The final of the English Open will be played out on Sunday when an Australian and a Scot meet for the Steve Davis Trophy when Neil Robertson takes on John Higgins inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
Robertson will be looking to go one better than he did here last year when Judd Trump edged him out in a deciding frame. Higgins is in his second consecutive Home Nations final and after missing out on the trophy in Belfast last month he’ll be eager to snatch it here.
Neil Robertson
The Australian is no stranger to competing in major finals but he is more of a stranger of getting there in laboured fashion like he has done this week. That might be being a little harsh on him because he has actually scored well when the chances have come his way. He has been vocal and made it clear that he isn’t going to get bogged down in his matches anymore, which is a pretty stupid thing to come out with as he’s going to face players who will make it tough for him.
That has shown up in his scoring. He has knocked in a couple of tons in his last two matches but he could have been beaten in each of his last three matches. He was lucky neither Mark Davis, Kyren Wilson or Mark King could see him off from winning positions. You just wonder if he’ll be able to score heavily enough against a master tactician like John Higgins. If he isn’t he will either need to adapt his philosophy or he will come up short.
John Higgins
I took notice of John Higgins at the beginning of the week when he claimed he is hitting the ball as well as possible. For someone who is coming up to nearly 30 years in the game to say something like that, particularly one who doesn’t usually demand the headlines and the profile was quite a big statement. He has backed it up on the baize though. In the last three rounds he has beaten Ding Junhui, Yan Bingtao and Ronnie O’Sullivan and you don’t run that gauntlet if you’re not playing well.
The win over O’Sullivan was particularly eye catching. There is no doubt O’Sullivan fancied his chances of winning this tournament, even more so when he led 5-3, but Higgins repelled and was probably the only man who could have come back from that position. With the added motivation of missing out in Belfast last month where he was visibly annoyed not to get over the line, he is likely to be a tough proposition to beat here.
Safer Gambling Week
This week is Safer Gambling Week, an initiative we are fully supportive of on this website. If you are having a problem with your gambling click the image below for help.
Head to Head
These two have met on 17 previous occasions and it is level at 8-8 between them with a draw along the way. Higgins won their last meeting at the 2019 World Championship but it is Robertson who had won the three prior to that. You can tell how evenly matched these two men are when you look at the frame score. Higgins leads 80-78 in that discipline. This will be their trilogy match in terms of finals that they have played out. Higgins won their first final in a European Tour event in 2013 while Robertson came out on top in their other final in the Wuxi Classic later that year. Whichever statistic you look at these two look locked together.
Betting
That would suggest we are in for a close final here. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the case. Both men have had to come out on top in deciding frames this week but John Higgins has looked in the better touch to me. I don’t know if Neil Robertson will be affected by his relatively late semi-final finish against Mark King but he might be more impacted by the lack of rhythm he could find in that encounter and he isn’t guaranteed to get a much better one here.
Higgins has dominated Ding Junhui and Yan Bingtao in the latter part of this event and he has seen off O’Sullivan who was at his best prior to their last four clash. Both finalists mentioned the conditions were tough on Saturday. If that remains the case you would expect Higgins to win this match because it will be a scrappy affair. Even if conditions improve and it turns into a scoring contest Higgins can go toe to toe with Robertson. I think he’s the one to be on here.
Tips
Back J.Higgins to beat N.Robertson for a 3/10 stake at 2.05 with Betway
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
