The second week of the World Championship starts on Saturday when we have another pulsating day of last 16 action to look forward to inside the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield as we head closer to finalising the quarter final line up.
We have no fewer than four winners of this title on show on Saturday and a host of other challengers who will be out to win this crown for the first time. We should get three very high sessions of quality.
Day 7 Recap
We were only due to have the one winner on Friday and it arrived earlier than expected as Mark Williams dispatched his practice partner Jackson Page with a session to spare. Our pre-tournament pick landed six centuries in an emphatic 13-3 success. Three other matches either got started or continued on Friday. Stephen Maguire powered into a very good looking 11-5 lead over Zhao Xintong while Ronnie O’Sullivan will need just one frame when he returns 12-4 up on Mark Allen. Mark Selby and Yan Bingtao are locked at 4-4 in their match.
In Play Betting
There are three outstanding matches heading into Saturday but there isn’t a bet for me. You would imagine Stephen Maguire and Ronnie O’Sullivan will convert their emphatic leads in fairly quick time on Saturday and the other match is the one between Mark Selby and Yan Bingtao but I already have a bet running for me there having backed Bingtao before it started. I still think he’ll win and I wouldn’t be surprised if now he has felt what Selby has to offer if the Chinese youngster doesn’t turn it on in the second session and open up a decent lead.
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Anthony McGill vs Judd Trump (Saturday 2.30pm, Sunday 2.30pm & Monday 7pm)
Two matches get underway on Saturday and the first of those sees the former semi-finalist Anthony McGill taking on the 2019 champion Judd Trump in a contrast in styles but that could lead to a really tasty second round clash.
Trump has historically dominated the past meetings between these two but McGill will know they have never played over anything close to the length of this match so the past meetings carry little relevance. What does carry significance is the form right now and I think McGill is no worse than Trump and might actually be playing better. We saw some good bits of Trump in the first round but I didn’t think he was anywhere near his best and had a very good run of the ball in overcoming Hossein Vafaei. McGill was made to work a little harder than he would have wanted in the first round but there were certainly positive signs there. This is a man who has beaten Stephen Maguire, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy and Ronnie O’Sullivan here so we know he won’t fear Trump. McGill will get chances in this match and if he can score and have his safety on point I expect him to get to nine frames if not the full 13 for victory.
Neil Robertson vs Jack Lisowski (Saturday 7pm, Sunday 2.30pm & Monday 7pm)
The second of the two matches to get started on Saturday does so in the evening session when the tournament favourite Neil Robertson goes up against the dangerous if inconsistent Jack Lisowski, who might just have the bit between his teeth in this match.
Lisowski has ridiculously been banned from wearing the Ukraine flag on his waistcoat and has vowed to wave a flag of support for the country where he has family ties should he win this match. That might act as extra motivation for the classy cueist. It won’t be easy for Lisowski to beat Robertson though. The pair met here last year when Robertson won 13-9 but everyone knows the Australian is no fan of this venue. If Lisowski can jump out in front and get Robertson under pressure he might get the player of the season in waiting to crack. The biggest problem Lisowski has here though is that it isn’t his natural game to drag Robertson into a scrappy encounter so he’ll need to be on top form to have any chance. I’ll want the early play and maybe evaluate again from there.
Tips
Back A.McGill (+4.5 frames) to beat J.Trump for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
Back him here:
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