Masters 2020 second seed Mark Williams starts his campaign at the latest edition of the tournament on Wednesday.
In this first round fixture, the Welshman lines up against Stuart Bingham.
The winner will face either Kyren Wilson or Jack Lisowski in the quarters. Read our Mark Williams vs Stuart Bingham betting tip for more details.
Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham odds*
Stuart Bingham 4/5
Mark Williams Even Money
* (betting odds taken from Betfred on January 13th, 2020 at 4:46 pm)
Masters Snooker Betting at Betfred
Table of Contents
Can Williams hold out against Bingham?
It has not been a great 2019/20 season from Mark Williams. The Welshman is a two-time winner of the Masters but has been struggling for some current form. From his ten outings, this season across ranking and non-ranking events, has made it to the final of a tournament once only. That was back in September at the China Championship.
Since then, second-round exits at the English Open and the UK Championship in ranking event efforts hasn’t been a great production rate from him. Williams had tanked from the Masters in the first round in three of his last four entries.
Head to head
Bingham leads Williams 5-4 in the head to head (including non-ranking)
The most recent meeting was at the 2018 World Grand Prix won by Bingham
Stuart Bingham has won the last three meetings between them
Can Stuart Bingham find Masters form?
Stuart Bingham has a career record at the Masters to forget. In his nine previous appearances at the event, he has managed to win just two fixtures in the main draw. Those were both in his big 2016 effort when he reached the semi-finals.
Like his opponent Williams on Wednesday, the 2019/20 season hasn’t been great for Bingham either. His best effort was a quarter-final place at the 2019 World Open in November. It’s been a significant drop off from him.
In the second half of last season he was in great nick, reaching at least the quarter-finals in six consecutive ranking events. In total, he picked up two ranking titles last season, his most productive campaign on the circuit. If he can tap back into that, he can win this.
Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham Prediction and tip
The head to head form is with Bingham and so he has to be the pick in this one. There may not be much between them so the Bingham -1.5 Handicap at 11/8 looks the way to go* (betting odds taken from Betfred on January 13th, 2020 at 4:46 pm)
