We’ve lost one of the tables inside the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield as we have reached the semi-finals of the World Championship. Four men remain in sight of the bumper first prize and the biggest title in the game when the semi-finals get going on Thursday.
We are up to the best of 33 frames for these semi-finals which means they take place over four sessions. Both matches play their opening session on a shortened day of action in Sheffield on Thursday.
Wednesday Recap
We only placed one bet on Wednesday which was the overs in frames between John Higgins and Judd Trump and that landed safely as the pair needed the full 25 frames to sort out what was an absolutely epic quarter final which Higgins eventually won 13-12.
There wasn’t much match betting joy for us elsewhere as Mark Williams annoyingly won 13-8 against Ali Carter when we needed one more frame while Barry Hawkins beat Ding Junhui 13-5 with three of the four centuries we needed coming in and Kyren Wilson powered past Mark Allen 13-6. The latter result did at least bring our quarter bet in.
Kyren Wilson vs John Higgins (Thursday 1pm, Friday 10am, Friday 7pm & Saturday 2.30pm)
The opening semi-final is between chalk and cheese when it comes down to experience of the one table environment at the Crucible Theatre as Kyren Wilson faces John Higgins. Wilson will be playing his first match in this set up while Higgins is a veteran of this situation.
I don’t expect Wilson to wilt on the big stage though. He never melted in The Masters and the way he has played to make it this far I expect him to keep on going. If anything he could be the sort of player to relish the occasion and raise his game. Higgins will be typical Higgins but whether he is bang on it from the get go I’m not sure.
Higgins didn’t finish his quarter final until fairly late on Wednesday evening and that would have taken a lot of emotional energy out of him. It might be tough for him to get back up again barely 15hrs later. Wilson has none of those problems so I’m going to chance Wilson winning the opening session at a tasty price and then reassess this one overnight.
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Barry Hawkins vs Mark Williams (Thursday 7pm, Friday 2.30pm, Saturday 10am & Saturday 7pm)
The second semi-final looks incredibly evenly matched given that there is just one seeding between Barry Hawkins and Mark Williams. Both men have had plenty of one table experience and success here down the years. Hawkins is used to this now while Williams is back in the big time after far too long away.
While they look evenly matched on paper their head to head record is anything but that with Williams leading 14-3 although Hawkins fans can take comfort from the fact that 12 of those matches have been in the Championship League which probably don’t count for a lot.
I’m already on Hawkins at 12.5/1 for this match having backed him outright and I’m certainly not deserting him now but I do expect a high quality semi-final. It is hard not to have been impressed with Williams’ play so far this week and his scoring in particular. Hawkins has nailed six tons in the last two matches though while Williams is two better than that for the week. I see no reason why that will change here so over 4.5 centuries looks a good starting point for this semi-final.
Tips
Back K.Wilson to win frames 1-8 for a 3/10 stake at 3.75 with Betfred
WON – Back B.Hawkins vs M.Williams – Over 4.5 centuries for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Bet365
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