It is quarter final day at the British Open on Friday with all four matches being played across two sessions of play inside the Centaur in Cheltenham on a day where we find out our final four in the biggest ranking event of the season to date.
We are down to just the three top 16 players left in the competition and two of those meet each other in the quarter finals so everyone getting their cue out of their cases on Friday will know there is a big chance ahead of them. We’re up to the best of nine now so there is a little more wiggle room for those involved.
Afternoon Session
Mark Williams vs Fan Zhengyi
The quarter final on the main table on Friday afternoon sees the man who lifted this trophy two years ago in Mark Williams looking to make it through to the semi-finals again when he takes on one of three Chinese players left in, in the form of Fan Zhengyi.
Williams has looked decent enough in this tournament, coming past Gary Wilson and Ding Junhui in the last two rounds, but the challenges of both opponents faded fast the longer those matches went on so it will be interesting to see what the Welshman has should someone maintain their level against him. Zhengyi might be the one to tell us because he has played well in the last few weeks. He made the quarter final of the Shanghai Masters where Mark Allen was one of his victims and he has only surrendered four frames this week and generally scored well. I still think Williams will win but if he doesn’t get much help from Zhengyi then this one certainly has the potential to go close and the 8/11 on Zhengyi with a 2.5 frame start is appealing enough for me in this one.
He Guoqiang vs Hossein Vafaei
Over on the other table we have two Asian players battling it out when He Guoqiang competes in his first ranking event quarter final against the former Shootout champion Hossein Vafaei in what is a great opportunity for the Iranian to enhance his position in the game.
You would have had Vafaei the favourite in this match on experience anyway but when you consider that his Chinese foe was still battling in the previous round until the early hours of Friday morning you would have to think the Iranian has a massive opportunity to reach the semi-finals. Guoqiang showed that he can beat the better players in the game when he took care of Barry Hawkins in the previous round, holding himself together under pressure of a final black shootout but the time he finished and the short turnaround just can’t help his cause. I expect Vafaei to win this with a bit to spare but the odds are fully reflective of that.
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Evening Session
Mark Selby vs Jack Lisowski
The main table action in the evening session sees the only quarter final between two members of the top 16 on show as Mark Selby bids to go a step closer to a first ITV title when he takes on the home boy Jack Lisowski.
Lisowski has looked in excellent touch this week and might feel he is on a bit of a free roll after that incredible ending against Shaun Murphy earlier in the tournament. Selby could easily feel the same though after a dramatic ending to his last 16 clash with Dave Gilbert on Thursday evening. That match was long and had some intense frames and while he usually recovers well that might be an issue against an opponent playing so well. The problem with backing Lisowski here is you are really betting on him running away with it because you would imagine the longer it goes the more likely Selby is to hold his nerve and come through. I do fancy this to be quite close so I expect Selby to win but he’s plenty short enough so I’ll leave this one well alone.
Tom Ford vs Xiao Guodong
Over on table two, two men who have been to ranking event finals in the past will meet looking to get back to another big semi-final when Tom Ford takes on Xiao Guodong, two men who have flown under the radar this week.
Given the quarter final they are alongside they can go under the radar again here but both will be eager to set up a chance at a first ranking title over the weekend so I expect this to be quite competitive. Ford didn’t appear too happy with his game in his interviews on Thursday but then again he rarely is. We’ve seen little to nothing of Guodong this week but a whitewash of Anthony Hamilton and a win over Ali Carter would suggest that he is in decent nick. Bookmakers can’t really split these and I can’t either. If I was pushed I would go with Guodong but I don’t really feel confident enough to get involved either way.
Tips
Back F.Zhengyi (+2.5 frames) to beat M.Williams for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Betway
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