The Masters 2022 Snooker Quarter-Final Preview

The Masters 2022 Quarter-final Preview

We’re down to the last eight at this year’s Masters as the “Class of ‘92” continue to deliver.

The action has been white hot inside the Alexandra Palace this week, as the best potters in the game slug it out for the Masters crown.

There are some very familiar names that have snuck into the quarter-finals in north London, as an extremely talented final eight continue to battle it out for the Paul Hunter Trophy.

Let’s take a look at the talking points of the quarter-finals and some of the best value bets going:

Value in the “Class of ‘92”

Age is just a number the “Class of ‘92”.

John Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams are all safely through to the quarter-finals of the Masters, dropping just seven frames between them.

The trio are all multiple Masters kings, with “Rocket Ronnie” leading the way (7) and Higgins and Williams both with two titles in their back pockets.

All three are still competing at the very top of the sport relying on their 30 years of experience to nullify the energy of the youth on the tour, and all three can never be counted out in such a short format.

O’Sullivan looked the best in the opening round sweeping aside the talented Jack Lisowski 6-1 with breaks of 125 & 127, with Williams having to dig the deepest betting the better of 2021 champion Yan Bingtao.

Williams and Higgins meet in the quarter-finals, meaning that we are guaranteed a “Class of ‘92” member in the semis.

Serial winner Selby

World number 1 Mark Selby is a winning machine.

The “Jester from Leicester” may not be as entertaining on the table as his nickname suggests, but you’d do well to find a player with more fighting spirit and tenacity than the 38-year-old.

Selby has started slow on the tour this season but has a habit of turning it on when it matters.

He’s not won the Masters since the last of his three titles in 2013, but looked composed in beating Stephen Maguire 6-3 in the opening round, despite not making a ton+ break.

Make Judd Great Again

We nailed our round one tip of Judd Trump v Mark Allen going to a deciding frame at 3/1, leaning on the fact that Trump isn’t quite firing on all cylinders yet.

The 2019 Masters king looked frustrated in – and by – pockets against the Northern Irishman, bailing himself out of trouble with some point-perfect long pots and some seriously good break building.

A 135 break in the ninth frame left Mark Allen black and blue, underlining how quickly the “Ace in the Pack” can accelerate away from his opposition in a frame.

Trump’s purple patches are still pretty much unrivalled in the snooker world at present, and if he can find some consistency over this week he’ll be hard to stop.

A run-in with Mark Selby in the semi-finals could be a match for the ages, as aggression meets caution.