The final of the German Masters will be an all-Chinese affair as two of the best to come from that part of the world battle it out when Zhao Xintong takes on Yan Bingtao inside the Tempodrom for the title and a healthy first prize.
These two have both seen off seasoned campaigners to make their way into this final and now they will be eager to add the title to their growing collection of trophies and both boost their ranking and their chances of making the Tour Championship.
Zhao Xintong
This has been an incredible two months for Zhao Xintong. His win at the UK Championship was thrilling and great for the sport but in many ways there has been as much if not more pressure on him this week. That UK Championship win would have been nice but if it was the only thing he won or the only final he made then it would begin to standout as an anomaly rather than the norm. This week Xintong has shown he is no flash in the pan and is here to stay.
The Chinese ace has a flowing but perfectly straight cue action and his long game is beginning to put the frighteners into everyone. It is fine having a good long game but you do no damage if you don’t score with it. Xintong scores for fun and that makes him a very dangerous prospect. He will know he can improve his tactical game and when he does that we are talking about a potential world champion and world number one but for now he’ll look to score his way to the title.
Yan Bingtao
This will be a different kind of match for Yan Bingtao. So far in this tournament he has had to grind his way to progression overcoming the likes of Mark Selby and Ryan Day in a deciding frame before edging past Mark Allen in a match which got a little nervy in the semi-final on Saturday. We know all about the battling qualities of Bingtao but he might need a little more than just his fighting spirit if he is going to progress and win this final.
The good thing for Bingtao is that he knows he can win the big finals. He has won one of the biggest of them all when he captured The Masters last year, although there is still this nagging feeling over him that there was no crowd for that match. Were he to win here it would prove that he can win in front of big crowds and would set him up nicely for the remainder of the season and potentially the rest of his career if he can win in these situations.
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Head to head
These two men have met twice in the past and they have a win each. Both their meetings came in 2020 with Xintong winning 4-2 at the World Grand Prix while Bingtao got his revenge in a deciding frame at the Northern Ireland Open. That means Xintong has a 7-6 frame advantage but this rivalry is only just getting started you feel. This will be the biggest match they have competed in as the other two matches were in the last 32 and last 16 of those tournaments so the stakes are a whole lot higher here.
Betting
While I completely respect the fighting qualities of Yan Bingtao I think he is going to need to find his scoring boots if he is going to win this final. He goes up against a man in Zhao Xintong who is riding the crest of a wave right now and who is scoring about as well as anyone in the game so Bingtao can’t afford to leave him chances if he isn’t going to score when he gets the chance of his own. That makes me think Xintong is the one to be on in this final.
The other reason I like Xintong is he’s won a big final in front of a crowd recently and has performed in some big matches. When Bingtao won The Masters he ground his way to the title but I’m not sure he’ll be able to keep it tight enough for long enough to grind his way to this one. While Yan is likely to dominate the safety exchanges, Xintong can get in from range and do some damage and it is that scoring power I’m going to side with.
Tips
WON – Back Z.Xintong to beat Y.Bingtao for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
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