Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Judd Trump has been the form player of this new snooker season, having reached the final of both the Shanghai Masters and the Xi’an Grand Prix. 

He beat Shaun Murphy in the final of the former event and the two face off once again with a place in the final of the lucrative Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters on the line.

With a £500,000 prize pot to the winner and an extra £100,000 just for reaching the final, there is plenty to play for in this one.

Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy betting tips and predictions

Judd Trump -2.5 frames - 11/10

Judd Trump looked all but out of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters when 4-0 down to Wu Yize in the last 32 of the tournament. However the Ace in the Pack cannot be underestimated and fought back valiantly with four breaks of more than 50 in the last five frames to overturn the deficit and progress.

Something clearly clicked for the world number one in that game because he was in a ruthless mood in the two games following it, beating his good friend Jack Lisowski 6-1 before dispatching Neil Robertson 6-3 in the quarter-finals.

Trump has now won 13 of the 14 games he has played this season after beating Murphy in the Shanghai Masters final.

The only loss the 35-year-old has suffered this term was his narrow 10-8 defeat to world champion Kyren Wilson in the recent final of the Xi’an Grand Prix.

His opponent here, Shaun Murphy, has been in decent form himself as seen when reaching the Shanghai Masters final, and he has been fairly comfortable in his three wins at this tournament.

He has not been behind at any point in any of those three matches, which were wins over Yuan Sijun, Elliot Slessor and Xiao Guodong.

That has been a fairly straightforward run to the semi-finals however, the highest seed the veteran has faced in that sequence is 34th after all three of the other top-16 seeds in his quarter of the draw - Ali Carter, Barry Hawkins and Mark Allen - had fallen before a potential meeting with Murphy.

The Magician can get close to Trump at times but the percentage call is that the Ace in the Pack can pull away from his opponent in this one.

The world number one has won five of the last six meetings with Murphy and three of those victories have come by at least three frames. 

Trump, in the current form he has been in, looks hard to take on and with Murphy landing an easy draw up to this point, he may find the jump to this level a step too far.

Side with Trump to overcome a 2.5 frame deficit on the handicap at 11/10.

Judd Trump over 1.5 centuries - 11/10

Judd Trump made three centuries in the last meeting between these two and his heavy scoring has been on full show in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.

The Ace in the Pack struck a century and a break of 89 in his win over Wu Yize before blowing Jack Lisowski away with three breaks of more than 100 in seven frames.

Finally he registered breaks of 100, 77 and 67 in his win over Neil Robertson and when in full scoring flow, he is hard to stop.

The world number one has made 17 centuries in this young season and if he can notch one early, he looks a value selection to go over 1.5 breaks of more than 100 at 11/10.

Read more snooker betting tips and predictions on site.

Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy odds

Judd Trump - 4/11
Shaun Murphy - 11/5

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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.