It is another big day at the British Open on Saturday when the quarter finals and the semi-finals are played over the course of two sessions of play inside the Morningside Arena as we whittle the remaining eight down to two.
By the end of the day we will know the identity of the two men who will compete in the final on Sunday and with just one top 16 player remaining in the draw there is a chance for someone to make a huge breakthrough this weekend which will add to the excitement.
The format moves up to the best of seven now which should see the quality increase. Unfortunately time restrictions will deny us the chance to preview the evening semi-finals but we can look at the afternoon quarter finals.
Opening Matches
We are down to just the two tables in the Morningside Arena now. The TV table has an even looking clash on it first up in the afternoon session as Dave Gilbert continues his quest for back to back ranking title wins when he takes on Gary Wilson for whom this could be a big couple of days as he chases a maiden big title. Two other men going in search of their first title meet on the other table when Zhou Yuelong takes on the giant slayer of the week so far in Elliot Slessor, who could make a big move in the rankings over the course of the day.
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Later Matches
The pick of the quarter finals takes place on the main table in the second set of games on Saturday afternoon and it sees Mark Williams, now the highest ranked player left in the draw, taking on Ricky Walden who is three wins away from a first ranking event success in the UK. The other table sees Lu Ning looking to close in on a first ranking title when he takes on a Jimmy Robertson who has tasted success in a tournament before and will hope that stands him in good stead here.
Betting
I’ll go with one bet in these quarter finals and it comes from the later match on the second table as Lu Ning goes up against Jimmy Robertson in a match I think the Chinese player can prevail in. I opposed Ning earlier in the week when I thought he might get outscored over the course of five frames but that hasn’t been the case at all. In fact, he has scored very well and seen off a couple of competent challengers in the form of Martin Gould and Igor Figueiredo.
Robertson had easy wins in the first and fourth rounds, the latter an appealing one against Stephen Maguire, although that success was launched by an outrageous fluke, but in between he had to overcome a couple of deciding frames so his form is a little hit and miss. Lu Ning has threatened a big breakthrough for a while. He was a semi-finalist in the UK Championship last season and was previously a semi-finalist in the Gibraltar Open over this format which might help him. He has the tactical sense to win that way but he can score too and I think his all-round game will be too much for Robertson.
Tips
Back L.Ning to beat J.Robertson for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with 888sport
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