The quarter finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix take place out in China on Saturday when eight men battle it out for the four spots in the semi-final of a tournament which becomes pretty lucrative the longer the weekend goes on.
We have five players from the top 16 looking to bolster their campaign over the course of the weekend but there are three players here who are considered outsiders for whom this could be a breakthrough few days in their career.
Afternoon Session
Lyu Haotian vs Mark Williams
The pick of the matches in the afternoon session sees one half of the remaining home contingent on show when Lyu Haotian takes on the former world champion Mark Williams who is a massive favourite to make the final in this half of the draw now.
Williams has got better the longer this tournament has gone on and the two breaks he made when his back was against the wall when he trailed Barry Hawkins 4-3 was testament to the quality that he has and unless the exertions of the week have caught up with the Welshman, there isn’t an easy case to make for Haotian in this match. He has lost all four ranking event matches against Williams and there is definitely no argument to suggest that the Chinese player is as good as he was a couple of seasons ago. Haotian fell over the line in a couple of matches earlier in the week and has played nothing like anyone the calibre of Williams so it is hard to go against the Welshman here but the odds are fully reflective of that so I’ll leave this one alone.
Liam Pullen vs Daniel Wells
The other match in the earlier session of the day will offer up a huge opportunity for two outsiders to make the semi-final of a ranking tournament and with the guaranteed £34,500 that comes with it go a long way to wrapping up their World Grand Prix place when Liam Pullen takes on Daniel Wells.
As well as that incentive, both would have the chance to double their money were they to make the final should they come through this match so this is a huge encounter for both men. This is the first time Pullen has made the quarter final of a ranking event so it will be interesting to see how he handles the occasion. Wells has been here before but he won’t have been an odds on favourite at this stage of a tournament very often so that is an interesting dynamic on his card. Pullen is having the best season of his career which was kicked into life by a win over John Higgins in qualifying for this competition but he doesn’t really have many other big names on his CV. Wells had been running into deciding frame defeats to Chang Bingyu in the lead up to this event but three successive wins over Dave Gilbert, Si Jiahui and Robert Milkins in this tournament gives him the edge on form and with that, added to his experience, makes me think that the Welshman can come through here with a bit in hand.
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Evening Session
Shaun Murphy vs Ding Junhui
The pick of the quarter finals comes along on the main table in the evening session as the recent British Open winner Shaun Murphy takes on the Chinese superstar Ding Junhui in what should be a blockbuster last eight clash.
Murphy produced one of the performances of his career in the last round when he restricted Kyren Wilson to just six points in a one-sided 5-0 beating and off the back of winning the British Open, you sense that he is going to be hard to beat. Ding is always under pressure to deliver on home soil but he has come through four matches this week for the loss of just six frames and while his scoring hasn’t been as sustained or as heavy as that of Murphy, he has come through the draw with the minimum of fuss. Ding will need to hope that Murphy peaked against Wilson and he comes off of that level of form but that is perfectly possible. If it does then this could be a cracker which the Chinese player is capable of winning but given how well he has played over the last two weeks it is hard to side against Murphy. At odds on though I’m happy to let Murphy win if he is good enough.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Gary Wilson
The quarter final on the other table in the evening session will see two men who have already made a ranking event final this season battling it out for the right to compete to be in another when the Wuhan Open runner up Gary Wilson takes on the Saudi Masters finalist Ronnie O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan has been making noises about how he is enjoying how he is hitting the ball in the last month or so and why wouldn’t he after that showing in Saudi Arabia and in truth he looks like he has picked up where he left off. He has dropped just three frames in four matches to this point and looks like someone is going to need to play very well to get the better of him. Wilson is perfectly capable of that and his run to the final in Wuhan tells us that he is playing well and his 5-0 win over He Guoqiang in the previous round tells us that he is hitting the ball nicely so this has the potential to be a really good game. Wilson has got a win over O’Sullivan so he won’t lack for belief but this version of the Rocket looks to be going very well and it is hard to see him being beaten but the odds are more than reflective of that so I’ll take a watching brief for this one.
Tips
Back D.Wells (-1.5 frames) to beat L.Pullen for a 3/10 stake at 2.15 with Coral
