Robertson vs Murphy Prediction

Are sportbooks right in claiming there's no clear favorite in the quarterfinal match of The Masters between Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy? This question is key in our prediction. It's worth noting that a few months earlier, the snooker players faced each other at the English Open, and then the match ended without much intrigue (4:1).

Neil Robertson

Robertson has been unconvincing mid-season, which hinders his solidification in the top-20 of the world rankings. Not so long ago, Neil was the main dominant figure on the tour. However, he hit a severe crisis at a certain point. After a failure at the Scottish Open, the Australian withdrew from the World Open, which allowed a slight shift in perspective towards his approach. A couple of days ago, the athlete triumphed over John Higgins (6:5) in a no-holds-barred battle, making a spectacular comeback from a 1:5 score.

Shaun Murphy

Murphy hasn't boasted outstanding performances for a long time either. Though, he's not in a significant slump. In the middle of last autumn, Shaun made some noise at the Northern Ireland Open and Wuhan Open (top-8), and before that, he added a Masters in Saudi Arabia (top-4) to his achievements. This winter, the Englishman has been content with minor successes, but that's no reason to write off his future prospects. Last weekend, the athlete confidently broke Gary Wilson's resistance (6:3), securing a maximally comfortable advantage from the start (4:0).

Editorial Prediction

In this match, Murphy, by our estimation, should provide Robertson with substantial resistance. Since their aforementioned head-to-head encounter, Neil has noticeably regressed in every parameter, and we believe that this time he won't send Shaun packing quickly. A victory for the English representative with a handicap of +1.5 is the optimal choice for the match.