The two semi-finals of the Welsh Open form the menu inside Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Saturday as the four remaining men battle it out for the right to face off for the Ray Reardon Trophy on Sunday.
There is plenty of implications across both matches on Saturday with one man playing for a life changing sum of money and two others looking to qualify for next week. The other is the overwhelming favourite from here on in.
Afternoon Session
Robert Milkins vs Tian Pengfei
The opening semi-final of the tournament sees Robert Milkins competing in his second last four clash this month when he goes up against a Tian Pengfei who from nowhere is now just two wins from the biggest day of his career and qualifying for next week.
There is a lot on this match. If Milkins wins here he’ll make a major ranking final and will play for the trophy and the £150,000 BetVictor bonus while if Pengfei wins it he will compete in a first ranking final and would have a shot at making it into the Players Championship next week. All that stuff needs to be put to one side but it is clearly in the thinking of Milkins and he showed as much in his interview after beating Mark Allen in the quarter final. Milkins by his own admission was terrible in that match and he’ll need to improve here because he is up against a man who has seen off Ali Carter, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last three rounds and only dropped three frames in that time. If Milkins’ mind is on the money, and nobody could blame him if it is, then he could come up short here. Pengfei is in fine order and if he doesn’t freeze on the occasion, and he’s experienced enough that I don’t think he will, I think the Chinese player can make it through.
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Evening Session
Pang Junxu vs Shaun Murphy
The second semi-final is another China vs England battle or inexperience at this stage of a tournament against experience when Pang Junxu competes in a first ranking event semi-final against the man who won this title in 2020 in Shaun Murphy.
Murphy has been there, done it and got most of the t-shirts going and he has played very well this week with the highlight being that 145 and 147 in successive frames against Daniel Wells. Murphy has lost one frame in the last two matches and looks to be cueing supremely well. You suspect the only thing that could derail him here is the weight of expectation and favouritism because Pang is in a first major semi-final and had to come through a dog of a quarter final on Friday night where he was visibly struggling to get over the line until he let his arm go in the final frame. He made a ton in the decider which means he shouldn’t freeze on the occasion but the way Murphy is going he’ll either need to drop his standards or Pang might need to play beyond himself to win. I expect Murphy to be too good but the handicap lines and things are about right.
Tips
Back T.Pengfei to beat R.Milkins for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betway
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