The group stage of the Champion of Champions concludes on Thursday with another juicy line up with four top class cueists battling it out for the final place in the last four of the lucrative event in Coventry.
Joining the tournament on Thursday are the European Masters champion Judd Trump, the recent China Championship winner John Higgins, Indian Open victor Anthony McGill and Shaun Murphy who is here by virtue of winning the World Grand Prix. Four tournament winners should make for a fantastic day of snooker.
Shaun Murphy vs John Higgins
The day begins with arguably the match of the first set of games in any of the groups as Murphy meets Higgins in a battle of former world champions who remain top class snooker players. If both bring their best to the table we’re in for a cracker.
Shaun Murphy showed an improvement in form at the China Championship last week when it took Stuart Bingham at his absolute best to deny him in the deciding frame of the semi-final. The week before it was Judd Trump who denied him in a deciding frame in the quarter final of the International Championship so Murphy is coming back to his best.
John Higgins won in China last week and the way he won showed that he is still of the very top class. He pulled away from Bingham with three successive centuries to win the final, a performance which should serve him well here.
Judd Trump vs Anthony McGill
Judd Trump is another in this group who has shown some stunning form over the last six weeks or so. He fell at the first round stage in China last week but I sensed the previous exertions had caught up with him so a full week off will have done him no harm.
Anthony McGill hasn’t managed to build on the form which took him to a maiden major title in India but we’ve seen in the past how he can raise it for the big occasion so it would be folly to write him off especially in a best of seven frame match although at the same time you have to make Trump a favourite.
Group Outright
Nothing really interests me in the match betting and I wouldn’t like to predict with any confidence who will come through here either but the outright market is where the value lies on the day. I’ve just a niggly feeling that Trump is a little short here and at the bigger price I find myself drawn into taking John Higgins.
Had Higgins been playing earlier in the week I probably wouldn’t have been so keen but he’s had enough time to get back from China and readjust and if he plays here like he did there he will take plenty of beating so a small bet on him is my play to round off the group betting.
Tips
WON – Back J.Higgins to win Group 2 for a 2/10 stake at 4.33 with William Hill
Back him here:
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