The first round of the World Open concludes with a couple more sessions of action on the green baize out in Yushan with spots in the second round up for grabs for those who are yet to play their main draw opener.
The tournament suffered a huge shock on Monday when Ronnie O’Sullivan was dumped out and that will immediately keep the big names left in on their toes. John Higgins, Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Kyren Wilson are among the big names on show on Tuesday.
Morning Session
The former world champion John Higgins is the biggest name on show on the Tuesday morning session and having given himself the English Open off to refresh he will be expected to beat Lu Ning on one of the TV tables. There is another man who has triumphed at the Crucible on the other televised table as Ken Doherty takes on Mark Allen in a battle of south and north Ireland in a section of the draw that has already opened up.
The outside tables are full in this session with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh the highest ranked player on them. He meets Zhang Yang for a place in the second round while Alfie Burden takes on Mei Xiwen. Li Hang faces Zhang Anda in an all-Chinese battle on home soil with Lu Haotian meeting Hossein Vafaei in a clash between two Asians. Xiao Guodong faces Harvey Chandler in another match and Fergal O’Brien plays Dominic Dale.
Afternoon Session
It is the world champion Judd Trump who headlines this later session of the day. His reward for winning his held over match on Monday is a first round clash with Sam Craigie, who could be dangerous if Trump allows him to be. Chinese number two Yan Bingtao is on the other televised table in this session. He meets Stuart Carrington who isn’t the best traveller in the game, which could be his detriment.
Luca Brecel is on the outside tables once again. He meets Michael Holt this time while Kyren Wilson takes on Robbie Williams. The big names keep on coming on the outside tables as Jack Lisowski meets Luo Honghao and Ali Carter faces the Brazilian player Igor Figueiredo. The other match in the second day of action sees the Chinese ace Zhou Yuelong taking on Ben Woollaston in a clash that the home man will be expected to win.
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Betting
I’ll take a couple of bets across Tuesday’s action. The first of those in the morning session sees Hossein Vafaei to beat Lu Haotian. I don’t think Vafaei is getting the credit he deserves with the odds compilers. I’ve been a keen admirer of his for a while now and the fact he is inside the top 40 in the world despite not being able to play all of the tournaments due to visa issues showcases the damage he does when he is able to compete. Lu Haotian hasn’t pulled up any trees this season whereas Vafaei made the semi-finals in the China Championship and was going along nicely in the English Open before he ran into Ronnie O’Sullivan. Vafaei should be shorter than 4/5 but I’m happy to be on at this price.
Zhou Yuelong met Ben Woollaston just over a week ago in the English Open and he thrashed him 4-0 on that occasion. The pair meet in the later session on Tuesday and you would think that in his home conditions Yuelong would be a good thing again. It has been a while since we’ve seen Woollaston really deliver the goods. He tends to beat those he should beat in the initial round and then struggle when he comes up against someone half decent. I fancy that will be the case here and at odds against I’ll take Yuelong to have a bit to spare at the end.
Tips
WON – Back H.Vafaei to beat L.Haotian for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back him here:
WON – Back Z.Yuelong (-1.5 frames) to beat B.Woollaston for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with 888sport
Back him here:
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