Judd Trump v Mark Williams
Sunday January 15
Afternoon (1300) and evening sessions (1900)
TV: BBC and Eurosport
Best-of-19 frames
When last Judd Trump faced Mark Williams, the two produced a genuine Crucible classic which Trump won 17-16, one which perhaps took the edge off him and helped pave the way for Ronnie O'Sullivan's subsequent triumph.
It was a sensational encounter of high drama and one whose pattern might be the key concern for Williams backers on Sunday. Hopefully, there are plenty of those – the Welshman was advised on these pages at 20/1 – but there's no doubting the veteran does face some questions now when it comes to the tightest of matches.
His defeat of O'Sullivan earlier this week went some way to answering them and there can be no real dispute that, of the two, he's played the superior snooker so far. Indeed while a 4-1 deficit in that match left many assuming he'd be packing his bags, Trump has twice been closer to the exit door, and twice let off the hook.
Williams then is playing well enough to put Trump under more pressure and the latter certainly appears to lack something among the balls at the moment. Whether 6-5 victories over Ryan Day and Barry Hawkins confirm that he's remembered how to win with his B-game, something which was so evident during his pre-pandemic dominance, also remains to be seen and the chinks in his armour are obvious.
So, it's a tantalising final in many ways. Trump has had to win ugly to be here, Williams certainly deserves to have earned another crack at it. He says he doesn't know if it'll be his last, an understandable, genuine sentiment and one which might free him up. But his last two big showdowns with Trump have seen him spurn winning opportunities, losing the final two frames of each, and that nagging doubt is hard to shake.
As such a fast start appears vital and perhaps that would give options for punters with a strong pre-tournament position. For those judging things anew, backing Trump to win 10-9 is the sporting play in many respects but early quotes of 7/1 hardly set the pulse racing, while any temptation to get out of that strong position is tempered by the fact it's almost each-of-two in the match market.
Trump has ultimately enjoyed that winning feeling far more often than Williams in recent years and is probably entitled to be shorter. There's a chance he clicks into gear, but more likely is that he'll have derived great satisfaction from grinding out results and, whatever is thrown at him, again finds the answers. It seems highly likely he plays his part in clearing the overs line in total frames.
It'll be a monumental achievement for Williams to win but he's got every chance if he can keep playing as he has, and one way or another this ought to go long into Sunday night. Only then will we find out if he can still do it against a superstar of the modern game. Here's hoping.
Prediction: Trump 10-9 Williams
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