World Snooker Championship Betting / Paul Krishnamurty / 25 April 2009 /

Back confident Maguire to cement favouritism in style, says Paul Krishnamurty.

With Ronnie O'Sullivan's exit throwing the tournament wide open, several players now know they may never get a better chance of becoming world champion. And none more so than Stephen Maguire, who now heads the outright market at [5.8]. Whether Maguire can hold his nerve later in the tournament against several other serious candidates remains to be seen, but I expect to see that price shorten over the coming days.

The world no.2 looked in imperious form during his first round encounter, hitting three centuries on the way to a facile 10-5 triumph over Jamie Burnett, and should have little trouble with Mark King in this afternoon's second round match. In contrast to Maguire's assured, top-class display, King's match with Rory Mcleod probably represented the poorest standard of the first round.

At [1.2], outright betting options are extremely limited, so again my plan is to focus on the correct score market. King is a battler if nothing else, so the chances of a thrashing are unlikely but Maguire should still win with plenty in hand. I recommend a combination of Maguire to win 13-6, 13-7 and 13-8, which pays around 2.8.

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