Ronnie O’Sullivan versus Mark Williams in clash of the night
Week seven of the snooker Premier League sees a cracking match tomorrow night between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams, while Ding Junhui takes on Marco Fu.
O’Sullivan and Williams are the only two players unbeaten in the competition, and heading into this game, Williams finds himself top of the Premier League with O’Sullivan surprisingly at the bottom.
The competition is tighter than ever this year, and with two points separating Williams and O’Sullivan, a win for O’Sullivan could move him to the top of the table.
The Rocket has drawn all three of his games so far. He kicked off the league campaign with a draw against Fu which could easily have gone the way of Fu. O’Sullivan then drew with the reigning UK champion Ding after missing a crucial pink to take the win.
In his last outing, he made a century to grab a point against current Premier League champion Shaun Murphy. In his three draws, O’Sullivan has played well, but so have his opponents, and Williams will provide another tough test.
Williams’ unbeaten record was on the line last week in his match against Fu, but the Welshman was able to rescue a point after making a 122 in the final frame. The two-time world champion is playing with the confidence that saw him become the world No.1 and a winner of 17 ranking titles.
If Williams wins against O’Sullivan, it will almost guarantee his place in the semi-finals, while O’Sullivan, the only man yet to taste a win, needs to get his first win on the board.
In the other match Ding takes on Fu, with both players in solid positions to qualify for the play-offs. Both players have four points, but Fu is one place above the UK champion. This will be Ding’s last match, and if he wants to be playing in the semi-finals, he will have to win to make his position safe, as the final three weeks are out of his hands.
Fu has been the surprise package of the Premier League and has held his own in this competition. A couple of weeks ago, he was crushed 5-1 by Masters champion Mark Selby, but he didn’t show signs of feeling sorry for himself in the match against Williams last week. Thinking he could get the win, he broke off in the final frame, but he didn’t get another shot as Williams cleared the table with a 122.
O’Sullivan will come out firing, desperate for his first win in the event, but Williams will have the bit between his teeth. A draw is the likely result, but O’Sullivan could just sneak this. Ding was whitewashed 6-0 by world champion Neil Robertson last week, and Fu could take full advantage of this and take the win.
Prediction: O’Sullivan 4 Williams 2, Ding 2 Fu 4
Tags: