It is second round day at the English Open on Wednesday as the 64 men remaining in the competition go into battle once again, looking for a place in the frantic Thursday where two rounds are played in one day of the opening Home Nations event.
That means we get to see the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy among others for the second time this week on what should be a corking day of action on the green baize.
Morning Session
The defending champion Stuart Bingham continues his title defence on Wednesday when he takes on the dangerous Chinese youngster Si Jiahui for a place in the last 32. That match is on the main TV table while on the streamed table there is an even looking match between Ricky Walden and Sam Craigie, both of whom will feel they can win and set up a possible clash with Mark Williams in the third round.
Five matches take place on the outside tables with two Chinese players competing in one of them as Li Hang goes up against Mei Xiwen while Indian Open champion Matthew Selt meets Hammad Miah. Xiao Guodong will be expected to come through when he goes up against Brandon Sargeant. The other two matches sees the Polish player Adam Stefanow taking on Louis Heathcote and Zhang Anda faces Fergal O’Brien.
Afternoon Session
There are two sets of matches in the afternoon and in the first of them the TV match sees the 2017 champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in action. He takes on the rising Chinese star Yuan Sijun in what could be a cracking match while on the streamed table we have the former runner-up Kyren Wilson in action. He takes on the conqueror of Jimmy White in Bai Langning for a place in the last 32 of the tournament. The outside tables are well populated in this set of matches too. World Championship semi-finalist Dave Gilbert takes on Ryan Davies on one of them while Zhao Xintong meets Anthony Hamilton on another. Zhou Yuelong takes on Ben Woollaston in another match while Dominic Dale plays Xu Si. Lu Ning meets Tom Ford in the other game.
It is Neil Robertson who will grace the TV stage in the second set of matches in the afternoon. He faces a cracking contest with Marco Fu in what could easily be the final let alone a second round match. The streamed table will see Mark Williams going up against Michael Holt in what could be an interesting match. Elsewhere, Alan McManus plays Tian Pengfei, Fan Zhengyi meets Chris Wakelin, Jimmy Robertson clashes with Kurt Maflin, Hossein Vafaei takes on Chen Feilong and Liam Highfield goes up against Joe Perry.
Two matches have been saved for a third match on the two main tables if they are needed. You wouldn’t think a third game will be needed on the TV game given the quality of the two matches on show but if it is then Mark Selby will take on Martin O’Donnell while on the streamed table Jack Lisowski will meet Alfie Burden.
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Evening Session
It is the world champion Judd Trump who will light up the TV table on Wednesday evening when he is the first player to play on it. He meets Daniel Wells while on the streamed table Mark Allen will take on Andy Lee in what should be a one-sided match. The outside tables see Lee Walker facing Robbie Williams, John Astley going up against our pre-tournament pick Gary Wilson, Ryan Day meeting Elliot Slessor while Joe O’Connor faces Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Mike Dunn plays Graeme Dott.
Two matches have been held over to make second games on the main tables in the evening session. On the TV table we will get to see Shaun Murphy once again as he faces Sunny Akani for a place in the event on Thursday while on the streamed table we will have Barry Hawkins taking on Michael Georgiou in what should be a good way to end the night on that side of the arena.
Betting
There is only the one bet which catches my attention on Wednesday and it is on a play I have already won on this week in Kurt Maflin. He takes on Jimmy Robertson for a place in the third round of the competition and after the start to the season Maflin has had I don’t see any reason why he can’t win this match. He showed good composure in getting rid of Noppon Saengkham in the first round and a repeat of that is likely to be good enough here.
To be fair to Robertson he played well in beating Robert Milkins in the first round but he never truly convinces me I have to say. I respect that he’s on home soil this week but that didn’t do Mark Davis much good on Tuesday evening. Robertson did play some Championship League to get some confidence last week but his record in these Home Nations events is indifferent to say the least. I’ll side with Maflin here.
Tips
WON – Back K.Maflin to beat J.Robertson for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
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