Betfred World Championship snooker Wednesday semi-final previews & free tips

Semi-final previews, analysis, predictions and tips for day 13 of the 2020 Betfred World Championship snooker at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield on Wednesday.

When to watch

BBC & Eurosport, 1pm & 7pm Wednesday

Best bets

Anthony McGill +5.5 frames v Kyren Wilson
3pts 8-11 Betfred

Over 28.5 frames in Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby
1pt 4-6 Hills

Previews

Kyren Wilson v Anthony McGill
1pm

Kyren Wilson is all the rage to reach his first Betfred World Championship final after dumping world number one and last year's Crucible king Judd Trump 13-9 in the quarter-finals.

But while the Kettering potter has long been one of the brightest Crucible prospects, it would be remiss to overlook the chances of his semi-final opponent Anthony McGill causing the favourite plenty of problems in their best-of-33-frames encounter.

McGill has won five of the eight meetings between the two. It's possible that Wilson has found a way in the last couple of years to raise his game against the tactically astute Scotsman, who was a 300-1 chance before his final qualifying triumph sealed a Crucible entry. But the Glaswegian still looks capable of collecting a healthy percentage of the scrappier frames that are likely to ensue in their ninth clash.

McGill, who rose to a high world ranking of 13th in 2018, is no stranger to compiling three-figure breaks. But that has not been the case at the Crucible this year and he has yet to make a century. Punters looking to bet on Wilson breaks should also be aware that the Northamptonshire ace scored less highly against Trump than he did against Martin Gould in round two.

With theoretically less pressure on his shoulders having seen off Trump, Wilson, who lost 17-13 to John Higgins in the 2018 Crucible semis, could post higher breaks in his semi. But a probable dour battle against McGill, who will be tasting the single-table set-up for the first time, may also mean fewer tons from the Warrior.

Punters can consider backing an upset triumph for McGill, which is a 16-5 chance. But the outsider definitely looks well worth a punt at 8-11 with a start of 5.5 frames – he is just 1-2 with a pull of 6.5.

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby
7pm

Green-baize fans will have been swept along with the quarter-final excitement of Ronnie O'Sullivan's excellent fightback to thwart Mark Williams and Mark Selby's demolition of Neil Robertson.

But while this latest Rocket versus Jester meeting should prove a fascinating and thrilling spectacle and tell us plenty about where the combatants are in the pecking order, it's genuinely tough to confidently predict who will dominate and win the day.

The oddsmakers aren't fooled by O'Sullivan telling viewers, in the wake of his 13-10 victory over Williams, to "lump on Selby" - the tournament sponsors make the five-time champion 8-15 to reach the final.

However, three-time champion Selby looks to be somewhere near his peak after outplaying Robertson 13-7 and O'Sullivan may not be able to afford the many missed pots that littered his clash with Williams when he lines up against the Leicester cueman.

O'Sullivan felt he wasted a title chance when getting bogged down in a tactical battle and losing 18-14 to Selby in the 2014 Crucible final.

The Rocket, a more savvy performer than Robertson, may simply aim to outpot Selby the way he did in their most recent meeting. O'Sullivan leads the Jester 18-10 in their personal series (which includes one draw) and his latest triumph was a 5-1 thumping in the Welsh Open in February when he outscored his victim 552-119 on points.

But Selby also held the upper hand in their latest major final when victorious in the 2016 UK Championship title match, so it could be the case that O'Sullivan struggles to maintain concentration and focus in long matches against his rival.

O'Sullivan, who is a shade of odds-against to lift the trophy on Sunday, is clearly playing well and the final session of his second-round victory over Ding Junhui will live long in the memory for all the right reasons. But while he may still find a way to defeat Selby, the outsider is unlikely to be hung out to dry by the Rocket and backing over 28.5 frames looks the way to go.

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