After nine days of action at the UK Championship in York we are down to the quarter finals, all four of which will be played out in two sessions of play on what should be an excellent day of snooker inside the Barbican Centre on Friday.
As ever with snooker these days we have some of the star names and one or two players we wouldn’t normally expect in what is a nice blend.
Afternoon Session
John Higgins vs Mark Selby
Without a doubt the pick of the quarter finals is the one between the form horse John Higgins and the world champion and world number one Mark Selby. These two have met in some of the biggest matches in the game and while this doesn’t carry that significance you get the feeling the winner of this one could well be lifting silverware on Sunday.
This one looks a real 50/50 match on paper. I’m on Higgins outright so I’ve no need to get involved in the match betting but there are a couple of side markets I think it is worth attacking. The first one is the obvious one of this one having more than 9.5 frames.
I got burnt on this market on Thursday when Higgins beat Mark Allen 6-3 but the way these two are playing this has a decider written all over it. 6-4 either way gets us covered and while we don’t have many matches between the two to go on their last best of 11 match went all the way a couple of years ago. This can too.
I also like the centuries in this match. You can get a 1.5 line or each player on a 0.5 line and I’m going to take both the player lines. At evens for Selby and 11/8 for Higgins we don’t lose anything if there is one ton in the match and if each make one or if it is Higgins who makes it we would make a profit. That looks a safe way to go in a match where both could easily bag a ton.
Luca Brecel vs Shaun Murphy
I have to admit I was hoping this would be Stephen Maguire against Shaun Murphy but it isn’t and that might not be a good thing for the Englishman who has actually lost twice to Brecel in 2016 including as recently as two weeks ago in Northern Ireland when the Belgian star won 4-0.
I’m still not convinced by Shaun Murphy. Fair enough he took Zhou Yuelong to the cleaners in the last round but the Chinese player got hit by nerves and the bright lights so we can’t read a whole lot into that. Luca Brecel has done enough to come through here although nobody has played particularly well against him either.
On value grounds and the recent head to head between the two there is a case to be made for Brecel but I’m a gut feeling Murphy comes good now we’re at the business end of the tournament so I’ll leave this one alone.
Evening Session
Mark Williams vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
This is the match of the evening as Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan go at it. Nobody has really got close to O’Sullivan this week yet but you would think Williams will give him his biggest test although he will need to play a whole lot better than he did on Thursday night. I expect him to do that though.
I’m already on Williams to win this match at 14/1 having backed him to win the quarter so I don’t need to go in again. You would have to say it is a long shot but he isn’t a forlorn hope so I’ll let that run and see how it plays out.
Jamie Jones vs Marco Fu
When the tournament began you could be forgiven for thinking we would be watching Judd Trump against Ding Junhui in this match but that isn’t the case. Ding’s conqueror Jamie Jones has made it through to this stage and he goes up against a Marco Fu who has taken advantage of the draw opening up.
I understand why Fu is the favourite in this match but I fancy Jamie Jones could turn him over. He looks up for it this week. I’m going to forgive him an average performance against Dave Gilbert in the last 16 because that was a massive match for both where they both thought they were the favourite. Being the outsider here should suit Jones and maybe hamper Fu a little bit. I’m expecting this to be close but at the prices I can’t resist a cheeky dabble on Jones.
Tips
WON – Back J.Higgins vs M.Selby – Over 9.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
Back it here:
WON – Back J.Higgins – Over 0.5 centuries for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with Bet365
WON – Back M.Selby – Over 0.5 centuries for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Bet365
Back them here:
Back J.Jones to beat M.Fu for a 3/10 stake at 3.00 with Winner Sports
Back him here:
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