We are back to a three session day for the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre on Friday when the second round of the tournament continues. At the end of the day we will know the identity of our first quarter finalist on what should be another great day.
As well as the two matches that begun on Thursday we have two more games getting underway on Friday and with some star names on show those with tickets or watching on at home at due to see a wonderful day of snooker.
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Thursday Recap
Ali Carter and Kyren Wilson claimed the final two places in the second round draw. Carter repelled a fightback from Jack Lisowski to come through 10-6 while Wilson was far too good for Scott Donaldson and he powered past the Scot 6-4. The second round also began on Thursday and after the first session of their matches, Neil Robertson is 5-3 up on Shaun Murphy while former champion Mark Selby trails Gary Wilson by the same score.
In Play Betting
There are two matches that we’ve seen the first session of but I’m not sure I want to bet on either of them at this stage. I already have a bet in good shape in the Selby against Wilson match with Wilson already over 50% of the way to covering the handicap while the other one Is delicately balanced but could become quite one-sided should Neil Robertson get off to a good start when he and Shaun Murphy resume battle in the morning session on Friday.
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Stephen Maguire vs James Cahill (Friday 10am, 7pm & Saturday 2.30pm)
All eyes will be on Table 2 on Friday when Stephen Maguire takes on the man of the moment in the amateur James Cahill. I think if anyone had any doubts about the status of Cahill they were ended when he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round. He is an amateur in all but name.
I wonder if Maguire thinks he is on a free roll from here. He was a roll of the ball away from losing to Tian Pengfei in the first round but got the most insane fluke you’ll ever see and ended up coming through in the end. Cahill actually saw off Ronnie pretty comfortably given the circumstances so he has nothing to fear here.
I see no reason why Cahill won’t give a good account of himself here. Whether that is enough for him to win this match or not remains to be seen but if Maguire doesn’t improve massively on that first showing then the Cahill adventure could very well continue. Even if he does we are talking about a player who has beaten Selby and O’Sullivan in the two biggest events of the season. I’ll take Cahill +3.5 here.
Mark Williams vs Dave Gilbert (Friday 2.30pm, Saturday 10am & Saturday 7pm)
Defending champion Mark Williams continues his title defence with a second round clash against Dave Gilbert in a match which is a repeat of what was an epic World Open final earlier in the campaign, which Williams won in a deciding frame.
Gilbert was fighting hard for his first major title then and that remains the case here too. He can’t get any closer to winning an event than he did then but at least he showed that he can compete with Williams, which should serve him well here. Both men looked in decent form in the first round so we should be in for a good contest here.
I think that World Open final is a guide to this match in that I expect it to be close. These two are fairly evenly matched. Williams has the edge in the tactical department but Gilbert is a very heavy scorer and generally when those clashes meet we end up with tight matches. Assuming the stage isn’t too big for Gilbert this one should see more than 21.5 frames.
Tips
WON – Back J.Cahill (+3.5 frames) to beat S.Maguire for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
Back him here:
Back M.Williams vs D.Gilbert – Over 21.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back it here:
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