Masters Snooker: Murphy poised to shock Selby in first match

The exceptional quality of The Masters snooker takes to the airwaves on Sunday the 11th January and to help bring some extra excitement to the viewing we’ll be offering daily best bets here at News.Ladbrokes.

We start by offering a bet apiece on the first two matches at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Shaun Murphy to beat Mark Selby @ 6/5

Considering second seed Selby is a three-time winner of this event and the current world champion, punters might have expected longer odds on him being dumped out at the first hurdle.

However, the Jester has been a little off colour at recent events to say the least and faces an opponent who has had the better of him twice in their last three meetings.

Following up a shock first-round exit at the International Championship to teenager Oliver Lines, Selby left the UK Championships at the round-of-64 stage to 63rd seed David Morris.

Meanwhile, this title remains the only missing piece of the Triple Crown for Murphy who beat Selby 10-6 in their last ranking event at the World Open final in March 2014 and again at the Bulgaria Open in October just gone.

Stuart Bingham v Marco Fu: Over 9 frames @ 1/1

Having made his second successive UK semi-final and securing his best career win to date at the Shanghai Masters in 2014, it’s not surprising to see Bingham installed as the 8/13 favourite to progress.

However, 2011 Masters finalist, Fu, did get the better of Bingham in a final-frame shoot out at the Wuxi Classic back in June.

Given the Chinaman leads 3-2 in career meetings, angling for another tight encounter at Ally Pally could be the best path to a profit.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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