There is one match left in the snooker season as we determine who the 2023 world champion will be when Luca Brecel takes on Mark Selby in the final of the World Championship over two days inside the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
One man will be competing in his first world final while the other will be looking to win this title for the fifth time and move him further up the list in the greatest players to play the game. It is first to 18 in what should be a cracking final.
Luca Brecel
There has been something really enjoyable about Luca Brecel in this tournament. He arrived here without having won a match at the Crucible Theatre and now he will compete for the world title. The big thing about Brecel is he has been able to find his best snooker when well behind in matches. That isn’t easy to do with the pressure that the importance of this tournament places on players so to have performed significant comebacks in the quarter final and semi-final is very appealing.
Brecel has played with a freedom which you rarely see at this tournament and if he can get out in front in this match and gather confidence from it then he could be very tough to reel in. I think it is important for Brecel to get a good start. He managed to comeback against Ronnie O’Sullivan and Si Jiahui in the previous two rounds but you would imagine the nous of his opponent here would nip any fightback in the bud should one materialise.
Mark Selby
If this final is won on experience then they should give Mark Selby the title now because he is going to embark on a sixth world final. He has won four of the previous five that he has played so he knows all about the test that is in front of him and making sure that he comes out on top in it. The obvious doubt over the four-time champion is how much he has left in the tank after an epic semi-final which finished barely 12 hours before this final is due to begin.
Selby is a master of hanging in matches and waiting for his best snooker to come out and it wouldn’t be a surprise were he to do the same here. He took the best that John Higgins and Mark Allen threw at him in the first session of their matches and then came back with his own heavy artillery and if he is a little jaded heading into this final then it might be a case of hanging in there on Sunday before looking to make his move when the pressure really intensifies on Monday.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for this tournament! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Head-to-head
These two world finalists have met on eight previous occasions and it might come as a surprise to some that Mark Selby only holds a 5-3 lead on Luca Brecel. Where the Englishman is more dominant is in the frame count where he has a 36-28 advantage which suggests that his wins are a little more comfortable than that of Brecel. This will be the second final they have faced each other in and the second in this campaign after Mark Selby saw off the Belgian in the English Open earlier in the season. That was the only time the two have met in a match with more than one session. Selby has won the last three so the head-to-head favours him heading into this final.
Betting
Those who have followed our tips throughout the tournament will already be on Mark Selby at 11/2 to win this match as he was our main outright bet all along. There might be a time in the final where we look to get some of that stake back but heading into it I think we’ve got to be looking at Selby being a worthy favourite just on experience grounds. We know how Luca Brecel is going to play but you just wonder if those two comebacks will catch up with him. He certainly can’t afford another slow start in this final.
Boylesports have boosted over 4.5 centuries to even money for this match and that feels big. The semi-final that Mark Selby was involved in was perceived as a negative safety battle but he still managed to make three centuries in it to make it nine for the tournament. Brecel looked very fluent when he got going in his semi-final and we know the Belgian won’t allow himself to be bogged down by Selby here. That won’t always be to his own good but it does ensure the balls will be open much more than in the Selby semi-final. Five centuries is one per session with another on top somewhere and these two score well enough to deliver on that.
Tips
Back Over 4.5 centuries for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
