On February 26, 2022, Beijing time, the snooker European Masters decided the final four, the semi-final is very interesting, the two Chinese players have to face off against the world champion, the first half of the zone by Fan Zhengyi against Graeme Dort, the second half by Liang Wenbo against O'Sullivan. As a Chinese fan, of course, I look forward to the final of Fan Zhengyi and Liang Wenbo, but if I analyze it rationally, the 46-year-old O'Sullivan is still the number one favorite to win the championship.
This year's European Masters has given birth to too many unpopular players, such as Selby, Higgins, Trump and other champions who are out early. At the same time, Chinese players have played well and become unpopular makers, such as Pang Junxu eliminating Neil Robertson, who has recently been in excellent form, and Fan Zhengyi, who trains with Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao every day, has set a new personal best record.
Knocking out Karen Wilson, Yan Bingtao and David Gilbert, the 21-year-old Fan Zhengyi reached the final four of the professional tour for the first time, and he became the biggest dark horse in this competition. In the semi-finals, Fan Zhengyi's opponent is former world champion Graeme Dort, although Graeme Dort has the title of World Championship champion and the world ranking is also much higher than Fan Zhengyi, but Fan Zhengyi's hope of advancing to the final is very large.
In contrast, Graeme Dort's final four spot lacked gold content, and he eliminated Mark Davis, Zhou Yuelong, Jordan Brown and Ryan Day, three of which reached the decider and advanced to 5-4, showing that his experience can play a role in key moments. But from the perspective of the course of the game, Graeme Dort's offensive quality is very average, and the ability to score consecutive points is not strong enough, against Ryan Day, Graeme Dort did not have a single shot of more than 50 points, and the promotion to the final four was not because he played well, but because the opponent played too poorly.
So, if Fan Zhengyi can quickly enter the game, just like against David Gilbert, quickly pull the score, it is very promising to achieve a major breakthrough in his career: reaching the final of the ranking tournament for the first time.
In the second half of the zone by Liang Wenbo against O'Sullivan, it is clear that the 46-year-old O'Sullivan is still a big favorite to win the championship, facing Tom Ford, he not only has a single shot to break the hundred, but also a wonderful single-game reversal, and there are many fewer active mistakes. Liang Wenbo may not have any advantage over O'Sullivan. But this competition has seen so many weak wins over strong matches, why can't Liang Wenbo, who releases pressure and regains confidence, continue to move forward?
We're looking forward to the two Chinese players meeting in the final, but obviously O'Sullivan has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The first semi-final was played by Graeme Dort against Fan Zhengyi, the match time is 9 pm Beijing time on February 26, and the other semi-final will be played at 3 am the next day, let's wait for the good news together!