The final of the Shanghai Masters will be a repeat of the World Championship final as Ding Junhui takes on Mark Selby for the title out in China. Selby won their clash at the Crucible so Ding will be out for revenge in this match with him possibly having the advantage of being in front of his own fans for the two session, best of 19 frames clash.
Ding Junhui
Ding has come through the draw relatively untroubled since he was almost sent packing in the first round by Scott Donaldson. You wouldn’t say he has been at his best since then but he has seen off some solid opposition so is fully deserving a place in this final.
On his way to this final Ding has seen off Mark Allen, Michael Holt and Stephen Maguire so he has been nicely tested but you sense he hasn’t faced anything quite like Selby which was his downfall in the World Championship and he will need to find a way to counter that if he is to come out on top in this final.
Mark Selby
The world champion hadn’t met a seed in this tournament until his semi-final win over Stuart Bingham and he had to bring out all of his brinkmanship to get himself over the line in that one after Bingham oozed class to go 5-3 up on him and seemingly on his way to victory but when you think you have Selby beaten that is when he is at his most dangerous.
The interesting thing in that semi-final for me was the way Selby found his scoring when he really needed it and that has to bode well for him going into this final because we know that not many are going to overcome the Jester in a straight out tactical battle and that certainly isn’t Ding’s game.
Betting
Mark Selby won the world final between these two in May but Ding was visibly hampered by nerves to begin with in that match and went 6-0 down before he was able to play and only lost 18-14 so that suggests this should be a close final and I expect it to be so.
The biggest question I have is can Ding win a close tussle against the master of winning close matches and I’m not so sure the answer is that he can. I think Ding will need to get a lead early and ride it to the line but when his back is against the wall that is when Selby brings out his best. Selby can win a scoring battle but he can’t lose a tactical final and with that advantage up his sleeve I have to take the world champion to repeat his Crucible final win here.
Tips
Back M.Selby to beat D.Junhui for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Titanbet
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