It is quarter final day at the European Masters on Friday and with just two members of the top 16 left in the tournament, there is a massive opportunity for six men out in Austria over the course of the weekend.
Plenty of big names came and went on Thursday which is sure to focus the minds of Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins, the two top 16 members left fighting their worth in the competition. Some real talent remains in place around them though.
Afternoon Session
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Neil Robertson
The pick of the four quarter finals is the one involving this season’s Champion of Champions winner and the man who won the Snooker Shootout in the previous campaign when Neil Robertson goes up against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh for a place in the semi-final.
These two met in the Scottish Open earlier this season when Un-Nooh won 4-0 but that was a rare success against the Australian, however having come from a seemingly lost situation against John Higgins in the previous round he might feel he is on a bit of a free roll. Robertson looked decent enough in beating Graeme Dott in the previous round so this one should be a cracker. My gut feeling is un-Nooh is a touch big but I’m happy to watch this rather than bet on it.
Ali Carter vs Scott Donaldson
The other quarter final in the afternoon session sees the man who made the final of The Masters last week in Ali Carter taking on a Scott Donaldson who is continually threatening a major breakthrough, one which he hopes will come this weekend.
Carter hasn’t been brilliant this week but he has made his way through the draw and that would follow a similar pattern to last week. As at Alexandra Palace, when he was forced to pull out the goods in a deciding frame he did so and that bodes well for him here. Donaldson should be full of confidence after putting out Kyren Wilson and Ding Junhui with some really good snooker in the first two rounds. Based on that the Scot could be described as value but I fancy Carter will show his fighting qualities once again.
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Evening Session
Zhou Yuelong vs Barry Hawkins
The pick of the two quarter finals in the evening session sees Barry Hawkins looking to continue his return to form when he takes on a Zhou Yuelong, who amazingly still hasn’t made it into a singles final despite all the promise he has shown in his career.
Both these men beat top ranked opponents on Thursday with Yuelong taking out Mark Williams in the first round while Hawkins saw off Mark Selby in an extraordinary match in the second round but it was Hawkins who looked much better to me. To be fair he struggled to get over the line from 4-0 up against Selby but that can happen when you’ve not won many matches and we all know the fighting qualities that Selby has anyway. Hawkins made four 50s and a couple of centuries in that match so he’s in good touch.
Matches between these two have generally been tight in the past but I fancy Hawkins is going to kick on from here, whereas Yuelong tends to weaken at this stage of a tournament. I’m expecting the Englishman to win this one and cover a -1.5 frame handicap in the process as he looks to kick start his season in style this weekend.
Marco Fu vs Gary Wilson
The last of the quarter finals could actually be the closest one of them as two experienced players meet knowing this could be a big weekend for them as Marco Fu takes on Gary Wilson for a place in the semi-final.
Wilson made the semi-final of the biggest tournament of them all last season when he progressed through the draw in the World Championship but he is yet to win a title and he’ll have an eye on ending that this week. Fu has been in the doldrums for a while with an eye problem that has set him back for 18 months or more. He looks to be on the road to recovery now though and is coming back to his best form. Fu is my remaining outright pick in this tournament and I’m happy to let that run here so there is no bet for me in this quarter final.
Tips
Back B.Hawkins (-1.5 frames) to beat Z.Yuelong for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
Back him here:
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