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Nice quarter-final lineup, mostly top players, with a couple of outsiders thrown in. There was some really good snooker played today, and there is no reason why that shouldn't continue over the next three days. :smile:
Some thoughts about the matches...
Mark Selby v. Alan McManus: No real history between these two players, at least not since Selby's rise up the rankings around 2007. Both players are excellent tacticians, so it could be a good tactical match, although Selby seems to be in quite an attacking mood this week. He was able to close out his match against Liang with two centuries, after some scrappier snooker before the interval. He is a much stronger scorer on paper, so McManus will have to take the chances he gets. Tough to say how well McManus is playing, as this will be his first game on TV, but he has beaten a couple of strong players. This will be his first match against a really top player though... In any case, he has been looking quite good for a while now, so it's nice to see him in a QF again. Selby is quite a common presence in quarter-finals, but of course he is looking for the title here, his first major one of the season. He was favourite against Perry in the QF of the Welsh Open and lost, so I'm sure he will be even more motivated to do the business here. Selby to win 5-3.
Marco Fu v. Mark Joyce: No really memorable matches between these two either, which is understandable of course, as Joyce rarely finds himself in a big match like this. I think this is only his second major QF ever, so he is the outsider of these eight players. On one hand he doesn't really have much experience on the big stage, but on the other hand he is not really under pressure to do anything more in this tournament. He hasn't been on TV either, so no clue how well he is playing. We know Fu can sometimes struggle when he is the favourite, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a close match. He played really well in the first six frames against Robertson, making three centuries to lead 4-2, but it got a bit nervy after that. It was out of his hands a couple of times in the decider, so in a way he is lucky to have survived in the end. He is the better player here, so he should win, but he can't afford to take it for granted. Fu to win 5-3.
John Higgins v. Mark Allen: This is the one I'm looking forward to the most. Some great matches between these two in recent years, not least their WC semi-final in 2009, when Allen came back from a long way behind to almost draw level in the final session. They also played in this tournament last year, Allen winning 6-2. That was a very strong performance from him, as he needed very few visits to win the last four frames without Higgins potting a ball. Well, Higgins did something similar to Trump today. Ridiculously high-quality match with nine high breaks between them in nine frames, the decider being the only remotely close frame. It was arguably Higgins' best moment since the Shanghai Masters final last season (also against Trump), and that should give him some confidence for the rest of the tournament at least. With all of his class and experience he is always difficult to beat at the business end of tournaments. Allen is looking to win this tournament for the third time in a row, which would be quite a rare achievement in recent times. There are all kinds of things happening here, with the suspect table conditions and the crowd distractions, and while Allen does often complain about stuff like that, he can clearly handle it better than most. He has played pretty well in what I've seen of him so far, and he has quite a respectable record against Higgins, so it should be a cracking match. Higgins to win 5-3.
Shaun Murphy v. Graeme Dott: Battle of the former World champions... Murphy has dominated their recent meetings, including a very enjoyable match in the WC last year, with Murphy winning 13-11 in the 2nd round. He wasn't exactly flawless against Ding here. He won a couple of close frames early on to get in front, then held on to survive in the decider. He must be very determined to finally win another major title, having failed to do so in the last five years. He won some minor stuff in that time, including an invitational tournament in Brazil, where he beat Dott 5-0 in the final. Dott hasn't actually won anything major for even longer, but of course he hasn't had such a strong status in the game as Murphy. He has a chance to reach his second major SF of the season here, after the one in the International Championship. He is another player who hasn't been on TV yet, but looking at the stats, he seems to be playing pretty well, he finished the match against Un-Nooh with four high breaks. Murphy's level sometimes drops in the latter rounds of tournaments, which makes me think Dott could win, but then again, the head-to-head favours Murphy. Let's go with Murphy, 5-4. :smile:
Should be a good day. :smile:
Welcome, sir. :smile:
Some thoughts about the matches...
Mark Selby v. Alan McManus: No real history between these two players, at least not since Selby's rise up the rankings around 2007. Both players are excellent tacticians, so it could be a good tactical match, although Selby seems to be in quite an attacking mood this week. He was able to close out his match against Liang with two centuries, after some scrappier snooker before the interval. He is a much stronger scorer on paper, so McManus will have to take the chances he gets. Tough to say how well McManus is playing, as this will be his first game on TV, but he has beaten a couple of strong players. This will be his first match against a really top player though... In any case, he has been looking quite good for a while now, so it's nice to see him in a QF again. Selby is quite a common presence in quarter-finals, but of course he is looking for the title here, his first major one of the season. He was favourite against Perry in the QF of the Welsh Open and lost, so I'm sure he will be even more motivated to do the business here. Selby to win 5-3.
Marco Fu v. Mark Joyce: No really memorable matches between these two either, which is understandable of course, as Joyce rarely finds himself in a big match like this. I think this is only his second major QF ever, so he is the outsider of these eight players. On one hand he doesn't really have much experience on the big stage, but on the other hand he is not really under pressure to do anything more in this tournament. He hasn't been on TV either, so no clue how well he is playing. We know Fu can sometimes struggle when he is the favourite, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a close match. He played really well in the first six frames against Robertson, making three centuries to lead 4-2, but it got a bit nervy after that. It was out of his hands a couple of times in the decider, so in a way he is lucky to have survived in the end. He is the better player here, so he should win, but he can't afford to take it for granted. Fu to win 5-3.
John Higgins v. Mark Allen: This is the one I'm looking forward to the most. Some great matches between these two in recent years, not least their WC semi-final in 2009, when Allen came back from a long way behind to almost draw level in the final session. They also played in this tournament last year, Allen winning 6-2. That was a very strong performance from him, as he needed very few visits to win the last four frames without Higgins potting a ball. Well, Higgins did something similar to Trump today. Ridiculously high-quality match with nine high breaks between them in nine frames, the decider being the only remotely close frame. It was arguably Higgins' best moment since the Shanghai Masters final last season (also against Trump), and that should give him some confidence for the rest of the tournament at least. With all of his class and experience he is always difficult to beat at the business end of tournaments. Allen is looking to win this tournament for the third time in a row, which would be quite a rare achievement in recent times. There are all kinds of things happening here, with the suspect table conditions and the crowd distractions, and while Allen does often complain about stuff like that, he can clearly handle it better than most. He has played pretty well in what I've seen of him so far, and he has quite a respectable record against Higgins, so it should be a cracking match. Higgins to win 5-3.
Shaun Murphy v. Graeme Dott: Battle of the former World champions... Murphy has dominated their recent meetings, including a very enjoyable match in the WC last year, with Murphy winning 13-11 in the 2nd round. He wasn't exactly flawless against Ding here. He won a couple of close frames early on to get in front, then held on to survive in the decider. He must be very determined to finally win another major title, having failed to do so in the last five years. He won some minor stuff in that time, including an invitational tournament in Brazil, where he beat Dott 5-0 in the final. Dott hasn't actually won anything major for even longer, but of course he hasn't had such a strong status in the game as Murphy. He has a chance to reach his second major SF of the season here, after the one in the International Championship. He is another player who hasn't been on TV yet, but looking at the stats, he seems to be playing pretty well, he finished the match against Un-Nooh with four high breaks. Murphy's level sometimes drops in the latter rounds of tournaments, which makes me think Dott could win, but then again, the head-to-head favours Murphy. Let's go with Murphy, 5-4. :smile:
Should be a good day. :smile:
Originally Posted by priit
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