John Higgins vs Mark Allen Betting Tip Allen to win – 13th January 2021

John Higgins vs Mark Allen
13th January 1500hrs
Snooker – England – Masters
Pick Allen to win
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 10/11 odds taken 22:13 GMT Tuesday, 12th January

This is the final match of the first round of the 2021 Masters snooker and it features John Higgins taking on Mark Allen.

The winner of this could have a stinker of quarter final matches to follow as Ronnie O’Sullivan could be waiting there.

With little to choose between Higgins and Allen, this could be a tight scrap on Wednesday in Milton Keynes.

Bet at Unibet

 

John Higgins Preview – Will Higgins prevail in a tight contest?

The bookmakers are totally split over the outcome of this first round match at the Masters.

Currently, a quote of 10/11 can be taken on both players to come through the test* (odds recorded 22:13 GMT Tuesday, 12th January).

John Higgins is the 7th seed at the tournament and is a two-time former Masters champion.

The last time that Higgins won the tournament though was in 2006, so it’s fair to say it’s been a while for The Wizard of Wishaw.

But what about his current form for any hint of what to do in snooker betting for this Master’s match?

The best effort that Higgins has produced this season in a ranking tournament was a semi final place at the English Open in October 2020.

In his last two tournaments, he exited at the second round, which was in the Scottish Open and then the 2020 World Grand Prix.

 

Higgins did make the quarterfinals of the Masters last year and he has gotten past the first round in six of his last nine Masters appearances.

But there has been the unpredictability of three first round exits in his last six Masters appearances.

We do think that Higgins may just come up short in this one in what could be a long match.

An Allen 6-4 correct score option therefore looks a good option at 6/1* (odds recorded 22:13 GMT Tuesday, 12th January).

 

Mark Allen Preview – Will Allen take his chance?

Also then at the 10/11 in the match outright is Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen* (odds recorded 22:13 GMT Tuesday, 12th January).

He did win the most recent meeting with John Higgins.

That was in the 2018 Masters and Allen took a 6-3 victory on that occasion.

That result left Allen slightly in front of the head to head against Higgins 11-10 from previous meetings.

What is really interesting here is that all four times that Allen and Higgins have met in the Masters, it has been Allen who has come out on top.

So can he pull it out of his hat again?

Like Higgins, there hasn’t been a great deal of red-hot form from Allen this season.

The highlight for him was the title at the 2020 Champion of Champions tournament in November last year.

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Mark Allen did reach the fourth round of the recent Scottish Open and then followed up with a first round exit at the World Grand Prix.

So it really is hard to know what to expect.

Then there is the recent Masters form of Allen, which has seen the Northern Ireland potter suffer first round exits in the last two editions.

But he got the better of Higgins on his way to winning the 2018 Masters, which against was the last time that the two met.

 

John Higgins vs Mark Allen Betting Advice

With little to split these two, we are going to roll with what the head to head in previous Masters meetings tells us.

That’s a win for Allen at the 10/11 odds* (odds recorded 22:13 GMT Tuesday, 12th January).

It’s hard to ignore that he’s won all four previous Masters meetings against Higgins, so he is worth chancing.

 

 

So we are going for an Allen -1.5 handicap for a quote of 11/8 as we think that “The Pistol” can just do enough to shade it again.

Either way, regardless of the outcome this looks as if it is going to be a fairly long duel on the night for a place in the quarter finals.

 

The best betting odds for John Higgins vs Mark Allen

John Higgins to win: 10/111 at Bet365
Mark Allen to win: 10/11 at Bet365