Masters snooker: Murphy to play cards right and face Trump in final
Published:The semi finals have quickly come around at the Masters and Judd Trump is still in contention to follow up on his UK Championship success last month.
Trump takes on Neil Robertson in the first of the two semi finals, with Shaun Murphy then hoping to spring a small upset in the evening session when facing John Higgins.
Judd Trump to beat Neil Robertson @ 4/7
These two are becoming familiar opposition in the big tournaments, having already met at the World Championship last year and then at the UK Championship last month.
Trump shaded victory by two frames in each of these encounters and can triumph again if reproducing the form which saw him defeat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter finals.
Meanwhile, Robertson damaged the tip of his cue in beating Mark Williams and it will be less than ideal playing with a new tip against a player like Trump, who will be quick to capitalise on any weak safety play.
Given Robertson’s tip troubles, Trump to win even when giving up a handicap of 1.5 games appeals at 1/1, alongside the 3/1 that two centuries are scored in the match.
Shaun Murphy to beat John Higgins at 6/5
Murphy has looked the far more assured and consistent player throughout the tournament to date and his 6-2 win over Mark Selby in the quarter finals was particularly impressive.
On the other hand, Higgins was average at best in a portion of his match with Graeme Dott and will struggle to live with Murphy if he fails to play well for the whole match.
Murphy has never previously reached this stage of the Masters and also got the better of Higgins in their last career meeting, when running out a 5-2 victor in the China Open last year.
It may be best to stick to another three-game winning margin and Murphy to progress 6-3 could offer some value in the frame betting at 7/1.
