We know that Judd Trump is in the final of the Champion of Champions and on Saturday night we will find out who he faces when Yan Bingtao meets John Higgins in what should be a mouth-watering second semi-final.
These two met in The Masters final earlier in the year, which Bingtao won to book his place in this tournament, but Higgins has kicked on since then and is arguably the player of the season so far so we’re all set for a cracking contest.
Yan Bingtao
We have known the quality of Yan Bingtao for quite a while but we saw it in all its glory back at the beginning of the year when he took care of Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire, Stuart Bingham and John Higgins to win The Masters. That showed us not just his quality but a liking for the big occasion and this is another one he will be looking to relish and come out on top in. He’ll need to be at his best to come out on top here but he has that in him.
Bingtao came through one of the better groups of the first part of the week when he took care of a couple of world champions to seal his place in this semi-final. He beat an out of sorts Shaun Murphy in the first round and then in the group final he continued in the same vein to dominate Mark Selby. Bingtao scored very well in both of those matches which might be crucial here because you sense his best chance is to outscore Higgins.
John Higgins
It wasn’t just Bingtao who has come through a tough group to set himself up for a spot in this semi-final, John Higgins did likewise. You could argue that Higgins had the tougher group given that he had to overcome the challenges of Ding Junhui but the reality of it is that Ding hit a wall with the winning line in sight and O’Sullivan surprisingly didn’t really show up. In saying that, Higgins was fantastic in the group final against Ronnie and a repeat of that will have him very hard to beat here.
One thing which might get to Higgins is the fact that he has already lost in two finals this season so he will be desperate to not only make it through to a third title showdown, but to land himself more silverware. He has to make sure he focuses on this match though and doesn’t want it too much else his performance levels might dip. Higgins has looked in wonderful order this season though so he would appear to be a worthy favourite.
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Head to Head
If we exclude their meeting in the six reds tournament, these two players have met on eight previous occasions and they are locked at 4-4. Higgins has won their last two meetings though, both of which were this season in the opening two Home Nations events. Bingtao won their biggest clash however. He won 10-8 when the two met in the final of The Masters at the beginning of the year. Higgins edged it 36-35 in the frame counts which suggests these two are pretty evenly matched. The only time they have met in a semi-final was at the Northern Ireland Open last month. Higgins won 6-2 on that occasion. This will be the fifth time they have met over the best of 11. They are 2-2 for the first four.
Betting
I get why John Higgins is the favourite for this match but even though Higgins has won their two meetings fairly comfortably this season, I think these two are matched much closer than the odds suggest so I fancy there could be some value in the Chinese youngster here. Higgins scored better the day went on in the group stage but Yan Bingtao looked in fine scoring touch throughout the day and there was a real belief and confidence about him.
I think we’re all set up for a cracking semi-final here but Higgins was sparkling in that win over O’Sullivan on Thursday evening and it isn’t always naturally easy to follow up a win like that with another. Bingtao seems to have Selby’s number at the minute so although that was also a high profile win it might not have been quite as an emotional a high as it might otherwise have been. Both men are playing well but 7/5 is just too big a price on the Chinese star.
Tips
Back Y.Bingtao to beat J.Higgins for a 3/10 stake at 2.40 with Betway
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