After a pretty brutal day of two rounds in the Scottish Open there is a feel the tournament properly begins on Friday when the four quarter finals take place. Gone are the best of seven frame matches to be replaced with the best of nine for this round and the format only gets longer from here.
Thursday’s two rounds put paid to some big names such as Neil Robertson, Mark Allen, Mark Williams and Barry Hawkins but a number of them also made it into the last eight leaving us with a captivating quarter final line up.
Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs John Higgins
There is no doubt which is the pick of the quarter final matches. It is the first one up on Friday afternoon when these two greats of the game collide on the main table. Both men have cruised through so far to set up this tantalising tussle.
Ronnie O’Sullivan saw off Jimmy White and Mark Allen on Thursday despite having issues with his tip. That didn’t stop him knocking in two centuries against Allen but at the same time there were times where the tip was clearly having a negative impact on his play. John Higgins has only dropped one frame in the tournament so far and looks in good nick in front of his own fans.
I can’t wait for this match and I hope they are both on top form and produce a classic but I’m with Higgins in this one. He has won eight of their last 10 meetings in proper events including the Champion of Champions final last month. A theme of Ronnie’s season has been that he has been found out by the very best. Higgins in the Champion of Champions final, Selby in the UK final and Trump in Romania and I think Higgins can win here.
Judd Trump vs Robert Milkins
After a couple of slow tournaments Judd Trump looks back to his best this week but in fairness Robert Milkins has come through the draw nicely too to signal a return back to form for himself so both will fancy their chances here.
Credit to Milkins for coming through this far but you’ve got to think this is where his run ends. Trump is playing too well both from distance and in the balls and his safety game is a different gear to Milkins’. I’m expecting Trump to come through with a fair bit in hand but I respect what Milkins has delivered this week enough to sit this one out rather than chance a handicap.
Evening Session
Marco Fu vs Mark Davis
Both quarter finals take place at the same time in the evening with this one being on the main match table and in turn on TV. Both men had good wins in the previous round to make it through here. Fu took care of Neil Robertson while Mark Davis saw off Mark Williams in a deciding frame.
Marco Fu is playing some serious snooker this week. In the 16 frames he has won in the tournament he has slammed in seven centuries and nine more breaks over 50. I don’t care who you are that is scoring of a different class. Davis has performed well enough but nothing in Fu’s league so far in this tournament so the Englishman is going to have to raise his game significantly to cope with Fu here.
Fu has the slight upper hand of these two in recent times and given the way he is playing this week I’m expecting him to come through with more than a frame to spare.
Yu Delu vs Liang Wenbo
On the live streamed table there is an all-Chinese battle between Yu Delu and the English Open winner Liang Wenbo who is looking for a second Home Nations win in three events. Wenbo is favourite to come through here into another semi-final but Delu knows his onions so this should be a good match.
In terms of betting it isn’t a match which I like the look of. I think Wenbo will win but he showed against Hawkins in the last round that his aggressive all-out nature can leave him vulnerable. That restricts the potential in a handicap and he’s a little short to be backing on the nose so I’ll sit this one out.
Tips
WON – Back J.Higgins to beat R.O’Sullivan for a 4/10 stake at 2.50 with William Hill
Back him here:
WON – Back M.Fu (-1.5 frames) to beat M.Davis for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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