So
the Betfair Masters is upon us at the Alexandra Palace.
There’s
no hiding place in this tournament: just one table and the top 16 players in
the world.
Let’s
take a look at today’s matches…
NEIL
ROBERTSON v DING JUNHUI
A
brutal opener, this, for both players featuring as it does the last two winners
of the title.
Ding
is suffering for his inconsistency by failing to secure a top eight place and
thus facing one of the top eight in the first round. But this draw does
Robertson no favours either because, on song, Ding is as good as anyone.
Defending
champions are always under pressure on the opening day. Robertson was when he lost
10-8 to Judd Trump in the first round of the 2011 World Championship. The
defending champion has lost on the first afternoon of the Masters for the last
two years.
Robertson,
though, is a first rate match player, calmness personified when the pressure
comes on. Even so, any weaknesses in his game will surely be pounced on. Ding is
a hard player to predict but after first round defeats in all of the big three tournaments
in 2012 it’s about time he came good again.
PREDICTION:
Ding 6-4
MARK
ALLEN v MARK DAVIS
Davis
is making his second appearance in the Masters, ten years after his first. He has
enjoyed a terrific couple of years in which he has beaten top players and
produced the goods on television.
Allen
is a feisty talent from Northern Ireland who reached the Masters semi-finals
two years ago. His game is formidable when he’s on song and after a first round
exit at the UK Championship he’ll be looking to make amends here.
I
think it’s only a matter of time before he wins one of the big three and wouldn’t
be surprised if it was this week.
PREDICTION:
Allen 6-3
15 comments:
My Prediction
Robertson to win 6-2
Allen to win 6-5
Hi Dave,
I liked your previous post about the Magic of the Masters, magic in itself that piece was. As a viewer at home, I do feel it lost some appeal since 2006 when it moved from the Wembley Conference Centre. That venue was unique, and gave it a unique presence, whereas the venues since then just look like largened versions of the ranking event cycle where they ship in the temporary seats, seems to be nothing different about it now.
However, it should be good. Other question I have for you, what is the reason that they don't have wildcards anymore in the last couple of years? I think the wildcards was a great thing, and it guaranteed the public to see someone that they are endeared to, such as a Davis or a White or a Hendry. I thought with Barry Hearn in charge that this would definitely still have been in place, and it would have been especially good this year as despite the number of good players on show, the draw is somewhat bereft of players who capture the public's imagination, with Hendry retired and O'Sullivan on a sabbatical.
Now that the seedings/ranking are updated 3 times a year why is the draw not 1 v 16, 2 v 15, 3 v 14 etc, as at Sheffield? It is ridiculous that Robbo has to play Ding in round 1 when he could be playing the player ranked 16.
Annoying that the BBC cut off in the tenth frame. Thank God for Eurosport and the great team there.
BTW are you and your fellow commentators at the venue this year? Would be great to hear/read some exclusive stuff from you guys.
We are at the Ally Pally yes
Hi David. What a match to kick off the 2013 masters Robertson .V.Ding.
Robertson 2-0 up with a 76 break, and a steel on the pink. Ding responds well. A century, and he won the fourth. 2-all at the mid session interval. Robertson goes 3-2 up. Ding, helped by another century, leads 5-3. What a rospose by Robertson. Helped by a century, he trails 5-4. Then levels, 5-all. He then makes 90, to win. Robertson 6-5 Ding. What a superb match.
that's great youre at the venue david.
where are you situated when youre actually doing the commenting?
Hi David. A great standard second matvh today. Mark Allen .V. Mark Davis. Allen makes 136 from the Davis break-off. 1-0. Davis levels, 1-all. Allen goes 2-1 up, 2-all. Both plaayers over 90 percent pot success. After the interval, Allen took control. He won four in a row, to win, 6-2, and set up a mouth-watering Neil Robertson .V. Mark Allen quater-Final.
A great first day's play, in my view.
Hi David. I would also like to pay tribute, and wish a very happy 44th birthday, for today, to 6-time Masters winner, BBC pundit, and snooker legend, Stephen Hendry.
He was, of course, born on January 13, 1969.
Happy 44th birthday, for today, to Stephen Hendry M.B.E.
Hi David. As for a incident in The Masters when Mark Allen needed to use the long rest, today/ we all no what happend next. I'm sure most people have done it.
'perfect angle on the blue to split the reds. Ideally, needs to hit the pink full'.
So, all eyes (sadly, not the producer's) on the white and its collision with the pack of reds.
The aforementioned producer however, is more concerned with the blue's journey to the middle pocket.
Can we just see the full view of the table. That way, we see both aspects of the shot.
Incidentally, the guy employed to operate the camera that follows random balls round the table zooming in and out as he goes, he can be let go, surely !
@808
It's for people with 3D televisions. There isn't much point watching snooker in 3D if all you get is a table view, you need to have the balls rolling towards you to get the full effect.
that's great youre at the venue david.
where are you situated when youre actually doing the commenting?
808, do you go on football websites slagging off the cameramen there when they don't follow exactly what you want?
It's for people with 3D televisions, of course.
Personally, I'd rather watch both aspects of each shot, the pot and resultant position especially if it includes a canon or split of the pack etc.
Then again, obviously there is more of a demand for being hit in the face by a red ball !
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