The opening Home Nations event will be concluded on Sunday as the final of the English Open takes place down in Crawley where Dave Gilbert and Mark Selby will battle it out over the best of 17 frames for the Steve Davis Trophy.
Not only are the two men fighting for a ranking title and the benefits that come with it such as a spot in the Champion of Champions but the winner will also keep their hope of landing the £1 million bonus alive.
Dave Gilbert
There has been a feeling over the last 2-3 seasons that it is only a matter of time before Dave Gilbert wins a major title. He has knocked on the door a fair bit in that period but has not been able to get over the line and it is a mystery why because his cue action and his scoring ability matches anything in the game. It can only be between the ears so it might be to his advantage that he is an underdog in this final.
One thing he certainly isn’t is out of form. He has been in great form for a while now but on the main table this week he has oozed class, seeing off a very strong challenge from Ricky Walden in the quarter final before being too good for Tom Ford in the semi-final. His scoring in both matches has been very good and that will stand him in good stead throughout the duration of this final you would think.
Mark Selby
In many ways it is a mystery how Mark Selby is in this final but then it isn’t because there is no better fighter and scrapper in the sport, and he has had to use both traits throughout this tournament. He was rotten when trailing Mei Xiwen 3-0 in the quarter final but recovered and then he had to fight back against Mark Allen in the semi-final as well after failing 5-3 behind only to come back and win 6-5.
Selby has had to battle because he isn’t scoring particularly well at the minute. Since the opening round of the tournament he has only made one century and not many of his 50 breaks have been big enough to win the frame in one visit. He is tactically astute as ever enough and if this final does turn into a bit of a grind then you would think that would suit him a lot more than an open match.
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Head-to-Head
These two have met nine times in all tournaments but six in major ranking events. Selby leads 6-3 overall and 4-2 in those ranked events and he won their last meeting when he edged Gilbert out in a deciding frame in the International Championship earlier in the season. Selby leads 34-25 overall in terms of frames which suggests that the majority of his wins are a shade comfortable but a lot of those matches were when Gilbert wasn’t at the level he is now. This will be the first time they have met in a final.
Betting
I think we are going to get a close final here. I am expecting a mixture of frames and I think Selby will win the scrappier ones in the main and Gilbert will gobble up the open frames where the balls are there for scoring. The last two meetings between these two went to a deciding frame and they were both in 2019 so they were recent enough to use as a form guide. I really don’t see this final being one-sided as there are a lot of rewards for both men. I’m happy to jump on over 14.5 frames.
The other bet I like is for Dave Gilbert to make the highest break. This is a bet that has clicked in the last two meetings between these two. I mentioned that Selby has only made one ton since the opening round of the tournament whereas Gilbert has made four of them. His scoring game just looks in better order than Selby’s and it might be that one ton for the underdog lands the highest break honours at a decent price.
Tips
Back Over 14.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Back it here:
Back D.Gilbert to make highest break for a 4/10 stake at 2.70 with Betfred
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