The second day of action in the China Open sees the first round coming to a close and after a day where some big names exited on Monday, those in action on Tuesday will be very keen to avoid going the same way out in Beijing.
We saw the demise of Ali Carter, Luca Brecel and Martin Gould on the opening day but there were wins for the big names who had matches held over and for Stuart Bingham who picked up a welcome victory. We have three more sessions to enjoy on Tuesday.
Early Morning Session
John Higgins is the headline attraction in the first session of play. He takes on Martin O’Donnell on one of the TV tables while the rising Chinese star Yan Bingtao will be on the other. He faces the potentially tricky test of Kurt Maflin. There are four matches on the outside table. Stephen Maguire plays Fergal O’Brien in what is a huge match for the Scot and his automatic World Championship chances. Barry Hawkins is also playing and he takes on Sam Baird. There is an all-Chinese battle when Zhou Yuelong faces Chen Zhe while Graeme Dott plays Mark Joyce.
Morning Session
The current world champion and a former world champion are the main draws in the morning session and both will occupy the TV tables. Mark Selby is the current champion and he continues his title defence against Scott Donaldson while Neil Robertson will take on Robbie Williams in the other match.
Two veterams meet when Mark King goes up against Peter Ebdon on an outside table while Andrew Higginson has the challenge of being Kyren Wilson. Xiao Guodong will be hoping for a big week and he begins it against Jimmy Robertson who is extremely capable on his day while Liang Wenbo is another Chinese player looking to make it through. He faces Duane Jones with the other match seeing Michael White playing Paul Davison.
Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan is back on the baize in the afternoon session. He meets Elliott Slessor who has already beaten him this season while Craig Steadman takes on Ding Junhui for a place in the second round on the other main table.
On the outside table we have Mark Davis playing Michael Holt, Shaun Murphy is in action when he plays Chris Wakelin while Dave Gilbert faces Mike Dunn. Anthony McGill will face the wildcard Luo Honghao who won two matches on Monday to get this far. Tom Ford takes on Yuan Sijun in the other match.
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Betting
There is only one bet which interests me on Tuesday as I continue to ease my way into the tournament. It comes in the clash of the older generation in the afternoon session when Mark Davis takes on Michael Holt.
You would be pushing the boundaries to suggest that either of these are having a good season but Davis has had slightly the better of the two and I fancy him to come through here. Holt has recently become a father and could be suffering from the effects that brings and it would be completely understandable if his mind was on home rather than China. Davis has a good record over Holt and I fancy he can continue that, and defy the new father syndrome, here.
Tips
Back M.Davis to beat M.Holt for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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