Premier League Snooker Final Betting: Rebel Rocket can break Murphy's law

/ David Hendon / 29 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

"O’Sullivan hasn’t yet played his best snooker this season but he always relishes a major final and his reign as champion is set to continue... "

It is to be, as David Hendon predicted, a Ronnie O'Sullivan v Shaun Murphy final in the Premier League on Sunday night. As he's got it right so far, we suggest you pay attention to our man as he selects the best bets.

This is not so much a clash of styles as a clash of personalities. O'Sullivan plays snooker as he lives his life: on instinct. Nothing is really thought through and he is quite happy to shoot his mouth off without thinking, an honest trait which has endeared him to many and also led him into much trouble over the years.

By contrast, Murphy is a diplomat, the McCartney to O'Sullivan's Lennon. He always says the right things, acts professionally and conducts himself well. For these reasons he will most likely enjoy almost none of the crowd's support this evening. The packed house will cheer for the rebel and the likelihood is they will be rewarded for their loyalty.

This is, as I made clear before the semis, the Rocket's title to lose. He has won eight Premier League crowns in total and each of the last five. Last night, he brushed aside the challenge of young pretender Judd Trump 5-1 and Murphy, though full of self confidence after a 5-3 win over John Higgins, has his work cut out to stop the O'Sullivan juggernaut.

One of the key mistakes players make in tackling O'Sullivan is attempting to take him on at his own game: going for everything, attacking, opening the frames up. Bearing in mind there is nobody better at this kind of game than Ronnie himself, it is surely playing into his hands. That's why he dislikes competing against Peter Ebdon, Mark Selby and Graeme Dott, all players who can mix attack and defence and, with carefully thought out safety play, tie O'Sullivan up in knots.

Murphy isn't the sort of player who would try this approach. His whole career has been built around playing the sort of attacking snooker O'Sullivan himself has pioneered. However, to win tonight he will need to raise several gears or hope the world no.1 fails to fire. In truth, O'Sullivan hasn't yet played his best snooker this season but he always relishes a major final and his reign as champion is set to continue - unless his fellow former world champion does something special to ensure Murphy's law does for snooker's errant genius.