It is a big day at the World Grand Prix on Friday when the last two quarter finals get played out along with the first semi-final as the opening Cazoo Series event of the season heads towards the business stage of the competition.
As you would expect in a tournament of this magnitude and at this stage of it, we have some big names to entertain us. The afternoon session sees the last two quarter finals taking place before the opening semi-final is played out in the evening.
Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Jimmy Robertson
The match on the main table in the afternoon session sees Ronnie O’Sullivan looking to reach the semi-final of a tournament for the second time in as many weeks after falling at that hurdle in the Scottish Open last week. He meets the man who opened up the season with a run to the last four of the British Open in Jimmy Robertson, a result he can emulate with a win here.
These two have met on two previous occasions and Robertson is yet to win a frame. He has lost 4-0 on both outings but he might have more hope here because O’Sullivan has started matches this week terribly. If Robertson believes he can win this he can certainly be on terms in the early stages but if those two beatings are still in his memory then this would be a runaway victory for the Rocket. I wouldn’t want to get involved in this one either way because O’Sullivan is too short but all too often Robertson lacks belief against the bigger names.
Stephen Maguire vs Stuart Bingham
The quarter final over on the second table on Friday afternoon would appear on paper to be the better of the two matches as Stephen Maguire takes on Stuart Bingham in a match between two men who are used to going deep in events of this stature.
I was very surprised when I saw that Maguire was the outsider in this match. I say that not just because he has seen off two decent players in Anthony McGill and Jack Lisowski this week but also because Bingham hasn’t pulled up any trees at all this season. To be fair to Bingham he played very well in the first round against Ricky Walden but only had a high break of 60 in seeing off Ali Carter on Thursday in a match where he fell over the line a little bit. Maguire looked like he was going out against Lisowski who was playing very well but he seized weakness when the chance came along and pounced. I think Maguire is the better player of the two and he looks up for it here and at odds against I think he’s the bet here.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this event! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Evening Session
Neil Robertson vs Mark Selby
The opening semi-final of the tournament sees two of the best players in the world going at it for a spot in the final on Sunday when the English Open winner Neil Robertson meets the world champion Mark Selby.
These two men have played some pretty decent stuff to make it to this stage of the tournament. Selby hasn’t looked brilliant in terms of the fact he’s been involved in some tactical tussles rather than the free scoring matches we often see these days, but he’s been in control of all his games which is all you can ask. Robertson has scored better than Selby as we might expect but when he has had to mix it in the tactical department he has dug in and done so. That means with both players playing well we should be in for an epic contest here. Recent meetings would suggest that Robertson is the likely winner but I would rather take over 9.5 frames because there isn’t much between these two and this could easily go to a deciding frame with the bottle and quality these two possess.
Tips
Back S.Maguire to beat S.Bingham for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with BetVictor
Back him here:
Back N.Robertson vs M.Selby – Over 9.5 frames for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
