The bookmakers have installed Shaun Murphy as the favorite for Sunday’s Players Championship final, but he insists Ali Carter is the most likely winner.
Murphy has been in impressive form for some time, reaching the final of the Welsh Open last week and progressing to the showpiece in Wolverhampton a few days later.
The 40-year-old beat Mark Selby in the first round and Kyren Wilson in the semi-finals, but it was his 6-0 assault of Rayan Day in the quarter-finals that really caught the eye, as the wizard knocked for four centuries and an 85 .
Carter played very well too, winning the German Masters trophy earlier this month and Murphy thinks the win in Berlin will make the captain favorite on Sunday.
The magician was expected to beat Robert Milkins in the final in Wales last week and fell short. He wants to take the pressure off this time and take on the role of underdog against Carter as they scrap the £125,000 top prize.
“I was favorite to win the final against Rob last week and to be honest I’m probably not the favorite tomorrow,” Murphy told ITV after beating Wilson on Saturday night.
“He just won the German Masters a few weeks ago, he’s in good shape. I haven’t won in ages and he just won one of the biggest tournaments of the season.
“He’s riding a wave crest, no pressure, no worries and I think he’s going in as a favourite, my job is to try and keep up with him.”
This isn’t to say that Murphy doesn’t realize how well he plays, saying, “It takes someone who plays really well to stop me.”
“I am now by far a better player than when I came to the World Cup [Championship] finale a few seasons ago.’
Carter certainly goes into the finals in a great position having recently won in Germany, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less motivated to pick up more silverware.
“It’s all about winning,” said the captain after beating Joe O’Connor in the semi-finals on Friday. “I’m in another final and that’s great, but I want to be the tournament winner. I don’t want to be a finalist.
“This is a huge tournament and it might be the biggest event I’ve ever won. I have a day off to chill and recover, have a nice day.’
It’s a clash of styles, with Murphy likely to be in all-out attack mode, while Carter will be less aggressive and the ITV pundits split on which brand of snooker will prevail.
Stephen Hendry said, “I think Shaun is just playing too well, right now he’s scoring too heavily.”
While Alan McManus wasn’t quite on the same wavelength, adding, ‘I disagree with Stephen on this point. I think Carter’s recent victory in the German Masters will serve him well.
“Finals are a separate life form, a completely different entity from normal competitions and I think Ali will feel good about this. I like Carter a bit.’
Meanwhile, it was a brutally honest assessment of his own play from Kyren Wilson after Saturday’s 6-3 defeat to Murphy.
“I had a lot of chances, I was rubbish, absolute rubbish,” said the warrior.
“I don’t care about semi-finals, I don’t mind at all. I’m here to win the tournament and if I don’t, it’s a failure.’
The final will be played on Sunday at 13:00 and 19:00 over a best of 19.
MORE : Ali Carter endures Judd Trump’s torture and plots Rob Milkin’s revenge on Players Championship
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