The first semi-final of the Shanghai Masters sees two friends battling it out over the best-of-19 frames out in the Chinese city for a place in the final on Sunday. Mark Allen meets Shaun Murphy across two sessions on Friday in a good looking match.
Both men had cruises in their quarter finals but you get the feeling they will be made to work a lot harder here before their place in the final is guaranteed. This promises to be a cracking contest to begin the finals weekend with.
Shaun Murphy
I went into this tournament wondering whether the form of Shaun Murphy in the International Championship was a flash in the pan or whether it was something that was the shoots of life in his recovery after a truly terrible season. He spent the summer trying his hand at golf to qualify for The Open and I wondered if his career was beginning to wind down given that he appears regularly on the BBC now too.
Credit where it is due however, that does not appear to be the case and so we can assume that he has found his mojo again. Successive semi-finals at least in big tournaments bodes well and a win here will make it back-to-back finals which is no mean effort. He’s seen off three decent opponents this week and looks to be cueing nicely so he’s entitled to be right in the mix in this semi-final.
Mark Allen
Mark Allen is becoming a real big tournament player now. He will want his real big run to come in Sheffield which is the one event he is yet to crack but when it comes to these invitation tournaments, especially in China, he is becoming very consistent. The conditions in China seems to suit him. His scoring in that part of the world is always very good and it might only be my eye and memory but his safety seems to be more pinpoint there too.
That is of course ironic because it wasn’t so long ago he was in trouble for slagging off the Chinese nation but as he has matured his game has too and he’s now a leading contender in every tournament he enters. Allen goes into this semi-final after taking the world champion Judd Trump to the cleaners with a flurry of breaks. Trump made a ton in that match so it wasn’t like he was holding the wrong end of the cue so Allen merits respect on that showing.
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Head-to-Head
These two men have met on 20 previous occasions and this is their second meeting in as many Chinese tournaments as they clashed in the semi-final of the International Championship earlier in the campaign. Murphy won that to take his lead in their career meetings to 13-7 but prior to that it was Allen who came through in the Scottish Open final. The pair have played out seven previous semi-finals and Murphy leads them 5-2 and also heads up the frame count 92-77 so if you are someone who bets on historical trends then it will be the former world champion for you.
Betting
I’m not someone who bets on historical trends too often, especially at this stage in a tournament, although there is no hiding the fact that Murphy looks good value at 11/8 for this one. I’m respecting that win over Trump for Allen though not just because he beat him but the manner and style he beat him suggests the Northern Irishman is a confident cookie this week.
Murphy looks like he’s up for the battle again so I’ve got to think that this is going to be a pretty tough semi-final throughout which in my eyes brings over 16.5 frames firmly into play. We only need 10-7 either way or closer for this to land. Murphy won that semi-final last month 9-6 while Allen won that Scottish Open final last year 9-7. There isn’t much between these two so I’m going to take a to and fro sort of match and back the over 16.5 frames.
Tips
Back Over 16.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
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