The final match of the snooker season before the World Championship is the China Open final which takes place on Sunday between two of the best players in the world. Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins face off in Beijing over the slightly peculiar distance of the best of 21 frames to determine the champion and the winner of a bumper first prize.
Both men look in fine form despite struggles heading into the tournament so we are all set for a fascinating final as Selby looks to defend his title and Hawkins attempts to win the event for the first time.
New Customers can get Lewis Hamilton at an enhanced 25/1 to win the Bahrain GP. Max Stake £1. Winnings paid in free bets. Full T&Cs Apply. 18+|Gamble Aware.
Mark Selby
The defending champion looked somewhat vulnerable in his first match this week but since then he has gone from strength to strength, powering past opponents before he outlasted a game foe in Kyren Wilson in the semi-final. A battle like that will have done Selby no harm though as it should have toughened him up for this final.
The eye catching part of Selby’s game this week has been his scoring. In between that first round and the semi-final he made eight centuries in winning 24 frames which is a fantastic ratio and if he can find that sort of scoring in this final then he is going to be very tough to beat with the safety game that he has.
Barry Hawkins
In many ways Barry Hawkins has gone into this final under the radar. He has never been the centre of attention in terms of the TV coverage in the UK with his matches being played at the same time that more established players have been in action on the main tables. That might serve him well heading into this final.
There is no doubt that Hawkins is playing well and he is not afraid to battle either which should also serve him well. He took care of Neil Robertson in the semi-final and did so in a heavy scoring match which you would have expected the Australian to have the advantage in so that suggests that the Hawk is playing some nice stuff.
Head to Head
In all competitions these two have met on 19 occasions and surprisingly Selby only leads those meetings 10-9. This will be the first time they have met in a final and the third time they will have faced each other in a match of more than one session. Interestingly it is Hawkins who has won their previous two long distances matches so it will be interesting to see if there is something in that.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
This should be a good final between two men who are no stranger to playing at this stage of a tournament and who certainly do not shy away from playing their best in the month of April. I think Selby is a worthy favourite but I’m expecting this to be a close match.
Hawkins clearly doesn’t feel intimidated by Selby given that he has won almost half of the matches the two have played against each other so there is no reason why both men can’t play well in this final. If they do then I expect the over 18.5 frames to land with 11-8 or closer either way being enough to win.
Tips
Back Over 18.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
