Masters Snooker Day One Tips: Ronnie and Ding set for big break battle

Masters / Alex Lee / 15 January 2012 /

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Ding sets his sights on another Masters title

"It is in the Ding v Ronnie Century Breaks market that some decent punting opportunities can be had."

Alex Lee selects the best bets as the talented and unpredictable Englishman meets the Masters reigning champion on day one at Ally Pally. Meanwhile, it's Wales v Scotland in the day's other big match...

It's the Chinese Year of the Dragon, but Ding Junhui's Masters Snooker survival chances depend largely upon whether Ronnie O'Sullivan decides to blow hot or cold in the first round. O'Sullivan's legendary unpredictability, especially at such an early stage of the tournament, means that any bet on the Rocket is fraught with danger. What we can expect, however, is that both the mercurial Londoner and his Chinese opponent will be able to punctuate their play with some astonishing displays of break building. Therefore, it is in the Century Breaks market that some decent punting opportunities can be had.

In the first day's other fixture between Wales' Mark Williams and Scotland's Stephen Maguire, it will be a case of which player can take the best advantage of his opponent's fragility in the safety department. It's not that this pair are both poor proponents of safety play, it's simply that neither can frankly be bothered as they both prefer to play aggressive, attacking snooker and throw caution to the wind. Obviously, the 'Dragon' connection dovetails nicely with a tip for Welshman Williams, who is one of snooker's most belligerent break-builders when he is in among the balls. While he missed a few long pots in losing 3-2 to an in-form Selby in the Championship League on Thursday, there were enough signs to show that he's coming back to his best after a disappointing second round exit in the most recent major - last year's UK Snooker Championship.

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