Scottish Open Snooker 2024 – Semi-Finals Tips and Betting Preview

It is semi-final day at the Scottish Open on Saturday with both matches taking place across two sessions of snooker inside the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh as we find out who will compete for the Stephen Hendry Trophy on Sunday.

We have a couple of tournament winners through to the semi-finals and two players for whom this could be the best week of their lives if they can find two more wins which would take them to their maiden ranking title.

Afternoon Session

Wu Yize vs Xiao Guodong

The opening semi-final is an all-Chinese affair as the English Open finalist Wu Yize looks to make it through to a second Home Nations event of the season when he faces the Wuhan Open winner Xiao Guodong who is eyeing up a second trophy of the campaign.

These two men have certainly been the best two players in the bottom half of the draw if not the tournament as a whole. Wu Yize has come through two deciding frames in the last two rounds against classy opposition in Barry Hawkins and Chris Wakelin so he is battle-hardened and if his tip issues from the quarter final are a thing of the past he is going to put up a decent challenge here. Guodong might be the player of the season so far though. He certainly is the best player of the last two months and the way he dispatched Luca Brecel in the quarter final suggests he should still be the favourite for this match but I think we’re in for a cracking semi-final here. Wu Yize looks to be cueing brilliantly while Guodong is experienced and tends to handle the pressure well. This feels like a semi-final which will ebb and flow and over 9.5 frames looks a good thing to me. This just screams a competitive contest to me and one which ends 6-4 or 6-5 either way.

Special Offer

OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.

Evening Session

Lei Peifan vs Mark Allen

The second semi-final could be considered something of a mismatch as the man who started the season as the world number one, the former winner here in Mark Allen takes on a Lei Peifan who will be competing in a semi-final on the tour for the first time.

To be fair to Peifan, he has battled well to come through to this stage. His last three wins, over two former world champions and the most recent tournament winner, were all in a deciding frame so he has shown he can hold himself together under pressure but it would be a huge surprise if he was to win this match. Allen looks back to something close to his best. He has scored really well and got better in the balls the longer the week has gone on and if he has that scoring form with him you would imagine he’ll put the inexperienced youngster to the sword but even if this turns scrappy and cagey it is hard to go against Allen. If Peifan gets a good start he might be able to keep this one close but the general logic would have this as all about Allen. I’m not really interested in a handicap but I’d be surprised to see anything other than a comfortable win for the former champion.

Tips

Back W.Yize vs X.Guodong – Over 9.5 frames for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Sky Bet