Abasov was also - to various degrees - underdog against Fressinet, Giri, Svidler and Salem (at least in terms of reputation and peak former strength of his opponents). Such a run may well come to an end (e.g. Berkes eliminated Gelfand, Vitiugov and Ponomariov before losing against Praggnanandhaa), but I wouldn't bet "the house" on Vidit (nothing personal, I met him personally in Wijk aan Zee and he is a really nice guy).
Vidit played overall better than Nepomniachtchi and thus deserved to advance, but "extremely well" seems a bit exaggerated given how he had squandered his entire advantage in the first decisive game. The second one doesn't count as much as it was must-win for Nepo which may explain some of the choices from both players (Vidit may have hesitated between "draw is enough" and "let's play according to the position, thus for a win".). Vidit had been somewhat struggling in his first two matches against Mastrovasilis and Bluebaum, needing long tiebreaks - then his win against Bacrot was quick (decided in classical) and about as convincing as it can get.
P.S.: For less convincing and far from "extremely good" play, check the women tiebreaks today. Three players are eliminated, three advance to already the semifinal with (as Ju Wenjun is eliminated) a 75% chance to qualify for the(ir) candidates event. It could have easily been (up to) three different names.
Abasov was also - to various degrees - underdog against Fressinet, Giri, Svidler and Salem (at least in terms of reputation and peak former strength of his opponents). Such a run may well come to an end (e.g. Berkes eliminated Gelfand, Vitiugov and Ponomariov before losing against Praggnanandhaa), but I wouldn't bet "the house" on Vidit (nothing personal, I met him personally in Wijk aan Zee and he is a really nice guy).
Vidit played overall better than Nepomniachtchi and thus deserved to advance, but "extremely well" seems a bit exaggerated given how he had squandered his entire advantage in the first decisive game. The second one doesn't count as much as it was must-win for Nepo which may explain some of the choices from both players (Vidit may have hesitated between "draw is enough" and "let's play according to the position, thus for a win".). Vidit had been somewhat struggling in his first two matches against Mastrovasilis and Bluebaum, needing long tiebreaks - then his win against Bacrot was quick (decided in classical) and about as convincing as it can get.
P.S.: For less convincing and far from "extremely good" play, check the women tiebreaks today. Three players are eliminated, three advance to already the semifinal with (as Ju Wenjun is eliminated) a 75% chance to qualify for the(ir) candidates event. It could have easily been (up to) three different names.