Gary Wilson v Ronnie O'Sullivan: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Ronnie O'Sullivan will be looking to move a step closer to his second Tour Championship title when facing Gary Wilson in Friday's semi-final at Manchester Central.

The Rocket made light work of Ali Carter in the quarter-finals, thumping the Captain 10-2, and he will be a lot fresher than Wilson following his hard-fought 10-8 victory over Zhang Anda on Thursday.

O'Sullivan is the 8/11 favourite to lift the trophy for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2019, when he beat Neil Robertson in Wales, while Wilson is 11/1 to go all the way in Manchester.

Gary Wilson v Ronnie O'Sullivan betting tips and predictions

O'Sullivan to win 10-5 - 11/2

World number one O'Sullivan has picked his way through the schedule this season and, when he turns up to an event, he has been pretty much unstoppable.

The Rocket has five victories to his name in this campaign, the most recent coming at the World Masters in Saudi Arabia, while his five other appearances have heralded a semi-final finish, two quarter-final runs and two third-round exits.

Quite simply, when the 48-year-old is anywhere near his best, it is usually good enough to come out on top and all the expectation is for him to ease his way into the Tour Championship final.

After a first-round bye, O'Sullivan barely broke sweat when dispatching Carter, allowing the Captain to win just two frames in a 10-2 demolition job.

The Rocket will be nicely refreshed for this contest, and the same cannot be said of Wilson, who had to work extremely hard to defeat China's Zhang 10-8 on Thursday.

That match was in danger of having to be completed late into the night, as they almost ran into the evening session, which would have meant they would have had to wait for one of the two night matches to be finished before returning to the table.

While Wilson avoided that fate, that contest will have taken a lot out of the tank and it would be no surprise if he was to get blown away by his fellow Englishman on Friday.

Of the five meetings these two have had, O'Sullivan holds the 4-1 advantage, with the most recent clash ending in a comfortable 5-1 victory for the Rocket at the 2024 World Grand Prix.

This best-of-19 frames match does give Wilson more time to recover if he starts off slow, but he made a lot of mistakes during his win over Zhang and O'Sullivan will likely punish him if the same errors crop up.

Backing the Rocket to win 10-5 in the correct score market looks like a solid play.

O'Sullivan to make over 2.5 centuries - 5/4

Although O'Sullivan failed to make a century in his win over Carter, his scoring was still impressive and he made nine breaks of 50+, with a 92 in frame seven his best effort.

The Rocket should be nicely warmed up now after that clash, which was his first of the tournament, and he looks ready to let loose in front of the packed Manchester Central audience.

In the one previous best-of-19 frames match between O'Sullivan and Wilson, the Rocket made two centuries and there is every confidence he can go on better in the ton department this time.

Read more snooker betting tips and predictions on site.

Gary Wilson v Ronnie O'Sullivan odds

Wilson - 4/1
O'Sullivan - 1/6

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.