Masters Snooker Bet Day Six: Allen great value to take revenge on Selby

Snooker / Paul Krishnamurty / 14 January 2010 / 1 Comments

Mark Allen is a value bet to beat Mark Selby

"Allen's stock has risen considerably in the past year, whereas Selby has at best stood still. Widely recognised as a great prospect almost from the moment he turned professional, Allen significantly raised his profile by reaching the semi-finals of the World Championships, claiming the prize scalp of Ronnie O'Sullivan along the way."

Irishman is under-rated by the market and can get better of the Jester from Leicester, says Paul Krishnamurty

It's almost exactly 12 months to the day since Mark Allen and Mark Selby fought out a nail-biting final frame decider at Wembley, and given the progress of each player in the meantime I'm rather surprised to see Allen available at [2.76]. In other words, more or less the same odds as last year. Selby emerged triumphant from that previous encounter, but those of us who backed Allen pre-match had ample opportunity to lay back for profit in-running.

Moreover, Allen's stock has risen considerably in the past year, whereas Selby has at best stood still. Widely recognised as a great prospect almost from the moment he turned professional, Allen significantly raised his profile by reaching the semi-finals of the World Championships, claiming the prize scalp of Ronnie O'Sullivan along the way. Those performances show he can thrive on these big-pressure occasions, and having eliminated John Higgins in the last round, Allen has no reason to fear anybody.

Selby is of course respected, having reached the last two Wembley finals. His first round victory rates a fine result, at least on paper, against an out-of-form, rusty Ding Junhui. Nevertheless, Selby has slipped down the pecking order of late, going from many people's idea of O'Sullivan's main challenger to potentially losing his place in the top-16.

Indeed, just two places separate Selby and Allen in the provisional world rankings at 13th and 15th respectively, and that's another reason to conclude that these odds are too one-sided

Selection: Mark Allen @ [2.76]

Comments (1)

1. Steve | 16 January 2010

   I'm sorry but you must be the worst "expert" tipper I've ever seen. You never get a prediction correct!