The World Championship has reached the quarter final stage with all four matches getting underway inside the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Tuesday ahead of them finishing on Wednesday by which time we will know the four men who will progress to the one-table setup.
We have five former winners left in among the eight players who remain in the tournament and the other three cueists are all capable of winning this tournament so we should be in for quite some drama over the two days.
Zhao Xintong vs Chris Wakelin (Tuesday 10am, Tuesday 7pm & Wednesday 2.30pm)
The opening quarter final over on table one will see two qualifiers battling it out for a spot in a first World Championship semi-final when the Chinese sensation Zhao Xintong meets Chris Wakelin over 25 frames in a clash which offers up a huge opportunity for both men.
These two men have both played well in this tournament so far. Wakelin has taken care of a couple of title challengers in Neil Robertson and Mark Allen and hasn’t really been troubled against either while Xintong has seen off the 2024 finalist Jak Jones and the Scottish Open winner Lei Peifan. There has been a natural class about the way that Xintong has gone about his business so far in this tournament but you just wonder if he might meet his match here against a Wakelin who has made a ton in both matches and some insane breaks either side of that. You get the feeling that Wakelin will win the safety exchanges in this match and if he can score when he is given the chances it is hard to see him not being competitive here. Xintong has the ability to blow anyone away in a single session but if he is going to win this then I fancy he’ll have to win going away early. The longer this goes the more I would favour Wakelin. I was going to leave this one until after the first session but 19/10 on Wakelin is just too big to me and I can’t ignore that here.
John Higgins vs Mark Williams (Tuesday 10am, Tuesday 7pm & Wednesday 10am)
The pick of the quarter finals will take place on table two from Tuesday morning and will conclude in the opening session on Wednesday when two former champions and ‘Class of 92’ members John Higgins and Mark Williams do battle in one for the ages.
These two have twice met in a semi-final here and they have competed in a final as well so they are no stranger to facing off over four sessions but it three sessions that they will be battling over here. You would say that Higgins is in the better touch of the two at present given that he won the Tour Championship at the beginning of the month but Williams has the ability to hang around and it certainly wouldn’t surprise anyone if this is close going into the Wednesday morning session. My hunch is that Higgins will be just too good when it matters and he might nick a frame or two that could be pivotal in the overall picture. I’m approaching this one with the expectation that Higgins will win but I’d like to see the first session play out before I get involved here.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Si Jiahui (Tuesday 2.30pm, Wednesday 10am & Wednesday 7pm)
The second quarter final to get going over on table one will see the man who is now three wins away from a record breaking eighth world title in Ronnie O’Sullivan, going up against the player who was a semi-finalist here in 2023 and will be looking to emulate that with a victory in this match in Si Jiahui.
Perhaps the most intriguing quarter final of the four is this one because O’Sullivan is clearly battling himself as well as his opponent and to be fair he’s been fortunate that neither player in the other chair has turned up so far in the tournament. It would be a surprise if the Chinese star doesn’t show up here but we would have to overlook his first two performances which were substandard by his qualities. He was a favourite for both matches though and we saw two years ago how the difference in that dynamic brings out the best in him. Every match he played in that he was an outsider and it was only when he seemingly couldn’t lose at 14-5 up on Luca Brecel in the semi-final that he faltered. If he plays well here he should definitely have nine frames in him which is what the handicap requires from him. I wouldn’t want to say for sure that he will win this one but having beaten O’Sullivan in Saudi Arabia earlier in the season he will certainly have the belief that he can do it. I still think Ronnie might have something in him when pushed so I’ll go with the handicap here but if Si starts positively and we can get on him winning after the first session I’ll consider that too.
Luca Brecel vs Judd Trump (Tuesday 2.30pm, Wednesday 2.30pm & Wednesday 7pm)
The most entertaining looking quarter final of the four is the second one to begin on table two when the 2023 champion Luca Brecel goes up against the man who won the title four years before that in the form of the world number one Judd Trump.
I think it is fair to say we’re not going to get much safety played here but we certainly could get plenty of fireworks. The session of snooker that Brecel produced in the opening stanza of his match with Ding Junhui in the last round would have him firmly as a runner for the title not just this match but then Trump answered that with his snooker in the second session of his win over Shaun Murphy in the same part of the tournament. Although Trump had to survive a scare, both men are clearly playing well and this could be an absolute cracker to watch. I’m expecting centuries, breaks and all sorts of fun and games but I’d like to see the opening session of this one before I completely get involved so for now I’ll take a watching brief here.
Tips
Back C.Wakelin to beat Z.Xintong for a 3/10 stake at 2.90 with Coral
Back S.Jiahui (+4.5 frames) to beat R.O’Sullivan for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Betway
