The quarter finals of the Wuhan Open will be played out in China on Thursday when all four matches will take place over the course of what should be two decent sessions of play as we find out which four men will compete in the semi-finals.
The last couple of days have seen a number of shocks taking place so we are left with a few standout players mixed in with a few outsiders who could be enjoying a ground breaking week if they can win three more matches.
Afternoon Session
Shaun Murphy vs Xiao Guodong
The quarter final on the main table on Thursday afternoon sees the one top 16 player left in the bottom half of the draw in Shaun Murphy taking on one of four remaining Chinese players in the shape of Xiao Guodong.
Guodong has been something of a top 16 slayer this week having taken out the world champion Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins in the last two rounds and now he’ll be eyeing up a hat trick of successes over the elite band. Murphy also beat a top 16 player on Wednesday when he defeated Ali Carter in a deciding frame and he’ll be the favourite to reach the final from here on in. Guodong has to be respected because he has the ability to hang around and he is very good in matches that get tight but if Murphy scores here you would imagine he’ll have enough to get the job done but at the prices I’ll let him do that if he is able to.
Jack Lisowski vs Long Zehuang
The other table will see two players outside the top 16 looking to make it through to the semi-final when Jack Lisowski continues a quest for a first major title when he meets Long Zehuang who competes in a maiden quarter final on the main tour here.
This could be a big few days for Lisowski. If he can make the final here he would be back in the top 16 regardless of what happens in the title match and as a 4/11 favourite he is expected to reach the semi-final at the very least. He has been in supreme form this week. He has won 15 frames out in China and he has made a 50 break in every one of them and if he keeps that scoring pace up he is going to be very tough to beat. Zehuang has done well to make it through to this stage but he is yet to meet a player in the top 32 let alone one who is seemingly flying like Lisowski. Sometimes you can question Lisowski’s application and attitude in matches he is expected to win but he has been a warm favourite against Iulian Boiko and Wu Yize this week and saw off both for the loss of just one frame. I expect something similar here because Long Zehuang isn’t going to keep Lisowski at bay with safety and the scoring power of the Englishman should just be too much here. Bet365 are offering an Asian handicap line of -2 so if Lisowski continues his week of winning 5-0 to 5-2 we win our bet and we get our money back if he wins 5-3. I don’t see any other score based on the week so far so I like Lisowski on that line.
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Evening Session
Judd Trump vs Chris Wakelin
One of the two quarter finals in the evening session sees the defending champion Judd Trump taking on the former Shootout winner Chris Wakelin who upset the crowd on Wednesday when he took care of Ding Junhui.
Despite a strange event with his cue in the interval, Trump saw off John Higgins once he had realised he had picked up the wrong cue and got his own wand back in hand. Wakelin made three successive centuries and another 90 break in beating Ding Junhui and now he has the toughest task of following that performance up. If he is anything like as good as that here he will be a strong chance of winning this match but it is the hardest thing to do to play that well in two successive days. That makes me think that Trump will come through here but if Wakelin starts well and gets the confidence he had on Wednesday he could quickly become a tough nut to crack. I’ll leave this one alone.
Si Jiahui vs Zhang Anda
There is an all-Chinese battle on the other table as the former World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui goes up against the reigning International Championship winner Zhang Anda for a spot in the last four of one of their home events.
This has already been a successful week for Si as he has won enough matches to make it into the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time. It is now about pushing on and looking to land the first title of his career. Those are things which Zhang Anda has already done but if he is going to make the last four he needs to start a whole lot better than he did against Mark Joyce in the previous round, where he found himself 3-0 down. To Zhang’s credit he turned it around and got the job done on a respotted black in the decider but he won’t get away with that level twice. Si has yet to be tested this week so it will be interesting to see what he has got when he does get drawn into a battle. Hopefully we find out here because Zhang Anda is my remaining outright bet and I’m hoping he can win a couple more matches and give me something to enjoy in the latter stages of the event.
Tips
Back J.Lisowski (-2 Asian handicap) to beat L.Zehuang for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with Bet365
