There's four former world champions on show at the Pokerstars.com Masters on Thursday, with two relatively straight-forward matches for punters to get stuck into.
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Peter Ebdon
Rocket Ronnie came through for us against Neil Robertson on Tuesday, but he didn't make it easy for himself, bouncing back from 3-0 down to beat the Aussie 6-4 in what was a truly brilliant match. Both players made two centuries apiece, while Ronnie also made breaks of 87, 76 and 63 to finally wear Robertson down.
O'Sullivan reserves some of his best snooker for Wembley and if he plays anything like that against Ebdon then he'll walk it. The shorter format doesn't suit Ebdon's game and he's never really done well at the Masters although he says he is desperate to win it. He was handed a soft draw first game up against the out-of-form Marco Fu and struggled to win that, so a surprise win against Ronnie seems unlikely.
Ronnie's not exactly the greatest value punt in the world at 1-5 (Skybet, Paddy Power) – Ebdon's 4-1 with totesport – and so a couple of wagers on a 6-1 (11-2 bet365) and 6-2 (4-1 bet365) scoreline may make the afternoon more profitable.
Verdict: Stroll for Ronnie.
Shaun Murphy v Mark Williams
I've backed against Williams twice in a row now and both times he's bitten me on the backside and he even beat Ali Carter on Tuesday despite suffering from whiplash sustained in a minor car accident.
The Welshman is 21-10 with Boylesports to book a semi-final date with either Ronnie O'Sullivan or Peter Ebdon, but I think this is where his gallant run will end as Murphy played some decent stuff in his win over Stephen Hendry and his game looks more solid at present.
Williams' injury decent seem to affect him that much against Carter, but it could play its part against Murphy and he looks the solid option at 4-9 (Skybet.
Verdict: Murphy to edge out the Welshman
