If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Higgins hasn't been at his very best so far. It's been his usual solid and dependable game, with good tactics and some great little breaks when it matters. That kind of game is usually enough to win him matches, except when he meets someone who is really in form. I don't think there is such a player this week, so Higgins is the favourite for me at this point. Can Carter stop him? Well, no real fireworks from him either, but he does seem to be making a lot of handy breaks over 50. He now has two titles to his name, so he knows how to win these matches. Having said that, he won the two finals against real outsiders, but mostly failed to perform against the top players in the past. He was outclassed in last year's final, which was his only notable match against Higgins in recent years. I expect a closer match today, and I will be interested to see if Carter has enough firepower to win it. I've predicted Higgins to win 6-4.
The other match is perhaps an even more interesting prospect. They don't seem to be playing each other that often, but two previous clashes do stand out. The more recent one is their 2nd round clash at the UK, for some ridiculous reason a non-televised match, so I can't really draw any conclusion from that. The result was close though, Maguire winning 9-7. Their other notable match was in last year's Masters, where Selby was the winner. It wasn't a surprise at the time, as Selby was playing really well, while Maguire scrapped through a fairly easy quarter. What about this time? I suppose you could say it's been a scrap for Selby this week. He played a couple of tough players, with the balls going awkward in many frames. It's not surprising to see him win matches like that, but it would be a surprise if he won the tournament in this style. Maguire is not at the top of his game either, but the win over Williams is sure to give him confidence. He made a couple of breaks where he had to play some difficult pressure pots, he just needs to play like that consistently, rather than only in one or two frames. I've predicted Maguire to win 6-4 here.
Comment