The first round of the International Championship draws to a close on Monday with two more sessions of action out in China and for the big names yet to get their event underway they have the chance to do so. We also get to see those who had matches held over from qualifying for a second day in a row.
Morning Session
There are eight matches in total in each session and dominating the early session on the televised tables are Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham. They both have Chinese opponents with Trump facing Yuan Sijun and Bingham taking on Zhang Jiankang.
In the other matches there is an all-Scottish battle between John Higgins and Eden Sharav, Mark Williams plays Xu Si, Stuart Carrington and Daniel Wells play each other while Anthony Hamilton meets Gary Wilson, Joe Perry faces Andrew Higginson and Ryan Day takes on Aditya Mehta.
Afternoon Session
It is all about Ding Junhui and Ronnie O’Sullivan on the televised tables. It is a bit of a surprise that they are both in the same session but they are. Ding will be looking for an easier ride than he had in his held over qualifying match on Sunday where he was 5-2 down before winning 6-5. He takes on David Grace while Ronnie O’Sullivan plays Xiao Guodong in a great looking match.
The outside tables will feature Ken Doherty versus Ricky Walden, Mike Dunn against Yan Bingtao, Chen Zifan and Liang Wenbo meet in another all-Chinese battle while Li Hang meets Lee Walker. Mark King is also in action against John Astley and it is a sign of how good this session is that Mark Selby is on the outside tables. He faces Alfie Burden.
Betting
There isn’t a huge amount I like on Monday I have to admit. There were a couple of handicaps I was hoping to take but the prices on them aren’t really in keeping with the potential risks that are there on them. With that in mind I’ll take just the one bet.
I’ve already taken Yan Bingtao outright but I can’t ignore him here. He takes on a Mike Dunn who must be low in confidence. We took Dunn on successfully in the English Open when he lost 4-0 to Duane Jones and given how well Bingtao played in that tournament you have to think Dunn is up against it here.
We’ve already seen some great Chinese performances this week with Zhou Yuelong turning over Anthony McGill and the four wildcards all coming through as well and that suggests conditions suit the home players. At 9/10 Bingtao looks an automatic bet to me off the back of that run in Manchester which included a win over Mark Allen among others.
Tips
WON – Back Y.Bingtao to beat M.Dunn for a 4/10 stake at 1.90 with Bwin
Back him here:
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