It is the last 16 day at the World Open on Thursday as the latest Chinese event heads towards a conclusion with the big money around the corner and the riches that can lead to plenty of things waiting for one of the eight men who make it through over the course of the two sessions.
We have a number of top 16 players still in the tournament and with everyone on show over the course of the day that means we are guaranteed some top quality action and some excellent matches to watch.
Morning Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan is in action in the earlier session for the first time this week. He goes up against Hossein Vafaei for the second time this season and the second time since that controversial clash at the Crucible last term. O’Sullivan is going very well at the minute but it is clear that Vafaei won’t lack for motivation in this one. Judd Trump is the other leading light on the main tables. The defending champion continues his title defence against David Lilley. The other two matches see Kyren Wilson facing Ben Woollaston and Barry Hawkins taking on Stephen Maguire.
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Afternoon Session
The pick of the matches in the later session of the day is the standout clash between the home star Ding Junhui and the Championship League winner Shaun Murphy. The other main table will see Mark Selby looking to head into another Chinese quarter final when he takes on Jackson Page in a real contrast in styles. Neil Robertson will look to keep his hopes of automatically qualifying for the World Championship alive when he meets the former Shootout winner Chris Wakelin. Elliot Slessor will go up against Daniel Wells in the other game.
Betting
Elliot Slessor did me a good turn on Wednesday when he took care of Matthew Stevens and I believe he can add another Welshman to his record on Thursday when he goes up against Daniel Wells. Wells had an excellent win over Mark Allen in the opening round and I’m a big fan of his but he has been quite quiet in the second part of the season and he needs a few more wins before I am convinced that he has turned a corner.
Slessor definitely doesn’t need to convince me of that. His run at the Welsh Open was very good and he was more than competitive in the Championship League and his two performances this week have been very good. He has made a century in both matches and scored well around that so he was a man feeling confident coming into this event who has shown every bit of his confidence. I’m surprised there are bookmakers who can’t split these. I’d have Slessor a favourite here so I’m happy to take the 10/11 on him winning.
Tips
Back E.Slessor to beat D.Wells for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfred
