The Masters snooker: quarter-finals betting previews and tips

Quarter-finals
BBC & Eurosport, 1pm & 7pm Friday

B Hawkins v N Robertson

Barry Hawkins has made a Masters final and a semi-final in the last three years and he looks ready to return to the last four at the Alexandra Palace.

Hawkins is a classy cueman and he showed that when dispatching Shaun Murphy 6-2 in the opening round. The Hawk controls the cueball superbly, has a solid safety game and he has the ability to maintain a high level of performance under the pressure of the big occasion.

A 6-3 win for Robertson over Williams in the first round reads well but he was rather gifted chances by the Welshman in that tussle and that looks unlikely to be the case in this match. It remains to be seen if the Aussie can get back to his best on a consistent basis and it's also questionable if his positional play can withstand the constant pressure of an in-form opponent.

Hawkins is a 23-20 shot for a match he might have been favourite for and he looks well worth supporting.

Recommendation
B Hawkins
2pts 23-20 Betfair

M Selby v J Trump

The only thing that's stopping Judd Trump from being considered one of snooker's greatest players is his lack of triple-crown trophies, but he can move one step closer to putting that right with victory over Mark Selby when the pair clash in the Masters quarter-finals.

Trump was at his brilliant best when hammering Kyren Wilson 6-2 in the first round. The Ace made knocks of 58, 72, 81 and 128 in that contest, which suggests the Bristol potter is up for the job.

Perhaps Trump has been overconfident and put too much pressure on himself in the past, but in terms of ability there doesn't seem to be any reason why he can't beat the top players in the game on a regular basis.

Selby is certainly that and the Leicester man was impressive in his first-round match against Stephen Maguire. However, the Jester has more on his plate against a buoyant Trump and his mistakes are more likely to be punished.

There isn't much between the players but Trump looks to be holding the stronger hand on this occasion.

Recommendation
J Trump
1pt 11-10 BoyleSports

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