Snooker / John Woodford / 06 January 2010 /

Snooker fan and master bettor John Woodford picks two who can finish top of the pile when the Wembley shindig comes to an end

North of £750m was spent on the Wembley Park redevelopment, the home of football endorsed by fans from all corners of the country. National pride and two seasons of mediocre results aren't alone enough to fill the void left in snooker's devout London contingent. The Wembley Conference Centre, snooker's gladiatorial den to late night oohs, ahhhs and a crowd more akin to encouraging the Three Lions than The Rolls Royce, Angles or Nine Drags had gone forever.

One man responsible for the majority of those late nights in one form or another can rekindle memories of old for us all at 7pm on January 10. That's right snooker fans, by hook or crook, the true king of the jungle Jimmy White has somehow secured a wildcard to Snooker's most prestigious invitational!

A tournament the late Paul Hunter made his own by producing some of his career best snooker at the venue, The Masters features the top 16 players in the world, and two wild-cards, fighting out the best of 11 frames through to the conclusion of the semi-finals. Seven days after the opening break-off a best of 19 frame final over two sessions determines who joins John Spencer, the tournament's inaugural winner in 75, and the rest of the gang as The Master of Masters.

Once you have yourself suitably furnished with a full and comprehensive list of player nicknames (an absolute must), some serious number crunching is required before spending hours on the Betfair Forum bickering with regular contributors as to the top ten commentators in the world today.

With the ever efficient exchange prices offering an accurate reflection of each runner's chance pre-event, in-play betting continues to provide the biggest discrepancies and angle sought after to return a long term profit. There are however exceptions to this pre-play rule, and a couple of prices are asking to be taken, just as the bottle of vintage tawny did over the festive period.

Shaun Murphy, sitting menacingly in the top half of the draw and available to back at [13.0] on Betfair, was suffering from heavy flu when taking a 9-3 thumping in the UK off eventual victor Ding Junhui. The whispers from Telford a month ago were that The Magician was firing on all cylinders and if you look beyond this bare result, there is quite a lot to like.

Winner of the Premier League 7-3 against one of few players to be disadvantaged by the shot clock, a one frame loss in the semi-final of the Shanghai and a World Championship Final appearance. Throw in two winning WSOS events, and steady progress in the season's opening ranking events and there may just be some substance to the rumours.

Murphy's success at Wembley is of slight concern; he has yet to pass the QF stage from five attempts. However, the world no. 3 is a determined character and comes into the tournament with momentum and in good health, he'll fancy his chances of setting up a clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semis.

Mark Selby is threatening to come back to a bit of form (and is nailed on to win the World Champs in the next five years), but with two sticky matches straight up, at the price it's a swerve

At the top end of the market, it's interesting to see Ronnie O'Sullivan being offered at [17.0] to land the Masters and World Champs double, which arguably represents a bit of value.
For those looking for a less long term proposition with a juicy price tag, perhaps Stephen Maguire at [12.0] can liven up the bottom half of the draw. Maguire faces the winner of the wild card war of attrition and thereafter, faces an out of sorts Ryan Day or Joe Perry. The Merlin looked to be moving in the right direction in the UK and, with a bit of fire in the belly, could find himself quickly progressing to the latter stages. Two QF and two SF appearances to his name in this tournament and a decent record over 11 frames (against good opponents) makes Maguire my second play.

1pt win Shaun Murphy [13]
1 pt win Stephen Maguire [12]

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