World Championship Snooker: Trump semi-final bound
Published:Judd Trump vs Shaun Murphy
Judd Trump’s commanding record over Shaun Murphy gives him a massive psychological advantage heading into their World Championship quarter final.
Bristolian Trump is out to go the distance at the Crucible for the first time and having seen two key competitors, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby, succumb to insurmountable hurdles early-doors, he’s in with an excellent chance of doing so.
A price of 4/9 makes him a heavy favourite to sink the Magician, something he has done in eight of their 11 career meetings. The underdog, who does hold a victory on snooker’s grandest stage over his next adversary, can be backed at 7/4 and, while this should be swerved, a foray into the break markets could yield a cash bonanza.
A match void of century breaks seems an unlikely outcome when two strong scorers such as these collide but, at 16/1, it’s a distinct possibility.
The match will be contested over a much longer distance than any of their previous 11 clashes, yet only three of these duels have seen ton-plus breaks registered so, as an outside punt, this could hold some interest.
Ding Junhui vs Barry Hawkins
Chinese potting wizard, Ding Junhui, was in excellent form as he conquered Mark King in the last-16 of the tournament and now has Barry Hawkins in his sights.
The unfancied Hawkins usurped Selby last time out to blow the field wide open and won’t fear the Dragon in the quarters, especially after ending his interest in this year’s China Open in their most recent meeting.
Ding’s laser-eyed accuracy in the final session against King would make backing against him a bold proclamation, but gutsy Hawkins can run him close, or so his recent Crucible record insinuates.
He obviously has a bit about him after despatching the Jester from Leicester in the previous round, and of his last five World Championship exits, he’s only been beaten by than more than two frames once.
A punt on the Hawk with a positive handicap of three frames added to his total would be good enough to entitle a payout.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
