We are down to the quarter finals in the International Championship out in China and for the eight men remaining in the tournament things are getting significant. All four matches take place on Wednesday and with only the TV tables in operation now the profile of the event is about to be raised.
Many of the best players in the world are on show over the course of the two sessions and with this being the last day of best of 11 frame matches a very competitive day should be in store for us on the whole.
Morning Session
Ali Carter vs Mark Allen
Two men who are no strangers to winning tournaments in China meet in the first quarter final with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs when Ali Carter takes on Mark Allen in what looks like being a very tight and tense tussle.
Albeit against lesser opposition, Allen has been fantastic so far this week. He was 4-0 down in the first round but said he never saw a ball in that time but since then he has dropped just five frames and slammed in seven centuries. Carter has seen off three capable opponents with a flurry of breaks of his own so this should be a good one to watch. I’m on Allen outright though and with his draw completely opened up this could be the big hurdle to a pay out so I’ll sit and watch this in the hope the Masters champion wins.
Judd Trump vs Jack Lisowski
The other quarter final in the morning session should be full of quality as Judd Trump takes on his good friend Jack Lisowski for the second tournament in succession. Trump won their battle at the English Open and is favourite to progress once again.
Both these players have looked good in this tournament as we might expect. They have scored well when they have got their chances and in the main their safety play has been pinpoint so I’m expecting a high quality battle here. Trump has only dropped two frames so far but Lisowski has had a much tougher route to this stage. We know both these players score well so over 1.5 centuries is the call in what should be a close match given how well they are playing.
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Afternoon Session
Mark Selby vs Neil Robertson
The pick of the quarter finals is saved for the last session of the day as the world number one Mark Selby takes on the Australian power scorer Neil Robertson in what should be an absolute corker to begin November with.
Selby hasn’t been at his best this week but how often do we say that in the early part of a tournament only to see him improve the longer it goes on? Robertson has come through some tough challenges early on with his usual sensational scoring but it gets no tougher than this. I’m confident the Australian is playing well enough to give Selby a game though and the world number one never goes without a fight and is fully motivated this week so I think we’re in for a great quarter final and one which will contain more than 9.5 frames.
Martin O’Donnell vs Matthew Stevens
The draw has opened right up in the third quarter of it to the extent that two men currently residing outside the top 50 in the world rankings meet for a place in an extremely lucrative semi-final when Martin O’Donnell takes on Matthew Stevens in a massive match for both men.
This match is effectively for £10,500 which would do wonders for their ranking and then they would have a shot after another £30k after that so the next few days is huge for both men. With that in mind I’m expecting a really tight battle. Stevens undoubtedly has the edge on experience but O’Donnell is flying through the draw this week. It doesn’t feel like a match to get involved in though so I’m not going to.
Tips
WON – Back J.Trump vs J.Lisowski – Over 1.5 centuries for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
WON – Back M.Selby vs N.Robertson – Over 9.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
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