The first week of the World Championship snooker at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield draws to a close on Friday and it does so with the second round continuing at a brisk pace. Come the end of Friday’s action half of the second round will be underway.
Some of the biggest names in the game are gracing the tables on Friday and everything is in line for a fantastic day of snooker on the green baize.
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Day 6 Recap
The last two men through to the second round were Barry Hawkins and Neil Robertson. Both completed comfortable wins on Thursday. The two second round matches to begin saw Kyren Wilson and Ronnie O’Sullivan taking leads.
Wilson leads Stuart Bingham 5-3 in a match which will continue on Friday morning and conclude in the evening while Ronnie will resume 6-2 up on Shaun Murphy on Friday afternoon before they play to a finish on Saturday morning.
Liang Wenbo vs Ding Junhui
Two matches get underway on Friday and the first of those is the all-Chinese clash between Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo. Given his history and standing in the game and the fact he broke through first you would think Ding would lead their head to head but that isn’t the case. Liang holds a narrow career advantage.
I don’t think Liang will win this one, I don’t think he is consistent enough or mentally solid enough to beat Ding over this distance but the record between the two makes me have a watch of the first session before I get involved in the outcome.
I can’t avoid a punt on the centuries though where the 4/5 carrot being dangled on over 2.5 of them is too big to refuse. Ding is a prolific scorer while Liang is more than competent. Matches between these two are generally high scoring and that line just looks far too low.
Mark Allen vs John Higgins
One of the best matches in this round of the tournament is the clash between John Higgins and Mark Allen which could be a cracker if previous meetings between the two are anything to go on.
Allen actually holds a slight edge in their past battles but it is Higgins who won their significant meeting which was in the semi-final here back in 2009. I really think this is a 50/50 match but one thing I don’t think is 50/50 is the length of the match.
I believe we’ll be going deep into the third session before this one is decided. Allen fights like crazy and always raises his game against the best while you have to knock through granite to get past Higgins. This should be a cracker and one which finishes 13-9 or closer either way.
Tips
WON – Back L.Wenbo vs D.Junhui – Over 2.5 centuries for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Back it here:
WON – Back M.Allen vs J.Higgins – Over 21.5 frames for a 6/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back it here:
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