David Gilbert 13-12 Stephen Maguire
Up until this stage, both Gilbert and Maguire have played brilliantly and are fully deserving of making the Quarter-Finals while the runs have been a surprise considering the pair have had quiet years on tour. Maguire has the better of the head to head with Gilbert but it was the angry farmer that came out on top in their most recent match at the 2020 Masters. Both players have had great World Championship campaigns to date coming through qualifying and building up momentum to get to this stage. Gilbert saw off the challenge of Milkins comfortably 13-4 in the last round while Maguire had to come through a tougher test 13-9 with Shaun Murphy. Both players love to attack so it should be a free-flowing, enjoyable game for the viewers. It’s very hard to call a winner and it’s hard to see either player running away with the win but I’m going to side with Gilbert to continue his run and reach the semi final for the first time since 2019.Just.
Judd Trump 13-8 Jak Jones
Trumps 2 matches at the crucible to date have been convincing, impressive victories against Hossein Vafaei and Tom Ford. Truth being told, he would’ve been expected to come through them matches and his Quarter-Final pairing with Jak Jones will be no different. His 5 titles this season mean he comes here full of confidence and will be eyeing up a possible showdown with World Number 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Semi-Final. Jak Jones came through a tense last 32 with Si Jiahui, going in to the match as the underdog, both struggled to hit form during the match but the Welshman showed plenty of grit and determination to come through 13-9. He’s well known for enjoying playing at the Crucible following his run to the Quarter-Final last year and is well suited by the longer format. Trump leads the head-to-head between the pair (4-1) and this may be too much of a test for Jones to come through. Trump has looked comfortable in his wins so far and I expect this match to be no different.
Kyren Wilson 13-11 John Higgins
Coming into this one, both players will be full of confidence. Wilson has swatted aside his two opponents Dominic Dale and Joe O’Connor with the minimum of fuss while Higgins will still be on cloud nine following his outstanding final frame clearance against Mark Allen. Wilson has an awful head to head record against Higgins (19-6) but there is no better time to improve that record than now. Wilson will be keen to make up for the thrashing he got from Higgins in the last 16 of the World Championship in 2022 (13-2 Higgins). Will Higgins tougher route to this stage come back to haunt him at the back end of the match or will the fresher Wilson be able to pull away when it matters most? I’m going to side with Wilson as I’ve been very impressed with how he’s played so far and think it may be his time to make the breakthrough he’s been promising for the last few years.
Stuart Bingham 9-13 Ronnie O’Sullivan
7 time Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has cruised into the quarter-finals defeating Jackson Page and Ryan Day with ease. He has played mediocre at beat up until this point but will know that he’ll have to up his game to compete with a sharp Stuart Bingham. Bingham came through a high quality match 13-11 with Jack Lisowski, where even though his scoring wasn’t could’ve been better, he was very clinical when presented with opportunities. That’s the difference between the opponents Ronnie has played so far, even when they’ve been given chances, they haven’t been able to take advantage. I expect to see a sharper Ronnie O’Sullivan because of this and the missed shots that we’ve seen in previous rounds won’t be as frequent. The possibility of a mouth-watering clash with Judd Trump if getting through here should push the world number 1 over the line here.
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