The semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open form the agenda for the day as we confirm the two finalists in the opening Home Nations event of the season inside the Waterfront Hall in Belfast throughout Saturday.
We are up to the best of 11 frames for the two semi-finals which means that the players have even more chance to settle in and hopefully deliver a couple of cracking matches over the course of the afternoon and evening.
Afternoon Session
Zhou Yuelong vs Anthony McGill
The opening semi-final pits two men who are sat outside the top 16 in the world rankings but who could get themselves into that elite band at a key point in the season if they can win this title on Sunday as Zhou Yuelong meets Anthony McGill.
Both men have been in ranking event finals in the past so they are not treading new territory here which should assist the contest. You would have to say that both players have played well to make it through to this stage as well. Zhou took care of Shaun Murphy and Dave Gilbert along the way while McGill has taken out Yan Bingtao. Bookmakers can’t split these and I guess their rankings would be the reason why but for me McGill has played the better snooker this week and as a result of that he is my pick for this match. McGill has scored brilliantly all week and really did exude a lot of confidence in his quarter final win. To be fair to Zhou, the way he played from 4-2 down in his quarter final will give him a lot of confidence but I just think the ceiling of standard in McGill is slightly higher in these pressure matches than the Chinese player. I’ll take the Scot to win this one.
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Evening Session
Mark Allen vs Neil Robertson
The second semi-final looks much the pick of the two matches on paper and it sees the defending champion Mark Allen taking on one of the best the game has ever seen in the form of Neil Robertson, who is looking to win this title for the first time in his career.
Allen has battled his way through to this semi-final stage. He started the week looking a million dollars but as the conditions toughened he has had to show the fight and determination within his game. Robertson hasn’t been completely firing on all cylinders this week but when the chances have presented themselves he has pounced on them. Both men took care of classy opponents in the previous round so we look all set for a cracking semi-final. Those who have followed our picks all week will be on Allen to win this at 7/1 as we are on him outright so we don’t need to go in again but there is no getting away from the fact that we have a couple of class acts on show here in this match and with this one almost being the final I’ve got to think this will be a close match. You can get 6/5 on over 9.5 frames and this feels like a 6-4 or 6-5 either way match to me.
Tips
Back A.McGill to beat Z.Yuelong for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back him here:
Back M.Allen vs N.Robertson – Over 9.5 frames for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Betfair
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