Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Players Championship match.
Judd Trump and Lei Peifan will play in the first round of the Players Championship. For Peifan this will be one of the most serious tests of her career.
Judd Trump
Judd Trump has won three tournaments this season - the Shanghai Masters, the Saudi Arabian Masters and the UK Championship. He also played in the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and the Northern Ireland Open, but lost both times to Kyren Wilson. At the recent World Grand Prix, Trump beat Gary Wilson (4-2) and Hussein Vafaei (5-0), but lost to Stuart Bingham (6-3). The season is going well for him, there is a victory in the Triple Crown tournament and a large gap in ranking points over second place. Judd has learned to play well when he is not on top form. Previously, Trump tried to launch an attack on his own from any position, and now he forces his opponents to make mistakes with his smart moves.
Lei Peifan
Lei Peifan is one of the revelations of this season. Lei debuted on tour in 2019, but never got past the second-round barrier. Peifan missed a year and entered the tour through the Asia Pacific Open Championship. And since his return, Lei has shown a completely different level of play. His consistency has increased, Peifan has become much more solid against better opponents. Lei did well at the Saudi Arabian Masters, reaching the last 32, where he lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan. Peifan also made it to the final of the UK Championship, but two weeks later he reached his first ranking final at the Scottish Open and beat Wu Yize (9-5).
Judd Trump vs Lei Peifan Prediction
Although Lei achieved a huge success, we think it was a bright flash, and Peifan has very little chance against Judd Trump. If the match was played in the best of 7 format, then Peifan could count on a few winning frames, and that would be enough. But the match will be held in the best of 11 format, and at such a distance Judd is very difficult to beat. We will offer a bet that Lei will not make 3 half-century breaks. Judd is always difficult to play against, and Peifan does not have good break-building anyway.
