/ Paul Krishnamurty / 17 March 2012 /

Paul Krishnamurty assesses the last eight for betting value ahead of the action in Galway

3u Stephen Maguire @ [1.66] to beat Ricky Walden
The first of today's quarter-finals, all of which are available on Betfair's live video service, has the potential to be a classic if these two extremely talented players bring their 'A games' to the table, and the most recent evidence bodes well in that regard. Ricky Walden opened this event in the best possible style by thrashing Matthew Stevens 4-0, his first form since reaching the UK Championship semi-final in December, before getting lucky with a bye through the previous round after Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew.

Maguire was less impressive in coming from 4-2 down to beat Mark Davis, but thoroughly deserves favouritism on his wider 2012 form. He won the previous PTC event and has maintained that impressive form during ranking events, particularly when producing some this season's very best snooker en route to a narrow defeat in the German Masters at the hands of Ronnie O'Sullivan. Though ultimately known as an under-achiever, 'On Fire Maguire' is beginning to live up to his old nickname and looks a strong candidate this weekend.

2u Stephen Lee @ [3.0] to beat Mark Selby
If you're looking to back an upset today, this could be the one. World number one Selby predictably starts as hot favourite, but Lee should not be under-estimated having recently found his best form in several years. Lee's last three ranking events have seen him lose a semi-final 6-4 to O'Sullivan, a quarter-final 5-4 to Ding Junhui in extremely unlucky fashion, and then reach the final of the World Open.

This week in Galway, he's already registered two comfortable 4-1 wins against capable, in-form opponents. Furthermore the short format should narrow the gap between these two. Selby's greatest strength lies in grinding out wins over long matches, but he has often been a slow starter over the years. In contrast, all of Lee's best form has come in one-session affairs.

4u Andrew Higginson @ [1.75] to beat Xiao Guodong
This draw offers two of snooker's lesser lights a rare moment in the limelight and chance of a big payday. Guodong's progress this week, his best professional effort to date in five years on the circuit, is all the more remarkable because he's been playing with a broken hand this week! His defeat of Judd Trump in the last round represented a huge shock, and while the Juddernaut performed well below par, the Chinese star did well enough in the breakbuilding department to warrant respect. So for that matter did Higginson, who knocked in breaks of 120, 95 and 83 to edge out Jamie Jones in a 4-3 thriller last night.

There will be enormous pressure in play here, given the significance of ranking points to both men, which leads me to think big-match experience could be the key. Higginson has reached a ranking final before, and acquitted himself with credit on that occasion, so rates the pick at [1.75].

2u Joe Perry @ [2.9] to beat Neil Robertson
In most circumstances and certainly on paper, Robertson would rate an overwhelming favourite for this match against his practice partner, but there are mitigating circumstances. The Melbourne Machine hasn't been at his best since winning the Masters in January, and was the first to admit he'd struggled through the last round. A repeat performance would give Perry, for whom this is a much more important match given his rankings decline, a sporting chance. Provisionally down at number 25, 'Gentleman Joe' has nonetheless thrived in these PTCs, reaching two finals including the last one in Germany and scored pretty well to eliminate the dangerous Graeme Dott in the last round.

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