The second day of action in the Players Championship sees four more first round matches taking place on Tuesday, as the second event of the Coral Series gets into full speed across two sessions of play at the Waterfront in Southport.
We saw wins for Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby on Monday night, and on Tuesday the likes of world champion Judd Trump and current Coral Series leader Neil Robertson will be looking to sew up quarter final slots.
Afternoon Session
Neil Robertson vs Joe Perry
The match on the main TV table in the afternoon session sees Neil Robertson and Joe Perry meeting for the second Coral Series event in a row after they met in the quarter final of the World Grand Prix earlier in the month.
Robertson won 5-1 on that occasion and he’s a warm favourite to win here too. Perry actually looked in decent enough order in the Shootout last week but you can’t really use that as much of a form guide. He hasn’t got close to Robertson in their previous two meetings which is a concern. I am conscious that Robertson has played a lot of snooker in recent times though and while he has had a week off I’d like to see how he goes before trusting how he is going to play. I’ll sit this one out.
John Higgins vs Graeme Dott
On the other table at the same time the two Scottish friends will go at it when John Higgins takes on Graeme Dott in a match which isn’t just big for this tournament but for potential Tour Championship qualification as well.
Higgins comes in here eighth on the one-year list and Dott is ninth so whoever comes out on top here will be a warm favourite to make it to Llandudno while the loser will pretty much be ruled out of the running for that position so there is everything at stake here. That might well mean we get a close and competitive match here, but I think Dott is an ounce of value in this one. He made the final of the World Grand Prix and the semis of the German Masters before that so he’s in excellent form. Higgins made quarter final of the Welsh Open and the World Grand Prix but I’m not convinced he is playing his best stuff. At 11/8 I think Dott is the value pick here.
Place 5 accumulators either in a Boylesports shop or online and get an acca free! Click the image above to bet. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Evening Session
Judd Trump vs Michael Holt
The match on the main table in the evening session sees the world champion Judd Trump in action when he takes on the last man into the field in Michael Holt in what looks like a one-sided affair but you never know when a man is on top of the world like Holt is.
Holt got in here at the very last minute when he won the Shootout on Sunday night and he should be riding the crest of a wave but he’ll need to be at his very best to come through here because Trump rarely offers up a poor performance these days. Trump is being asked to cover 3.5 frames here and history would suggest he is no forlorn hope to do that, but I’m wary that Holt is riding a high so I’ll sit this one out.
Yan Bingtao vs Kyren Wilson
The match on the second table in this evening session sees two men who had excellent runs in Cardiff earlier this month colliding when Yan Bingtao takes on Kyren Wilson for a spot in the quarter final of the competition.
Bingtao followed up his run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open with another last four finish in Watford in the Shootout last week while Wilson made the final in Cardiff and is set to give this event a decent spin as well. This should be a good match between two men who look to be in excellent form at the minute. That should equate to a close match but I’m already invested on Bingtao outright and don’t need to add to that here so I’m happy to sit this one out.
Tips
Back G.Dott to beat J.Higgins for a 4/10 stake at 2.38 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020
