Originally Posted by DeanH
View Post
-
Is it just me, I am watching both matches, there does seem to be more bad-contacts and pingy cushions compared to the whole day yesterday - table temperature? :biggrin:Leave a comment:
-
I might be wrong but it looks like the pockets in this tournament have been easier than in some of the other tournaments this season. For example in the third frame in Selby vs Higgins, Selby rattled one red in that looked like a miss and so did John (first pot of the match for John). Any thoughts?
And hopefully John can win this fourth frame and keep this match alive.
Leave a comment:
-
Well, Selby now making one or two mistakes. So this could become a match.Leave a comment:
-
Selby is a tough guy to play against when he's off. When he's on like this, good luck.Leave a comment:
-
Btw anyone know a keyboard combo for the snookerplayer gif emoji thingie?
On the mobile website there's no emojies available...Leave a comment:
-
Great write-up as usual Odrl.
Higgins needs to get in...fast. Selby seems very focused and on his game right from the start.Leave a comment:
-
Right, quarter-finals day today... The line-up is quite interesting. We have lost a few of the top players, but quite a few of them are still here, with a couple of surprises thrown in as well. Let's see what we have...
Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Mark Williams: Probably the easiest match to call. I have been quite pessimistic about Williams' chances throughout the season, so it's been a pleasant surprise to see him reaching the quarter-finals in Belfast and again this week. He did mostly play outsiders, but he also had to beat Ricky Walden, which is never an easy draw. He hasn't had a lot of luck (or nerve?) in deciders in recent times, but this week he has survived two nervy ones. Unfortunately he now meets the one player he never seems to beat... O'Sullivan is probably playing his best snooker of the season here. In his first couple of matches he scored really well, winning most of his frames in one visit. He wasn't as inspired against Stevens, but he still won very comfortably. I think the main reason Williams struggles against O'Sullivan is that he is a very fast and fluent player himself these days, and he seems to have no interest in slowing down his pace or adjusting his shot selection against O'Sullivan. Instead he plays the kind of game that leaves a lot of chances, which can quickly become a disaster against O'Sullivan. The last time they played was in the Masters at the beginning of the year, O'Sullivan only winning 6-5, and I seem to remember an ill-advised plant Williams went for in the decider that probably cost him the match. Williams did beat O'Sullivan in the International Championship two years ago, and that was his first major win over O'Sullivan in something like 12 years. Can he do it again today? Well, O'Sullivan has been very concentrated and disciplined all week, and I think his game on the table is a class above Williams' at this point in time, so I will go for O'Sullivan to win 6-2.
Marco Fu v. Jamie Jones: These two have played a few times in the past, but this is by far their most important meeting to date, and also the first time they meet outside of China. This is Fu's first notable run of the season, after struggling badly since the World Championship. His draw has been very favourable though, no opponents ranked higher that 52nd, and he probably couldn't have asked for an easier quarter-final opponent than Jones on paper. But the thing with Fu is, he often does well against the top players and struggles against outsiders, so I wouldn't necessarily make him a big favourite here. Jones has played quite solidly this week. He struggles badly with inconsistency, this being his first run to the business end of a major event since Australia 18 months ago, but when on form he can be quite formidable, and certainly a stronger player than his ranking suggests. This should be another fairly open and high-scoring game, and I will go for experience to prevail. Fu to win 6-4.
Shaun Murphy v. Luca Brecel: A repeat of their quarter-final here in 2012, which Murphy won 6-5. Brecel was a surprising quarter-finalist then, and after his recent struggles with form, I think it's fair to say he is a surprise this week as well. He has beaten Murphy in both of their matches in 2016, so he won't be afraid of him here, but this is a somewhat bigger stage... I thought Murphy probably played the best snooker of anyone in the last16, completely dominating his match against Zhou Yuelong after the interval, including a couple of nice breaks from a very difficult position. He is the opposite case to Fu is some ways, he has quite a poor recent record against most of the top players, but he doesn't often lose against the lower-ranked players at the business end of tournaments. Like the previous two pairs, this should be an open and attacking game, but I think Murphy is in the mood to take the chances Brecel will inevitably leave him, and I will go for Murphy to win 6-3.
Mark Selby v. John Higgins: By far the most interesting pairing for me. These two players have had a great rivalry over the years, but since the match has already started now, I have no time to reminisce about all the great matches they have played. I will only mention the last big one, in the International Championship last season when we all expected a great match, but it finished in a disappointingly comfortable victory for Higgins, 9-4. I think their form has been quite similar this week, so I would expect them to give us a closer match this time. They have both won a couple of events this season, so the confidence is there, the form is there, and of course the class and the experience is there as well. Higgins did show some frustration in a couple of his matches this week though, when things were not going his way, so I think he has put himself under pressure to succeed this week, while Selby seems to be pretty immune to that sort of thing. That's why I will go for Selby to prevail today. It could very well be another open and attacking game, but of course these two are capable of playing a brilliant tactical match as well, so it should be great viewing however it goes. Selby to win 6-5.
Should be a good day of snooker. :smile:Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: