Shaun Murphy v Gary Wilson: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Shaun Murphy has a storied history at The Masters, winning the tournament in 2015 and reaching the semi-finals six times in his career. He is fancied to get this year’s campaign off to the perfect start with a routine win over the struggling Gary Wilson.

This is just the Tyneside Terror’s second appearance at this event - he departed at the first hurdle in 2021 - and he looks set for another early exit given his current form. 

Shaun Murphy v Gary Wilson betting tips and predictions

Shaun Murphy -1.5 frames - 8/11

Shaun Murphy has competed in every edition of the Masters since 2006 after bursting on to the scene when winning the World Championship in 2005.

The Magician has lifted the trophy once in 2015, when thrashing Neil Robertson 10-2 in the final, but he has failed to repeat the trick in the 10 years since.

He has been consistent at this event in recent editions however, reaching the quarter-finals in four of the last five years.

Last time out Murphy impressed with victories over Zhang Anda and Jack Lisowski before bumping into Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-final. The Rocket dispatched the Magician en route to lifting the crown.

With O’Sullivan withdrawing this time around, the field is wide open and Murphy may well fancy his chances in the top half of the draw.

He must first get past Gary Wilson, who has had a difficult season. The world number 16 has lost 10 of his last 13 games and even fell in the first round of his beloved Scottish Open, losing 4-2 to Long Zehuang as he attempted to win the title for the third edition in a row.

The 39-year-old was beaten 6-2 by namesake Kyren Wilson when he reached the first round of this competition in 2021 and has not qualified for it again since.

There isn’t much hope for Wilson in the head-to-head record between him and Murphy either, with the world number seven having won four of the six matches between the two.

The 2015 winner has been in decent form this season, reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters and three ranking quarter-finals, as well as the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Masters where he fell 6-5 to eventual winner Judd Trump.

The Magician is clearly in decent nick and with a strong track record in this tournament, he should be able to take care of Wilson fairly comfortably in this clash.

Murphy’s last three wins over the Tyneside Terror have all been by at least three frames so taking him to overcome a 1.5 frame deficit on the handicap in this one looks a solid selection.

Side with the former world champion to see off an out-of-form Wilson with relative ease. 

Under 1.5 match centuries - 10/11

Gary Wilson’s struggles have extended to his scoring this season, he has just 19 centuries in this campaign and looks unlikely to explode into life scoring-wise against this tough opponent.

Shaun Murphy has also made just six centuries across his last three tournaments so this could end up being a relatively scrappy affair.

To add to that, if the Magician gets the job done in a hurry that drastically reduces the chances of either player racking up the big scores.

Take under 1.5 match centuries in this first-round Masters clash at Alexandra Palace.

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Shaun Murphy v Gary Wilson odds

Shaun Murphy - 4/9
Gary Wilson - 7/4

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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.