Richard Mann nominates his best bet in the outright market for the valuable Hong Kong Masters, which begins on Thursday morning.
Snooker betting tips: Hong Kong Masters
2pts Mark Selby to win the Hong Kong Masters at 9/2 (General)
MARK SELBY can claim his first major title since the 2021 World Championship by taking top prize in the valuable Hong Kong Masters.
Selby is a giant of the game, having won the World Championship on four occasions, the Masters three times and the UK Championship twice in a career that has seen him sit afoot of the world rankings for long periods.
Last season was something of an anomaly as Selby's well-publicised battles with depression came to a head and, understandably, his results on the table suffered.
Nevertheless, he did win his first-round match at the World Championship and has looked much more like his self so far this term, playing well in the World Mixed Doubles before making a brilliant 147 maximum break at last week’s British Open as he progressed to the quarter-finals stage.
Selby hints at return to brilliant best
Prior to bumping into an inspired Mark Allen there, Selby had looked every inch the winner of that event with his always reliable tactical game backed up by some fearsome scoring – that maximum break one of six centuries he made in the week.
Crucially, Selby appears to be in a much better place mentally than he was 12 months ago, and given what looks to be a favourable draw in Hong Kong – he plays Marco Fu first up – he rates the best bet in the outright market with 9/2 generally available.
Selby’s record in Asia is pretty good, too. He has won multiple events in this part of the world already, including the China Open on three occasions, and while this format never extends past best-of-11 frames, an outstanding record in the Scottish Open demonstrates his ability to thrive in short-format matches.
All in all, Selby has lots going for him here, not least a number of question marks over a few of his main market rivals, and he appeals as the safest play.
Trump and Higgins to renew rivalry
In the same side of the draw, Judd Trump and John Higgins will meet in what looks just about the pick of the four quarter-final ties.
It’s not easy to gauge where Higgins is at with his game at this relatively early stage of the season, with an early exit at the European Masters followed by a 4-3 defeat to Yuan Sijun in the last 64 of the British Open, though he scored heavily in that match and was a trifle unlucky to come off second best.
Quarter-final and last-16 finishes at the European Masters and British Open respectively would suggest Trump is coming nicely to the boil, and his strong recent head-to-head record over Higgins gives him the edge here – though I still believe Selby showed more in Milton Keynes to earn the vote from the bottom half of the draw.
In the top half, it’s hard to glean too much confidence from Ronnie O’Sullivan’s performances so far this season, and he was badly beaten up by Alexander Ursenbacher at the British Open.
He is another who enjoys playing in the Far East, though he is on course to meet the winner of an intriguing match between Neil Robertson and UK champion Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals.
Robertson preferred to Ronnie in top half
Robertson has already visited the winners’ enclosure this term, having combined with Mink Nutcharut to win the World Mixed Doubles, and a Robertson/Selby final could well be on the cards.
Even with a tougher opening match, I’d rather back Robertson at 4/1 than O’Sullivan at 2/1 on what we’ve seen in the last few weeks, but there is no doubt the Australian faces a tough first match against the supremely-gifted Zhao.
As such, I keep coming back to Selby whose draw looks as kind as it can be in a stellar field such as this, and whose early-season form suggests he should enjoy a good campaign with plenty of silverware opportunities.
This week would be a good place to start.
Posted at 1055 BST on 05/10/22
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