Mark Allen will find out who he will face in Sunday’s International Championship final on Saturday when Neil Robertson collides with Jack Lisowski in the second semi-final of the lucrative tournament out in China.
Both Robertson and Lisowski have played some excellent snooker to make it to this stage and both have seen off some very competent opposition. They have earned the right to be in this best-of-17 frame contest and should deliver some fireworks now they are here.
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Neil Robertson
The Australian star has shown that he can win from the front this week and he has also shown that he has the qualities to fight and win from behind and that should give him a lot of confidence heading into what is a big weekend. The one thing Robertson has always shown throughout the tournament is his scoring power which we know can be relentless.
Robertson saw off the challenge of world number one Mark Selby in the quarter finals. He came from 4-2 down in that match and earlier in the tournament he saw off good friend Joe Perry 6-5 so the Aussie is certainly battle hardened but I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. His strength under pressure this week makes him stand out as a potential winner of this event.
Jack Lisowski
One of the players of the season so far has made it through as Jack Lisowski has executed some devilish safety with his trademark blockbuster scoring to make it into this semi-final as he continues the search for his first major title. He has already made one final this season, which he lost to his opponent in this match, so he is getting close.
Much like Robertson, Lisowski overcame a tough opponent in the previous round and just like the Australian he has won from in front this week and he has come from behind to win so he should also be confident about his chances in this match regardless of what unfolds. Although he made the Riga final, this probably amounts to one of the biggest matches of Lisowski’s career to date.
Head to Head
These two players have met twice in their careers with Neil Robertson winning on both occasions. They first met in the last 16 of the PC Grand Final in 2012 when the Australian won 4-1 and then again in the final of the Riga Masters earlier this season when Robertson ran out a 5-2 winner. Lisowski was disadvantaged on that occasion as that was the first match he played on the TV table whereas Robertson had played a number of games on it.
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Betting
I think we are in for a wonderful second semi-final between two players who like to get the balls open and make big breaks and that is exactly how I see the match playing out. Both will respect the other but they are confident players who will look to impose themselves on the opponent which should make for some great snooker.
Robertson has scored very strongly so far in this tournament with 10 50+ breaks and six centuries while Lisowski has 15 50+ breaks and five tons so they are both in good touch in and around the balls. With that in mind I think the over 11.5 50+ breaks looks the way to go in this semi-final as there are unlikely to be too many frames which doesn’t have a 50.
Tips
WON – Back Over 11.5 50+ breaks for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Betfair
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