Hawkins should rediscover form back on big stage

Eurosport 1, 1pm

The first round of the German Masters continues in Berlin’s Tempodrom today and there look to be some tasty bets for punters to get stuck into.

Barry Hawkins still has to prove that he has recovered from a crushing 6-5 defeat to Joe Perry in the Masters semi-final last month, but at the prices it’s worth backing him to show there are no ill-effects.

The Hawk failed to qualify for the China Open in Preston more recently, but the Kent cueman is a different animal on the big stage, and it’s unlikely that Michael White will cause him many problems this morning.

White has been out-of-sorts and although he is a talented break-builder it’s very difficult to see Lightning competing with the Hawk in the safety department. If Hawkins plays anywhere near his best he should be well up to giving White a 1.5-frame start in this best-of-nine-frame contest.

Ben Woollaston should relish being the underdog against Neil Robertson today and quotes of 4-1 look way too big. The Aussie hasn’t been in the best of nick and, excluding a single win against Ali Carter in the Masters, Robertson hasn’t been past the last 16 of any of the last six events he has competed in.

Robbo may well turn it on but there is no way he should be a 1-5 shot against the capable Woollaston and punters should put their faith in the outsider.

Another underdog who looks worthy of support is Stuart Carrington. The Grimsby cueman is a quality break-builder when on-song and, although he faces a tough task against Michael Holt, it may not be as quite as tough as quotes of 2-1 suggest.

Carrington looked in excellent nick knocking in breaks of 70, 87, 93 and 103 when hammering Wang Yuchen 5-1 to qualify for the China Open last month and can give Holt plenty to think about this afternoon.

Recommendations
B Hawkins -1.5 frames
4pts 4-5 general
B Woollaston
2pts 4-1 bet365
S Carrington
2pts 2-1 bet365, Sky Bet