World Snooker Championship Betting / Paul Krishnamurty / 16 April 2009 /

A pair of fancied Scots offer better value than crowd favourite Ronnie, says Paul Krishnamurty.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has won this market four times previously, including last year when he was trading around [6.0] pre-tournament. The odds are notably tighter this time around though, with [4.6] matched already. That suggests to me that we're better off looking for value elsewhere in a market that can of course realistically be won by any of the 32 competitors.

In particular, Stephen Maguire looks good value at [11.0]. 'On Fire' Maguire has what appears to be an easy route to the quarter-finals, which should enable him to find his rhythm, and means he'll get more attempts than most at racking up a big total. There are very few better break-builders in the game than Maguire, and I expect to see the Glaswegian run up a series of big scores over the next fortnight.

John Higgins is another player who usually hits several centuries at the Crucible, and as the 'Wizard of Wishaw' has won this market twice before, [12.0] rates fair value. Further down the list, Mark Allen ([30.0]) and Jamie Cope ([32.0]) are both big-break specialists who could spring a surprise.

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