2015 Betfred World Snooker Championship

[donsajid]

I've seen Robbo do this before though. Bit like Macguire in that respect. Plays all his best stuff early on and then as the tournament develops, finds he has burned himself out.

[Odrl]

What a lovely quarter-final line-up we have, the best since at least 2011, if not longer. All the favourites apart from Selby have made it, we have 6 of the top8 seeds, another strong top16 player, and a qualifier who has played some great snooker to get here.

Shaun Murphy v. Anthony McGill: I am quite excited about this one. McGill has had a great run so far, and it will be interesting to see how far he can go. Michael White was outclassed by Walden when he reached the quarter-finals in 2013, Jamie Jones lost narrowly the year before, and Murphy of course went all the way in 2005, so you can never really tell. McGill hasn't really shown any weakness yet, he outplayed Selby in every department and he seemed to get stronger and stronger towards the end of their match, not letting the pressure get to him at all. His shot selection is very mature, he can get in with long pots, and his scoring is quite good as well. If he plays like he did against Selby, I think he has every chance against Murphy as well. Murphy has not been tested at all so far, so perhaps he goes into this match a little less sharp than he would have wanted, but experience is definitely on his side, and I would expect him to slowly play himself into the match. His attitude is the same as it was in the Masters, going for everything that is potable, and they are mostly going in, but he is not scoring as heavily this time. He is missing from short range quite often, so he needs to raise his game a little to have a chance of winning this tournament. The last time these two played was in the China Open this month, and McGill wasted a great chance in the decider, Murphy winning 5-4 in the end. I have a feeling experience will prevail here, so I will go for Murphy to win 13-10.

Neil Robertson v. Barry Hawkins: This has not been a common pairing over the years, but Robertson has won the few times they've met in the major events, most recently in the semi-finals of the Wuxi Classic this season. It's nice to see Hawkins back to good form, his potting and breakbuilding got stronger and stronger towards the end of his match against Allen, and he got over the line with only a little wobble. This is his third Crucible quarter-final in a row, and he won the previous two, so he is now quite experienced in this situation. He is up against it though. I think Robertson is the tournament favourite at this point, as long as he continues to play like he did in his first two matches. He has already made 7 centuries here, and I reckon he will get somewhere close to the record even if he goes out before the final. His concentration has been exemplary so far, giving every shot and every frame his full attention, and it's resulted in two comfortable wins. I just hope he doesn't peak too early again though, like quite a few times recently. I think he is slightly superior to Hawkins in every element of the game, and his scoring is unrivalled at the moment, so I will go for Robertson to win 13-8.

Ding Junhui v. Judd Trump: The match of the round for me. Their semi-final here in 2011 was one of the best Crucible matches of the last decade, so hopefully they can reproduce some of that magic. It's interesting that they have only really met in one big match since, even though they are of similar age and both near the top of the rankings. It was in the final of the German Masters last season, where Trump took the early lead but lost a key frame towards the end of the first session, and Ding hit him with a series of big breaks in the evening to take the title fairly comfortably. I don't think there is any psychological edge either way, so I think this match will come down to current form. Ding needed some time to get going in both of his previous matches, but once he found his form he looked quite good. Against Higgins he made a couple of crucial clearances from behind, and he seemed to win all of the really important frames. He plays the game with great finesse and usually scores very heavily, but he is a slow starter and still a little inconsistent, so he could find himself on the back foot early on. Trump has impressed me at times as well, he was unplayable for a couple of frames against Fu, going for all kinds of crazy shots and getting them, but unfortunately he got a little carried away and almost let Fu back into the match. Hopefully he has learned from that, because Ding is the kind of player who could really punish him. I think this will be a close game with a few momentum shifts along the way, but I think Trump has a little more firepower at the moment, so I will go for Trump to win 13-11.

Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Stuart Bingham: Probably the least interesting match for me. As I said before the tournament started, O'Sullivan very rarely loses when he has a strong psychological advantage over his opponent. To be fair to Bingham, he has played some good matches against O'Sullivan in the past, beating him in the UK Championship on a couple of occasions, but overall his record is still pretty poor. In the UK Championship this season Bingham led 4-1 and had great chances to close out the match, but it looked like he got scared of winning a little and ended up losing 6-5, even though O'Sullivan struggled for most of the match. Last month in the World Grand Prix their match was more one-sided, O'Sullivan winning 6-0 after a shocking display from Bingham. History aside, Bingham has played quite well in his first two matches here, but he plays the kind of game that suits O'Sullivan, very open and fluent, and it will be tough for him to beat O'Sullivan over three sessions. O'Sullivan has also played well in patches, but he has shown some weakness at times, and he hasn't really been pushed yet, so it will be interesting to see how he responds when he is put under pressure. O'Sullivan to win 13-7.

It should be a great couple of days. :smile:

[sharkster63]

If ding goes 4 - 0 down in first session and comes back to win, it will make allot of poeple realize is skill....

[Leo]

Just as long as Hawkins beat Robertson 'll be happy.

[brook]

Just as long as Hawkins beat Robinson I'll be happy.

No way. Robertson is better.

[Chappy5]

Just as long as Hawkins beat Robinson I'll be happy.

Who the hell is Robinson??

Anyway my heart wants Neil to win as he is an Aussie but my wallet wants McGill to go through and win it also! 87-1 after he beat McGuire was to good to refuse and i did have a decent dabble at it. McGill has halved that price now after beating Selby on most markets and i think he has what it takes.

Sensational games/matchups we have coming up and i cannot wait!!

Ding beating Trump would just be divine and make me very happy.

[brook]

I don't think he will go back to the old ways. It's okay to get pissed off now and again. He looks very very fit at the moment. He want to win, don't worry about that.

Yes he wants but could he? He is not the best in the game now, and when he was he blew it like in 2005.

[Chappy5]

Right. Finally got the family TV to myself and am currently watching a Ronnie vs Mathew game. It's 6-3 to Ronnie at the mo. I hope it becomes a closer match.

I'm also enjoying a couple of pints of Hobgoblin which I can thoroughly recommend.

Hobgoblin Ale is the BEST!!!!!!! I LOVEEEEE it.

Just so damn expensive here in Australia and over $80 Aussie dollars for a dozen which is around 40 pounds for you guys. Grrrrrr and our normal/local beers are on average $40 for a slab of 24 bottles.

[cebs]

Got six out of eight right for my quarter winners, nice.

Got Ronnie to make back to back centuries for 2-1, that is almost a sure thing in matches this long.

No accumulators came in yet but still got Ding at 17-1 each way to win.

I am going for McGill, Robertson, O'sullivan and..... Close call but Ding.

On night shifts the rest of this week after today so will finally get to see some daytime action.

Love the business end of this event.

[ronniex]

In order for God to cruise to his 6th title only the pale vegan must lose ASAP.

[gavpowell]

In order for God to cruise to his 6th title only the pale vegan must lose ASAP.

Don't get too cocky - last year several people said he'd have no trouble with Selby because he'd thrashed him in the Masters.

[ghost121]

At this stage of the tournament Robertson the robot is showing the most solid form. Even now it's impossible to predict which Ronnie will turn up, he's still just as crazy as ever, only Steve Peters has given him a mask to wear. Manchild Trump will probably edge Ding, so I think it's one of those three who will lift the trophy. Personally, I would like to see either McGill or Ding win it, but I can't see it happening.

[Chappy5]

Murphy in fine form and does not even look like missing.

This will be McGill's biggest test ever even over 25 frames, 1 miss and Murphy is just keeping him sitting as he goes on his merry way which will be making McGill second guess himself and maybe take him away from his natural game.

A Whitewash one sided BS match is hardly what anyone is wanting.

[trains]

Didn't that bloke sitting next to Murphy have a Leeds Utd shirt on the other day ? :-|

[Neil Taperell]

Coventry shirt i think it is ............Coventry Brian