The quarter finals of The Masters finish on Friday with the last two matches as we finalise the semi-final line-up inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. The afternoon clash sees Yan Bingtao taking on Stephen Maguire for a last four spot.
The defending champion Stuart Bingham is the man waiting for the winner of this one in the semi-final on Saturday, with both players looking to take a step closer to what would be a first Masters title.
Yan Bingtao
The only debutant to make it through to the quarter finals was Yan Bingtao and the Chinese star will be out to show that he isn’t done yet. There was a lot to like about the display of Bingtao in the first round. He is a player who continually impresses me. He isn’t the heaviest scorer or the flashiest player but he is tough as teak with a safety game way beyond his years and plenty of bottle. He also has the ability to deliver under pressure. We take that for granted in elite sportsmen but they don’t all have it, especially as a 20-year-old.
Bingtao overcame the challenge of Neil Robertson in the first round. He did so from 5-3 down when he played three excellent frames to seize victory. Critics could argue that Robertson wasn’t at the races, and that would be fair, but for a debutant to come back and shut out a seasoned campaigner like that was very impressive. He’ll probably need more here but now that he knows what he this is about you would think there is a fair bit of natural improvement in him.
Stephen Maguire
When you consider the form that Stephen Maguire had shown already this season, his win over Mark Selby in the first round was probably the biggest surprise of the tournament so far, but it was very much deserved and he’ll now be looking to take advantage of the draw opening up for him as he bids to open up 2021 with a massive title win. I noted from his interview after his win over Selby that he said he was looking forward to coming down to play so I’m attributing his poor form to bubble angst.
If Maguire is going to beat the better players he has to score well and that is what he did against Selby with five breaks over 50 over the course of the match. You’ve got to think there is more to come from him now that he has shaken off a bit of rust as well. The big thing Maguire has on his side here is experience. He has been to the semi-final of this tournament on four occasions so he knows what it is all about unlike his opponent.
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Head to Head
The head to head record is another thing that Maguire has on his side. These two men have met on three previous occasions and it is Maguire who has won all three. They were probably far enough ago not to be completely relevant but I would imagine both men will know the situation. Maguire has won those matches 5-1, 4-3 and 4-2 but this is by far the biggest match they will have played in, both in format and importance. Their previous matches came in the early stages of competitions so again how much relevance they have remains to be seen.
Betting
I think Stephen Maguire holds all the aces in this match. Not only has he won all three matches these two have played in the past but he has all the experience needed at this stage of the tournament. Add to that his more sustained scoring power and I think we have to be looking at backing the Scot in this one even as a shade of favouritism. I rate Bingtao a lot but I just think this could be a little too soon for him in his career.
When you look at the performances of the pair in the first round they both played very well. The snooker Bingtao played with his back against the wall was superb but you got the feeling that Robertson wasn’t really at the races. Maguire absolutely dominated Mark Selby in the opening round showing his scoring power and his class. I think Yan is going to need his best scoring game to come out on top in this one but I’m not sure it is there. I’ll take Maguire here.
Tips
Back S.Maguire to beat Y.Bingtao for a 3/10 stake at 1.87 with Betfair
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