We are down to the quarter finals at the Northern Ireland Open, with all four matches being played out on the one day of action inside the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Friday, with spaces in Saturday’s semi-finals the prize on offer.
We saw some big names exit the competition on Thursday but we still have two very tasty quarter finals to enjoy and Friday and two more which might be competitive. We go up to the best of nine frames for these matches too.
Afternoon Session
Judd Trump vs Mark Allen
The first quarter final might well be the pick of the last eight clashes as the defending champion Judd Trump takes on the home star Mark Allen in a contest which is a lot earlier in the day than I was expecting it to be given the profile of it.
Both these men cruised through the early stages of the tournament but they were taken to a deciding frame in the last 16 on Thursday. Allen was taken there by Stephen Maguire but I’ll cut him some slack because he played his second round match earlier in the day and at 3-2 up Maguire lashed his way out of a snooker, fluked a ball and dished up to force the decider. Trump doesn’t have those excuses though. He burned a few chances to put Jimmy Robertson away before eventually getting the job done. I hope Trump is equally as friendly to Allen here because I’m on him outright and I’m hoping he progresses from this match as he might go favourite for the tournament if he does. I expect this to be close but I’m happy to allow the outright bet to give me interest in this one.
Shaun Murphy vs Ricky Walden
The second match of the afternoon session sees the World Championship finalist Shaun Murphy taking on a Ricky Walden who amazingly still doesn’t have a title in the UK to his name, something he’ll be looking to put right over the next three days.
Murphy looked very impressive in seeing off Stuart Bingham in the last 16. That was the first time all week he has really impressed and it will be interesting to see how he goes here with all eyes on him. Walden has played well all season and his win over Neil Robertson in the second round on Thursday was particularly appealing. Murphy has a pretty emphatic record against Walden but I suspect Walden hasn’t been playing as well as he is right now in a lot of those matches and it might be that his safety nous edges this one for him. I’m hoping he has something to come out on top of this one with as I’m on him at 16/1 to win this match having backed him to win the quarter. That is all the betting interest I need in this one.
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Evening Session
John Higgins vs Dave Gilbert
The evening match on the main table sees John Higgins taking on the Championship League winner from earlier in the season in Dave Gilbert in a matchup which has probably given the latter nightmares after their World Championship and The Masters semi-final showdowns in the past.
Gilbert lost both of those matches agonisingly and also lost an International Championship final to the Scot in the past as well so you could argue Higgins is very much his nemesis. Higgins dodged a serious bullet in the previous round to set up this match. He was 3-0 down and seemingly going out to Mark Williams but the Welshman missed a key pot and Higgins didn’t look back. He hasn’t looked his brilliant fluent best this week though it has to be said. Gilbert had a very good win in the last 16 when he beat Mark Selby. He held his nerve well in that match when Selby was coming back at him and that bodes well for the Englishman, who is visibly oozing with confidence since he won the Championship League. I think Higgins might be ripe for Gilbert to pick off here and I’m surprised Gilbert is as big as he is. I’m happy to take him in this one.
Yan Bingtao vs Mitchell Mann
As ever in the Home Nations events there is an evening quarter final over on table two and in the Northern Ireland Open this year that sees The Masters champion Yan Bingtao taking on the surprise package of the tournament in Mitchell Mann.
Mann has played pretty well to make it to this quarter final and has already taken care of Kyren Wilson along the way. We are getting to the stage of the event where he can do his career a world of good if he can win a couple more matches and all but secure his tour card beyond next season with the best part of his whole term to play. Mann pushed Judd Trump to a decider in the British Open earlier in the season and drew with Mark Allen in the Championship League so he has to be respected here. Bingtao has played very well this week. He took care of form players in Hossein Vafaei and Oliver Lines in the early rounds without losing a frame and then he got the better of Ronnie O’Sullivan in an epic last 16 clash on Thursday. I think this will be a good match, one I expect Bingtao to win but I respect the efforts of Mann enough to leave it alone from a betting point of view.
Tips
Back D.Gilbert to beat J.Higgins for a 3/10 stake at 2.30 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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