 3 year old design it with some crayons to keep them quiet on a rainy afternoon.

But that said, I’m actually a fan of changing things around a bit now and again. I used to look forward to the Benson and Hedges Masters at Wembley when they used that light wood table. I know that sounds a bit sad but it made me happy as a nipper.

I can’t say that I’m a fan of the standard Star Tables when it comes to aesthetics, they look a bit tacky to me and my first thought about this table was that it resembled what a Star Table and a Pool Table’s bastard offspring would look like if they had a drunken shag after a heavy night out. But we’ll give it a chance I suppose and I hope it all works out for the best.

I actually really like this tournament, not only because it is a small select field but because we also get to watch the excellent ITV team in action (as well as the Johnstone Decorating Centre adverts). I’m particularly pleased that this year Dave Hendon is going to be along for the ride for the first section of the coverage, he continues to be head and shoulders above his regular Eurosport colleagues when it comes to commentary and pitches it at a level which Phil Studd could only dream about, combining his encyclopedic almost anorakian knowledge of the game with anecdotes aplenty.

As ever, they play this in mini-sections. Essentially it’s a 16 man knockout but the COC chiefs prefer to call them all groups. We play two best of seven ‘semi-finals’ in the afternoon followed by a best of eleven group ‘final’ in the evening. The four group winners then progress to the best of eleven frame semi-finals on Saturday and the two winners from those play a best of nineteen frame final on Sunday.

Last year saw Shaun Murphy topple Ronnie O’Sullivan (who for reasons only known to him calls this The Champions Cup) in an exciting final and as holder, Murphy kicks off the event this time against recent European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson, with Ding Junhui and Shootout King Michael Georgiou completing the Group 1 line up.

You can see how the draw pans out here and check out the official Champion of Champions website here.

We’re on a bit of a roll on the outright betting with recent winners Bingham (40/1) and Allen (22/1), so this is a chance for the treble. If you are a fan of horses for courses, there are some very big prices around about the holder Murphy, who has had a week off, has a winnable group and must at some point come back to form. There are likely to be a couple of weary souls in Robertson and Allen who are racing back from China as I write, and as ever it’s O’Sullivan that starts favourite in a format that we always think is tailor made for him, but he’s lost two finals on the spin here and has a potentially very tough group so I reckon there is some value in taking him on.

Recommended Bets: Barry Hawkins to win the COC @ 20/1 (Boosted at Ladbrokes). Stuart Bingham to win the COC at 33/1 (Skybet). 21 or more centuries in the event at 7/4 with Ladbrokes.
 
http://www.snookerbacker.com/

Snookerbacker
November 12, 2018
Northern Ireland Open
Filed under: Snooker Betting Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 7:30 am
The snooker train ain’t slowing down and now Coventry is done it’s over the water we go to the Belfast Waterfront arena for the second leg of the Home Nations Series and the Northern Ireland Open, where we find a huge field of 128 players competing to lift the Alex Higgins trophy.

The only one of them who is still in with a slim chance of taking Bazza’s million pound bonus, otherwise known as the unicorn sitting at the foot of the rainbow, is English Open champion Stuart Bingham. Our pal First Poke is the only potter who can put the wind up the chairman by getting this hands on this trophy and placing it in his already overcrowded khazi.

Fresh from his success in Coventry, Ronnie O’Sullivan also lines up in this, which is surprising considering he’s no longer in with a chance of the million pound bonus and given all he’s had to say about this style of car boot snooker in leisure centres that stink of piss. Joining him following his disappointing defeat is Kyren Wilson and we’ll see what he has in terms of bouncebackability this week.

It’s covered by Eurosport and Quest TV, so expect the first few days to follow the tried and trusted format of one-sided matches on the main table until it gets to around the last 16 when they start getting a bit closer.

Also expect references to adopted Irishman Shaun Murphy, who has recently moved to the south of Ireland and will no doubt at some point start being heard saying things like ‘top o’the mornin’ to anyone who’ll listen whilst supping a pint of Guinness and wearing a shamrock. I actually think he stands a chance this week at a decent price as to me he showed signs of getting back to something like form in Coventry. All eyes will also be on home favourite Mark Allen, who is of course bang in form and I’m sure would love to win here, he’ll not be without his backers.

You can take a look at the draw for this here and even play around with it to make your picks.

Recommended Bets: WIN ONLY: Shaun Murphy (28/1), Jack Lisowski (35/1), EACH WAY: Ali Carter (50/1), Noppon Saengkham (250/1), Chris Wakelin (300/1).

If you want to book tickets to go and watch you can call 028 9033 4455 or CLICK HERE
 
http://www.snookerbacker.com/2018/1...pFmqqU43-y2DJb2o3mbpQRKFkthqtOpEFszRF2znQ_RtE

Snookerbacker
November 13, 2018
Ronnie Stirs the Pot
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 9:12 am

Doesn’t mince his words

Over the course of the last 24 hours, Ronnie O’Sullivan has followed up his brilliant Champion of Champions win with a series of social media discussions about the state of the game. It seems that our Ronald isn’t that happy with the current regime of conveyor belt snooker and seems to be having a right old slanging match with Barry Hearn.

But as we all know, Ronnie likes to mix it up a bit and as well as putting the wind up Old Bazza he’s never happier than when he’s talking health and fitness.

I’ve been given an exclusive from the boys and girls at Betway who got an insight into the pinball table mind of snooker’s most enigmatic potter, here he talks about why it’s important to refuel with the right petrol in between matches and why he believes that it’s this, rather than his other passion of running, that is responsible for his longevity in the game.

He said so himself in July 2018 while cooking a Thai curry on Facebook Live alongside Rhiannon Lambert, the Harley Street nutritionist who he says has “re-educated him” about food.

“Before I met Rhiannon, I was playing well enough, but I was running out of steam, I got tired because I was eating bad food. But once I started working with her, I started eating differently.”

Lambert’s website explains that ‘keeping nutrition simple is the easiest way to maintain a healthy lifestyle’, and her recipes left O’Sullivan feeling “more energised” and “alert” during matches.

“I’m getting 100 per cent out of myself now, whereas before I was probably getting 85 per cent of myself, I think the difference between winning two tournaments a year and winning five is the moments where I was able to see the match through to the end without feeling like I wanted to go and have a kip.”

His explanation is not as romantic as the one about him being a genius who can pitch up to any event and win it, irrespective of whether he has been practising or not. That’s why those who have followed his career – some for more than a quarter of a century – are reluctant to believe it. He did win five World titles eating whatever he wanted, after all.

But that, he says, is most definitely not the case…

“I think most people think I was born with a cue in my hand and that when I get on the table it’s all a piece of cake,” says O’Sullivan. “But that’s not the reality. I have to work hard. There’s other top players, they’re so slight, but to make those gains on your opponent takes so much hard work and preparation. They make the difference between winning 6-4 and losing 6-4.”

O’Sullivan, who describes healthy eating and fitness as his “main passion”, first met Lambert in July 2017. “I was her guinea pig, really,” he says. “I bought totally into it and it made a massive difference to my life. I’ve learned how to put better nutrition into my body.”

He cooks every day when he’s at home and does so in batches. “I like to train, I like to go to the club, so I don’t want to be around a stove all day,” he says. “Everyone’s got busy lives, so it’s good to have food prepped and ready to go – plus you save yourself a few quid.”

Healthy eating is harder to maintain when on the road competing in tournaments – “I’ll always take stuff with me… snacks like a jar of peanut butter, some rice, some tuna” – although he says the food in Thailand and China, which host several tournaments a year, as “incredible – some of the best I’ve ever eaten”.

“I think the UK’s probably the worst place I’ve ever been for food, it really is. I see what some places serve up and I just think: ‘Wow. No wonder we’re not producing great athletes.’

“You look at other countries, what they eat, and it’s fresh, proper grub. I think it makes a huge difference to your development. I travel in Europe a lot, to places like Bulgaria and Romania, and even there the tomatoes taste different, the cucumbers taste different. In the UK, it’s quantity over quality, and I’m trying to avoid being part of that system.”

O’Sullivan wants to help other people avoid being part of it, too, which is why he and Lambert will release a health and fitness book, Top of Your Game: Eating for the Mind and Body, in December 2018.

“I meet a lot of people who are trying to lose weight, but they’re making decisions on food by reading food labels that say low in fat but are actually caked in sugar and certain stuff that’s worse than fat. That’s what Rhiannon done for me. She re-educated me. I’ve been fast-tracked in a way, and I think it’s nice to be able to pass that on. People want to be able to make proper decisions.”

O’Sullivan’s other passion of course is running but unlike healthy eating, he doesn’t believe that has improved his snooker.

“You don’t really have to be fit to be a snooker player,” he says. “If you eat well and play snooker, you’ll be absolutely fine.

“I just done it because it was a good outlet for me. I had quite an addictive nature, so I thought: ‘Well, if I’m going to be addicted, I might as well get addicted to something that’s really good for me.’

“That was running, keeping fit and training. At least if I am going to over-do it on something, the worst that’s going to happen to me is that I end up with a few sore calf muscles, or my shoulders are a bit tight.”

Or a damaged heel, which O’Sullivan currently has. It’s not stopping him from exercising, but he is likely to need surgery if he wants to perform at his best again.

He did a Park Run, which he thinks are “great”, last weekend and finished the 5km course in 20 minutes, a time he describes as “useless”. It’s not, but it is some way below his record of 17 minutes and nine seconds.

“I want to get back that to that,” says O’Sullivan. “But to do that I’ll probably have to get my foot done. I’ve convinced myself I’m going to have the operation, so it’ll mean three or four weeks in a boot ‘til it heals properly.”

But with snooker’s glamour events still to come, any extended absence will have to be carefully planned, with Ronnie hinting that after The Masters, we may not see a lot of him.

“I might just wait ‘til after the World Championships or after the Masters – I don’t know,” says O’Sullivan. “I do know it’s something worth getting done.”

Being “where I want to be, when I want to be” is important to O’Sullivan at this stage of his life, of which snooker remains a huge part.

“I still love playing, when I say love playing, I like playing. Some days I love playing, some days I’m like…” He exhales (and probably decides to tweet Hearn).

O’Sullivan’s role as a pundit for Eurosport, which often means he provides analysis on tournaments he is also competing in, complicates that relationship further.

“That’s my problem,” he says. “I love doing it. I love sitting there with Jimmy White and Neal Foulds. I love the crew at Eurosport – there’s no pressure. And I get to talk about a subject that I’m quite knowledgeable on. It’s a dream job, really. But then I’ve got my other head on, thinking that I want to be competing and doing the best at snooker, so… I don’t know.”

O’Sullivan relishes playing in exhibitions as “they take me back to my early days” and plans to keep playing competitively until that desire “goes, really”. He says he’ll head to York for the UK Championship, which at 12 days is snooker’s second-longest event, and “give it my best”.

Original Interview credit to Betway Blog
 
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