We conclude the second round and see the first two quarter finals played out in the World Grand Prix on Thursday on another busy day of action inside the Guild Hall in Preston. This is the day the tournament really begins as we end the best of seven format and move to the best of nine.
The surprises kept on coming on Wednesday when we saw the back of two of the Class of 92 as Mark Williams and John Higgins bombed out. The other member, Ronnie O’Sullivan had to come through a deciding frame. Earlier in the day there were wins for Ding Junhui, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson so we’re in for a decent Thursday.
Afternoon Session
The second round concludes in the afternoon session and on the TV table we have an absolute cracker to get things underway with as Neil Robertson goes up against the world champion Mark Selby in a match which the term heavyweight barely does justice to. Anthony McGill faces Stuart Bingham in the second game on the main table.
The second table will not be short of quality either. Ding Junhui is first up on that table when he takes on Mark Joyce for a place in the quarter final. They will be followed by Michael White and Joe Perry who have a massive opportunity to improve their ranking and potentially qualify for the events to come with a win here.
Evening Session
We see the quarter finals played out in the top half of the draw in the evening session. Ronnie O’Sullivan will once again be on the TV table. It was hoped he would face John Higgins but unfortunately for us neutrals Xiao Guodong didn’t read that script and it is the Chinese player who takes on the Rocket instead.
The other quarter final may actually be a better one on paper as Shaun Murphy looked to continue his good run in ITV tournaments when he faces a Stephen Maguire who is playing well and who is beginning to put serious pressure on those above him in the race to qualify automatically for the Crucible.
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Betting
I’m already on Stephen Maguire outright so I’m not going to back him again and while I’ve a gut feeling from somewhere that Xiao Guodong is playing better than Ronnie O’Sullivan and could surprise him it isn’t strong enough to warrant a bet so I’ll so with just the one bet on the day.
That comes in the form of Neil Robertson who I think will see off Mark Selby. I’ve never heard Selby talk so negatively about how he is feeling on the match table as he did after his first round and that lack of confidence can be exposed by the classy Australian. Neil Robertson struggled at the beginning of the season for reasons that have been well publicised but he is back on it now and at odds against I’m happy to take him to see off a very out of sorts Selby who played some shots that were so poor you could barely it in the first round.
Tips
Back N.Robertson to beat M.Selby for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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