Zhao Xintong v Shaun Murphy Tips

Xintong is the better player here, although by very fine margins. Eight breaks for him in his 13-9 win over Ding Junhui; six for him vs Highfield. He has shown good consistency before that too, with six breaks in his 10-3 win over Trump and 11 breaks vs Higgins in a 10-1 win. Murphy had a big game vs Xiao Guodong with 11 breaks; however, he has not maintained such high numbers often. He recently even lost to Xintong 3-6 at the Players Championship.

A game that the current world champion should be winning. Even though Shaun has played really well to get this far, Zhao should have a better temperament when it comes down to the final frames.

I will also go with this match going all the way to see the Kenners with Murphy starting well and leading so far, but I do think he will hit poor spells.

Murphy has played 11 matches decided by a single frame in long formats and won 8 of them. His decider scoring average of 78 points is one of the highest on tour. Zhao’s safety success drops below 80 percent in late-match situations, making a narrow 13??'12 Murphy win statistically aligned with past patterns.

I'm backing Shaun Murphy here to win 13-11. He is in good form and could get the better of Zhao here. He has a good head-to-head record versus him.

They last met in February at the Players Championship, and Xintong won 6-3. The world champion beat Ding 13-9 in round two, and I am backing that he will be four frames too good for The Magician in the quarter-finals to win 13-9.

Anything is possible in this match, two good players who are both currently in the top 10 in the rankings. Both players arrive in progressive form so both capable of winning a few sets. Shaun Murphy already holds the advantage based on previous meetings against Zhao, he can take confidence from that. I'll take a chance Shaun Murphy to win this 13-10.