I was not at all surprised by Roda beating Filler. I wrote in a post before the match that Filler had to be sharper than he was in his prior two matches. He actually was, but Roda was superb. I've seen him do that before. He's gotten to the semis and two quarterfinals of big Matchroom majors in the past two years.
Roda is the third best player from the Philippines on the international scene, in my view, behind Biado and Chua. He's unlike most Pinoy players. Tactically smart, a simple game, fundamentally impeccable, steady pace. He's a former snooker player.
He lacks some of the brilliance Biado and Chua can bring to bear, but there's no mistaking how good he is. Top 40 Fargo at 816 and it shows.
If he beats Grabe, I think he has a very good chance to take down SVB given his younger age.
The one big question I have is, will he get the yips again. The three times he made deep runs in big Matchroom events, he clearly showed nerves.
