The Worlds - Who do you think?

[missneworleans]

Selby probably but Maguire looks at perfect form!

[spike]

For me it's Mark Selby all the way. I dont think he will have too much trouble with his first round opponent being Mark King, but 2nd round opponent could be a lot tougher especially if it's Ebdon for me. This is not taking anything away from Jamie Cope but he seems to be a hot & cold player and you can never be sure from one tournament to the next what he's going to do. He just seems to lack the constiancy needed to be at top echelons of the game. Ebdon on the other hand has been their done that & if he plays anything like he won in 2002 or even in 2006 he could go all the way. Anyway i'm off tomorrow to put my £200 on Selby tomorrow! He's the form horse and feeling really good about his game and given the fact that he doesn't fear anyone will make him extremly tough to beat!

[scapps42]

Totally agree with the last post, selby has got to be the red hot favourite after all hes done this season and it would be a real shocker if he went out before the final . Otherwise i would put money on ronnie as the next favorite and then you have really got to expect people like murphy maguire or higgins to be near or in the final

[Alex0paul]

Interesting stat, the last two players to enter the world championships as provisional world number 1 have gone out in the first round. Lets hope this continues.

[chasmmi]

My pre tournament bets (the first time I've ever bet on snooker and if all goes horribly wrong, the last time) for your enjoyment.

I won't say how much is on each one though. :P


10-8 John Higgins v. Matthew Stevens 7/1
10-6 Ryan Day v. Michael Judge 7/1
7-10 Ding Junhui v. Marco Fu 11/1
10-7 Stephen Hendry v. Mark Allen 8/1
10-6 Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Liu Chuang 8/1
10-5 Mark J. Williams v. Mark Davis 7/1
7-10 Stephen Lee v. Joe Swail 9/1
7-10 Ken Doherty v. Liang Wenbo 12/1
10-5 Shaun Murphy v. Dave Harold 11/2
10-6 Ali Carter v. Barry Hawkins 9/1
10-5 Mark Selby v. Mark King 11/2
10-7 Peter Ebdon v. Jamie Cope 7/1
10-5 Neil Robertson v. Nigel Bond 7/1
10-5 Stephen Maguire v. Ant Hamilton 7/1
6-10 Steve Davis v. Stuart Bingham 7/1
5-10 Graeme Dott v. Joe Perry 12/1

Chuang to beat Ronnie 6/1
Hig vs. Stev match to have 5 or more centuries 16/1
Stevens to win quarter 9/1
Swail to win quarter 16/1
Bingham to win quarter 9/1
Murphy to win event 8/1
Bingham each way 100/1
Maguire vs. Hamilton to have 5 tons or more 25/1

[ADR147]

10-5 Mark J. Williams v. Mark Davis 7/1
7-10 Stephen Lee v. Joe Swail 9/1
10-6 Ali Carter v. Barry Hawkins 9/1
10-5 Neil Robertson v. Nigel Bond 7/1
10-5 Stephen Maguire v. Ant Hamilton 7/1
6-10 Steve Davis v. Stuart Bingham 7/1

i like these odds!



Hig vs. Stev match to have 5 or more centuries 16/1
Stevens to win quarter 9/1
Bingham to win quarter 9/1
Bingham each way 100/1

but these 4 are fantastic odds - stevens is a superb crucible player and out of just 32 players looking at stuarts draw they are giving 100/1 on him that has to be worth a punt e/w !!!

[Alex0paul]

Another good stat for people betting is that not since 1996 has a player in the first quarter gone on to win the World Championships.

[ADR147]

umm not sure thats why but you never know. stevens to turn over john higgins is a very good bet on stan james!

[chasmmi]

10-5 Mark J. Williams v. Mark Davis 7/1
7-10 Stephen Lee v. Joe Swail 9/1
10-6 Ali Carter v. Barry Hawkins 9/1
10-5 Neil Robertson v. Nigel Bond 7/1
10-5 Stephen Maguire v. Ant Hamilton 7/1
6-10 Steve Davis v. Stuart Bingham 7/1

i like these odds!



Hig vs. Stev match to have 5 or more centuries 16/1
Stevens to win quarter 9/1
Bingham to win quarter 9/1
Bingham each way 100/1

but these 4 are fantastic odds - stevens is a superb crucible player and out of just 32 players looking at stuarts draw they are giving 100/1 on him that has to be worth a punt e/w !!!

If you like the odds, you can find them on Ladbrokes.com (as of about two days ago at least.

[Monique]

And here comes Steve Davis contribution to this thread ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/othe...er/7348875.stm

[Perry]

Thanks for the article

[bongo]

Good discussions so far! :snooker:

EDIT - There is no doubt that I will be glued to my television screen during this World Championship!

[cueman]

Going off topic slightly, for the first time in a long while I don't have any feeling of excitement or expectation at this years championship. Usually I'm buzzing for it and the optimism of seeing the best players playing for the biggest prize, it doesn't get more exciting for a snooker fan.

However I just don't have that feeling of expectancy, I can't quite put my finger on why.
I think its a build up of a few things, the fact that we haven't really seen too much from the flare players like Ding, Ronnie, Robertson this season, we're seeing a more measured tactical game from the likes of Selby, Fu and Lee becoming successful.

Secondly, a lack of enthusiasm from the players themselves, it doesn't look to me like a lot of them care whether they win or lose anymore. Particularly the older players like Williams, Hendry, Higgins and a few others. This comes through and you feel like they don't really have their heart in it anymore.

It might just be in my head but I feel that way too. I hope the standard inspires me to get my enjoyment back in watching hopefully a great 17 days worth of drama and excitement, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high.