Friday sees the quarter-finals of the English Open played at Brentwood, with a real clash of the titans taking place at lunchtime between Neil Robertson and Mark Williams.
Robertson came into this tournament as the defending champion after his final-frame decider against John Higgins 12 months ago, scooping the prize by a scoreline of 9-8.
It’s the latest in the Home Nations Series, with Mark Allen having won the Northern Ireland Open on home territory, while Gary Wilson scooped his first ranking title in the Scottish Open earlier this month.
The Thunder From Down Under has beaten Lei Peifan, Elliot Slessor and Ryan Day to get to the last eight, while Williams has secured wins against Dominic Dale, Matt Selt, and Barry Hawkins.
In terms of the format, there is a slightly extended match ahead for the pair on Friday, with a best-of-nine game determining the winner.
English Open Day 5 Betting Tips
- Neil Robertson to win @ 1/2
- Three centuries to be scored @ 5/1
Neil Robertson to win @ 1/2
Aside from his first game against Chinese hopeful Lei, the 40-year-old has enjoyed relatively serene progress in the tournament so far.
It is a tournament in which he has enjoyed plenty of success since its introduction to the snooker calendar in the 2016-17 season.
He reached the final in 2020 before narrowly losing 9-8 to Judd Trump, but then went one better a year later.
Robertson has also made the semi-finals in two of his last three ranking events and is a man in form heading into January’s Masters.
Seeded number one, he takes on the Welsh Potting Machine Mark Williams, who continues to go strong in his 30th year as a professional.
However, it has now been just over a year since his last tournament win, though a smattering of quarter-final and semi-final appearances mean he is still fairly high up in the rankings.
Williams does unfortunately have a wretched record against Robertson – the Aussie has won 20 of their meetings, with the Welshman tasting victory just six times.
The last three have gone the way of Robertson and he might just prove too strong on this occasion.
Three centuries to be scored @ 5/1
Players of the quality of these two are always likely to be excellent break-builders, so a high-quality contest is to be expected.
Both have been cueing very well so far and they have managed a hat-trick of centuries apiece.
All of Williams’ have been at least 130 points, while Robertson has knocked in totals of 130, 122, and 110.
Robertson in particular is noted for his long-potting ability and once he gets into the flow of a frame, he is pretty hard to stop.
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