It has been a week of shocks and surprises at the China Championship but at the end of it two established stars will meet in the final for the title when John Higgins takes on Mark Selby over the best of 19 frames on Sunday.
Both men have struggled through to this final where they will be hoping to play their best match of the tournament so far and waltz off with a decent first prize and the first major title of their fledgling campaigns.
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John Higgins
It has been anything but the best from John Higgins so far this week. Judd Trump in the quarter final aside he has had a largely kind draw but at no real stage would you say that he has impressed to the levels we know he can hit. He is experienced in finals though so if he is going to bring out his best game it could very well be here.
He will need to score a whole lot better than he has done so far this week if he is going to walk off with this title. In that regard he has barely got going and while he has been able to come through the weaker opponents with his tactical and safety game that isn’t going to be the case with Selby. It is however to Higgins’ credit that he has made the final with nothing like his best game.
Mark Selby
There have been signs that Mark Selby has been getting better as the week has gone on and if he kicks on again he is going to be a tough nut to crack in these conditions. I think he has scored well in the main especially given his lack of recent action heading into the week and generally when Selby scores well there isn’t a whole lot wrong with his game.
We know Selby can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the safety department so if he can keep his scoring boots on for another day the world number one can justify why he holds that ranking still. Usually when matches go beyond one session Selby becomes even harder to beat and he’ll be hoping that trend rings true in this one.
Head to Head
These two have played 25 times in the past with Selby leading their head-to-head record 14-11 although amazingly in that time there is nothing in it in the frames won by both men. Both have won 121 frames apiece which suggests we might be in for a tight final. This will be the third time they have met in a final with each having won one of the previous two. Selby’s win was in the world final last year which is probably their most significant meeting of the 25 times they have played.
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Betting
Based on what we’ve seen this week it is Mark Selby for me in this final. I say that because Higgins just hasn’t scored enough. He only has four breaks over 70 all week and he’s probably going to have to double that in this final just to be competitive in it and I’m not sure he is in a position where he can just flick on a switch and get scoring.
Selby has played the better of the two this week even though he has had the kinder draw of the pair. His scoring has been there for much of the week and we know in tight matches few are better than him. I don’t see Higgins playing well enough to pull clear of the Jester so it is Selby for me here.
Tips
WON – Back M.Selby to beat J.Higgins for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
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