The Masters Preview

The Masters (January, 12 to 19) is an invitation event, and the third of the three Big Events. 16 players (Current Champion, World Champion and the top 14/16 of the World Ranking) play with BBC Coverage, fighting for the 200.000,00 £ top prize.
Stephen Hendry won the title 6 times, Ronnie O`Sullivan 4, Cliff Thorburn, Steve Davis, Mark Selby and Paul Hunter won it 3 times.
Selby will try defend his title, which he won last year after beat Neil Robertson in the final.

Paul Hunter, 3 Time Masters Champion
I'm posting this review today because I don't know if I will have time to make it next days, so here we go!

Preview:

The Masters is a tournament where everyone have chance, because they are the bests and its's only 4 matches to catch up the trophy.

In My opinion, players like Shaun Murphy, Graeme Dott and John Higgins, that isn't doing their best at snooker, are danger players for this event, because their names can make a pressure over the opponent.

The first round till (and including) the semi-final, best of 11 frames. The Final is a typical best of 19 frames.

Let's see the draw:

Semi Final 1 -

Mark Selby v Mark Davis

Stuart Bingham v John Higgins

Judd Trump v Marco Fu

Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy

Many excelent matches here, and very hard to say a favourite to do the Semi or the Final.

The defending Champion, Mark Selby, will have a tough match against Mark Davis in the first round, but I think he can make it without surprise, and is favourite against Stuart or Higgins.

China's Ding Junhui also is favourite to do the semi-final, but I really believe that Shaun will do well there, anyway is very hard to play Ding, who will have another tough match in the quarter-final. He will play Judd Trump or Marco Fu; Judd made a 147 recently, but 2013 wasn't a good year for him, anyway he ever do well at Big Events and will play a close match against Fu, who won the Australian Open and reached to the International Championship Final in 2013.

Judd have the perfect style to play Ding, but I think Marco Fu will play Ding Junhui in the quarters and Ding will reach to the semis. Anyway, a Trump-Murphy in the quarter don't make me surprised.

Semi Final - Mark Selby v Ding Junhui

Junhui leads 4 Ranking Titles in 2013, and Selby leads 2 PTC's, The Masters and lost in the final at UK Championship this year, but he isn't playing his best and Ding is playing a snooker unbelievable and is my favourite to do the Final, but anyone of the 8 players who reach to the final, will do well there.

Semi-Final 2 -

Neil Robertson v Mark Allen

Stephen Maguire v Joe Perry

Barry Hawkins v Ricky Walden

Ronnie O`Sullivan v Robert Milkins

It's another tough one to preview, but reading the name of the blog, you can easy know who is my Favourite and who I will support here.

UK Champion, Neil Robertson will do the best match of the the first round against Mark Allen, but I really can't see Allen winning here. Neil is very good in his reply, and Allen isn't a play who miss a bit. So, Allen can feel nervous with mistakes and Neil will just take the chances. Allen isn't the best in the mental and I don't need to explain why, so Robertson will face Maguire or Joe Perry in the quarter.

Joe Perry is really playing well, not the same with Maguire, who don't had a good run after Welsh Open 2013. But how I said, a name like Maguire, who played this tournament a lot of times, makes a lot of pressure over Perry, and for me, Maguire will play - and loss to - Neil in the quarter.

Barry Hawkins (World Championship Runner-Up) and Ricky Walden (ET3 Champion, World Championship and UK Championship Semi-Finalist) will also do a hard match in the first round, but for me, Walden lives his moment and is favourite to win Hawkins right now.

World Champion Ronnie O`Sullivan, will play Robert Milkins, who he won 6-0 in the UK Championship in December.

It's Milkins's first time at The Masters and Ronnie is playing his best snooker ever, so, I don't believe/hope that Milkins can do more than he does against Ronnie in the UK.

So, we can have a Ronnie-Walden in the quarter, but I think that it will be like Ronnie-Mark Davis at the Champion of Champions in November, where Ronnie wins 4-0. Walden is a good player, but Ronnie is different class, in my opinion of course.

Semi-Final - Neil Robertson v Ronnie O`Sullivan

This is a Semi where both players can take all the chances, so, the good safety is very important here.

Neil isn't the best strategist player, not the same with Ronnie, so I think this can be a repeat of the Champions of Champions's semi-final, and Ronnie can take it, but both players need to be careful Because it's a best of 11 frames only.

A Final between Ronnie O`Sullivan and Ding Junhui can be the greatest final ever at The Masters, but I don't think that a best of 19 frames is the best way to Ding play Ronnie.

If Ronnie make a advantage in the first session, he will surely be the Champion.

I'm looking forward for the first BBC Event in 2014, and I really want Ronnie to win it, but The Masters is the one where all the matches is a classic, and all the players is gonna to win it.

I don't know if I will have time to make a review of all event's day, but I will make a review ever when possible.