Luke Humphries should prove too strong for surprise package Ryan Joyce. While ‘Cool Hand Luke’ has not been at his brilliant best this week, there are signs that he is beginning to hit his stride as we approach the business end of the competition. The world no. 1 hit an incredible 146 checkout in his quarter-final tie with Jonny Clayton to spark a comeback in the third set before going on to seal victory.

As for Ryan Joyce, he continues to ruffle feathers at this year’s World Grand Prix with a 3-2 win over Rob Cross. ‘Relentless’ had previously seen off both Josh Rock and Nathan Aspinall before overcoming Cross to complete a stunning surge to the semi-final stage. However, Joyce now faces the herculean task of stopping Humphries.

With the world champion the firm favourite on Saturday night, instead look to him to win alongside hitting the most 180s. This bet would have paid out in Humphries’ second round win over Ricardo Pietreczko, as well as his quarter-final success against Clayton. Joyce, on the other hand, has failed to win the 180 count in each of his three outings at this year’s World Grand Prix so far.

Belgian duo Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh will battle it out for a place in this year’s World Grand Prix final on Saturday night. De Decker has performed superbly throughout the week, storming to the semi-final stage following wins over Damon Heta, Gary Anderson and James Wade. What makes the ‘Real Deal’s’ run to the last four all the more impressive is the fact that he didn’t lose a single set in seeing off both Anderson and Wade 3-0.

Van den Bergh, meanwhile, has been typically solid rather than spectacular to secure a semi-final berth. ‘The Dreammaker’ has dispatched Luke Woodhouse, Dave Chisnall and Joe Cullen to take his place in the last four.

A common theme in each of those Van den Bergh victories was the fact that he lost the first set and had to come from behind to defeat his opponent. As such, backing de Decker to win the first set of this quarter-final clash stands out at 1.73. The 28-year-old has won the opening set in each of his three wins en route to the semi-final stage, making him a touch of value at 1.73 to repeat the trick against his slow-starting compatriot.