Baize Betting / Paul Krishnamurty / 16 December 2008 /

Paul Krishnamurty sees little chance for sliding Ebdon to claim the upper ground in his second round battle with Ali Carter.

There's no place in serious gambling for loyalty, so while Peter Ebdon did us a favour yesterday, he is confidently opposed in the next round with Ali Carter. Ebdon's comeback to deny Andrew Higginson in the deciding frame proves that he retains the steely determination and bottle that have served him so well in the past, but in truth he was up against a rather limited opponent. That was only Ebdon's second win of the season, and there remains little sign of a return to anywhere near his world-beating best. In fact, its quite possible we will never see it again.

Carter will be a much tougher opponent. He won the last big match between the pair comfortably, on his way to the world final back in May. Those Crucible heroics seem to have given Carter the confidence to take his game up a level, and he must surely land a long-overdue first title sooner rather than later. At present, he's vying for the title of 'best player yet to win a ranking tournament' with Ryan Day, another who seems to relentlessly reach the latter stages before failing close to the line.

That pair actually fought out a very high-standard semi-final in the Grand Prix, with Day winning 6-5 before underperforming in the final. On the basis of the form shown by Carter in those two recent big events, he looks a strong contender this week. And now that Mark Selby out, Ali certainly looks the man to beat in the second quarter.

Recommendation: Ali Carter @ [1.75]

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