The second round of the China Championship is on the schedule out in Guangzhou on Wednesday, with the entire stage of the competition being played out on what looks set to be another exciting day of snooker.
Unfortunately for the Chinese crowds they lost their hero Ding Junhui in the first round on Tuesday, but there are a number of home players mixed in with some huge names who will be out to entertain on Wednesday.
Morning Session
Two Chinese players feature on the televised tables on Wednesday with both taking on vastly higher ranked opponents. The world champion Judd Trump is the main star on show and he will go up against Zhou Yuelong in a match which will get most of the spotlight. John Higgins will then face Li Hang in the other game in front of the cameras in the first of the two sessions on the day.
There is some real quality on the outside tables throughout the day on Wednesday and in the morning session the defending champion Mark Selby will be in that part of the arena. He faces the competent Martin Gould while Barry Hawkins takes on Mitchell Mann. Former winner Luca Brecel then goes up against Mark Joyce with the World Championship semi-finalist Dave Gilbert taking on Matthew Stevens. Kurt Maflin meets Jordan Brown and the other game sees Stephen Maguire facing Joe Perry.
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Afternoon Session
There are a couple of strange choices for the TV games in this session it has to be said. One of them is the all-Chinese battle between Zhao Xintong, the man who knocked out Ding Junhui in the opening round, and Xiao Guodong. The other game for us to enjoy in this session either on TV or the usual streams sees former world champion Mark Williams going up against the impressive Luo Honghao for a place in the last 16.
That means that the new Chinese number one Yan Bingtao is on one of the outside tables. He meets Chris Wakelin while Shaun Murphy goes up against Ryan Day in a game which probably deserves a better billing than it has got. Neil Robertson is also on an outside table as he faces Matt Selt while the other three matches have Noppon Saengkham taking on Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson playing Hossein Vafaei and Jack Lisowski going up against Anthony McGill.
Betting
Both my bets on Wednesday come from the second session of the day where I expect to see a close match between Chris Wakelin and Yan Bingtao. Both men scored well in their first round matches so if they get a chance you would think they would take it but at the same time both men have a bit of fight in them too so they will be able to perform when behind. These two met in this tournament a year ago and it went to a deciding frame. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up going to a deciding frame here given how competent both are.
Luo Honghao won the only previous meeting with Mark Williams at the Riga Masters earlier this season and he looks a decent price to see him off again on Wednesday after a first round win which saw him make two centuries and a 98 break in the deciding frame, which probably caught the eye more than anything that went before it. Williams still isn’t at the form which saw him win the World Championship 18 months ago. He might never get back there given that he classes himself as a part-time player these days and while he’ll still beat the deadwood on tour, these improving youngsters could just be a step too far for him. I like Honghao here.
Tips
Back C.Wakelin vs Y.Bingtao – Over 7.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back it here:
Back L.Honghao to beat M.Williams for a 3/10 stake at 3.40 with 3.40 with Bet365
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