The Players Championship comes to a close on Sunday when the final of the second Coral Series event of the campaign takes place inside the Waterfront in Southport, as Judd Trump takes on Yan Bingtao for the title and a cool £125,000.
These two men have been the best in the tournament and are playing for plenty in this final, which will be staged across two sessions of play with the first to 10 being the man to take the trophy home with him.
Judd Trump
The world number one showed exactly why he holds that position and indeed the World Championship trophy with an amazing clearance in the deciding frame of his semi-final against Stephen Maguire. With his back right against the wall for the first time this week, he came up with the goods to book his place in this final, as he chases a record equalling fifth ranking title of the season and a second of the calendar year.
That effort aside, apart from one or two appealing shots, this has not been the best of Trump this week, so it will be interesting to see if he can find his best form for this final. He might need to. The one thing he does have to his advantage is an incredible amount of experience in these big finals and that is something we shouldn’t take lightly. He is also an incredible front runner so if he gets off to a good start he could be hard to catch.
Yan Bingtao
In many ways the surprise package of the week has been the Chinese number two Yan Bingtao, although why we are surprised is a bit of a mystery because the 20-year-old has already lifted one ranking event title this season and he arrived in Southport having made the semi-final of the last two tournaments. He is clearly a man in form and he has certainly shown that this week, and fully deserves a place in the final.
Bingtao has got better the week has gone on and delivered a wonderful performance to thrash Shaun Murphy in the semi-final. That came on the heels of an absolutely epic quarter final win over Joe Perry and in both of those matches his safety play was of a very high quality. It goes without saying that it needs to be again here. He will also need to score when his chances come along as well, but if he can get in front he can be hard to play against.
Open up an 888sport account before the el Clasico kicks off to get 11/1 on Real Madrid to win OR 16/1 Barcelona to win! Click the image above to bet. New accounts only. Use code 888ODDS. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Head to Head
If you are a Yan Bingtao fan then look away now! These two have met on four previous occasions and Trump has won all four. Not only has he won those matches but he leads the frame count 20 to three which really highlights just how dominant he has been in them. In two of the four matches the Chinese player hasn’t even accumulated 100 points so he really has been out of his depth against the world champion. Only one of those meetings has been this season, with Trump winning 4-0 on his way to winning the Northern Ireland Open. Their clash was in the last 16. This is the first time they have met over two sessions though.
Betting
Anyone who followed us in right from the start of the tournament will have a bet slip in their possession for Yan Bingtao to win this final at 45/1. The each way part of that punt has already landed so I’m happy to take my chances on the youngster coming up with the goods here. Admittedly he is the second favourite in the match but he’s in good touch and his safety play could get him chances to score.
There isn’t a whole lot I like about this final if I’m honest. The main odds seem about right and while my gut feel is the breaks markets have lines which are a little on the high side, with Trump around I don’t really want to be taking the under. I’ve already got a significant interest in this final and I’m happy to leave that to be my only focus on this final although anyone looking for a bet could do worse than the 5/2 Bingtao highest break. He slammed in two tons in the semi-final and one in the last eight and Trump will play exhibition shots after a ton. It feels overpriced but I’m happy with my week whatever happens in this final.
Tips
No Bet
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020
