After an intense week of snooker we are down to just four men who can still win both the English Open and have a chance of winning the £1m bonus that has been put up for winning all of these home series events.
On Saturday the two semi-finals will be played out in Manchester with both over the best of 11 frames to determine who will play for the title and the £70,000 first prize on Sunday. Despite a week of surprise results and shocks we are left with four top 20 players in the semis.
Barry Hawkins vs Judd Trump
The first semi-final has the potential to be a mismatch, at least on paper. I don’t mean that as any disrespect to Barry Hawkins but the snooker that Judd Trump is playing right now is of a different level to anything else we are seeing.
That said, I remember at The Masters earlier in the year where Trump had just won the most incredible match I’ve ever seen and then he went and lost to Hawkins in the semi-final so he will need to ensure that particular piece of history doesn’t strike again.
I don’t think it will. I think Trump is too grounded and the penny has dropped with him but he doesn’t have the best record against Hawkins and he has played a lot of snooker recently so that is all enough to make me sit this first semi-final out.
Liang Wenbo vs Stuart Bingham
Two men who know their way to major finals meet in the second match of the day when the Chinese number two Liang Wenbo takes on the world number two Stuart Bingham. Both enjoyed comfortable wins in the quarter finals on Friday so both should be fresh for this match.
Both men have looked in decent form this week but the fact Wenbo has had the harder route through the draw bodes well in my eyes. When we’ve seen him on the match table he has looked very good and I don’t see a reason why that would change here.
Bingham might have won his quarter final 5-0 but his opponent was so clearly racked with nerves on the big occasion so we don’t know quite how he’ll go when he is under pressure. Nobody has really taken the chances they have had against him this week but I think Liang will. Liang has won their last three meetings and he’s the value to win this one too.
Tips
WON – Back L.Wenbo to beat S.Bingham for a 4/10 stake at 2.50 with Coral
Back him here:
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