STEPHEN MAGUIRE edged Mark Selby late on Saturday night to set up an all-Scottish final with John Higgins in the Welsh Open at the Newport Centre.
My Bonkers Bet ahead of the semi-finals advised punters to get on the 9-4 for a Higgins/Maguire showdown and thanks to my fellow countrymen the bookies were left requiring snookers last night.
Higgins was the 8-13 favourite to see off Ali Carter (13-8) and did so with a comfortable 6-2 scoreline. However, there was little money to be made there so the focus was on the later last-four clash.
Maguire was the underdog (11-8) but a poor break-off from Selby in the last of their 11 frames opened the door for the Glaswegian. He kept his cool and put the Jester from Leicester, who was 4-6, out of sight.
Higgins is the bookies favourite to land his second Welsh Open in a row (4-7, Paddy Power), Maguire the 13-8 outsider with Betfred.
My money went on world No.1 Higgins at the start of the tournament and I'm sticking with my forecast. The underdog tag didn't stop
Maguire seeing off Selby and Mark Williams, however, so he'll have no fears ahead of the final.
Bonkers Bet: Higgins 9-7 (7-1, Betfred, Paddy Power).
