After a pretty frantic week in Berlin so far we are down to the one-table format inside the Tempodrom on Saturday when the two German Masters semi-finals will be played out over two sessions of action.
Usually there are shocks and surprises galore in this tournament but the semi-final line up includes three former world champions and a man who will surely win one world title before he retires so we are set for a decent day.
Shaun Murphy vs Graeme Dott
Two of those world champions open the show when Shaun Murphy takes on Graeme Dott over the best of 11 frames for a place in the final on Sunday. Both men have experienced the one table set up which should help the flow of the match.
Dott could be forgiven for wondering how on earth he is still in this tournament. He was 3-0 down to Barry Hawkins in his opening match but came back to win and then in the quarter final he was in an even worse position. He was 4-0 down to Xiao Guodong but amazingly won that too.
It has been a much more comfortable week for Murphy. He was made to go to a deciding frame by Ryan Day in the quarter final but his previous two wins were much more emphatic which highlights how good a front runner he is.
That front running potential could be significant here. Dott has shown that he can perform from behind but Guodong visibly choked and Hawkins is terrible with a big lead too. Murphy isn’t. He’ll kick on if he is given that lead so I fancy the Champion of Champions winner will pull away when he wins this.
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Mark Williams vs Judd Trump
The second semi-final looks like being a really good one as two men who already have a trophy in their pocket this season meets when Mark Williams goes up against Judd Trump for a place in the final on Sunday.
Williams has breezed through the draw so far. He has put together a combination of decent scoring and good safety play and having won in Northern Ireland we know he won’t freeze at this stage. I’m a little concerned for Judd Trump. I’ve listened to a lot of his recent post-match interviews and he just seems to be lacking in confidence completely. He seems scared when he is leading and waiting for things to go wrong which is not good.
It is hard to see how Trump can win this easily. In recent weeks we’ve seen Liang Wenbo, Kyren Wilson, Ben Woollaston and Ding Junhui all make comebacks while Trump has struggled to get over the line and either beat Trump or push him closer than he would like. Williams will gobble up any chances he gets too.
The flip side of that is not too bad for Trump. On the few occasions he has been behind he has risen to the occasion so all things being equal, unless Trump has got his head sorted out, this semi-final looks likely to have more than 9.5 frames.
Tips
Back S.Murphy (-2 Asian handicap) to beat G.Dott for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back M.Williams vs J.Trump – Over 9.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Betfair
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