Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the International Championship on Saturday.

Allen overcame Neil Robertson 10-5 in the final last year and the defending champion impressed in his quarter-final win over home hopeful Ding Junhui after a 6-3 victory.

The Northern Irishman has lost just seven frames in four matches in Daqing and is the 1.50 favourite to win his last-four clash.

Murphy went into the tournament in danger of slipping out of the top 16, but his march through to the semis means he has kept his place among the top players and qualified for the Shanghai Masters.

Murphy has been involved in a few scraps in Daqing so far after he managed to see off Graeme Dott 6-4 in the last eight, having been taken to a deciding frame by Robertson in the previous round.

Murphy has also beaten two Chinese players on his way to the semi-finals and bother were close matches.

He overcame Yuan Sijun 6-5 in his opener before claiming a 6-4 win over Riga Masters winner Yan Bingtao in the second round.

A win for Murphy is 2.50 and the Englishman can be backed at 2.05 to win with a +1.5 frames handicap.

Allen is 12.00 to win 9-3, or 8.00 to claim a 9-6 victory in Saturday’s semi-final match.