Stephen Maguire vs David Gilbert Betting Tip 1 – 17th January 2020

Gilbert can reach semi's in Masters debut

David Gilbert /England ©imago images / Xinhua 16.01.2020

This is a quarter-final match-up the Masters 2020 which few will have had pencilled in. Maguire won a tense decider in the opening round to knock off third seed Neil Roberton.

David Gilbert, in his Masters debut, looked right at home at the Ally Pally as he thumped sixth seed, Mark Allen. So both competitors pulled off big first-round upsets.

Which of them will have enough to lend themselves a semi-final berth? Read our Stephen Maguire vs David Gilbert betting tip for more details.

Stephen Maguire v David Gilbert odds*

David Gilbert 8/11
Stephen Maguire Even Money

* (betting odds taken from Boylesports on January 15th, 2020 at 1:10 pm)


Masters Snooker Betting at Boylesports

Tense victory moves Maguire ahead

Scotland’s Stephen Maguire had a tough draw in the first round of the Masters 2020 as he lined up against Neil Robertson. It was a strange match, one that Maguire never looked like winning. He was 4-0 down at the interval and at one point was just one frame from defeat at 5-1.

Gilbert First 4 Frames Lead
7/4

Bet365

Maguire was staring defeat in the face at 58-0 in the eighth frame, but then came a big shift as he clawed his way back somehow to draw level. Bookies had him at 25/1 to win the match in-play at 4-0 down. During that match, Maguire had such a bizarre shot which is worth checking out on Youtube.

He went to pot a red in the corner, but the cue ball jumped, the red hit the back of the pocket, came out back on the table with a ton of backspin and went back in the pocket. Meanwhile, the cue ball hit the knuckle of the middle pocket and rolled all the way down the cushion to the top corner to go in-off.

Head to head

Maguire leads the head to head 3-1 against Gilbert
This will be the first meeting between them since 2013 however
All four previous meetings have been settled by at least a two-frame margin

 

Key-Facts – Stephen Maguire vs David Gilbert

  • Debutant Dave Gilbert thrashed Mark Allen 6-1 in the first round
  • Maguire fought back from 5-1 down to beat Neil Robertson
  • Gilbert is in the draw because Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew ahead of the event

 

Gilbert produces his very best

The reason that David Gilbert is in the Masters 2020 is because of the withdrawal of Ronnie O’Sullivan. Gilbert made the most of his chance as he powered his way to a 6-1 success over 2018 Masters Champion Mark Allen. He was just in unstoppable form and Gilbert himself admitted that it was probably the best that he had ever played, missing just eight shots in the fixture.

So with this being his debut, there is no Masters form for the 38-year-old to study. He’s never managed a title in his relatively short pro-career either. Since the start of the 2016 season has made the final of three ranking events. Each of those have been since August 2018. It’s been a good season from him with a final at the English Open and a recent run to the semi-finals at the Scottish Open.

Stephen Maguire v David Gilbert Prediction and tip

Gilbert was phenomenal in that opening match against Mark Allen. He has been on the up overall in the last 18 months or so and has shown up well in a few tournaments this season.

He looked comfortable, confident and may have enough to move through to the final four. Quite how Maguire is in the mix still after the position he was in, is bewildering. That win over Robinson probably took a lot out of him.

Gilbert outright at 8/11 is the pick* (betting odds taken from Boylesports on January 15th, 2020 at 1:10 pm)