Shaun Murphy vs Mark Allen
17th March 1300hrs
Snooker – Wales – Tour Championship 2020
Pick Murphy To Win
Bookmaker Ladbrokes
Odds: 8/13 odds taken 05:51 GMT, Monday 15th March 2020
This is action from the bottom half of the Tour Championship draw. It’s a draw that both will be happy with because it means avoiding the top-two in the game right now of Judd Trump and Neil Roberston, who are in the top half. So there’s a big opportunity here for Murphy or Allen.
Table of Contents
Murphy can continue strong flourish of form
Former World Champion Shaun Murphy has had some nice moments this year. He has claimed a title at the ranking Welsh Open and made the semi-finals in two other ranking events.
So that’s at least a semi-final berth that he has taken in three of his last five ranking appearances. In total, he has banked two ranking titles this season. He is actually sitting as a very good outside option in the Tour Championship 2020 outright winner market.
He didn’t make the Gibraltar Open on the weekend, that was not part of the mass withdrawals from the event because of the coronavirus. Murphy hadn’t qualified. He will be making his Tour Championship debut on Tuesday.
Murphy has a head to head advantage over Allen of 9-4. This will be the first meeting between the two players since the 2018 Scottish Open. Murphy lost that and has actually lost each of the last three against the Northern Ireland player.
Allen the underdog for the tournament opener
Including non-ranking events, Mark Allen has lost six semi-finals this season. That’s a lot of narrow misses when the pressure has been on. Since his semi-final at the Scottish Open in December, Allen has been struggling a bit.
Allen has not been past the third round in one of his last four ranking events when he reached the quarters at the Players Championship in late February.
If you look at it another way, Allen has made two first-round exits in his last four ranking events. He was involved in the Tour Championship last year and won his opening match against Kyren Wilson before bowing out against Neil Roberston.
Don’t miss out on other Betting Tips & Predictions
Click here for more Betting Tips
Mark Allen was one of those who did withdraw from the Gibraltar Open over the weekend. So he should be fresh for this contest. All in all, if you stack up those four ranking semi-final places he has taken this season, he has knocked on the door. Will the shorter tournament play right into hands?
Shaun Murphy vs Mark Allen Betting Advice
We can’t look past Murphy for this one. He has definitely been more settled in 2020 and looks a good outside pick to lift the title in Llandudno. So it’s The Magician that we would pull towards, but by what kind of margin?
Key Facts – Shaun Murphy vs Mark Allen Betting Tip
- Shaun Murphy leads the head to head 9-4
- Shaun Murphy has lost the last three meetings with Allen
- Mark Allen has not reached a ranking final this season
We are actually not going to push the boat out too drastically in this one. A Murphy -1.5 handicap sits about right. Mark Allen is capable on his day of sticking around and making a nuisance of himself. But we expect Murphy to prevail.
The best betting odds for Shaun Murphy vs Mark Allen
Shaun Murphy to win: 8/13 at Ladbrokes
Mark Allen: 5/4 at Ladbrokes
