Coral Players Championship snooker: semi-final preview

Free snooker tips, best bets and preview for the Coral Players Championship snooker in Southport.

When to watch

ITV4, 7pm Saturday

Best bet

Shaun Murphy -1.5 frames v Yan Bingtao
1pt 4-5 BoyleSports

Semi-final preview

Shaun Murphy has refocused after his superb Welsh Open title triumph earlier this month and is eyeing further silverware in the Coral Players Championship.

The Magician had a spot of downtime in the Shoot Out last week and he had to battle hard to deny Dave Gilbert in his Southport opener.

However, his 6-2 quarter-final victory over Mark Allen could have Yan Bingtao searching for the worry beads because Murphy has been showing greater self-belief in sight of prizes this season.

Yan nearly blew a 5-2 last-eight lead over Joe Perry before scrambling to a 6-5 triumph. The Chinese 20-year-old is maturing nicely but could well have his work cut out against Murphy.

It's still best of 11 frames and Murphy looks worth an interest to successfully concede a start of 1.5 frames to Riga Masters champion Yan, who was advised ante-post each-way at 45-1.

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