2016 World Snooker Championship quarter-finals: Ding faces Williams, Selby meets Wilson
Published:
Lee Gormley | April 25, 2016
2016 World Snooker Championship
- World Snooker Championship quarter-finals
- Tuesday, April 26th
- First break-off: 10:00 BST
- Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
- Live on BBC Two and Eurosport
Quarter-final stage at the Crucible
The dramatic race for the 2016 World Snooker Championship crown enters the quarter-final stage, with a host of crucial match-ups taking place between seeds still battling on and many qualifiers gunning for glory at the Crucible.
Chinese cueist Ding Junhui managed to fend off a gallant comeback from Judd Trump to book his place at this stage of the tournament in Sheffield, and he will now tackle rejuvenated Welsh potter Mark Williams, who is 2/1 with Coral to triumph.
In another tasty quarter-final meeting, world number one Mark Selby looks to book a semi-final spot when contesting talented young break builder Kyren Wilson, who beat Mark Allen 13-9 to continue his incredible Crucible campaign.
Ding faces former champ Williams
Ding ousted one of the leading contenders for this year’s title when dispatching Trump 13-10, while Williams toppled an in-form Michael Holt to progress, and another thrilling best-of-25 encounter is on the cards.
The 2000 and 2003 Crucible king Williams earned a 13-8 triumph over a defiant Holt and the Welsh Potting Machine is 22/1 to record a quarter-final win by the same result here, while Ding is 10/1 to emulate his previous 13-10 scoreline.
It’s the Chinese superstar that will hold huge confidence going into this clash though, having impressively triumphed in the last seven successive competitive matches against Williams, a run that amazingly stretches back to 2010.
Ding had to fight off a comeback from a stubborn Trump in the last round, as he looked like blowing his lead, and the 11-time ranking event winner is 2/1 to lead 3-1 after four frames, while Williams is 9/2 to hold a 5-3 advantage after eight played.
In what could end up being a closely fought quarter-final, Ding is evens to triumph and knock in the highest break, with his Welsh opponent 11/2 to achieve that feat instead.
Wilson test for world number one Selby
After stunning Joe Perry in his opening round fixture before downing Northern Ireland’s Allen, Kettering potter Wilson will look to continue his sublime run in Yorkshire, but he faces another stern test against the number one ranked cueist in the sport.
The 24-year-old is 2/1 to cause another upset by overcoming Selby, while the Jester from Leicester is odds-on 2/5 favourite to edge into the semi-finals, after dealing with the threat of Sam Baird last time out.
Wilson enters this latest meeting with Selby after his first win over the 2014 Crucible king, having earned a Champions League success in their match-up in February, ending a streak of three successive defeats and is 5/1 to succeed while also potting the highest break.
The six-time ranking event victor Selby vowed to up his performances in Sheffield after pipping Baird to a quarter-final spot, having so far failed to showcase his best baize attributes, but he is 9/1 to overcome Wilson by a 13-8 scoreline.
Wilson, nicknamed the warrior, is 16/1 to battle to a two-frame success (13-11) over Selby for a second consecutive meeting, though the latter potter will be gunning for a stronger showing than his last appearance and is 17/5 to lead 7-5 after 12 frames played.
Related
Coral’s top tip: Back Kyren Wilson to beat Mark Selby at the Crucible at a tasty 2/1.
