The group stage of the Champion of Champions concluded with an epic day of snooker and we are set for another on Friday as the semi-finals of the tournament are played out. At the end of Friday evening we will know which two players will fight it out for the title and the £100,000 first prize in Saturday’s final.
The four players remaining in the tournament are of the very highest class so two top quality matches look guaranteed. This is the final day that the matches are the best of 11 frames.
Ding Junhui vs John Higgins
The first semi-final is between two quality players. They meet for the second time in three tournaments having faced each other in the International Championship recently. Ding won 6-2 on that occasion, one of a number of victories he has over the Scot in what is a one-sided head to head in favour of the Chinese star.
While Ding has an excellent record against Higgins he won’t have faced the Scot in the sort of form he is in at the moment very often and that could change the dynamic of this match. To my eye Higgins has played the best snooker of the week so far so I certainly wouldn’t want to be going against him. Ding’s record is stopping me from taking Higgins though as is the busy schedule he has faced.
The bet I like in this match is over 1.5 centuries. Higgins banged in a couple of tons against Judd Trump in his group final while Ding fired in a century of his own and a 93 break in beating Stuart Bingham in his group finale. Both look to be scoring brilliantly and the table is playing lovely for scoring so I fancy a couple of tons here.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Mark Allen
The second semi-final shouldn’t be any less devoid of quality. Mark Allen was fantastic in seeing off Joe Perry and Mark Selby in his group while O’Sullivan looked good himself at times in his group on Monday.
If there is one thing we can be sure of in this match it is that Mark Allen won’t be beaten by O’Sullivan before they go out into the arena. He won’t bottle it either. He has beaten O’Sullivan on two of the biggest stages in the game and there’s nothing he loves more than the big stage and a big opponent so I’m expecting a really good tussle here.
Both men score brilliantly so I’m expecting to see a lot of breaks in this match. It feels like most frames this week have had 50+ breaks in them and I’m fancying at least seven of those here. The way these two are scoring frames should be won in one visit so over 6.5 50+ breaks looks the way to go to me.
Tips
WON – Back D.Junhui vs J.Higgins – Over 1.5 centuries for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Paddy Power
WON – Back R.O’Sullivan vs M.Allen – Over 6.5 50+ breaks for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Paddy Power
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