Snooker / Paul Krishnamurty / 10 December 2009 /

Gritty, combative Selby is a candidate for Ronnie's worst type of opponent and the favourite could offer a superb lay-to-back bet

As no more than two frames have separated Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby in their last three long distance matches, it's hard to reason why the former should be such a hot favourite, trading at just [1.47]. Ronnie won two of those; 10-8 in last year's Masters final and 9-8 in a memorable semi-final here in 2007; while Selby edged the 2008 Welsh Open final in a decider. Crucially from a trading perspective, Selby went odds-on in-running at some stage in all three of them.

On this week's form, Ronnie has certainly looked more fluent, but then he usually does against lesser opponents who offer two or three chances per frame. Selby is by far his toughest opponent so far, and has suggested in those previous encounters that he is Ronnie's least favourite type of opponent. Ronnie even suffered a bout of sour grapes after that Welsh Open final, labelling Selby a 'negative' player.

Selby does seem prone to late-night finishes, and certainly looks a better player over the longer matches. Indeed, many believe him to be a world champion in-waiting after some stellar performances in Crucible marathons. Were this trade repeated for every long distance O'Sullivan/Selby match over the next five years, I'd be pretty confident of a substantial profit.

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