It is quarter final day in the Welsh Open on Friday as the final Home Nations event draws towards a close inside the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. It is fair to say that we have a surprising last eight line up but an intriguing one nevertheless.
Thursday was another brutal day for the big names with the likes of Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui all falling by the wayside. We do still have two or three household names left in though to ensure a decent standard.
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Afternoon Session
Stuart Bingham vs Zhao Xintong
The opening quarter final sees the two heaviest scorers of the week doing battle as Stuart Bingham takes on Zhao Xintong in what should be a really juicy match with the Chinese player looking to be somewhere near his very best.
These two met in Cheltenham last week at the World Grand Prix and Bingham eased to victory but Xintong has built up a head of steam over the first three rounds this week and looks primed to launch a huge assault on winning his first ranking title. I’m tempted by the Chinese player but not enough to bet on him.
John Higgins vs Joe O’Connor
The second quarter final is a David vs Goliath contest as the unknown and lowly ranked Joe O’Connor gets a shot at the defending champion who is finding his way back to form in John Higgins for a place in the semi-final.
Higgins would do well not to take O’Connor lightly. He has already seen off Kyren Wilson and Ding Junhui this week and in the main he has scored fairly well so if he settles to the match table and surroundings he should play well enough. Higgins has been better this week but he hasn’t been anything like his best. I don’t think he’s vulnerable or anything like that here but his form is patchy enough to make me dodge the handicaps. Higgins is an acca leg rather than a single proposition.
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Evening Session
Neil Robertson vs Kurt Maflin
As ever in the evening session of the quarter finals at a Home Nations event one match is on the main table and the other is away from the spotlight. The one on the TV table here sees Neil Robertson taking on Kurt Maflin in what feels like an entertaining proposition.
Robertson showed how well he is cueing at the minute when he banged in that maximum break earlier in the week and cruised past Michael Georgiou in the previous round but Kurt Maflin has caught the eye over the course of the tournament. He has only dropped three frames on his way to this stage and almost had his own maximum in the second round but missed the yellow.
Robertson won their last meeting in Berlin recently 5-1 but they have been to a deciding frame in four of their seven battles and given that both look to be hitting the ball nicely I think there is a shade of value on over 7.5 frames in this one at 6/5.
Hossein Vafaei vs Scott Donaldson
The one match that is on the streamed table in the quarter finals sees Hossein Vafaei going up against Scott Donaldson for the right to face the winner of the other evening match in the semi-final on Saturday.
Both men have been in ranking event semi-finals before but their opportunities are not as regular as they are for some so I would imagine this will be a keenly contested encounter. Vafaei has shown his fighting spirit this week. He has come through three deciders already including against Selby on Thursday night when he made an epic clearance. Donaldson has been a little more comfortable as he bids for a place in the last four for the second year in a row.
Wins like the one Vafaei had over Selby and in the manner that he had it tend to take a bit of time to get over and that match didn’t finish until gone midnight so I wouldn’t be too surprised if we don’t see him at his best here. Donaldson is playing pretty well and this venue seems to agree with him. At even money he’s my pick in a close contest.
Tips
WON – Back N.Robertson vs K.Maflin – Over 7.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
Back it here:
Back S.Donaldson to beat H.Vafaei for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betway
Back him here:
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