Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2023 Scottish Open snooker match.
John Higgins
The 4-time former world champion beat Chinese Lyu Haotian, known as one of the youngest snooker players, with a score of 4:2. As a representative of Scotland, the experienced Higgins feels quite comfortable in Edinburgh. There’s a hope that this will be the first time a Scottish player will lift the Cup at home. Higgins performed poorly at the tournaments this autumn. The Scottish tournament added strength and motivation to John, who can be considered one of the main contenders for the title.
Tom Ford
Tom Ford has worked hard to reach this stage of the tournament. The match with Ding took a lot of energy, but it was lucky that after that match, Tom played with a weaker opponent than the Chinese professional. Each game in Scotland was not an easy ride for Ford, he let the opponents take 2–3 frames per match - and this was taking into account the fact that players of different levels came across. Basically, the season has been pretty successful for Ford, and now the player has a real chance to return to the top 16, and then compete at the World Championship without qualifying.
John Higgins – Tom Ford prediction
Obviously, both players are motivated. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that the match will drag on, and it is quite possible that the ticket to the next stage will be played out in the decisive frame. I would also like to note the fact that Tom Ford has won the last 4 head-to-head meetings, which means that the representative of England already has his own practised tactics against the 4-time world champion.
