It was recently announced that Ladbrokes Mobile gave the sport of snooker a significant boost by agreeing to sponsor the forthcoming Masters event.
The competition will be known as the Ladbrokes Mobile Masters and will take place between January 9 and 16 at London’s Wembley Arena.
The Masters is snooker’s most prestigious invitational event and the world’s top 16 players will participate for a share of the £500,000 prize pot. The winner will take home a cool £150,000 whilst there is £15,000 on offer for the highest break during the competition.
The sponsorship will provide a welcome tonic for the sport of snooker, which is suffering from diminished interest, investment and attendances. It is hoped that Ladbrokes’ inaugural involvement in the Masters will boost the reputation of the sport in much the same way that darts has become increasingly popular.
On announcing the deal during Christmas week, World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "We are delighted to continue our long and successful partnership with Ladbrokes with this sponsorship."
Mark Selby, who is 8/1 in Ladbrokes’ outright snooker betting odds, is the defending champion and will open his tournament against Mark King on Sunday (Selby 1/3, King 9/4). Ronnie O’Sullivan is the 7/2 favourite for the event whilst the revitalized John Higgins is at 11/2.
O’Sullivan is probably the player most likely to win the £15K on offer for the highest break, having achieved 10 maximums and 614 centuries throughout his career. 66/1 tournament outsider in Ladbrokes’ outright snooker betting odds, Stephen Hendry has amassed nine 147s and 749 centuries but his star is on the wane.
Finally, Higgins will be hoping to build on his success at the UK Championship as he aims to enhance his reputation after his six-month suspension for bringing the game into disrepute. He has racked up five maximums and 449 centuries in his illustrious career and the momentum is clearly with him at present.
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