Two players who were touch and go to even make it to this season’s Tour Championship find themselves one win away from Sunday’s final in Llandudno.
John Higgins and Luca Brecel have one tournament win apiece on the World Snooker Tour this season, but have shown their worth in the upper echelons of the sport with contrasting quarter-final wins in Wales.
Saturday afternoon sees the start of their semi-final race to 19 frames and we’ve taken a look at some of the best picks and tips for the battle on the baize:
More Higgins Heroics?
It took one of his “best matches ever” to sneak past Zhao Xintong in the quarter-final as John Higgins won six of the last seven frames to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Still, the Wizard of Wishaw will be concerned about some of the opportunities on the table that he is struggling to capitalise on.
Higgins failed to make a century in his 10-9 win over Xintong and had to do things the hard way – the Scot trailed 5-2 and 8-4 during the contest.
By contrast, Luca Brecel won his first three frames and led 5-1 and 8-3 against Judd Trump in his quarter-final.
A fast start for the Belgian looks to be priced well.
Brecel’s Back on Target
Both Higgins and Brecel battled well in their quarter-finals without looking in full flow.
Long pots weren’t shirked by either, with 40-60 breaks often enough to grab a frame by the scruff of the neck and stick their opponent on the ropes.
They racked up just one combined century in 35 frames they’ve contested so far, but we’ve expecting a slight up turn on these fortunes.
We’re not expecting this to be a one sided affair, with each player enjoying purple patches across Saturday’s two sessions.
Three centuries in the match looks just about right.
We’re Going Long in Llandudno
Higgins and Brecel are 2-2 across their last four meetings and we’re banking on this one going long in Llandudno.
Their joint insistence in going for risky long pots can often open the table for counter attacks, and we’re expecting many visits from both across these two sessions.
We’re not expecting anything close to a rout in this semi-final, so backing over 16.5 frames looks good.
*Please note that all odds are correct at the time of article publication.
