In the second of his daily series of tips, Paul Krishnamurty is backing 'Gentleman Joe' Perry to justify favouritism with ease by defying the handicap...
"Perry is playing better than ever...reaching an impressive six quarter-finals in top-grade events this season, in addition to wins in the Championship League plus an Asian PTC."
Two matches get under way on Sunday, with Ding Junhui and Joe Perry red-hot favourites to progress at the expense of Michael Wasley and Jamie Burnett respectively. While it is very hard to make any sort of argument against either of them, only very big-hitters will be prepared to take heavy odds-on, so the best value bets are to be found in speciality markets.
Having said that, while Ding makes no appeal at 1.091/11, Perry is almost within backable range at 1.374/11 and could well appeal as an in-running bet if falling behind early on. 'Gentleman Joe' is one of the weakest seeds in this year's line-up, but his opponent is equally one of the least dangerous qualifiers.
Burnett pulled off an impressive victory over world number 27 Ben Woollaston to get here, but to put that result in context, it was the first time he'd beaten a top-32 player all season. While there are lower ranked players at The Crucible than Burnett, few if any have so consistently fallen short at the highest level. All three previous first round appearances here during a 20-year career ended in defeat.
Given that he's due to play Ronnie O'Sullivan next, it would be something of a minor miracle were Perry to replicate his 2008 run to the semi-finals, but he is playing better than ever. The 39-year-old is one of those to have really benefitted from the ever busier schedule, reaching an impressive six quarter-finals in top-grade events this season, in addition to wins in the Championship League plus an Asian PTC.
That is light years ahead of Burnett's usual standard and I doubt Perry will have much trouble beating the 2.5 frame handicap.
Recommended Bet
Back Joe Perry to win the 2.5 frame handicap 6u @ 1.855/6 (vs Burnett)
Note: As these bets are published early, when liquidity is still weak, prices are a guide based on odds comparison websites.
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