The second semi-final of the International Championship takes place across two sessions out in China on Saturday with the two combatants – Mark Allen and Yan Bingtao – battling over the best of 17 frames for the right to face Mark Selby in Sunday’s final.
Both men have shown excellent form in the tournament so far and will fancy their chances of banking plenty more cash for winning this match and reaching a very prestigious final.
Mark Allen
The Northern Ireland number one has been the master of brinkmanship this week. He has been to a deciding in the last three rounds and won his first round match 6-4 so he has played every frame possible but one in this tournament. You might think from that, that he isn’t playing particularly well but that is not the case.
Allen has played some nice safety in this tournament and while he hasn’t always scored the eye catching breaks others have when he has been given a chance to win a frame he has usually taken it. His win over Judd Trump in the quarter final was a very good one. He scored well and a repeat of that will make him dangerous to beat.
Yan Bingtao
A number of big name Chinese players made their way to this tournament at the beginning of the week but they have all been and gone and the only one that remains is the youngster Yan Bingtao. Nobody can deny he doesn’t deserve a place in his first major semi-final given the opponents he has beaten to make it this far.
Bingtao has beaten Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ricky Walden, Jack Lisowski and John Higgins on his way to this semi-final and it gets no easier from him from here on in. He has been very attacking this week but when he has had to contain he has been able to do so. It was only a matter of times before he broke through and he may not have finished yet.
Head to Head
These two men have met just once in tournament play. That came in the English Open last season when Bingtao upset Allen 4-3. The two are due to meet again in the next tournament in China which is the Shanghai Masters but that will only be over the best of nine frames not the 17 this one is over.
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Betting
I’m effectively on Mark Allen for this semi-final at 14/1 given that I backed him outright before the start of the tournament and I am happy to let that ride given the way he is playing.
The way these two men are playing it is hard to see this match not being close come the end of it. If there was a concern it would be Yan’s inexperience at this level but when he has seen off O’Sullivan and Higgins on the TV table we don’t need to worry about his temperament.
Both players are scoring well and they both have the tactical games which can create their own chances. They have both shown they can hold their nerve on more than one occasion this week so I don’t see this not being close. The Bet365 asian line means we can win in full on 9-7 or 9-8 either way and we get a half win on 9-6 too. I don’t see this being won any easier than that.
Tips
Back Over 14.75 frames for a 5/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
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