The quarter finals of the World Championship get underway on a busy but tantalising day of snooker inside the Crucible Theatre on Tuesday. Two of the matches play two of their three sessions on Tuesday with the other two playing one.
We have a massive quarter final line up here even allowing for the absence of the top two in the world. We have two former champions, four beaten finalists and the two Masters finalists from earlier in the year so we are guaranteed some great snooker.
Monday Recap
It was a relatively quick day inside the Crucible Theatre on Monday with just 10 frames needed to determine the final three results in the second round. Ding Junhui needed 10 minutes to polish off Anthony McGill 13-4 while Mark Williams took 45 minutes to see off Robert Milkins 13-7. It took Judd Trump longer to come past Ricky Walden but he got the job done 13-9 in a match which turned with a ridiculous shot choice from Walden when he led 9-8, much to our annoyance with all bets looking good at that point.
Mark Allen vs Kyren Wilson (Tuesday 10am, Tuesday 7pm & Wednesday 2.30pm)
The first quarter final on table one is a repeat of The Masters final from earlier in the year when Mark Allen takes on Kyren Wilson for a place in the semi-final. Allen won that final 10-7 but Wilson will know he has beaten Allen 13-9 in this tournament in the past.
Both these men look in the sort of form that took them to the final at Alexandra Palace. Wilson might well look back on that final as a missed opportunity given that he should have been clear at half time instead of 4-4 and he might be looking at this as revenge. Allen can rescue a poor season, that win in London aside, with a win here so this should be competitive.
Having backed Wilson to win the quarter at 6/1 I don’t need to go in on him again but I do expect this to be a close match between two closely matched players so over 22.5 frames looks a solid bet to me in this one.
Ding Junhui vs Barry Hawkins (Tuesday 10am, Tuesday 7pm & Wednesday 10am)
The pick of the morning quarter finals comes on table two when two former finalists Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins meet over the best of 25 frames to make it back to the one table set up later in the week.
Ding is now the favourite to win the tournament and with the way he has scored in the tournament so far that is completely understandable. He has slammed in four tons and 13 other breaks over 50 in two matches and has only dropped seven frames. Hawkins smashed in four tons in his win over Lyu Haotian and he has compiled 14 50 breaks in addition.
I think this could well turn out to be the pick of the quarter finals between two of the best scorers in the game. I’m actually a little surprised that the centuries line in this one is 3.5. Hawkins covered this on his own in the last round while Ding is scoring sensationally. I expect this line to cover.
John Higgins vs Judd Trump (Tuesday 2.30pm, Wednesday 10am & Wednesday 7pm)
The pick of the quarter finals is the second one on table one when John Higgins meets Judd Trump in a repeat of what was a fantastic 2011 final in this very venue. Generally when these two meet we get fantastic contests and I’m expecting no different here.
Higgins has looked in awesome form so far in this tournament. He has kept Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at arm’s length and powered past Jack Lisowski with a blitz of scoring in an emphatic victory. Trump has had to work hard to come past Chris Wakelin and Ricky Walden but at times in both matches he showed his class.
I’m expecting a high quality encounter here and if I was pushing the boat out I would probably take over 4.5 centuries which I actually think will cover. Both men are in wonderful scoring form and generally when they meet we get a stack of high breaks but there’s a fair bit of hype around this match so I’ll see how it begins before I get involved.
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Mark Williams vs Ali Carter (Tuesday 2.30pm, Wednesday 2.30pm & Wednesday 7pm)
The final quarter final sees the former champion Mark Williams taking on the man who dumped out Ronnie O’Sullivan in the previous round in Ali Carter. Carter has twice lost in the final here but is two wins from a third go at winning the title.
Williams has oozed class in this tournament thus far. He probably wasn’t at his best in the second round against Robert Milkins but was never in any doubt of winning while Carter has played very well himself. The question is whether he can get up for this match after what was a hugely emotional win in the last round. He’s had a couple of days to get over that though so hopefully he’ll be fine.
I’m expecting a close battle here between two men in good form who don’t give a lot away. Apart from the Romanian Masters earlier in the season when I’m not convinced Williams was massively up for it given that there was a tournament in Wales the following week, matches between these two are usually close. I think over 21.5 frames lands safely here.
Summary
I’m going to take a couple of accumulators over the four matches too. I think all four are going to be close matches so taking the overs in frames on all four makes sense and given that I expect to see a bunch of frames backing the centuries makes as much sense. The line on the centuries in three of the quarter finals are 3.5 which only need a couple from each player. With me expecting them all to win nine frames I think those numbers are possible. The other match is the Higgins vs Trump one where the centuries line is 4.5 but I don’t think that is beyond two of the better scorers in the game. The accumulators pay nicely and there’s value there on both for some small stakes.
Tips
Back M.Allen vs K.Wilson – Over 22.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
Back All 4 matches (except Higgins vs Trump over 4.5) – Over 3.5 centuries for a 1/10 stake at 16.41 with Betfair
Back them here:
Back M.Williams vs A.Carter – Over 21.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back All 4 matches – Over 21.5 frames for a 2/10 stake at 9.51 with William Hill
Back them here:
Back D.Junhui vs B.Hawkins – Over 3.5 centuries for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
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