Neil Robertson vs Liu Hongyu

🔥 Robertson have had an inconsistent season so far: he suffered defeats to Pan Junxu and Luo Zetao, but bounced back in his most recent International Championship qualifier with a commanding 6-0 whitewash. Li, meanwhile, has been in solid form this September—he defeated Jimmy White and Lan Yuhao, and earlier pulled off a shock win over Barry Hawkins.

The key factor here is the trend: as recently as August, Li covered a +2.5 frame handicap in 16 of his last 17 matches. That’s a strong indicator, especially against a favourite of Robertson’s calibre—the young Chinese player consistently manages to take enough frames even when he doesn’t win outright. So our pick is: Li Hongyu with a +2.5 frame handicap.