Shanghai Masters Snooker Betting
The Shanghai Masters is one of the few professional ranking tournaments which is currently held in Asia. Asia is reported to have more players playing snooker than any other part of the world. A number of gifted Asian players are coming through the ranks and this is one of the tournaments where they can enjoy greater exposure.
Shanghai Masters snooker betting has also soared in popularity over recent years since the tournament was started. The sheer number of people playing the game in Asia has helped to raise awareness and interest which means there are millions more people who are willing to have a flutter on the event.
History of the Shanghai Masters
The history of the Shanghai Masters does not date back years or even decades to when snooker was just starting to become a popular form of leisure entertainment. The Shanghai Masters was introduced for the 2007-2008 season and is now the second biggest ranking event in China behind the China Open.
A wildcard entry has been allowed in every tournament since it began which lets a younger or lesser known player come in at the first round stage. The history of the Shanghai Masters has traditionally seen a lower profile Asian player be given this wildcard. The only way they're going to get better is if they play against better opponents.
Format of the Shanghai Masters
The format of the shanghai Masters is very simple. The event works on a round robin basis with players being whittled down to the knock out stakes. Matches are on the short side with the final being the best of 19 frames. This is the exact same length and format as most of the professional ranking events in the United Kingdom.
There has been some talk over the format of the Shanghai Masters changing to the extent that it will create longer matches and involve more players. As snooker in China and Asia continues to grow, there will be demand for better and bigger tournaments that more Chinese and Asian wildcard players can take part in. The format of the shanghai Masters makes it easier to work out Snooker Betting patterns.
Professional Snooker Season
The Shanghai Masters is taken seriously as a ranking event because it's one of the first full ranking tournaments of the professional snooker season. The event is held at the Shanghai Grand Stage and represents one of the first chances for players to get valuable points on the board.
Professional players have pushed in the recent past to get the tournament moved from the current month of September although these attempts have failed. The reasoning for this is that a lot of the European based players have said they prefer to do much of their travelling later in the autumn.
Winners of the Shanghai Masters
There have only been four winners of the Shanghai Masters since the event was established. Dominic Dale won the first event in 2007 beating Ryan Day 10-6 in the final. Ronnie O'Sullivan has also won this tournament along with fellow Essex based player Ali Carter who took the title last season.
Winners of the Shanghai Masters enjoy a good prize purse because the event is well sponsored by Chinese companies and is extensively covered by Chinese media channels. This means there is a lot more than just ranking points at stake.
Snooker in Asia
There have been questions over whether the infrastructure of snooker in Asia is strong enough to cope with the demands of a professional sport. These questions were raised following the cancellation of the BTV event in 2011.
However, snooker in Asia continues to grow because there are more tables in this part of the world than anywhere else. What that means is accessibility and value for money. More people are going to play a sport if it's cheap to get involved with and enjoy.
The Chinese Open and Snooker Wuxi Classic Betting are two great examples of this although the Wuxi is not a ranking event.