There is one place left in the Tour Championship semi-finals and it will get filled on Thursday when two more men who have won ranking events this season meet as Mark Selby faces Ryan Day inside the Bonus Arena in Hull.
These two have three titles between them this season and one of them will move to within two wins of picking up another. There is an argument that this is a much bigger match for Day than Selby but it should be another good one regardless.
Mark Selby
This looked like being a bit of an ordinary season for Mark Selby in the first part of it and everyone was ok with that because we all know what he has gone through over the last 12 months or so. Things turned around at the English Open when he won that tournament and that opened up the doors to the remainder of the campaign. There have still been some below par displays from him but he does come to this tournament on a high.
That is because he won the WST Classic last week. He went to that tournament needing to win a few rounds to ensure he was going to be at this event but even after securing his place here he didn’t take his foot off the gas and went on and won the tournament and played some really good stuff on the final day in particular. There is no secret made of the fact he has never won an ITV event though and he has never made a final on ITV either. He’ll be out to get that monkey off his back this week.
Ryan Day
The season started in brilliant fashion for Ryan Day when he surprised plenty in winning the British Open. He didn’t really play his best stuff for a lot of that tournament but in the final when it mattered the most he came up with the goods and ultimately that was all that mattered. The prize that week was so big that he was almost guaranteed to be in this tournament from the moment he lifted the trophy and he has done enough since then to guarantee his appearance.
This will be his debut in this event so it is a pretty big day for Ryan Day but it is made even bigger by the fact that Day will qualify automatically for the World Championship if he wins this match but should he lose this one he will have to go to the qualifiers and win two matches to take his place in the draw at the Crucible. Day has been around a long time and has had some good days but occasions where he has been in these one-table setups are still quite rare for him which might be a concern.
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Head-to-head
These two men have met on 13 previous occasions and it is Selby who has had the better of things in the past. He leads eight wins to five and is a little further ahead when it comes to the frame count at 49-37. Selby won their last meeting but it was at the Pro Series over the best of three frames. Their last really relevant battle was won by Ryan Day but that was a few years ago. This will be the first time that they have met in a match of more than one session and obviously with it being the debut for Day it will be the first time that they meet in this competition.
Betting
The general feeling around this match is that Mark Selby will dominate it because he’s in great form and Ryan Day isn’t but I just can’t ignore what is on the line for Day in this match. He wins it and he’s in the World Championship as a seed and if he loses it then he has to go to qualifying. That doesn’t guarantee he does win this match but I’m certain it will have ensured he has been on the practice table all week and I would expect to see the best version of him.
On the flip side of that, Selby is on a bit of a high but winning can take something out of a player, especially one on home soil and we saw on Wednesday that for all Murphy was good in his last tournament he never really hit those heights so I wouldn’t be surprised if Selby is a little below his best. I’m also a little wary about backing Selby in these ITV events. They’ve been around far too long for it to be a coincidence that someone of his class hasn’t even made a final in one of these things. There is something about them that he doesn’t get on with. As it goes I still think Selby wins this match but purely based on what is on it I expect Day to stay with him for long enough to cover a 3.5 frame handicap.
Tips
Back R.Day (+3.5 frames) to beat M.Selby for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back him here:
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