The quarter finals of the Players Championship continue on Thursday when two more matches in the elite tournament are played up at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. Semi-final spots are up for grabs as are 15,000 ranking points which could be significant for the two men who claim them.
Neil Robertson vs Ali Carter
The first quarter final of the day takes place in the afternoon session and it sees Neil Robertson taking on Ali Carter. Carter mentioned in his post-match interview after the first round how he has a poor record against Robertson so we know he is thinking of that already.
Robertson couldn’t have had a better first round. He whitewashed the in form Barry Hawkins 5-0 with a ton and a couple of other decent breaks to confirm my thoughts of the last month or so that the penny looks to have dropped with him and he is starting to show his best stuff again.
Carter played well in the first round but he does have this poor record against the Australian. Taking the Championship League out, Robertson has won their last five meetings 6-2, 4-0, 6-1, 13-5 and 6-3. I expect him to win this with a bit in hand too.
Mark Selby vs Marco Fu
The evening session match sees the world champion Mark Selby in action looking to book a spot in the semi-final but he faces a tough match against the form player Marco Fu who looked very good in the first round.
Selby hasn’t looked great for the last few tournaments and while he got over the line against Ryan Day in the first round he didn’t look anything like the player we know he is. His safety in particular was poor and that is when you know Selby isn’t bang on it.
Fu scored well against Anthony McGill in the first round and while he was gifted a couple of frames we know he is scoring nicely. I think Fu is a genuine runner in Sheffield and he can confirm that here. If he gets the chances Ryan Day was given from Selby, I don’t think the Hong Kong man will pass them up and he’s value to see off the world champion.
Tips
Back N.Robertson (-1.5 frames) to beat A.Carter for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Coral
Back him here:
WON – Back M.Fu to beat M.Selby for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
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