The best of sevens have been left behind now at the Welsh Open and the eight men left in will be pleased about that. Friday is quarter final day at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff with all four matches played over two sessions of action with each game the best of nine frames now.
You get the feel that the tournament gathers momentum and importance from here on in but it is fair to say we have anything but the quarter final line up many would have expected.
Afternoon Session
The two afternoon quarter finals are played one after the other. Opening up the day are the surprise packages Scott Donaldson and Zhou Yuelong. One of them will be in the semi-final against the winner of the match which follows them which is the pick of the round as Judd Trump takes on Barry Hawkins.
Evening Session
The matches in the evening are played across two tables with the TV table seeing Stuart Bingham back in action. He faces another surprise package in Stuart Carrington who is in his first ever ranking quarter final. The winner of that will meet the winner of the match on the streamed table which sees Robert Milkins taking on Kurt Maflin.
Betting
I was tempted to get involved in all four quarter finals but there could be a few too many nerves around in the first one so I will avoid that one and go for it in the other three matches.
Judd Trump against Barry Hawkins should be a cracking match but I can’t understand why Hawkins is as big as he is given his current form. Trump has come through the draw and at times has looked alright but he has been sloppy at other times and that inconsistency isn’t going to cut it against the World Grand Prix champion. Hawkins has taken his form from Preston into this tournament having come through his four matches dropping just two frames and hitting three centuries. He’s in exceptional form of late and he is gagging to be backed at 13/10.
Stuart Carrington has caught my eye this week and I fancy he’ll go toe to toe with Stuart Bingham. Carrington has made a 50 break or more in 13 of the 16 frames he has won this week which is strong scoring by any standards. Bingham hasn’t played well in the tournament yet but he’s digging in and getting it done. When these two met in the World Open earlier in the season it went the distance and given how well Carrington is scoring and Bingham is scrapping I can see similar here. Over 7.5 frames looks the right play in this one.
In the quarter final away from the TV cameras I like Kurt Maflin to see off Robert Milkins. Milkins is enjoying plenty of support being from Bristol which isn’t far away but for my money Maflin is marginally the more reliable. He has come through the draw in impressive fashion and is scoring well. I don’t think Milkins will make it easy for Maflin but when the final ball is potted in this one given how well he is scoring I fancy the Norwegian to be the man doing the potting. At odds against he’s good value here.
Tips
Back B.Hawkins to beat J.Trump for a 4/10 stake at 2.30 with Bet365
Back him here:
WON – Back S.Bingham vs S.Carrington – Over 7.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with William Hill
Back K.Maflin to beat R.Milkins for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
Back them here:
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