World Championship Snooker: In-Play semi-final tips

Snooker / Mike Norman / 29 April 2011 / Leave a Comment

Ding Junhui holds a narrow 9-7 lead over young Judd Trump

"Both players are more than capable of this and their latter sessions should see both relaxing a bit more and playing their natural high-scoring game."

Alex Lee has got himself into a great position in both semi-finals, but not content with settling for what he's got our expert has come up with some more wagers for you to consider.

With Ding Junhui easing into a 9-7 lead against young pretender Judd Trump, the Chinaman is justifying his pre-match tip and hopefully you'll have all traded out by now. Furthermore, Mark Williams got off to a roaring start against John Higgins, winning the first session 5-3, so the tip to lay Higgins with a view to trading out was a simple no-lose bet too.

The hard part now, of course, is picking a tournament winner, which I'll reserve judgement on for the time being (cough... Williams). While both semi-finals are still in progress, the clever money has to be on the two current leaders Williams and Ding to reach the final, although I expect Higgins to battle back more strongly than Trump. For this reason a little Dutching of 17-16 ([11.0]), 17-15 ([10.0]) and 17-14 ([10.0])* to Williams could be the way forward as it covers a trio of outcomes and offers a very palatable percentage payout.

As far as the Trump/Ding match is concerned, a wise move could be to back the Highest Break (Score) over 128.5 which is currently priced @ [2.44]. Both players are more than capable of this and their latter sessions should see both relaxing a bit more and playing their natural high-scoring game.

At the time of writing, Williams had just constructed a graceful century break in frame 13 and the expression Higgins had on his face was that of a beaten man. While the Scotsman has enormous reserves of mental strength, this match looks out of his reach already due to Williams' free-flowing snooker.

Recommended Bets

Back Highest Break (Score) over 128.5 @ [2.44] in the Trump/Ding game
Dutch Williams 17-16 @ [11.0], 17-15 @ [10.0] and 17-14 @ [10.0] v Higgins

*Prices correct at conclusion of second session with Williams leading 9-7