2019 Snooker Masters – January 13th – 20th 2019
One of the most, if not the most prestigious of all the major snooker tournaments is the Masters. It is an invitational, non-ranking event and this year sees the 45th edition of the tournament. This is the first big tournament of a given calendar year and the 2019 edition starts on January 13th. The final is set for the 20th of the month and the action will once again be rolling along from the Alexandra Palace.
This is the second of snooker’s Triple Crown events for the 2018/19 season, following on from the UK Championship and the World Championship. Ronnie O’Sullivan got the victory at the UK Championship and he goes as the 9/4 outright favourite to get the Masters too* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm).
2019 Masters Snooker Odds*
Ronnie O’Sullivan 9/4
Mark Selby 13/2
Judd Trump 9/1
Mark Williams 11/1
Mark Allen 11/1
John Higgins 12/1
Kyren Wilson 14/1
Ding Junhui 14/1
Neil Robertson 16/1
Barry Hawkins 20/1
Shaun Murphy 25/1
Jack Lisowski 33/1
Stuart Bingham 33/1
Ryan Day 40/1
Stephen Maguire 66/1
Luca Brecel 100/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm).
Invites Only
This isn’t a ranking tournament and the players who get to go there are the current top sixteen players in the world. So a place at the Masters basically has to be earned. It is Mark Allen who is the defending champion and therefore he is the top seed for the tournament. Mark Williams lines up as the second seed for the tournament. There is one debutant at this year’s Masters and that is Jack Lisowski.
Seedings and Draw
The top eight players are all locked into spots in the draw. In the top half of the draw you have seeds 1, 3, 5 & 8 and down in the bottom half of the draw, you have seeds 2, 4, 6, 7. The other eight non-seeded players are them basically drawn at random to see where they fall in the bracket.
O’Sullivan and Selby
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the all-time leader at the Masters having won the title a record seven times in his career. He has won three of the last five editions of the tournament but bombed last year in the second round as he was beaten 6-1 by Mark Allen. But the Rocket had that fantastic run at the UK Championship where he defended his title and also become the all-time leader there. So will he get back in the winner’s circle at the Masters? He is the 9/4 outright favourite to do so* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm).
Mark Selby has proven three times before just how much he likes the Masters. He has won the tournament three times from five appearances in the final. His last win happened back in 2013 though so he is going to be desperate to get back in the winner’s circle. His last appearance in the final of a Masters tournament was in 2014 when he lost to O’Sullivan. Selby will be looking for better after losing in the first round twelve months ago to Mark Williams. Between Selby and O’Sullivan, they have won seven of the last nine Triple Crown events.
Other Contenders
The only other man besides O’Sullivan and Selby starting the tournament in single figures is Judd Trump who is a 9/1 option* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm). His last big title was just back in November as he collected a win at the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast where he got the better of O’Sullivan in the final. Trump is looking for his first Masters title and indeed, his first appearance in the final. He did run to the semi’s last year.
Defending champion Mark Allen is going to pique interest. Not only did he get one of the biggest titles of his career twelve months ago in beating Kyren Wilson in the final, but he was also in good form at the back end of 2018. He took a win out in China at the International Championship and then finished runners-up at the UK Championship before winning the Scottish Open in his very next tournament.
First Quarter
(1) Mark Allen v Luca Brecel
(8) Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski
Mark Allen is the 6/5 favourite to win the first quarter of the draw* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm). Given the form that he has shown at the start of the new season then he does have appeal to get that completed. His biggest threat could be 2011 winner Ding Junhui, while debutant Lisowski is in there with the underdog outsider being Brecel.
Second Quarter
(5) John Higgins v Ryan Day
(4) Ronnie O’Sullivan v Stuart Bingham
It was never going to be anything different than seeing O’Sullivan at the head of this section and he is at 8/15 odds to win the section* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm). He did have a blip last season which is going to happen from time to time. But in general, he has shown such strong form at this event that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go strongly again. Higgins is the second favourite to win the quarter.
Third Quarter
(3) Mark Selby v Stephen Maguire
(6) Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson
This is arguably the most competitive section of the draw. Three-time winner Mark Selby is the favourite but not at an odds-on price. Selby is 6/4 to win the section* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm). Trump is right there though at 2/1 and that should be some clash if they meet up* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm). However, looking at the two matches, Trump definitely has the tougher start.
Fourth Quarter
(7) Barry Hawkins v Shaun Murphy
(2) Mark Williams v Neil Robertson
This is the section where the winner is the hardest to prediction. Mark Williams starts the tournament as the favourite after winning that World Championship crown in the 2017/18 season. The Welshman is a two-time winner of the Masters and he was the last player (just one of three) to win the Triple Crown in a season. That was back in the 2002/03 snooker season. You have 2015 Masters champion Shaun Murphy there, along with 2012 champion Neil Robertson while Hawkins has a Final and a Semi-Final appearance in two of his last three attempts. It is wide open but Williams goes as 9/4 favourite* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm).
Masters 2019 Prediction
One thing missing from Ronnie O’Sullivan’s impressive resume is the Triple Crown. He has one leg down (as he did last year going into the Masters) and he is the front-runner. Any tournament which he shows up in, he is going to be the one to beat. He has to be sized up as the genuine favourite at 9/4 odds* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 7th, 2019 at 5:01 pm).
