Let's have a look at what we can expect at the Ally Pally next week:
Quarter 1
Last 16 Draw (All times UK)Mark Selby Vs Mark Davis - Sunday 12th January 1pm
Stuart Bingham Vs John Higgins - Sunday 12th January 7pm
So the top half of the draw sees two Masters champions and two other guys who don't perhaps have the best Masters records. Firstly, the 3 times and defending Masters champion Mark Selby is certainly going to be one of the main contenders this week given his brilliant record and return to form, as he reached the final of the UK Championships making a 147 in the semi-final as he fell at the final hurdle as he tried to defend his title. Generally he seemed to be playing better that week and he looked a lot more confident as well. As for Mark Davis his season has been a fairly shaky one, and he will very much need to improve if he is to have any chance in his opening fixture against Selby, and with no disrespect to Davis I can only really see one winner here unless Davis improves the form that's seen him only make 2 ranking quarter-finals all season and not generally play great snooker.
The other contest in this quarter is an incredibly tough one to call with John Higgins struggling for form since the very early stages of the season, but we all know what he's capable of if he can get back to his very best. Meanwhile, Stuart Bingham had a great back end to 2013 reaching a UK semi-final and making the final of the Champion of Champions event. It has to be said that Bingham has to be one of the most improved players of the last 2 years and the fact that he is now in the top eight in the world is evidence of this in itself. However, he looked fairly shaky at the Championship League where he was relegated in group 1 after only 1 win, and throwing away a few good leads. It just highlighted that although you would make Bingham the favourite that if Higgins can bring out his A game for this one then he will have a great chance of victory.
Quarter Winner: Mark Selby to beat Mark Davis and then John Higgins to make the semi-finals in my opinion
Quarter 2
Last 16 Draw (All times UK):Judd Trump Vs Marco Fu - Monday 13th January 2pm
Ding Junhui Vs Shaun Murphy - Tuesday 14th January 2pm
This for me is the best quarter of the draw with a former Masters champion and two former runners-up as well as 3 of the players being former UK Champions. It has to be said first off that Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy have both had poor runs of form this season with both players only being able to boast best ranking event performances of the Last 16 in the UK Championship. However, one thing we know about both these men is that they are certainly crowd pleasers. Trump especially loves entertaining the big crowds at the big events with his brand of snooker, and Shaun was saying to me the other day that he thinks he's one of those players that needs a big crowd to perform well. At the end of the day, it doesn't get any bigger than the one table set-up of The Masters.
Marco Fu and Ding Junhui meanwhile have had a brilliant season, with Ding Junhui winning 3 ranking events on the trot, while Fu won the Australian Open and reached the International Championship final. However, neither of these two were at their best in the UK Championships with Fu showing some of his old inconsistencies and Ding Junhui looking tired after a long first half of the season for him. Ding Junhui has said ahead of this tournament that he's had a nice 3 week rest back home in China, and with 2 first round exits in the last 2 years at The Masters it will be interesting to see how much work Ding Junhui has put in ahead of this years campaign. As for Fu, Judd Trump is going to be a very tough opponent for him with Judd finding some form this week at Crondon Park making both of the first two Championship league group finals. As for Ding Junhui against Shaun Murphy, I think that people have been incredibly quick to write Shaun Murphy off for this one, and may have changed their minds after seeing his group 2 performances in the CL this week. Shaun made a 147 on Wednesday and this seemed to give him a huge boost of confidence after probably the lowest point of his season came on Tuesday in group one with him looking very frustrated. It's no secret that Murphy has certainly been putting lot's of work in, on and off of the table getting both his game and himself into shape. It may sound weird but the 147 maybe the turning point of his season and could prove to be the huge confidence boost he needed, but I don't think it will be enough for him to win the event this week.
Quarter Winner: Judd Trump to beat Marco Fu and then Shaun Murphy
Quarter 3
Last 16 draw (all times UK):Neil Robertson Vs Mark Allen - Wednesday 15th January 1pm
Stephen Maguire Vs Joe Perry - Monday 13th January 7pm
This quarter sees two quality first round matches involving a former Masters champion and current UK champion and a former UK champion, but most importantly 4 guys with loads of big match experience. Firstly, ton machine Neil Robertson meets Mark Allen for the 4th year in a row at The Masters, with Neil winning the last 2 of the 3 previous matches. You have to make Neil a firm favourite again, as he is playing the best snooker in the world right now, and after winning the UK Championship in December you'd be an idiot to think he couldn't win this title for a second time. As for Mark Allen he has had a decent season so far, playing some very good snooker in parts, but his best snooker has only really appeared in the European Tour events, and if he can transfer this to The Masters next week he has every chance of a good run, however it will be another big ask against a very in-form Neil Robertson.
The other last 16 match of this quarter sees Stephen Maguire take on recent CL group 2 winner Joe Perry. Joe Perry has had a very good season so far, with an International Championship semi-final to his name and he just reminded us of his good form in that Championship League group 2 where he only lost one match, which was a 3-0 loss to Robertson who made 3 centuries in the match. Stephen Maguire meanwhile, has not quite been at his consistent best, missing the start of the season before only making an Indian Open semi-final and a UK quarter-final to balance out some early exits. For me, Perry has certainly been the more consistent player this season so far, with some very good performances so far making him a favourite with me for this match.
Quarter Winner: Neil Robertson to beat Mark Allen and then Joe Perry
Quarter 4
Last 16 Draw (all times UK):Barry Hawkins Vs Ricky Walden - Wednesday 15th January 7pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Robert Milkins - Tuesday 14th January 7pm
The final quarter of the draw sees the defending world Champion join, the 2013 World Championship runner-up and a 2013 World and UK semi-finalist. However, despite the players in this section being evenly matched with the big game credentials, you have to say that this is certainly Ronnie O'Sullivan's quarter for the taking if he's motivated and really wants to win. If Ronnie is in the mood it is very difficult to see Robert Milkins having any chance of victory, especially after the Milkman's showings in the UK Last 16 against Ronnie and at this weeks CL group 1 where he was pretty poor to put it kindly.
As for the other last 16 tie in this section, Barry Hawkins also showed some new year rustiness in group 2 of the Championship League, failing to win any of his 6 group matches. Hawkins also said prior to the UK Championship that he lacked motivation after the World Championship final, so it will be interesting to see how motivated he is for this one, but with it being The Masters motivation shouldn't be a problem. Meanwhile, revenge is the only thing on Ricky Walden as the recent CL group 1 winner looks to get one back on Barry Hawkins after Barry beat him in the 2013 World Championship semi-final. To add to this semi-final Ricky has also got a confidence boosting UK Championship semi-final as the highlight of his season, despite him not really being at his best. Walden does seem to be near his best after this week though, and he will need to be playing well and much more consistently if he is to be the much improved and more consistent Barry Hawkins.
Quarter Winner: Ronnie O'Sullivan to beat Robert Milkins and then Ricky Walden.
Masters runner-up: Ronnie O'Sullivan winning a close match against Neil Robertson
Masters Winner: Judd Trump doing enough to overcome Mark Selby before beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in a classic Masters final.
However the draw does pan out, this is going to be a fantastic week of snooker, with plenty of players coming into to top form, with lots of close matches on the cards, and that's just in the first round. I hope you enjoy the event, and I hope to be back with regular updates through the event.
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