The final of the European Masters will see a repeat of the Welsh Open final from earlier in the year when Judd Trump takes on Stuart Bingham over the best of 17 frames for the title in Lommel on Sunday.
Trump is one win away from a successful defence of the title while Bingham will be looking for a first trophy since that Welsh Open triumph in February. This should be a cracking two sessions of snooker to end a good week.
Judd Trump
I said before his semi-final that Judd Trump had not convinced on his way through the draw but he certainly did in the last four on Saturday. He dropped the first frame to Cao Yupeng but then ploughed in runs of 61, 100, 63, 87, 115 and 79 in a demolition job which should have him feeling very good about his game.
He will need that scoring power in the final because he probably isn’t going to get the better of Bingham in the safety department. He will need to make sure he doesn’t make any silly mistakes like he did in the opening few rounds because he is playing an opponent who will jump all over any chances he is left.
Stuart Bingham
You have to give Stuart Bingham all the credit in the world for making it through to this final. He has had to do it the hard way having overcome Luca Brecel in the last 16 and Mark Selby in the quarter final. He led in both those matches from the start but that was not the case in the semi-final against Zhou Yuelong.
Bingham didn’t play his best in that match but he came from behind to register a 6-4 win and with not as much pressure on him in this final he can give it a really good go. If he can find his scoring boots early on in the match then he is going to have a genuine chance of winning the title even though he goes in as the outsider.
Head to Head
These two have played 21 matches in the past with Judd Trump winning 12 and Bingham eight with one draw. Bingham has won three of their last four proper meetings including that Welsh Open final. He also beat Trump in a deciding frame in the World Championship semi-final in 2015 on his way to the title.
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Betting
I’m expecting a close final here. Generally when these two men meet we get close matches. They are clearly not afraid of each other and both are excellent scorers in the balls. I think Bingham will edge out the tighter, tactical frames but Trump looked back to his best scoring wise in the semi-final.
The frames line for this final is 14.5 which means that we need 9-6 or closer either way. This hasn’t been a week where I feel we are going to get a one-sided final. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the trend of deciding frames pops up again here but whether it gets that far or not I like over 14.5 frames.
Tips
WON – Back Over 14.5 frames for a 5/10 stake at 1.75 with Coral
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