World Snooker Quarter-Final Preview: Back imperious Robertson to trounce Higgins

Paul Krishnamurty
30 April 2019

Neil Robertson is in imperious form

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Fresh off making 16.5 units profit on the last round, Paul Krishnamurty previews all four quarter-finals...

"If the Aussie has his scoring boots on early, I can see Higgins' head going down. Even money about him beating the 2.5 Frame Handicap is my best bet among the quarters."

Back Neil Robertson to win the 2.5 Frame Handicap 8u @ Evs

Heading into the quarter-finals, Neil Robertson and Judd Trump dominate the betting at 3.185/40 apiece. As two of the trio that have dominated the season, a meet in the final would vindicate the formbook and the former is playing particularly well.

The Aussie, however, will be well aware that the World Championship is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are only halfway. The best player during the first week rarely wins the title.

It is perfectly logical that momentum and form will shift. Lasting more than three weeks including qualifiers and multiple sessions per match, this effectively amounts to multiple tournaments. In any regular season, back to back tournament winners are rare.

Carter unappealing at short odds

For Ali Carter and Gary Wilson, this will be their sixth match. The latter has had two days off though and that could prove significant. Ali started slowly in the last round and pre-match odds of 1.558/15 make no appeal whatsoever.

Nor in truth has he played that well so far, failing to register a single ton. Carter progressed by utilising his experience against two opponents lacking ringcraft. Wilson has plenty of experience, if not on a stage like this.

He coped admirably well with the pressure in seeing off Mark Selby, more than holding his own in the safety department. I see no reason why Wilson can't continue his run and at least keep things close enough to beat the 2.5 Frame Handicap.

Wilson is a major threat to all

If anyone is going to gatecrash the Trump/Robertson final, Kyren Wilson is the prime candidate. The 'Warrior' absolutely lived up to his name with a magnificent comeback from 6-1 down to Barry Hawkins, knocking in two nerveless tons at the death.

No player has emerged since Mark Selby to look so suited to the Crucible and these long, tense matches. He has bottle galore.

Take absolutely nothing away from Gilbert, who did us proud against Mark Williams, but this is a tougher challenge. He lost 9-7 when they met in the German Masters final and I expect a similar scenario. Backing Wilson to win by correct scores ranging from 13-10 to 13-12.

Robertson to overwhelm Higgins

For all the caveats about maintaining form, I remain firmly in the Robertson camp. This run didn't start last week - this is his fifth excellent tournament in a row. Besides Wilson and Trump, I don't see anyone getting close to him.

That includes four-time champion John Higgins, who is defying my expectations for a third world championship in succession. Whilst he has proven again that we should never write him off, he's been way below Robbo all year.

If the Aussie has his scoring boots on early, I can see Higgins' head going down. Even money about him beating the 2.5 Frame Handicap is my best bet among the quarters and let's also try a cheap correct score combo on 13-4, 13-5 and 13-6.

Don't rule out Maguire yet

Finally Trump takes on Stephen Maguire, whom we're already holding a small outright bet on. The plan there is to leave it for at least another round before covering.

If the Scot plays anything like the first two rounds, Trump will win without needing to be at his best. Don't, however, underestimate the fact Maguire has had two days off. He has always been incredibly inconsistent and capable of producing world-class stuff from nowhere.

Interestingly Maguire only trails Trump 10-9 in their career head-to-head and won their most recent encounter. Given that Trump hasn't played anywhere near his best yet, there are plenty of reasons to run a mile from odds of just 1.261/4 to win the match.