A Betting Guide to the 2024 Snooker Cazoo Masters
Posted by Harry Kane on Friday, December 31, 2021
While snooker’s Cazoo Masters isn’t categorised as a ranking event, it’s one of the most coveted and sought-after tournaments in the whole of the sport.
It’s also the second longest-running tournament on the main World Snooker tour, having been contested by the world’s top-ranked players every year since 1975 (even including 2020 as the event was held at the beginning of the year and prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic).
The Masters is certainly one of the most popular snooker events among fans and punters alike, despite its obvious lack of ranking points. It’s also the only invitational event to feature among the top three tournaments on the tour, so we’ve created a comprehensive betting guide to help inform your selections ahead of the 2023 tournament!
When is the 2023 Cazoo Masters
The 2023 tournament will be the 49th iteration of the Masters, and as usual, it will take place in the first month of the year.
More specifically, the Masters will commence on January 8th and conclude with a showpiece final one week later on January 15th, while it will be held at London’s prestigious Alexandra Palace once again.
Australian world number four Neil Robertson will defend the invitational title that he won in 2022 (he defeated Barry Hawkins 10-4 in the capital), after which he banked a cool £250,000 from a generous total prize fund of £725,000.
The Cazoo Masters – A Brief History
The Masters started out life as an invitational event for the world’s top 10 players in 1975, with the first ever iteration of the tournament won by Englishman John Spencer. He defeated the legendary Ray Reardon in the final, prevailing 9-8 in a thrilling encounter at the West Centre Hotel in London.
While the tournament remains a non-ranking and invitational event, the field of competing players was expanded to 12 in 1981, and then 16 two years later. As of 1984, the standard invitees were established as the top 16 players on the tour according to the relevant world rankings, and while provision was made for two or three wildcard places in all tournaments hosted between 1990 and 2010, the format has remained largely unchanged through 2023. Between 1979 and 2011, the tournament was held in Wembley, London, first at the Wembley Conference Centre and then the capital’s Wembley Arena. In 1984, Canadian Kirk Stevens became the first participating player to make a maximum break at the tournament, with this coming against Jimmy White in the semi-final.
It was English player Mike Hallett who made less impressive history four years later in 1988, when he became the first man ever to suffer the indignity of being whitewashed in a Masters’ final. In fact, he was thumped 9-0 by the legendary Steve Davis, which was the second of three titles in three finals for the ‘Golden Nugget’.
The following year saw Scotsman Stephen Hendry win the first of five consecutive Masters’ tournaments, with the former world number one and seven-time world champion going unbeaten at the event between 1989 and a final defeat to Alan McManus in a final-frame decider in 1994.
Interestingly, Hendry’s 1991 final win also saw Mike Hallett endure a harrowing experience, as he blew 7-0 and 8-2 leads to lose 9-8 (effectively ending his days as a leading force on the world snooker tour to boot).
Hendry also appeared in two other finals, famously losing thrillingly to Mark Williams on a re-spotted black in the deciding frame in the 1998 showpiece match. Williams had trailed 6-9 at one point, but showcased his own powers of recovery to beat a player who was incredibly dominant at the event throughout the 1990s.
However, Hendry is only the tournament’s second most successful player ever, as while he has six titles from nine finals, Ronnie O’Sullivan has reached the final two on 13 occasions and lifted the title seven times.
Leicester player Mark Selby is on the only player to appear in five or more finals in the tournament’s history (he has won three of these), while he was beaten 10-4 by O’Sullivan in his most recent final appearance at the Alexandra Palace in 2014.
The tournament has had a number of sponsors throughout the years, with Benson & Hedges established as the main commercial backer of the event until 2003. Since then, entities such as SAGA Insurance, PokerStars.com, Ladbrokes Mobile, BGC Partners, Betfair, Dafabet and Betfred have sponsored the Masters, with Cazoo having taken up the reigns since the 2022 iteration of the tournament.
What are the Tournament’s Best Outright Bets?
The 2023 tournament is likely to be as keenly contested as ever, with the latest sportsbook odds indicative of an event that will feature the world’s best and most talented 16 players. Below, we’ve listed three of the best outright tournament bets, with a view to maximising value and minimising the omni-present risk of loss. Let’s get into it!
#1. The Favourite – Ronnie O’Sullivan – 4/1
We’ll start with the current tournament favourite and seven-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan, who can currently be backed to win at an average price of 4/1 in the marketplace. ‘Rocket’ Ronnie has once again become the world number one according to the most recent rankings, while he’ll go in search of a record-extending 43rd ranking and non-ranking title in 2023. O’Sullivan is also looking for a third major title of the 2022/23 campaign, having previously won the Champion of Champions event and the Hong Kong Masters. However, the player suffered a surprise second round exit in his most recent tournament at the 2023 English Open, where he was eliminated 4-1 by Martin Gould in Brentwood.
Regardless, a price of 4/1 seems like good value for a player of O’Sullivan’s calibre too, although you may want to bet sooner rather than later as these odds are likely to drift as the tournament draws near.
#2. The Defending Champion – Neil Robertson – 9/2
Current world number four Neil Robertson will the Masters event priced at around 9/2, while he’s also the second favourite as he looks to defend the title he won convincingly last year in the capital.
Robertson comfortably defeated Englishman Barry Hawkins 10-4 in last years’ final, as he claimed his second Masters crown and first since his initial success way back in 2012. In between, Robertson has lost two finals against Mark Selby (2013) and Shaun Murphy (2015) respectively, but he always seems to raise his game for this coveted tournament.
There’s no doubt that Robertson also offers good value at an average price of 9/2, although it should be noted that he has so far endured a relatively difficult 2022/23 campaign and has yet to win a title on the tour this season. Incredibly, the last time Robertson went trophyless was during the 2016/17 campaign, and he’ll be keen to avoid this fate in 2023!
#3. The Value Bet – Mark Allen – 12/1
Mark Allen has experienced a superb 2022/23 season so far, winning two ranking titles in a single campaign for the first ever time and improving his ranking to fifth in the world as of December 2022.
Interestingly, Allen enjoyed a period of introspection before shedding more than five stone during the summer, with his form and mindset having improved markedly as a result. This was borne out during his comeback win in the final of the 2022 UK Championship, where he recovered from a 6-1 deficit to beat Ding Junhui 10-7.
Allen also retained the Northern Ireland Open title he won last year, and will arrive in London looking to add to the single Masters title he won in 2018 (beating Kyren Wilson 10-7 in the final).
Despite his obvious form and rising confidence, Allen is priced at 12/1 to win this years’ Masters. This potentially offers huge value, and is well worth a punt with a relatively small stake.
What are the Best Masters Snooker Betting Markets?
Now that you’ve taken a sneak peek at the favourites for the 2023 Cazoo Masters, the next step is to explore the tournament’s best and most popular betting markets. We’ve broken these down in a little more detail below:
#1. Outright Betting
We’ve already touched on outright betting, which requires you to bet on who you think will win the 2023 Cazoo Masters. You can back one or more winners as you see fit, so long as you wager responsibly and tailor your stake amounts accordingly.
Outright betting is typically an ante-post market, although you can wager on the tournament winner at any point during the event.
However, the outright odds have a tendency or drift and lengthen as the tournament draws near and once it gets underway, thanks largely to the influx of money that sportsbooks receive on particular outcomes. For example, favourites like Ronnie O’Sullivan will see their prices depreciate as more punters rush to bet on them, so it’s important to place this type of wager as soon as possible.
#2. Match Betting
This is another excellent and easy-to-understand betting market for the 2023 Cazoo Masters, as it enables you bet on the outcome of individual matches throughout the tournament. This also offers access to live and in-play betting markets, as you wager on matches as they unfold and unlock potential micro bets (such as who will win the next frame).
Early on in the tournament, you can also use over/under betting to achieve optimal value through match wagering. This allows you to speculate on match outcomes without having to pick an eventual winner, whether you wager on the total number of frames played or a particular winning margin.
These over/under markets set theoretical thresholds in terms of total frames and winning margins, and you’ll have to bet on whether the actual totals will be over or under such values. You can leverage knowledge of the competing players to make informed selections here, while bankroll management is key if you intend to place a large number of match bets (you can read more on this below).
#3. Accumulator Betting
While the Masters isn’t the longest or biggest tournament on the tour, the opening two rounds arguably offer a limited window of opportunity for accumulator betting.
With acca betting, you can typically incorporate anywhere between four and 20 selections in a single wager, where the individual odds are multiplied to create a single, and much longer, price. So, during the initial round of 16, you can back anywhere between four and eight potential winners and combine these outcomes in a rewarding accumulator bet.
Just note that while accumulator rewards can be incredibly alluring, all of your individual selections must come in for the bet to be successful. This increases the risk level accordingly, so you’ll need to factor this in when building your Cazoo Masters acca bets.
The Last Word – 3 Key Betting Tips
Before we bring our comprehensive betting guide to an end, we thought we’d offer some betting tips to help you successfully leverage the markets referenced above. So, let’s get started!
#1. Place Your Outright Bets Early
: We expect ante post, outright odds for the 2023 Cazoo Masters to drift considerably between now and the tournament’s start date on January 8th, so we’d recommend backing your potential winner (or winners) as soon as
possible. Remember, there’s currently value to be found in backing players like O’Sullivan and Robertson at average prices of 4/1 and 9/2 respectively, but these odds are likely to shorten before the event gets underway.
#2. Avoid Handicap Betting
: Remember, careful and disciplined bankroll management is key when engaging in match betting, due to the number of matches contested during the week. At the same time, you should strive to avoid handicap betting in tournaments such as the 2023 Cazoo Masters, thanks to the relatively small field of competitors who are evenly matched and all ranked in the world’s top 16. This translates into tight matches that are often incredibly difficult to predict.
#3. Be Selective When Building Accumulator Bets
: Acca betting can also be challenging given the relatively small number of matches during the 2023 Masters tournament, so it’s important to be selective when building accumulators. More specifically, we’d recommend prioritising relatively short price favourites when constructing acca bets, while capping the number of individual selections to no more than six during the first round. This should at least help you to strike the ideal balance between risk and reward when engaging in this type of wager.