Wednesday at the Champion of Champions tournament sees Group 2 of the event being played and with three tournament winners over the last year on show we are set for a brilliant day of snooker up in Bolton.
We have four class acts on show on Wednesday as we determine the third of the four semi-finalists and with no weak player on show it would be no surprise if we get two close group semi-finals as well as a tight group final.
Mark Selby vs Dave Gilbert
The opening match of a great day of snooker begins with a second meeting of the season between Mark Selby and Dave Gilbert, two men who know each other very well and who are friends away from the table. With some decent money at stake here though there will be no friends on it.
So much has been made of the fact that Selby is yet to win an ITV title and the longer that run goes without being ended the louder the reminders will be for him so he’ll be eager to get the job done here and push on and put that record to bed. He’ll know that when these two met in Belfast last month it was Gilbert who came out on top over this format. That wasn’t viewed as much of a surprise though because Gilbert is carrying the confidence of a man who has won his first tournament already this season and suddenly looks a lot more assured under pressure as a result. There’s value in Gilbert here but I fancy Selby to get the job done.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this event! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Shaun Murphy vs Yan Bingtao
The second group semi-final on Wednesday pits the world finalist Shaun Murphy up against the man who won the biggest invitation event this year at The Masters and who will be looking to double down this week in Yan Bingtao.
These two don’t need any introduction to anyone. Murphy came so close to world glory in May, narrowly losing to a man he could face in the group final should he come through here in Mark Selby. Bingtao won The Masters in fine fashion at the beginning of the year and although there are some players who are questioning whether he only won that because there wasn’t a crowd, crowd or no crowd he beat Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and Stuart Bingham in a deciding frame and took care of John Higgins in the final. This is a man who can handle the pressure of any occasion. Had it not been for Higgins, Bingtao could easily have won the opening two Home Nations events of the season. He is playing well at the minute. I’m far from convinced that is the case with Murphy. I mentioned that during the English Open and backed him to get beaten a round before it happened. He lost to Fraser Patrick there and with no disrespect intended Bingtao is a few levels above him. I think based on recent form the even money on Bingtao looks worthy of support here.
Group Betting
This is a group where there is a genuine case to be made for all four competitors in it. I’ve already highlighted that I don’t think Murphy is playing well but he’s good enough to come through here if he has found his best game. I suspect this will be a Selby vs Bingtao final though and it could be interesting that Bingtao beat Selby at the English Open earlier this month. Were that to be the final I wouldn’t be averse to that result playing out again.
The spoiler in the field could be Dave Gilbert, who ironically Bingtao beat the round before he beat Selby in Milton Keynes at the start of the month so if you wanted to use a recent form guide then perhaps the 7/2 on Bingtao to win this group is worthy of interest but 7/2 to potentially beat two world champions in a day or a world champion and a recent tournament winner doesn’t scream value. If I was to bet on the group I’d wait until the final where whoever is involved we will surely get more than 9.5 frames.
Tips
Back Y.Bingtao to beat S.Murphy for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
