Quarterfinals at UK snooker championship. Vladimir Sinitsin’s prediction

At last some progression has been made. One of the two of yesterday’s accumulators came good. The odds were 2.40.

Let’s have a look at quarterfinals. There’s an Asian derby. Liang Wenbo vs Marco Fu. Fu’s got a 2-0 advantage in personal encounters. He’s a clear favourite, and the odds are correspond to that – 1.57 for him to win.

Another match pits Neil Robertson against John Higgins. According to bookies, Neil is an undisputed favourite. They think that the credulous audience that watched yesterday’s matches will think that Robertson will crush Higgins. It’s unlikely to happen. Neil’s got higher official ratings – he’s 3^rd against John’s 7^th place. But according to the current rankings, Higgins is higher now. The four-time world champion also has advantage in personal matches 7 to 5 with one draw. Yes, Robertson was magnificent yesterday. 97% delivery, 80% long shots conversion and 83%  safety success. He made three centuries. Higgins was not motivated enough to show his full strength against an opponent he’d beaten eight times in a row before that. He was leading 4-1, lost his advantage, but managed to win 6-4, as though he remembered about my bet on his win with -1.5 handicap. Higgins made a century and five half-century breakes. His 90% delivery was good, but he was not as good as usual at long shots and safeties. I think the chances are 50-50, far from 1.5-2.5 odds offered by bookies. Higgins is a skillful and experienced opponent, and Robertson will be put under a lot of pressure.  I suggest betting on Higgins’ win with +1.5 handicap.

As for the remaining games, Selby is much better than Selt and Gould will win against Grace. The 1.25 odds on both wins are fair. I would like to bet on their win with -1.5 frame handicap. Why not make turn it into an accumulator.