Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Players Championship match.
Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy will play in the quarter-finals of the Players Championship. This will be their fourth game this season.
Judd Trump
Judd Trump confidently defeated Lei Peifan in the first match with two centuries and two half-centuries. Judd got an advantage at the start of the match and completely controlled the game. We expected Trump in the final of the World Grand Prix, but Judd lost in the semi-finals to Stuart Bingham (6-3). Judd is now the sole leader in world snooker, with Kyren Wilson, who is second, separated from him by more than 500 thousand ranking points. Before each tournament, Judd is now the main favourite. Trump has made 88 centuries this season, while Mark Selby in second place has only 59. Of course, with such a game, Judd will be in contention for the title of winner not only of the Players Championship, but also of the two remaining tournaments, including the World Championship.
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Murphy beat Barry Hawkins (6-4) in the first match, making a century and five half-centuries in six frames won. Murphy had the advantage at the beginning of the match, but Hawkins made the score 4-4. And then Shaun managed to make two great breaks and reach the quarter-finals. We like Shaun Murphy’s game this year; Murphy won the Masters; at the World Grand Prix, Shaun lost in the semi-finals to Neil Robertson in the deciding frame; and in three other tournaments this season, Shaun was stopped by Judd Trump, including in the final of the Shanghai Masters and the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabian Masters.
Judd Trump vs Shaun Murphy Prediction
This will be the fourth match between Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump this season, and Judd Trump has won all three times. And in fact, the last six matches between Murphy and Trump have been won by Judd, but we don’t think Shaun Murphy played badly in those matches. And we think Shaun is capable of breaking this six-game losing streak to Judd Trump and reaching the final of the tournament. So, we’ll offer a bet on the 1.5 frame handicap against Shaun Murphy.
