We have four mouth-watering quarter-final ties to look forward to after eight fantastic matches.
I have done many predictions since I started this blog. Most of them aren’t perfect but this time has been pretty terrible. Looking at my previous Masters preview, I got three winners and one scoreline correct. Even though I don’t my previous too seriously, follow the below at your peril!
DRAW
Please note that the head-to-head records (H2H) will exclude results from the Snooker Shoot-Out and the Championship League. Data found according to CueTracker.
Stuart Bingham (1) vs. Shaun Murphy (8)
H2H: Murphy is leading Bingham 6-4 and one draw.
Last Meeting: 2016 China Championship (Bingham winning 9-8).
Bingham started his defence quite well against debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Then he dreamt of his ninth maximum of his career and he was punished quite extensively after failing to do that. Un-Nooh reeled off three frames in a row but Bingham held off the Thai’s fightback at 6-4.
Shaun Murphy beat Mark Williams 6-4 in an excellent tie. Apart from one ranking semi-final, Murphy hasn’t done much last year but it seems he has put a horrible 2020 behind him. He performed very well and his attacking play was superb. It was great to see his silky cue action and smooth screwbacks again. That steal in the final frame was decent too.
Based on current form this event, I think Shaun Murphy will reach the semi-finals. It’s amazing how people still underestimate Bingham’s prowess and scoring-ability but if Murphy performs like he did against Williams, I fancy the Magician to take his chance.
Prediction: Murphy to win 6-4.
Stephen Maguire (9) vs. Yan Bingtao (12)
H2H: Maguire is leading Yan 3-0.
Last Meeting: 2018 English Open (Maguire winning 4-2).
Both Stephen Maguire and Yan Bingtao convincingly beat favourites Mark Selby and Neil Robertson respectively.
Maguire’s long potting and break-building was excellent. Considering his poor form and failure to adapt in Milton Keynes, he played well. Five +50 breaks isn’t too shabby. But Maguire did make some mistakes and Selby did not punish him enough, especially when among the balls. Selby wasn’t great across the board but Maguire was by far the deserved winner.
Yan produced the biggest surprise of the tournament by beating the in-form Robertson. The Australian was full of praise for the 20-year-old Chinese player, comparing him to Steve Davis at his prime. Yan may not score as much as Zhou Yuelong, may not be as flashy as Zhao Xintong but he is tighter and more patient. Even so, 51, 64, 65 and 123 in the match while coming back from 5-3 down is pretty good going.
Maguire achieved comfortable victories over Yan but strangely, I will plop for Yan. Because Yan’s game is more confident than Maguire and is still playing under less pressure than Maguire.
Prediction: Yan to win 6-3.
David Gilbert (13) vs. Kyren Wilson (6)
H2H: Wilson and Gilbert are level pegging at 2-2.
Last Meeting: 2019 6-Reds World Championship (Gilbert winning 6-4).
Both David Gilbert and Kyren Wilson had a slight advantage as their opponents were called up at the very last minute.
Gilbert scored five +50 breaks and he was assisted by a rusty Joe Perry. Though Perry clawed back two frames from 5-0 down, it was too little, too late. This was Gilbert’s best performance considering how poor his season has been so far. He mentioned that he struggled with his confidence and it is a question to for how long can he keep that going.
Kyren defeated Gary Wilson by the same scoreline of 6-2. Gary suffered from a few confidence issues from his performances in the Championship league earlier this year. But Kyren has been his usual tidy self to polish him off. Not only that, Kyren scored two centuries including the highest break of the tournament so far (136).
Gilbert won the last two meetings in their H2H, which includes his famous 13-8 win in the 2019 World Championship. I believe Kyren Wilson will take this match.
Prediction: Kyren Wilson to win 6-4.
John Higgins (7) vs. Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
H2H: O’Sullivan is leading Higgins 34-28 and one draw.
Last Meeting: 2019 Champion of Champions (O’Sullivan winning 6-3).
John Higgins came through a nail-biter against Mark Allen. He held off a fightback from Allen, who forced a decider from 5-3 behind. Higgins controlled most of the match in his style but near the end of the match a few mistakes started to creep in. But he has the bottle to stick in there when he needs to. Higgins always has that quality.
Ronnie O’Sullivan didn’t do a lot wrong before he found himself 5-3 down to Ding Junhui. Despite Ronnie making a 60 and two centuries, Ding was playing very well indeed. But Ding had a hatful of chances to but the match to bed but crumbled towards the end. Ronnie’s strong mental strength pulled him over the line to win the match with breaks of 73 and 85 in the highest-quality match of the first round.
Based on form alone Ronnie would win it. Even ignoring the H2H record, Ronnie has beaten Higgins the last three times. Just enjoy it! Higgins will come in as the underdog and he needs to play slightly better than against Allen. But I can’t wait to watch it as this is without a doubt the match of the round.
Prediction: O’Sullivan to win 6-3.
