A week of excellent snooker at the Welsh Open comes to a close on Sunday when Shaun Murphy takes on Robert Milkins in the final inside the Venue Cymru in Llandudno with the Ray Reardon Trophy on the line.
These two will meet over the best of 17 frames for the trophy, the many riches that come with winning as well as a spot in the Champion of Champions later in the year. This could be a huge day for whoever comes out on top here.
Shaun Murphy
It is no surprise that Shaun Murphy has made it through to the final of this tournament. He has been playing well for most of the season without landing that breakthrough result which has confirmed it on the baize. Often he has run into some stonking performances but this week it has been him who has been delivering them and he probably feels a worthy favourite for this final, not least because he has won this tournament in the past.
The other advantage that Murphy has in this final is he is only playing for the trophy and the first prize so his mind will be devoid of the clutter that might be in the opposing seat for this clash. The one negative over Murphy could be that he was involved in a mentally taxing semi-final which didn’t conclude until 11.30pm on Saturday evening so there is a chance he might come out flat, but you would think he is experienced enough to sort that.
Robert Milkins
We probably shouldn’t be too surprised that Robert Milkins is in this final either. He won in Gibraltar 11 months ago and since then he has been playing some excellent snooker, with the monkey that has come off of his back clearly freeing him up to play some of the best snooker of his career. He made the semi-final in the German Masters last month and now he has gone one better here and will hope that there is one more win in him this week.
If there is it will be extremely lucrative. He has already qualified for the Players Championship next week but a win here will give him the £80,000 first prize, the £150,000 BetVictor Series bonus, a place in the Champion of Champions, most likely a spot at the Tour Championship and he would be back in the top 16 in the world rankings. On top of all that he would have won the biggest title in his career so there is an awful lot at stake for the Milkman.
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Head-to-head
These two men have met on 12 previous occasions and it is Shaun Murphy who has had the better of those outings with seven wins to the five of Robert Milkins. It is equally as close in the frame count where Murphy has a narrow 45-43 lead, which suggests that matches between the two are often tight affairs. This is the second time they have met in a final but the other one was a European Tour final when those things were in situ so this is the biggest match they will have played in terms of frames in a final. It is their second two-session match. Milkins won the first one at the World Championship but it was back in 2000.
Betting
I’m hoping that we get a decent final here between two men who are more than capable of delivering one. The issue with that is Shaun Murphy looked a little jaded in his semi-final while Robert Milkins is playing for so much which would be huge for him should he find the win and earn them. That makes me think this final might not hit the heights but either way there are question marks over both men so I don’t really want to bet on the result.
One bet I will take is for Robert Milkins to make the highest break. Murphy made a 145 and a 147 in the last 16 win over Daniel Wells but he hasn’t made a ton since then. Milkins was in equally impressive form in Germany recently when he made a 146 in one match and a 147 in the next one. I thought it was telling that Murphy said in his interview after the semi-final that he was disappointed with how tight he was playing and that if he was going to go down he was going to do it on the offense and on his terms. That might be music to the ears of Milkins who might not have to work hard for his chances should Murphy find his long game not as helpful as he would want it to be. Milkins made a ton in the semi-final and another in this final could land the highest break at a decent price.
Tips
Back R.Milkins – Highest break for a 3/10 stake at 2.40 with Coral
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