Snooker Betting Tips: Betfair PTC Grand Finals Preview

Snooker / Paul Krishnamurty / 18 March 2012 /

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Stephen Lee is a solid favourite to win his semi

"Maguire is a tournament winner-in-waiting. Yesterday's win over Ricky Walden was only by a narrow margin, but Maguire certainly looked to be cueing well when racking up quickfire breaks of 92. 77 and 82."

Sunday brings both semis and final in Galway at the Betfair PTC snooker with every frame live on Betfair Live Video

4pts Stephen Lee to beat Andrew Higginson @ [1.6]
Both of these players delivered for this column yesterday, but as the manner of their quarter-final victories was so different, there can only be one selection.

Stephen Lee was quite superb when whitewashing world number one Mark Selby, and despite doubts over his stamina and therefore ability to maintain top form throughout the whole of finals day, he looks a class apart from Higginson. Lee has been in good form for months now, but yesterday was arguably his best televised performance for several years. No wonder he's back from the wilderness and chasing a top-eight spot.

Alternatively, Higginson's victory over rank outsider Xiao Guodong came in a scrappy affair and having only scraped through a decider the previous night, he will need to dramatically up his game to compete this afternoon. Perhaps the pressure will be off as the outsider of four, but it's hard to quibble with the market.

2pts Stephen Maguire to win the title @ [3.4]
2pts Stephen Maguire to beat Neil Robertson @ [2.2]
The second semi is a real humdinger, between two strong candidates for next month's World Championship.

Stephen Maguire and Neil Robertson have produced some classic snooker against one another, and while the latter warrants the utmost respect, I must re-assert yesterday's hint that Maguire is a tournament winner-in-waiting. Yesterday's win over Ricky Walden was only by a narrow margin, but Maguire certainly looked to be cueing well when racking up quickfire breaks of 92. 77 and 82.

Earlier in their careers, Maguire seemed to save his best snooker for matches against Robertson. Most memorably, he barely missed a ball in a 2009 Masters match at Wembley, and produced one of the all-time great Crucible sessions when opening a 7-1 lead a year earlier in the World Championship. On recent evidence, the Scot is approaching that level of form once again.

It would be churlish trying to pick holes in Robertson's claims because there are none. If he can defeat Maguire, then the Melbourne Machine will be seeking to maintain a 100% record in final appearances, having won all previous seven. Both semis and the final will be shown on Betfair Live Video, so if my earlier advice on Maguire goes wrong, my recommendation will be to back Robertson in the final.

Apart from these two players' rock-solid credentials, Lee has a long track record of struggling over two-session matches, which is what winning this title will effectively entail.

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