World Snooker Bet of the Day: Previews and tips for the first two quarter-finals

Paul Krishnamurty
28 April 2014

Mark Selby looks nailed on to progress

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We've reached the quarter-finals at the Crucible, all of which are over two days and three sessions. Paul Krishnamurty previews the two matches that begin on Tuesday morning.

"Selby is notorious for making hard work for himself against lesser opposition, with his 10-9 first round victory over Michael White a classic case in point. I can see at least one, maybe two of the three sessions being close, with Selby dominating the other."

Mark Selby v Alan McManus
Match odds: Selby 1.132/15, McManus 8.27/1

It is very hard to see an upset in the most one-sided of quarter-finals. Full credit to McManus for getting this far but it is a very long time since he was competitive at this level. Even then it should be remembered that snooker had nowhere near today's strength in depth when he was a top-eight player. Considering Selby has started this year's title challenge in pretty impressive fashion, it's hard to argue with the outright price.

Whether the scoreline turns out to be one-sided, however, is quite another matter. Selby is notorious for making hard work for himself against lesser opposition, with his 10-9 first round victory over Michael White a classic case in point. I can see at least one, maybe two of the three sessions being close, with Selby dominating the other. That scenario would equate to a correct score something like 13-7, 13-8 and 13-9, which combined pays around 2.915/8.

Back Selby to win 13-7 1.5u @ 8.615/2
Back Selby to win 13-8 1.5u @ 9.08/1
Back Selby to win 13-9 1.5u @ 10.09/1

Barry Hawkins v Dominic Dale
Match odds: Hawkins 1.384/11, Dale 3.711/4

Punters who have taken odds up to 1000.0 about the other remaining qualifier won't be too disheartened by this draw. While Barry Hawkins commands respect, he is one of the lesser seeds left in the competition and was pretty poor in the last round. At other stages of their career, there's between little between him and Dale.

Nevertheless, I expect the Hawk to prove too strong. Granted he struggled against Walden, but then he often seems to against that particular opponent, who miraculously won the final four frames to steal their Masters clash. Take out that one performance and Hawkins had been outstanding when winning the PTC Grand Finals and impressive in the first round. Again, lets try some correct scores on 13-7, 13-8, 13-9 and 13-10. That quartet pays around 2.68/5.

Back Hawkins to win 13-7 1u @ 11.010/1
Back Hawkins to win 13-8 1u @ 10.09/1
Back Hawkins to win 13-9 1u @ 10.09/1
Back Hawkins to win 13-10 1u @ 11.010/1