Judd Trump is already into the Players Championship final and on Saturday evening we will find out who he will face on Sunday when the second semi-final is played out at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno.
This semi-final is an all-Asian battle as the two best Asian players in the game meet when Marco Fu takes on Ding Junhui over the best of 11 frames.
Marco Fu
I wasn’t sure about Marco Fu’s form going into this tournament but I have been impressed with his play. I think he was a little fortunate to come through as comfortably as he did against Anthony McGill in the opening round but then he dominated the world champion Mark Selby in the quarter final to reassure us that there is nothing wrong with his form.
Although Fu hasn’t made the centuries he has done earlier in the season he is still scoring pretty well and the lack of centuries can be attributed to the slowness of the table this week. It was his safety prowess which caught the eye in the quarter final though. Not many beat Mark Selby tactically but Fu did.
Ding Junhui
I’m still not completely sure what to make of Ding Junhui. We all know he was a pot or two away from a 5-0 beating in the first round but Higgins missed and Ding made full use of his reprieve to come back from 4-0 down to win 5-4 and then he saw off Anthony Hamilton in the quarter final by a 5-2 scoreline.
Although that sounds convincing the match wasn’t really like that which clouds my mind a little bit. Hamilton handed Ding the first frame but then nearly came from 3-0 to 3-3 only to miss when in the balls. Ding has taken the chances he has been given well this week but how many chances he will get in this semi-final remains to be seen.
Head to Head
These two have met on 13 previous occasions with Ding holding an 8-5 lead overall but it was Fu who won their latest meeting in the China Championship earlier in the season. Generally matches between the two are quite tight and the signs are this could be too.
Betting
Marco Fu has answered the concerns I had about him heading into the tournament. He has given off a real air of confidence so far this week and I think that can serve him well here. Ding has played some good stuff at time when he has been handed the chance to play well but his mannerisms and look still doesn’t convince me.
It might be that there is nothing between the two men and we get a belting semi-final here but I think Fu might be most likely to play somewhere near his best here and we saw in Scotland just how good that is. I’m with him especially at odds against.
Tips
WON – Back M.Fu to beat D.Junhui for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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