The quarter finals of the inaugural Wuhan Open takes place in China on Friday with the four matches being played across two sessions of snooker with each match taking place on one of the two main tables to give each the attention it deserves.
We saw a number of big names fall by the wayside earlier in the week but the longer the competition has gone on those recognisable players who have remained have come to the fore and will be looking for semi-final berths here.
Afternoon Session
Tom Ford vs Judd Trump
The first quarter final on the TV table will see Judd Trump looking to make a second semi-final in as many weeks after his success at the English Open when he takes on a Tom Ford who himself is no stranger to reaching the last four of tournaments these days.
Trump has been in good form for most of the season. He reached the European Masters final where he didn’t really show up in the title showdown but he made up for that when he won the English Open last week. Ford is slowly building up a head of steam this season and will be looking to make the most of the latest opportunity which is in front of him. It is hard to go against Trump based on what we’ve seen from him over the last couple of weeks but I’m acutely aware that the tank might empty at some point so I’m happy to give this one a swerve.
Wu Yize vs Aaron Hill
Someone will make their first ranking event semi-final this week as the lowly ranked Wu Yize and Aaron Hill meet in what could be an intriguing quarter final and a life changing one for the winner in terms of their career.
A win here will guarantee the victor £30,000 and the points that go with it and will pretty much sew up a spot at the World Grand Prix with the potential to earn more to come. Hill has got better the longer the week has gone on but I think he might meet his match here. Wu Yize is clearly enjoying playing at home and he held his nerve superbly against Stephen Maguire in the previous round on Thursday. I think he is actually the better player of the two and in these conditions where he has the crowd support I expect him to take advantage of that. Wu Yize is scoring very well at the minute. He has 10 breaks of 80 or more in just 14 matches this season and that bodes well for him. The only other meeting between these two saw the Chinese player win 5-0 and I expect a comfortable home win here too.
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Evening Session
Lyu Haotian vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
The TV table on Friday evening will see the Shanghai Masters winner Ronnie O’Sullivan continuing his quest for a second Chinese title in as many months when he goes up against the one remaining home player in the bottom half of the draw in Lyu Haotian.
I don’t think O’Sullivan has been at his best this week, or even close to it really, but none of his opponents have had the steel to put him away and it will be interesting to see if Lyu Haotian fares any better in that regard. Haotian has played well at times in this tournament but Zhang Anda ran out of juice on Thursday so there is a chance the Chinese player could be flattered on that showing. The big issue I have with Lyu here is the longer O’Sullivan goes without getting punished the better he tends to get and by the latter stages of the tournament he could be off the lead and not for recalling. If that is the case here O’Sullivan should win comfortably but the odds reflect that.
Mark Allen vs Ali Carter
The only quarter final which pits two top 16 players against each other will be the one over on table two in the evening session when Mark Allen takes on Ali Carter in a battle of two players who took four titles home with them last term.
Allen is looking like he is getting back to the form he showed when he was winning those tournaments last season but Carter hasn’t really seen his form dip much since he won the German Masters so we should be in for a good game here. Allen had a confidence boosting win over Jack Lisowski on Thursday and a repeat of that showing makes him very hard to beat here but Carter won’t go down without a fight so we should be in for a cracking contest here. My gut is telling me that Allen will have too much but I’m reluctant to take on Carter in this form so I’m happy to leave this one alone as well.
Tips
Back W.Yize (-1.5 frames) to beat A.Hill for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back him here:
