Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson in tasty encounter in Premier League
With only two weeks left of the snooker Premier League, five players are battling for the final three play-off spots.
Marco Fu booked his place in the semi-finals with a win over world champion Neil Robertson last week. He is top of the table having won three games, drawing two and only losing one of his six games.
Robertson on the other hand is bottom of the table on three points, and has only won one of his games. Tomorrow night, he must win to keep his hopes of qualifying for the finals weekend alive, and if the Australian could have picked anyone else he surely would’ve done, as he faces the three-time champion of the world, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The Rocket has put himself back into contention after drawing his first three games, and is now the only player unbeaten so far in the Premier League. He beat Mark Williams 4-2 in his last game to end the Welshman’s unbeaten start, and occupies one of the final three play-off positions. A win against Robertson would guarantee his place in the semi-finals and would end Robertson’s campaign.
The last time these two met, Robertson beat O’Sullivan 5-1 in the World Open final, where he also became the new world No.1. O’Sullivan loves the Premier League though, and the quick-fire format suits his game, as he demonstrated en route to winning the inaugural Power Snooker at London’s O2 Arena a few weeks ago.
Robertson has shown glimpses of his best snooker during the competition so far, but that hasn’t been enough, and Mark Selby and Fu have exposed him when he’s not been at his best. If he’s not at his best against the best, then it will be over for the Thunder from Down Under.
Two other players vying for places in the play-offs do battle against each other, as reigning Premier League champion Shaun Murphy plays Williams.
Murphy shared the spoils with Selby in his last game, while Williams suffered a defeat to O’Sullivan.
Murphy lies in fifth place on four points, while Williams is third and a point ahead. This year’s competition has been the tightest for years, and frames difference could decide who gets the semi-final places.
If Murphy has designs on retaining his title, he cannot afford to lose, and Williams is the kind of player who can blow an opponent away very quickly, as he demonstrated against Selby. If Williams doesn’t qualify, he will regret the three draws he has had and his failure to convert them into wins after leading in two of those games. A win for Williams would make it easier for him to get through, and could seal his place if other results go his way.
Selby doesn’t play this week, but he is in second place as things stand. By the time he comes to play his last game against O’Sullivan, he could find himself out of the play-off positions in the table.
As the round-robin phase draws to a close, O’Sullivan is ready to hit top gear after a slow start, while Williams will want to put his defeat behind him and get the job done to finish off his six games. With this in mind, O’Sullivan and Williams should edge the games with wins.
Prediction: Murphy 2 Williams 4, O’Sullivan 4 Robertson 2
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