It is quarter final day at the Welsh Open on Friday with all four matches being played across the course of what looks like being a wonderful day of action inside Venue Cymru in Llandudno as the last Home Nations event of the season gets to the business end of things.
The four matches will take place across two sessions of action on Friday with spots in the semi-final up for grabs. We’ve seen a number of top ranked stars exit the competition but there are plenty of good players left in.
Afternoon Session
Mark Selby vs John Higgins
The first quarter final of the day looks to be the pick of the four as two former winners of the tournament battling it out for a spot in the last four when the recent Championship League winner Mark Selby meets John Higgins in a repeat of the British Open final.
Selby won that match 10-5 and has a very good recent head-to-head record over the Scot but Higgins arrives into this match yet to lose a frame this week and he has taken care of a couple of decent enough players in Robert Milkins and Yuan Sijun so he has been cueing well and playing just as well. Selby hasn’t necessarily looked as convincing as that but we all know that the longer he is in a tournament the more dangerous he becomes so this one is fascinatingly poised. You would imagine we are in for a tight contest but it is one to watch and enjoy for me rather than bet on.
Jackson Page vs Luca Brecel
The other quarter final in the afternoon session sees the one last remaining Welsh player in the draw in Jackson Page going up against the former world champion Luca Brecel in what you sense is a big match for both men.
Page could reach the semi-final of this tournament for the first time and would carry big support into the weekend with him should he get there whereas Brecel could really do with going as deep as possible in the event because his ranking will take an enormous hit at the end of the season unless he regains the World Championship title. Page has looked good at times this week and should be fresh after walloping Tom Ford 4-0 on Thursday. Brecel had to work a little harder to overcome Pang Junxu 4-1 on Thursday evening but that wouldn’t have taken too much out of him so both men should be in decent fettle here. You would imagine we’ll see a lot of attacking snooker played in this match but both men can be guilty of being inconsistent so it is a match I would rather leave alone than trust one of them with my hard earned.
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Evening Session
Ali Carter vs Joe O’Connor
The quarter final on the main table in the evening session will see the one remaining top 16 player left in the bottom half of the draw in Ali Carter going up against a man who looks in excellent touch in the shape of the former Scottish Open finalist Joe O’Connor.
This is a fond tournament for Carter as it was the first ranking event title he won 16 years ago and he’ll be looking to get back to another semi-final where he would probably be the favourite to reach the final. O’Connor doesn’t have a terrible record in this event though. He has been to a semi-final and a quarter final in this event so there is something about the Welsh air that suits him and that has certainly been the case this week because he has seen off the world champion Kyren Wilson and played out of his skin to see off Matthew Stevens on Thursday and if he has that form with him here he will be a tough nut to crack. Carter has looked a little off his best form but he is good enough to be able to battle to victory but he hasn’t made a 60 break since the opening round and the way that O’Connor is playing you sense Carter will need his scoring boots as well as his tactical nous. O’Connor made a 147 at the Championship League recently and has scored brilliantly here. He is clearly feeling good about his game and the odds against on the last remaining qualifier looks a fair price to me.
Jack Lisowski vs Stephen Maguire
There is one quarter final on table two over the course of the day and it is the one between two men who have been into ranking event finals regularly as Jack Lisowski takes on Stephen Maguire for a spot in another major semi-final.
This is actually a key match in the season for both men. Lisowski is beginning to drop away from the top 16 and although he is in the World Grand Prix, he is only 16 on the one-year list so he isn’t guaranteed to be in the Players Championship which he would need to be if he wants to have a crack at avoiding the qualifiers for the World Championship. Maguire isn’t yet in the World Grand Prix but he does get in there if he wins this match unless Joe O’Connor goes further than him in the competition so the momentum of the season for both men can swing on this match. Based on what we’ve seen this week you would have to say that Lisowski is a worthy favourite but the odds are probably about right when you consider the danger that Maguire possesses if he has found a spark since his last win.
Tips
Back J.O’Connor to beat A.Carter for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Boylesports
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