We are down to the semi-finals of the German Masters with four men remaining in the tournament all aiming to get their hands on the first ranking title of 2021. Before they get a shot at the trophy on Sunday they need to navigate their last four clash inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on Saturday.
Despite the week being full of shocks we have landed with semi-finals that include two members of the top 16, a player who has won ranking event titles in the past and a serial last four competitor so we’re all set up for a decent day of snooker.
Afternoon Session
Judd Trump vs Barry Hawkins
The opening semi-final of the day sees the defending champion and world number one Judd Trump taking on the former world finalist Barry Hawkins in what probably has to be described as the pick of the two matches on Saturday.
Trump hasn’t been at his best this week but he has made it through to the semi-finals and that is beginning to be something of a trend of his. He was better in the quarter final against Ding Junhui but you would be pushing it to say he was at his best. Hawkins may well have thought he was on a freeroll after beating Ryan Day 5-4 from 4-0 down in the first round and after his quarter final win provisionally moved him into the top 16 in the World Championship race he certainly has nothing to lose here. He can give this a good go and attempt to pull off what would be considered a major shock.
If you take out the Championship League and Shootout meetings Hawkins actually leads the head to head between these two 6-5. When you consider Trump has only won their last two matches in a deciding frame Hawkins clearly enjoys playing the world number one and he might just be being underestimated here. It might be pushing it to suggest that Hawkins is back to his best but he’s surfing in the right direction and I’m not completely sure Trump is bang on it this week so this could be closer than the odds believe. You can get a decent price on Hawkins to win four frames and given that in major events he has only lost to Trump by more than two frames once, that price could be worth investing in.
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Evening Session
Tom Ford vs Jack Lisowski
The second semi-final is the dream one for those who followed our outright bets for the tournament as Tom Ford goes up against Jack Lisowski in a clash between the two men who were advised for the competition in our opening preview for the event.
Both these men have played very well this week. Lisowski looks like he has continued where he left off in 2020 which resulted in him playing in the World Grand Prix final. Ford has arguably played even better than Lisowski. He has only won two frames this week without a 50 break and looks in pretty good order as he goes in search of a place in another final. Ordinarily I’d be looking at overs in frames or breaks here but given that I’ve backed both outright I’m happy to sit back and watch to see who carries my money into the final with them on Sunday.
Tips
WON – Back B.Hawkins (+2.5 frames) to beat J.Trump for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
Back him here:
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