We are onto the third day of English Open action at the Brentwood Centre on Wednesday and there could be a shock in the offing in one of the first-round matches, as Sam Craigie looks to take down Shaun Murphy.
There are places in the last 32 of the tournament on offer on day three and after the fantastic action on Tuesday, hopes are high for more sensational potting in Essex.
English Open Day 3 Tips
Sam Craigie to Win @ 11/8
This will no doubt be a tough encounter for Craigie, who has never beaten Murphy in three previous attempts and has only taken three frames off his fellow Englishman.
However, the most recent of those encounters came at the 2017 Gibraltar Open – a tournament which ‘The Magician’ went on to win – and it’s fair to say he was playing somewhere near his best that year as he reached three more semi-finals and four quarter-finals.
Murphy’s form has really nosedived over the past couple of years, with his last tournament victory coming at the 2020 Welsh Open. I In fact, he has lost in qualifying twice this season and also fell in round one at the Scottish Open.
It could be argued that the 40-year-old is already transitioning from being a regular challenger to more of a fixture in the commentary booth, as he is often seen taking up mic responsibilities and punditry on TV.
The 2005 World Champion could be there for the taking on Wednesday and Craigie, who matched his best result on Tour when reaching the quarter-finals at this year’s UK Championship, will be hoping to take advantage.
At 28 years of age, the Newcastle-born potter has not achieved what he would have liked to when turning professional. However, there were real positives in his run to the last eight of the UK Championship, recording victories over Zhao Xintong and Ryan Day along the way.
Craigie also made it to the last 16 of the Scottish Open, eventually falling to Ricky Walden.
There appears to be a fresh confidence around his play and there is every chance he could spring a surprise against Murphy.
Total Frames – Over 5 @ 8/13
This contest should be a hard-fought one and it would be no surprise to see this best-of-seven clash go the distance, so backing Over 5 Frames could be the way to go in this one.
In qualifying for this tournament, Craigie went all the way in his 4-3 victory over Graeme Dott, while three of the previous four matches he played that were best-of-seven frames had over five frames in each of them.
As for Murphy, he also had to dig deep to secure his place in the first round of the English Open, as he beat Anthony Hamilton 4-2.
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