Graeme Dott vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
6th February 1900hrs
Snooker – Cheltenham – World Grand Prix
Pick Draw
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 11/8 odds taken 2000 GMT, Wednesday 8 January
Even though Ronnie O’Sullivan is going into this quarter-final fixture at the World Grand Prix as the favourite, it may not be all that cut and dry. He hasn’t been at his sharpest in Cheltenham and his opponent Graeme Dott is in great form at the moment.
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O’Sullivan not fluent in Cheltenham
Both wins that Ronnie O’Sullivan has secured so far at the 2020 World Grand Prix have been 4-3 victories. He opened his account by edging 11th seed David Gilbert and then got past 27th seed Liang Wenbo. So there have been struggles for the Rocket, who crashed out in the first round last year.
It is worth remembering that this is O’Sullivan’s first ranking event since the Scottish Open in December. So there is that lack of match sharpness, despite him still arguably being the most talented player in the world. The bottom half of the World Grand Prix draw is wide open and it is O’Sullivan’s quarter-final opponent Dott, who is the highest seed left in the section.
Nine times out of ten you would be looking at a fixture like this and wouldn’t hesitate to jump all over O’Sullivan with some backing. The head to head supports that as the Rocket leads Dott 12-3 in previous meetings. It is a five-match winning streak that O’Sullivan is on against the Scotsman. But they have not met since March 2018.
Trending Dott could pull off a surprise
Dott has looked in good shape in Cheltenham and has dropped just one frame across his opening two matches. He saw off Kurt Maflin in the first round 4-1 and then powered past Xiao Guodong in the round of sixteen. The Scotsman is not a player that punters are immediately drawn to when it comes to ranking tournaments, but there is a little bit of current form there.
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Dott was a recent semi-finalist at the German Masters. He was only beaten 6-4 by eventual winner Judd Trump there, but there is clearly some roll over with momentum for Dott. That semi-final place was his best result at a ranking tournament since losing the final of the 2018 Coral Snooker Shoot-Out. Sometimes betting is just about timing and this may not be a bad time to consider Graeme Dott.
Graeme Dott vs Ronnie O’Sullivan Betting Advice
Dott is the underdog and that we would support. But because he is carrying a bit of form having reached the semi-finals in an albeit weak German Masters field, his confidence looks right on point at the moment. Two easy wins so far at the World Grand Prix has helped that.
Key Facts – Graeme Dott vs Ronnie O’Sullivan Betting Tip
- Graeme Dott has lost his last five matches against the Rocket
- Graeme Dott reached the semi’s of the German Masters last week
- Ronnie O’Sullivan leads the head to head 12-3
O’Sullivan, in contrast, has needed a deciding frame in both of his matches so far and his match sharpness has to be called into question a little bit. He is the better player, but a +1.5 handicap on Dott to at least push O’Sullivan all the way, is a sound proposition.
The best betting odds for Graeme Dott vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
Graeme Dott to win: 5/2 at Bet365
Ronnie O’Sullivan: 1/3 at Bet365
