The second semi-final of The Masters is a battle of two good friends as Barry Hawkins and Joe Perry will go at it for a place in the final of the tournament. They meet in the evening session at the Alexandra Palace on Saturday with the winner knowing they will face either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Marco Fu in the final.
Barry Hawkins
The beaten finalist of last year has made it to another Masters semi-final courtesy of pretty emphatic wins over Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby. You could argue that neither of those players turned up with their best game against him but that would be doing a disservice to Hawkins who hasn’t done a lot wrong so far.
Hawkins’ all-round game looks in good shape. He is getting in from distance, he is scoring solidly and when he needs to play a good safety he has shown he has that in his locker as well so ‘The Hawk’ looks to be brimming with confidence at the minute which is good to see. He’ll fancy another crack at the final after last year’s disappointment.
Joe Perry
This is now the furthest Joe Perry has been in this tournament but the way he is playing it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world if he isn’t finished yet. Just like Hawkins, Perry has seen off a couple of high calibre opponents in Stuart Bingham and Ding Junhui and he has done it losing just two frames in a pair of 6-1 wins.
Again you could argue that neither player showed up with their best game but Perry made a century in both matches, potted some good long balls and his safety was granite too and you only have to listen to him in his post-match interviews to know he is enjoying his run here this week. That may well continue here.
Head to Head
There have been 16 previous meetings between these two men with Joe Perry holding an 8-6 lead over his good friend. They’ve also shared a couple of draws too. Although he trails in the record Hawkins has won five of their last six matches including their only match here which came in the first round last year.
Betting
This might not be the semi-final many were expecting but I don’t think it will lack for quality or indeed intrigue. The chance for both to make a Masters final is very real which might add to the pressure of the occasion and the one who handles themselves the best under that could be the ones to prevail.
When you look at the two of them and analyse their game in isolation there isn’t a lot between them and they play a similar style. I don’t think there will be much between them in this match either. Neither will want to let this opportunity go without a fight so I’m expecting a really tight tussle. That brings the over 9.5 frames bet right into play and that appeals the most in what is an interesting clash.
Tips
WON – Back Over 9.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
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