At the beginning of the week 72 men began the World Open and heading into Sunday just two remain as we get ready to crown the champion on the last day of the tournament. The best of 19 frames final will see Joe Perry taking on Ali Carter for not just the £90,000 first prize but also a spot in the Champion of Champions later in the year.
Joe Perry will be looking for a second full ranking event title of his career having won the PTC Finals a couple of years ago while Ali Carter will be looking for his first title since he won the German Masters in 2013 so this is a big match for both men.
Saturday Recap
We had two different semi-finals on Saturday although they shared a common theme in that neither of them were very close. Ali Carter came past Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-1 in a really poor match which contained just one 50 break – from the Thai while Joe Perry stormed past Neil Robertson in a high quality semi. Perry beat his good friend 6-2, looking superb in the process.
Joe Perry
He might have taken a while to come to the boil in this tournament but there is no doubt that Perry is sprinting towards the finish line in style. He came from 2-0 down to Shaun Murphy in his quarter final with a century and a couple of other high profile breaks but then he took that to another level in the semi-final.
From 2-2 in the last four against Neil Robertson, Perry reeled off four frames in a row with runs of 132, 102, 120 and 91 in one of the most impressive bursts of scoring I’ve ever seen from him. To say Perry is playing the best snooker he has played would be an understatement based on those four frames.
Ali Carter
The Captain hasn’t looked anything like as convincing in performance in his last two matches but he has only lost one frame since the last 16 so he is battling really well. If he can put his scoring game onto the top of his battling one he might take some stopping in this final. Carter begins the final knowing a win will see him move into the top 16 again.
Although Carter beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-1 in the semi-final he didn’t make a single 50 break and you would have to think if he is to win a final over this distance he is going to have to score a whole lot better than he did in that match. He will need his safety game to be at its best too as Perry is taking every chance he has been given right now.
Betting
Based on the last couple of rounds we have to be with Joe Perry over this distance. Carter will fight hard and leave nothing out there but I’m a believer over 19 frames the better quality will prevail and that has come from Perry so far this weekend.
In the last two rounds the Cambridgeshire potter has made four centuries and plenty more big breaks and that scoring power could well be the difference in a match where in truth they look pretty evenly matched in the tactical department.
Just watching Perry around the table this weekend there is an air of confidence that is there for all to see while you get the feeling Carter is battling with his game a little more. Whether that is because it means so much or the fact he is so close to a return to the top 16 I’m not sure but it isn’t ideal either. Over this distance I expect Perry to have too much for a game Carter.
Tips
Back J.Perry to beat A.Carter for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
Back him here:
