Thursday's Tour Championship predictions and snooker betting tips: no end to Williams' impressive run

Where to watch the Tour Championship

ITV4, 1pm Thursday

Best bet

Mark Williams +3.5 frames
1pt Evs Betfair, Power

Tour Championship predictions

Mark Williams produced a stunning final-frame clearance to beat Tom Ford and book his place in the quarter-finals of the Tour Championship and that may not be where the run ends for the Welshman. 

Clearly, Judd Trump is enjoying a fantastic season and has collected five major titles, but the Tour Championship is a different beast from the best-of-seven or best-of-nine-frame events that dominate the snooker calendar. 

It’s the first-to-ten in Manchester and in a drawn-out two-session contest, Williams could close the gap on the Ace. 

The pair clashed at the same stage of the 2019 Tour Championship and Trump won the match 9-8. The semi-final of the 2022 World Championship ended in a 17-16 victory for the Bristol potter and the 34-year-old was crowned Masters champion when beating Williams 10-8 in last season’s final. 

Trump has won all three of the extended-format matches between the pair but it’s clear that Williams isn’t far behind. The Welsh Potting Machine has had a quiet time, and consistency isn’t his strong suit but the Cwm cueman did win the British Open earlier in the campaign and his chances of reaching the last four appear to be underrated. 

There was enough in the Welshman’s performance in victory over a heavy-scoring Ford to suggest a 3.5-frame start will be too much for Trump to give up. 

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