The third day of the Players Championship sees the first round of the tournament come to a close and the first quarter final take place, on what should be a decent day of action in the second Coral Series event of the campaign.
The remaining two first round matches take place in the afternoon session and then we move into the quarter finals in the evening on a day where the two top players this season are on show alongside a stellar support list.
Afternoon Session
Shaun Murphy vs Dave Gilbert
The pick of the two matches in the afternoon session sees the recent Welsh Open champion Shaun Murphy taking on the English Open finalist Dave Gilbert in a match which is huge for both men for different reasons.
Murphy will be looking to continue his good recent run while Gilbert is not only looking to make it into the top eight in the one-year list but he goes in search of a first major title this week. These two are two of the best to watch in the game right now with their classy smooth cue actions and I’m hoping that both settle from the get go and we end up with a cracking battle between the two. The bet I like here is over 6.5 50+ breaks. These are two heavy scorers and I don’t expect much in the way of safety to be played. I’m not expecting many frames without a 50 in it so there should be enough time to get this done.
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Mark Allen vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
The match on table two sees the former Masters champion Mark Allen going up against last season’s Shootout winner Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in what is another key match in the race for the Tour Championship next month.
Allen will currently get into that tournament but a defeat here and his opponent going deep in the competition would rule him out of the running for Llandudno so this really is a big game. It is one which it is hard to fancy Allen in too it has to be said. Since he was beaten by Jack Lisowski in a great Scottish Open semi-final, Allen has barely won a match and although Un-Nooh has come off the very top of his form he is still playing well enough to trouble Allen and get over the line against him. I think the value is with the Thai here.
Evening Session
Judd Trump vs John Higgins
The opening quarter final of the tournament sees the number one seed Judd Trump taking on John Higgins in what is a repeat of the World Championship final from last season, a match which Trump came out on top in famously.
Trump came past Michael Holt in the first round here while Higgins saw off close friend Graeme Dott in his opening round match. Higgins used to have the better of the matches between these two but this season since that world title success it has been Trump who has come out on top and I expect that latter trend to continue here. The odds are reflective of that though so the match odds don’t really do much for me here. I’ll sit out this opening quarter final.
Tips
WON – Back S.Murphy vs D.Gilbert – Over 6.5 50+ breaks for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
Back it here:
Back T.Un-Nooh to beat M.Allen for a 4/10 stake at 2.63 with Betway
Back him here:
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