It is semi-final day at The Masters on Saturday with the first match coming in the afternoon session as two former champions meet for a place in the final when Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on Shaun Murphy inside Alexandra Palace.
These two men have had plenty to say to each other in the past and that should immediately ramp up the competitiveness of this one without even taking into account the fact that they are meeting for a place in a Triple Crown final.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
It will be interesting to see which version of Ronnie O’Sullivan we get in this tournament because he has played an excellent match against Ding Junhui and then a pretty ordinary one against Barry Hawkins. When he plays like he did against Ding he is going to be close to unbeatable but when he plays like he did against Hawkins it is all about riding his luck and getting out on the right side of it. I do have a theory about O’Sullivan that when he comes out with something controversial it is because he fancies the job.
I don’t see O’Sullivan fading from here. I think the fact Murphy has had a bit to say about him in the media over the last year or so will ensure he is focused on this match and he’ll also know that he is two more wins away from another piece of history so I expect him to be right on it here. That doesn’t necessarily equate to a victory but if he is focused then he is unlikely to miss too much that is easy and his long game has been in good order all week.
Shaun Murphy
You would have to say that Shaun Murphy hasn’t been put under any pressure at all so far in this competition but part of the reason for that has been how well he has played in the early stages of both contests. He has led 3-1 at the interval in both games and while he hasn’t completely shut out the opposition he has done his work when it counted and then in the second half of the match both players he has faced have played into his hands.
We know that Murphy has one of the best long games in the game and he has been very aggressive this week. He has spoken about playing matches on his terms and the way he wants to and while that will leave him exposed when he is slightly off, he is telling everyone who he plays that he is going to look to dominate the table. When he is on it, like he has been this week, he is a very tough nut to crack and is capable of winning anything.
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Head-to-head
Two men who have been around as long as these two have were always going to have faced each other on a number of occasions and this will be meeting number 20 in their careers. Ronnie O’Sullivan has won 14 of those past battles to the four of Murphy with one draw. In the frame count O’Sullivan leads 132-83 so he has dominated this head-to-head in the past. This will be the first time they have met at The Masters though but O’Sullivan has won all three semi-finals that they have played. He has also won their three best of 11 frame meetings.
Betting
I think Ronnie O’Sullivan will win this and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he wins this with a bit in hand. I’m not sure the war of words that Shaun Murphy has engaged in over recent seasons will do him many favours here but the thing that certainly won’t is the fact he was working for the BBC until gone midnight and probably won’t have been to bed much before 1am if it was that early and then he has to play a major semi-final less than 12 hours later.
That just can’t be a good way to prepare for a match of this magnitude and if O’Sullivan gets out in front early and starts purring he could quickly run away with this match. Generally when O’Sullivan beats Murphy he does it in style. Of the 14 wins he has had against him all but one of them have come without the need for a decider and so the 4/5 on O’Sullivan winning this no worse than 6-4 looks good to me. Murphy plays a game which suits O’Sullivan and that daft prep for the Magician sways this to the side of the Rocket for me.
Tips
Back R.O’Sullivan (-1.5 frames) to beat S.Murphy for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back him here:
