The three matches yet to begin in the first round of the World Championship set off on their journey on Wednesday which means that by the end of the day we will have seen the entire field in action at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
We have a strong cast in action on Wednesday with three former world champions on show and the man who many believe is a world champion in waiting in the form of Judd Trump. The match of the round also gets going too.
Tuesday Recap
It was a wonderful day for us betting wise as Jack Lisowski took care of Stuart Bingham 10-7 and Robert Milkins built up a 6-3 lead on Neil Robertson to ensure that our bet on that match has landed too. That means we now have seven winners from eight bets this week after Ricky Walden piled in a 122 break in his win over Luca Brecel. We should get another winner with Mark Williams 7-2 up on Jimmy Robertson. Earlier in the day Ding Junhui completed a routine 10-3 win over Xiao Guodong.
In Play Betting
Two matches are in play overnight. We already have an interest in the Mark Williams vs Jimmy Robertson one and I’m more than happy to let that ride but I do like one in the other match between Neil Robertson and Robert Milkins.
We’ve already landed our first bet on this match with Milkins making it to six frames but now I think we are in for a really tight conclusion. Robertson was rotten in the first session and really Milkins might be kicking himself that he is not 7-2 in front. I refuse to believe that the Australian can be that bad again and I wouldn’t be completely certain Milkins won’t get a dose of clinchers disease either.
When these two met five years ago Milkins won 10-8 and I fancy we could see an 18th frame here. Robertson only needs to win the first eight frames 5-3 to bring over 17.5 frames in whereas he’d have to win 7-1 to bust them in a match he wins. I certainly don’t see that. Over the course of time you’d think Robertson would win more sessions against Milkins than the other way around so there is every chance this ends 10-8 or 10-9 one way or another.
John Higgins vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Wednesday 10am & 7pm)
The one match that begins and concludes on Wednesday sees John Higgins begin his quest for a fifth world title when he takes on the Thai debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh for the right to face Jack Lisowski in the last 16.
Higgins goes into the match as a warm favourite and will be expected to win with a great deal in hand but we saw in the qualifiers that Un-Nooh has a bit of heart and fight about him these days to go along with his insane talent and exceptional scoring potential. For all that he has though I expect Higgins to be too good but I respect the Thai enough to have little interest in handicaps or anything like that.
Judd Trump vs Chris Wakelin (Wednesday 2.30pm & Thursday 7pm)
The last first round match to conclude will be the one between Judd Trump and Chris Wakelin even though it isn’t actually the final one to begin in a strange quirk of fate. The two men go into battle knowing that Ricky Walden awaits the winner.
These two are surprisingly no strangers to each other having met on seven previous occasions. Trump has won all seven and he currently has an aggregate lead on frames of 30-6. Their most recent battle came in the UK Championship earlier in the season when Trump won 6-0 with Wakelin failing to perform on the big stage.
That is a bit of a theme with the Midlander and with this being his debut at the Crucible I think it is fair to suggest that he might suffer with a few nerves to begin with and if Trump comes out of the traps quickly he could put some real distance between himself and his opponent in the first session before returning to finish the job off with a fair bit in hand.
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Anthony McGill vs Ryan Day (Wednesday 7pm & Thursday 1pm)
The final first round match to get going is the one between Anthony McGill and Ryan Day in a battle of two men both in the top 20 in the world rankings. Ding Junhui will await the winner in the second round later in the tournament.
This should be a cracking match. McGill is a canny operator who seems to get inspired by the Crucible Theatre while Day has been one of the players of the season with three titles and a host of other good runs. I can’t really pick a winner here. I expect it to be tight but the total frames lines and odds are nothing special so I’ll have a watch of the first session and see what comes to light after that.
Tips
Back N.Robertson vs R.Milkins – Over 17.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with Ladbrokes
Back it here:
Back J.Trump (-4.5 frames) to beat C.Wakelin for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Coral
Back him here:
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