What a cracking line-up we have! Six of the top eight players of the world reside here as well as two qualifiers. Five player have lifted the World Championship trophy before. We have a few Englishmen, a Welshman, a Scotsman, an Australian and a chap from Norway. Whatever next?
As always, World Snooker Tour provide the rankings of all players after the 2020 Tour Championship. The H2H records are taken from Cuetracker, excluding Championship League and Snooker Shoot-Out.
DRAW
Judd Trump (1) vs. Kyren Wilson (8)
H2H: Wilson is leading Trump 7-5.
Last Meeting: 2020 Gibraltar Open (Trump winning 4-3).
The defending champion is dodging many bullets in this World Championship! Despite his below-par performances, he soldiered on to the quarter-finals in a very Selby-esque fashion. Trump defeated the admirable and tenacious Yan Bingtao 13-11, despite being 5-2 down and close to being 6-2 down. His 127-break that won him the match was very nice indeed.
Judd was quick to point out that his slow start was similar to when he was behind against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Ding Junhui in last year’s World Championship. But Trump’s performances must improve. He shouldn’t be relying on coming back from behind again throughout this tournament. Especially against the likes of Kyren Wilson.
It was hard to know whether Wilson benefited or was hampered by the lack of match practice after Anthony Hamilton’s withdrawal. But Wilson made ten half-centuries and two centuries against Martin Gould. One highlight was winning a frame to thwart a late fightback from Gould, despite needing three snookers. Wilson enjoys this event because of his ‘never say die’ attitude and has reached the quarter-final stage every year since 2016.
The hatchet between the two has been buried after their tiny spat a couple of years ago. Both players will see this as a huge opportunity now, especially since they are guaranteed to meet a qualifier in the semi-finals. I can’t see Trump winning against Kyren if he’s played like he did against Yan. Trump stated that his best form will emerge after two scrappy performances. Even if that does, will Kyren stand strong enough in his way? It will be a tight finish, but I fear this might be the end of the road for Judd.
Prediction: Wilson to win 13-10.
Kurt Maflin (43) vs. Anthony McGill (39)
H2H: Maflin is leading McGill 3-2.
Last Meeting: 2016 Paul Hunter Classic (Maflin winning 4-3).
The Norwegian is on an amazing run, isn’t he?
Maflin raised the bar after his victory over David Gilbert. Not many believed Maflin would beat someone who reached the World Championship final in the last three years. Both Maflin and Higgins played exceptionally well but the better man won, beating Higgins 13-11. Despite Higgins stealing at least four frames from him, Maflin showed to be very composed. That match is the best of the tournament for me and was very high-quality.
I can’t say the same for the quality of the opposing tie. But it was engrossing. Anthony McGill has shown fantastic temperament to come back from 8-2 down to lead 11-10, then to force the decider on the black and finally to put a very tenacious opponent away. His fantastic safety game and Crucible experience was valuable to get to the quarter-finals.
But this is where I will get critical here. McGill’s pot success was at just 85%. His highest break was only 78. He would’ve lost any other Last 16 tie with those stats. Obviously the match was incredibly tense. Tempers flared, words were exchanged, concentration was lost and tweets were sent. Quite frankly, I hope to hear little of that for the rest of the tournament now.
Back to this quarter-final, McGill’s duel against Jamie Clarke finished past midnight. He will start the match against Maflin completely knackered. Maflin is one of the most in-form players and will be very confident. I predict a comfortable win for the Norwegian.
Prediction: Maflin to win 13-5.
Mark Williams (3) vs. Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
H2H: O’Sullivan is leading Williams 30-8, excluding 3 draws.
Last Meeting: 2017 Shanghai Masters (O’Sullivan winning 5-1).
In his post-match interview, Mark Williams said that some who might doubt his form cannot doubt his bottle. Williams proved it in his match against Stuart Bingham. From 6-6 the two players weren’t more than one frame apart from each other until Williams finished Bull-run off by winning 13-11. Despite his fun commentary on Twitter about his performance, Williams will be hoping to cut out the easy misses for the next match. Considering Williams will be more relaxed about his future, form and aspirations, he is a very dangerous player to compete against.
Ding Junhui had threatened Ronnie O’Sullivan for most of the match, but O’Sullivan’s touch and long-game proved too much for Ding. O’Sullivan’s play around the cluster of reds is almost as good as it can be and he is fast and intimidating around the table as usual. But he has missed a few blacks off the spot and there are enough chinks in his armour. Has Ronnie peaked too early I wonder? Also, he still doesn’t like Crawley.
Williams won’t be fazed by O’Sullivan’s demeanour. In his interview Williams said he wants to play him and he is the sort of person that will give Ronnie problems. However, Ronnie has a very strong H2H record against him. Both miss easy balls but Ronnie is the more in-form person of the two. I can’t see Ronnie taking this match lightly though.
Prediction: O’Sullivan to win 13-7.
Mark Selby (7) vs. Neil Robertson (2)
H2H: Robertson is leading Selby 10-7.
Last Meeting: 2019 Tour Championship (Robertson winning 9-8).
Mark Selby performed much better in the Last 16 and he needed to. After Noppon Saengkham defeated No. 10 seed Shaun Murphy, Noppon played out of his skin against Selby in a high-quality match. There were 15 half centuries and 5 centuries between them! But whatever questions Noppon asked, Selby answered with a cool 127 break in the deciding frame 13-12.
Knowing Selby, he is going to get stronger and stronger. This is the furthest he’s reached in the World Championship since 2017 when he ended up winning the event. We all know he loves long matches and he is dangerously getting his confidence back with the help of coach Chris Henry.
Neil Robertson has no choice but to choose a hellish route to the final. First Liang Wenbo, then Barry Hawkins and now Mark Selby. Robertson was disciplined and his shot selection was top drawer. It looks like the Robertson we expected to see at the Crucible. But we thought that way last year and he was beaten by John Higgins in the quarter-finals.
Everyone has recollections of the pair’s semi-final tie in 2014. Selby’s 17-15 victory is still regarded as one of the greatest semi-final performances in Crucible history. But who will win? Both players are playing well and getting more confident. But I will side with Robertson, just.
Prediction: Robertson to win 13-11.
