Snooker World Championships 2018

[Purps]

One of my favorite sporting events of the year is starting again this saturday.

Hopefully we have some other fans of this great sport here and we'll be able to share views, tips or just talk about the games and what's happening throughout the tournament.

First round match-ups below ( bracket order ):

Mark Selby v Joe Perry 21 April
Mark Allen v Liam Highfield 22 & 23 April
Kyren Wilson v Matthew Stevens 21 & 22 April
Shaun Murphy v Jamie Jones 22 & 23 April

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John Higgins v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 25 April
Stuart Bingham v Jack Lisowski 24 April
Luca Brecel v Ricky Walden 23 & 24 April
Judd Trump v Chris Wakelin 25 & 26 April

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Ding Junhui v Xiao Guodong 23 & 24 April
Anthony McGill v Ryan Day 25 & 26 April
Marco Fu v Lyu Haotian 21 & 22 April
Barry Hawkins v Stuart Carrington 23 April

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Mark Williams v Jimmy Robertson 24 & 25 April
Neil Robertson v Robert Milkins 24 & 25 April
Ali Carter v Graeme Dott 21 & 22 April
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Stephen Maguire 21 & 22 

First session on saturday 11am CET with Selby vs Perry and Fu vs Haotian

Later in the afternoon Ronnie meets Maguire and as we know, anything can happen on that one :Cool:

 

 

[psrquack]

I think Perry will win against Selby and Fu against Haotian. I would be happy if Lisowski could go through Bingham but my most waiting game will be the unpredictable battle Brecel versus Walden.

[Purps]

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@psrquack wrote:

I think Perry will win against Selby and Fu against Haotian. I would be happy if Lisowski could go through Bingham but my most waiting game will be the unpredictable battle Brecel versus Walden.

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Perry has a decent record against Selby and has a chance here too, although Selby can be brutal on these longer game formats ( best of 19 first round ).

I'm going with Haotian against Fu. Fu has had a pretty bad season on the ranking events, only reached the final 16 a couple of times. Haotian is a crucible debutant so his nerves will be tested here. He did beat Fu 6-4 on their last meeting earlier this season at the UK championships.

 

Here are my picks for day 1:

 Fu - Haotian / @Haotian -1.5 @ 3.4

Selby - Perry / @Total century breaks: Over 2.5 @ 2.3

Wilson - Stevens / @wilson -4.5 @ 3.4

Carter - Dott / @Total frames: Over 17.5 @ 2.6

 

This is the only tournament outright I bet at this point, and it's a long shot, but if he gets through Ronnie, then who knows.....

Maguire / @World Champion, Each Way @ 126

 

Good luck everyone and hopefully we get to enjoy some great, and profitable, snooker over the next 2 weeks

[Purps]

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 Fu - Haotian / Haotian -1.5 @ 3.4

Selby - Perry / Total century breaks: Over 2.5 @ 2.3

 

Selby - Perry 2-7 ( after 1st session )

1st session turned out to be a nightmare for Selby. Went 0-4 down, after the interval looked like he's making a comeback winning 2 frames, but then he lost the last 3.

2-7 down on a race to 10 .... Selby has made some sick comebacks but he played so bad that a lot has to happen for this one to turn around.

We had to wait to the last frame to see the first century break, so the bet isn't looking great atm.

Game will be played to conclusion tonight 8pm CET

 

Fu - Haotian 3-6 ( after 1st session )

Great debut for the youngster, hitting 2 centuries ( 127, 122 ) and leading by 3 frames.

Game will resume tomorrow. Sleep well Lyu :)

[psrquack]

I wasn't surprized about Selby's recent run. I watched his play during this season (and lost some money betting on him) and have had the feeling when you meet with your long seen friend and you have the feeling that anything has changed but you don't know what. Perry seemed more consistent and showed more balanced play for me this season. To the other game: hard to say but sometimes I have the feeling that Fu can lose his appetite to play and give up the game. I don't know what happened in his head or Haotian was too good btw I still hope that Fu will win the game.

[Purps]

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@psrquack wrote:

I wasn't surprized about Selby's recent run. I watched his play during this season (and lost some money betting on him) and have had the feeling when you meet with your long seen friend and you have the feeling that anything has changed but you don't know what.

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Just shocking to see him struggle this much after just binking a ranking event less than 2 weeks ago.

Ronnie against Maguire ( 0-4 on the break ) has so far been like watching the Selby-Perry game all over again.

btw I still hope that Fu will win the game.

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Awwww, what have I done to deserve this? :teardrop:

[psrquack]

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@Purps wrote:

btw I still hope that Fu will win the game.

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Awwww, what have I done to deserve this? :teardrop:

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What else should I say if I have a ticket with that outcome?:annoyed:

[Purps]

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@psrquack wrote:

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@Purps wrote:

btw I still hope that Fu will win the game.

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Awwww, what have I done to deserve this? :teardrop:

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What else should I say if I have a ticket with that outcome?:annoyed:

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Fair enough :)

It can still turn around, and also my bets are looking too good, so it probably will :wonder:

[psrquack]

I got the crips, so I'm ready for the night session. I feel a little comeback on Selby's side so I bet over 6,5 frames for him.

[Purps]

2 games starting on Sunday:

 

Mark Allen - Liam Highfield / Allen -4.5 @ 2.50

I can't see Highfield having much chance against Allen, and now that Allen's 2nd round opponent changed from Selby to Perry, it may give him a little extra boost. So we go for comfortable win for Allen.

 

Shaun Murphy - Jamie Jones / Jones @ 3.50

Murphy shouldn't be quite as big of a favorite here as odds suggest. Jamie must be feeling good about his game after sealing his main draw place with a 10-0 whitewash over Liang Wenbo. These two met  in the first round of this competition 6 years ago and that time Jamie won 10-8, so he knows how to do it, now he just has to repeat it.

 

Selby and Perry were only able to produce one century break so the bet on that match failed miserably:

Selby - Perry / Total century breaks: Over 2.5 @ 2.3 :Veryangry:

 

Settled bets: 1

Won: 0

[Purps]

2 more bets:

Mark Allen - Liam Highfield / Result after 4 frames: Allen @ 2.15

Shaun Murphy - Jamie Jones / Over 16.5 frames @ 2.00

 

[psrquack]

Got Ronnie to win the match for 2,17. Btw I have bad feelings about Shaun Murphy too. I don't think his run will be long. I guess he will win this round and next round he will be eliminated.

[Purps]

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@psrquack wrote:

Got Ronnie to win the match for 2,17. Btw I have bad feelings about Shaun Murphy too. I don't think his run will be long. I guess he will win this round and next round he will be eliminated.

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Ronnie looking good now. Not being able to steal the 12th frame was massive blow for Maguire.

 

On the other table Allen dropped the 2nd frame but still managed to win the first minisession:

Mark Allen - Liam Highfield / @Result after 4 frames: Allen @ 2.15 :Cash:

 

Bets:

settled 2

won 1

return 2.15

[psrquack]

Poor Maguire, he was so close in the 15th too. If he can bring the 16th home it will be very interesting game, if not I will bet for Ronnie in the 17th.

[psrquack]

Odds are too tempting, I sold Ronnie and bought Stephen from the profit for 3,75.

[Purps]

The blue to the middle on 16th frame :dissatisfied:

 

Nice comeback from Ronnie though and he could be bulldozing through the field now.

Obviously great for the tournament that he managed to win.

 

Damn, I started liking this bet, but to the bin it goes...

Maguire / World Champion, Each Way @ 126 😠

 

Bets:

settled 3

won 1

return 2.15

[psrquack]

Pick Lyu for champion. He still has great odds and you can secure it if he will through one or two rounds.

[Purps]

Sunday afternoon and evening sessions turned out nice with 3 matches played to conclusion and all the bets on those turning out winning, putting us nicely on profit for the whole tournament thus far:

Fu - Haotian / Haotian -1.5 @ 3.4 -----> Haotian won 10-5

Wilson - Stevens / Wilson -4.5 @ 3.4 -----> Wilson won 10-3

Carter - Dott / Total frames: Over 17.5 @ 2.6 -----> Carter won 10-8

Jamie Jones is 4-5 down against Murphhy after the 1st session so the bets on Jones and over 16.5 frames are still very much alive, as is Allen -4.5 against liam Highfield ( 6-3 for Allen )

 

Bets:

settled: 6

Won: 4

Return: 11.55

 

Day 3 ( monday )

 

Barry Hawkins - Stuart Carrington / Over 17.5 frames @ 3.15

This should be a close grind, Hawkins probably gonna win it but I believe Carrington will hang in there.

 

Ding Junhui - Xiao Guodong / Ding -3.5 @ 2.55

Xiao has some great wins this season ( Selby twice, Higgins, Allen ) and reached couple quarter-finals but these lower ranked chinese often struggle more against Ding than they really should. These 2 have already met twice this season, easy win for Ding on both occasions ( 5-0 and 6-2 ). I don't see why that trend wouldn't continue.

 

Luca Brecel - Ricky Walden / Walden -2.5 @ 2.9

Tough game to call but Brecels recent results havent been that great and Walden had a good qualifying campaign.If Brecel has one of his good days, he may win this easily. I just elect to go with Waldens experience this time.

[Purps]

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@psrquack wrote:

Pick Lyu for champion. He still has great odds and you can secure it if he will through one or two rounds.

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Too bad he is on the lower half of the draw. On the upper half with odds of 81 it sure would be tempting. Kyren Wilsons 17 doesn't look too bad either.

I think I'll wait for the first round to complete before making any champion bets though....

[Purps]

Some more bets for Monday:

 

Barry Hawkins - Stuart Carrington / Carrington +3.5 @ 2.09

Barry Hawkins - Stuart Carrington / Highest break: Carrington @ 2.95

Ding Junhui - Xiao Guodong / Result after 4 frames: Ding @ 2.35

Luca Brecel - Ricky Walden / Under 15.5 frames @ 3.05

 

Also wagering on Kyren Wilson to win the trophy:

Kyren Wilson / Winner ( Each Way ) @ 17

[psrquack]

Highfield for 10 seems tempting for me.

[Purps]

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@psrquack wrote:

Highfield for 10 seems tempting for me.

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@He is looking sharper of the 2 right now. Did you get it @ 10? .... nice one if you did 👍

[psrquack]

Yes, I have it, but unfortunately he missed the brown (it was a terrible shot) and gave the frame to Allen.

[Purps]

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@psrquack wrote:

Yes, I have it, but unfortunately he missed the brown (it was a terrible shot) and gave the frame to Allen.

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Yeah.... odds were down to 5 before that.

Probably only good for my blood pressure that I haven't gotten into live betting. Can't really do that on sports like snooker, because of having to rely on web streams where there's always a little bit of delay.

[SCOBY]

Ronie is the best !!!!