Wizard of Oz or Welsh Dragon?
Ronnie O'Sullivan is of course the favourite for The Welsh Open at 9/2.But The Rocket is like scoring in a brothel. You know you can but it's just whether you can be bothered.
Losing to Mark Selby in The Masters final the other week could make O'Sullivan hungry for victory or it could have him not caring about the result even less.
The new Rocket has a different outlook on the game nowadays as he confessed in an exclusive interview with WhatTheBookiesSay.com which is winning isn't everything.
John Parrott found that out at his peril when he asked O'Sullivan two ridiculous questions after his Masters defeat:
Q: It was a good final wasn't it?
A: Not really… I lost.
Q: It's been a hard week for you?
A: Not really!
Stupid questions deserve short, sharp and sweet answers.
Only time will tell if it's O'Sullivan's rivals who feel the wrath on the baize this week.
Away from The Rocket there are some interesting prospects.
As I tipped Selby to make a run for it in The Masters at 10/1 I feel two people stand out for their price in the way of Mark Williams 13/1 and Neil Robertson 9/1.
Williams obviously has home advantage and after only being knocked out of The Masters in a final frame against Ronnie having also suffered whiplash he's back on the up.
The Welshman might be colourblind but even he could see the reddies that could be made by backing himself. He is also on the right side of the draw.
Robertson is due a win for sure and is also the right side of things (away from Ronnie) until the final. Even The Rocket has tipped him to win something soon.
One to watch as a real outsider is Judd Trump at 46/1 on Betfair. It's really a bet to see if he can beat Selby in the first round which he is certainly capable of.
Then he has a nice run to the quarters where you can lay him off!
9/2 R O’Sullivan
7/1 J Higgins, M Selby
9/1 N Robertson
10/1 S Maguire
11/1 S Murphy
13/1 M Williams
14/1 J Ding
16/1 A Carter, R Day
25/1 M Allen
33/1 J Cope, P Ebdon
40/1 M Fu, S Hendry, J Trump (46/1 Betfair)
50/1 M Stevens
100/1 S Bingham, G Dott, D Dale, B Hawkins, J Perry
125/1 M Davis, D Harold, M King, L Song
150/1 T Drago, T Ford, A Higginson, F O’Brien
200/1 M Campbell, M Judge, B Pinches
