The quarter finals of the World Championship come to a close inside the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Wednesday when after three more sessions of play we will know the four men progressing to the semi-finals and the one-table setup.
We have seen action in all four quarter finals and the quality has been very high. Now that the end is in sight there is no reason to think that the standard will drop but there is every chance that the tension will only increase from here on in.
Day 11 Recap
We have had one session of two matches and at the end of them Ronnie O’Sullivan has a 6-2 lead on Si Jiahui in a match which hasn’t really caught fire yet. That isn’t the case for the one on the other side of the divide where Judd Trump and Luca Brecel treated the crowd to a wonderful session of snooker, one which Trump came out leading 5-3 going into their double session on Wednesday. The other two matches had two sessions and couldn’t be more oppositely placed with Zhao Xintong needing one more frame to get the better of Chris Wakelin with a 12-4 overnight lead while John Higgins and Mark Williams are locked at 8-8.
We haven’t had a bet settled on Tuesday but we’re going to lose with Chris Wakelin barring something quite ridiculous on Wednesday afternoon. He just hasn’t turned up in this match and will exit at some point and there is clearly work for Si Jiahui to do when they play out their two sessions on Wednesday but it isn’t like Ronnie O’Sullivan has outclassed him so far so there is hope that the Chinese player can force his way back in there.
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In Play Betting
The four quarter finals are all in play going into Wednesday. I’m already involved in the Zhao Xintong and Chris Wakelin match but there is no betting opportunity there and I’m already covered in the match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Si Jiahui. I was hoping for some clues in the Judd Trump vs Luca Brecel match but we haven’t got them really. The one thing I would say about that contest is that they play successive sessions in the afternoon and evening and coming from behind might be difficult in those circumstances.
The high profile match between John Higgins and Mark Williams is much better for betting purposes though. They are locked at 8-8 after Williams won the second session 5-3 to level up the score and now there is all to play for between these two legends. Williams has probably played the better stuff in the match from 5-1 down in the first session and has won 7-3 from that position. Clearly this one could go either way but Higgins has only had one break over 70 in 16 frames which tells me that Williams is in the better position and if he can start fast then the 6/5 that he comes out on top here feels big. I would genuinely have this even money each of two now so there is value on the Welshman to kick on and win having completed the comeback.
Tips
Back M.Williams to beat J.Higgins for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Bet365
