Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy will play each other in the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix final today for what is described as a rematch of the world championships where Bingham Prevailed as champion.
Bingham, in this competition has managed to place himself in the final, not by playing outstanding snooker, but by grafting away at his opponents to reach the final. Murphy on the other hand has played outstandingly well throughout the competition and some people would describe his play as some of his best snooker to date.
Bingham overcame an in form Joe Perry yesterday afternoon which came down to the wire. Bingham delighted to reach his first final since winning the world championships last may will be hoping to beat Murphy again in a final.
Murphy beat Ding Junhui last night with a very convincing performance, with some great break building and long potting. His positional play didn’t let him down either last night. Truly a masterclass performance.
So what can we expect to see today for the final?
We can expect to see some top class breaks, long potting and not a whole bunch of tactical play which will be viewer friendly. Both players will come into the match attacking the balls and trying to open up early leads going into tonight’s session.
Murphy is without doubt the favourite going into this grand prix final due to his consistent form this week however Murphy has the loss of last years world championships in the back of his mind which may play a part in this final.
At the beginning of this tournament we discussed the favourites in this competition. We put Bingham as our outside bet because he is the current world champion and the prices were good at 40/1. Not a bad wager if you’re holding £20 on him.
So to sum it up, we predict a close match with some great aggressive snooker being played, very little tactical play and some drama. Predictions would be that if Murphy continues on from the last few days, playing as well as he is, then he should walk away with the grand prix trophy. On the other hand, if Murphy comes into the match with the loss to Bingham last May on his mind, then the match might go towards Bingham.
