Former Masters champion Shaun Murphy pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the first round of action, and there were a stack of those. Murphy won a battle with top seed and reigning champion Judd Trump.
He moves on to another all-English battle in the quarter-finals on Thursday where he meets Joe Perry. Perry accounted for the in-form Ding Juhui in the first round. So no matter who gets through this tussle, there is going to be a surprise semi-finalist at the event. Read our Shaun Murphy vs Joe Perry betting tip for more details.
Shaun Murphy v Joe Perry odds*
Shaun Murphy 12/2
Joe Perry 13/8
* (Betting odds taken from bet365 on January 15th, 2020 at 1:05 pm)
Masters Snooker Betting at Bet365
Table of Contents
Murphy comes up trumps
Shaun Murphy started the first round of action at the masters as a heavy underdog against Judd Trump. Given that Trump had been in astounding form this season and was the reigning champion, coupled with Murphy’s lack of form, it looked as if it was going to be a one-sided contest. However, Murphy produced a 6-3 win.
Since his victory at the China Championship back at the end of September, Murphy hasn’t been in the picture for a title. He hasn’t even been able to produce any great Masters form recently either, with three first-round exits in his last four appearances at the event. That was a convincing win that ‘The Magician’ put up against Trump and now he’s the odds-on favourite to progress further.
Head to head
Murphy has bossed the head to head between the players, leading 6-1
Perry’s only win over Murphy happened at the 2016 World masters
This will be the first meeting at the Masters between them.
It’s the first clash since November 2016
Key-Facts – Shaun Murphy vs Joe Perry
- Murphy won the Masters in 2015
- Perry was a Masters Finalist in 2017
- Murphy beat reigning champion Judd Trump in the 1st round
Can Perry pull out the stops again?
On the first day of action at the Masters 2020, Joe Perry pulled out a victory over Ding Junhui, who had won the fairly recent UK Championship. So that was a big upset produced by the Englishman. The track record of Perry at the Masters is, well, inconsistent at its very best. He is back this year after a two-year absence.
Those two missed events was after defying all the odds to reach the 2017 Masters Final, which he lost. In total from six previous appearances at the invitational, Perry has four first-round exits. He is not a player that challenges for titles regularly. Perry only has one ranking title in his entire career, which came in 2015. In the last four seasons, he has been to the final of just two ranking tournaments plus that Masters final in 2017.
Shaun Murphy v Joe Perry Prediction and tip
It’s Murphy that has to get the nod in this fixture without much doubt. His win over Trump was superb, and his confidence should be sky-high.
He’s more likely to nail winning consistency at the end of the day that Perry is. Murphy can knuckle down and do the business and for a bit of value, he’s worth taking at a -1.5 handicap at 4/5 which he should easily cover* (Betting odds taken from bet365 on January 15th, 2020 at 1:05 pm).
