The second trophy of the new snooker season will be won on Sunday when Neil Robertson battles it out with his stablemate Judd Trump for the English Open title where the winner of the final inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes will walk home with the Steve Davis Trophy.
Both men have looked in good form in the latter part of the week in particular which is when it really counts. They are both no strangers to winning Home Nations titles either so we should be well set for a cracking final.
Neil Robertson
The obvious criticism thrown at Neil Robertson going into the semi-final was that he hadn’t really played anyone of note but that all changed in that round when he took on the defending champion Mark Selby and repelled one of his trademark comebacks to make it through in a deciding frame, a result which in itself should give him plenty of confidence going into this final, especially if it goes as close as it could do.
The feature of the last two wins for Robertson has been his scoring. That is the foundation to his game so the fact he has slammed in five centuries in the quarter final and semi-final combined suggests he is hitting top form when it matters the most. We have sometimes seen him get bogged down in big matches so if he is going to win this final he needs to go on the attack and look to score as that is where he plays his best.
Judd Trump
There was almost a writing on the wall that Judd Trump would make it to this final when he should have been knocked out in each of the first three rounds of the tournament but none of his opponents could finish the job off against him. He was 3-1 down in each of those opening three matches but won 4-3 each time and since then he hasn’t looked back with fine wins over Gary Wilson, Kyren Wilson and John Higgins.
We probably haven’t seen vintage Trump but what we have seen is this outstanding player he has developed into where under pressure he can carve out chances for himself and get the job done in the tight moments. The obvious thing he has shown this week is that when his back has been against the wall he can come up with the goods and there is no better feeling for a sportsman in any sport than to have that confidence behind you.
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Head to Head
These two men are no strangers to each other. They have met on 22 previous occasions and Trump holds a narrow edge having won 12 of those matches to the 10 of the Australian. This will be the sixth final they have competed in against each other with Trump having won three of the first five with Robertson claiming two Trump has won 123 frames to 116 of Robertson so really whichever way you look at this final it is likely to be quite close. This will be the first time they have met in a Home Nations final though.
Betting
All the signs are that this will be a very good final with a lot of high scoring and snooker played just the way we like it to be. These two men are no strangers to making plenty of centuries and they do it against each other on a regular occasion. As both men have been scoring pretty well throughout the competition it makes sense to focus our bet on the final on breaks rather than guessing who will handle themselves best in the tight situations.
With that in mind we have the option of over 11.5 50 breaks or over 3.5 centuries and I’ll go for the latter because these two men generally clear the table when they get the balls open for a big break. Both players have passed the magical century mark for the season in the past and have a real hunger and appetite for them. In what are pretty much glorified practice session settings I’m expecting these two to combine for four tons before this is done.
Tips
WON – Back Over 3.5 centuries for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with 888sport
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