The Masters continues on Tuesday with another two first round matches and the afternoon game will be a repeat of the UK Championship final last month when Judd Trump takes on the man he beat to win that title in Barry Hawkins.
Trump has won this title in the past and will be looking to launch a bid for a third Masters crown whereas Hawkins has done everything but win this tournament and will see this as a chance to take a huge step towards getting his hands on the trophy.
Judd Trump
The world number one is only the number three seed this week but he arrives as very much as the man to beat. He will know that for all of the titles he has won in his career that he hasn’t won as many of these Triple Crown events as he would have been expected to. He has won this on two occasions though and he generally has a decent record here having reached another four semi-finals and we know he is a showman so he’ll love this crowd.
Trump arrives here off the back of an excellent season so far. He has already won three big titles having scooped the Shanghai Masters, Saudi Arabia Masters and the UK Championship and he has lost a couple of finals as well. The one thing that could be a concern is he has started some of those tournaments a little slowly and you don’t get away with doing that here so it will be interesting to see if he can hit the ground running in this match.
Barry Hawkins
Barry Hawkins has become one of the best players in the world in recent times but for all he has done in the game he hasn’t yet got his hands on one of the major titles even though he has now made the final of all three of the Triple Crown events. He made the final here in 2016 and 2022 before losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson and he has also made the semi-final so there is a comfort in playing in front of this crowd which brings out the best in Hawkins.
Prior to the UK Championship, the season was one littered with last 16 and quarter final appearances but he really came good in York where he made the final and ran Trump close, arguably not helped by a marathon semi-final the night before, and the vibes are that he has been flying in exhibitions since then which bodes well because they are usually also in front of decent crowds. There is nothing to suggest Hawkins won’t give this a right good go.
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Head-to-head
These two are familiar foes. They have met on 21 previous occasions and while Judd Trump holds the lead it is only 12-9 and it is just as close on the frame count where Trump has a 103-100 advantage on Barry Hawkins. This will be the fifth time in their career that they have faced each other in the last 16 of a tournament. Trump is 3-1 up in the previous four matches. This will also be their fifth meeting at The Masters with them locked at 2-2 in past clashes in this tournament. Trump leads 7-2 in their best of 11 meetings and he has won their last five battles.
Betting
Judd Trump is a worthy favourite here but he is plenty short enough for a player with all the pressure on him who doesn’t always begin a tournament in fine form and if he starts out slowly here then a confident Barry Hawkins should be right in the game throughout. We’ve seen a couple of deciding frames in the two afternoon sessions so far and there is every chance we get another here given how well these two know each other and when to turn it on and when not to.
You can get odds against on Hawkins to win five frames here and that feels like a solid play. He raises his game in events like this and usually comes out with his best form. Shaun Murphy has been advocating how well he is playing all week and if that is the case then he can take it to Trump here. Trump is good enough to hold his own and win when he is second best these days which puts me off taking Hawkins to win but he can certainly keep it close.
Tips
Back B.Hawkins (+1.5 frames) to beat J.Trump for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with BetVictor
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