International Championship snooker: Thursday match tips and predictions

Day five
Eurosport 2, 7.30am & 12.30pm Thursday

Shaun Murphy has won two-thirds of his clashes against Graeme Dott and the resurgent Magician should be able to improve his record against the Scot in the International Championship quarter-finals.

Murphy, winner of eight of his 12 rumbles with the Pocket Rocket, has shown considerable promise this week, fending off Yan Bingtao and Neil Robertson, and there could be more to come.

Mark Allen and Ding Junhui, who also cross swords in the last eight, are shining in Daqing - Allen has three centuries to his name in the tournament while Ding has made four.

Ding is bidding to bounce back after an insipid Crucible effort in April and it's a concern for Allen backers that the Chinese number one has won 11 of their 16 clashes with the Pistol not having defeated the Wuxi ace since 2013.

World champion Judd Trump's 6-2 last-16 victory over Joe Perry saw him return to top of the world rankings for the first time since 2013. The 29-year-old Bristolian, who has relegated Ronnie O'Sullivan to world number two, will meet Tom Ford earlier on day five for a place in the semis.

Recommendation
S Murphy
1pt 4-6 bet365

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