The quarter finals of the Scottish Open will be played out in two quality sessions of snooker on Friday when we determine who it will be who goes into the semi-finals of the latest Home Nations event inside Venue Cymru in Llandudno.
We’ve got some big names who have made it through along with the usual surprise packages which Home Nations events throw up so we are set for four compelling battles throughout the day on Friday.
Afternoon Session
Anthony McGill vs Stephen Maguire
Fittingly in the Scottish Open two men from north of the border meet in the opening quarter final ensuring there will be home representation in the last four of the event as Anthony McGill takes on Stephen Maguire for a semi-final spot.
McGill has been threatening for a couple of tournaments but generally seems to prefer the longer formats before bringing his best snooker out but he played pretty well himself in the previous match to beat Mark Selby especially as he surrendered a 3-0 lead before getting over the line. This is an upturn in form for Maguire too and a welcome one at that after a tough start to the season and neither of them will be happy to exit in the quarter final. I’m expecting a pretty tight match here and wouldn’t be at all surprised if this one goes all the way but the odds look about right to me.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Li Hang
The second quarter final is actually a repeat of one of the semi-finals from last season when Ronnie O’Sullivan continues his quest to make it back to the final of this event when he takes on a Li Hang who seems to come alive when the Stephen Hendry Trophy is on show.
Hang has played pretty well this week and has seen off a couple of appealing challengers in Shaun Murphy and Hossein Vafaei. He scored well in both those matches and we know he isn’t a worrier about reputation so he might well lay it down to O’Sullivan. Ronnie has been taken the distance in his last two matches so he is battle-hardened and that might be the overall difference at the end of this one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hang keep this close but I keep thinking Ronnie is coming to the boil which puts me off taking him on.
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Evening Session
John Higgins vs Dave Gilbert
The evening session match on the main TV table is a repeat of the last eight clash from the Northern Ireland Open as John Higgins takes on Dave Gilbert. Higgins won that match in Belfast on his way to a second Home Nations final of the season and he’ll be hoping history repeats itself here.
You would think Gilbert would go into this match full of confidence having dumped Judd Trump out in an amazing match on Thursday evening but then he went into his post-match interview and gave off the impression that he is really struggling right now. On the face of it, it doesn’t look like he is struggling but you can easily tell yourself that you are and then the problems really set in. Higgins isn’t struggling. He’s only dropped three frames in his four matches this week and in Ryan Day and Martin Gould he has taken on a couple of seasoned campaigners so the Scot is in decent nick. Higgins has won all but one of their matches and only twice has Gilbert taken him to a decider in eight Higgins wins. I’m not convinced he fares much better here.
Luca Brecel vs Matthew Selt
There is always one match on Table Two in the evening session in these Home Nations quarter finals and here it sees two of the stars of the UK Championship battling it out when Luca Brecel meets Matthew Selt for a place in the semi-finals.
Brecel made it all the way to the final in York and he will be looking to take another step towards the title clash here too. Selt dumped Judd Trump out of the UK Championship so he’s in decent touch and he’ll lay a challenge down to the Belgian. Both these players look in good form but aren’t necessarily the best players at coming from behind which puts me off getting involved in this one. Something tells me Selt is a bit of value at odds against but Brecel is full of confidence so this one is best left alone.
Tips
Back J.Higgins (-1.5 frames) to beat D.Gilbert for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
Back him here:
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