The second round of the Championship League Snooker tournament continues on Saturday when the third week of the competition comes to a close inside the Mattioli Arena in Leicester with two more places at the final day of the event up for grabs.
Saturday is a day where we don’t have a top 16 player on show but everyone who is taking to the baize has already won a group in the first round so they are up to speed and should ensure there is a decent quality on show.
Group C
Fixtures
Pang Junxu vs Alfie Burden
Lei Peifan vs Robbie Williams
Lei Peifan vs Alfie Burden
Pang Junxu vs Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams vs Alfie Burden
Pang Junxu vs Lei Peifan
Preview
The action over on table two on Saturday sees two Chinese players leading the way. Pang Junxu hasn’t won a title yet but he has been to a ranking event final and he is the top seed in Group C and looking to reach the final day of the tournament from this section. His compatriot Lei Peifan, who unlike Pang has won a title having taken down the Scottish Open last term, is the second seed in the group. Robbie Williams came through a competitive first round group and will want to show he can handle himself in this company. The group is made up with the only amateur remaining in the tournament in Alfie Burden who came out of a group which included Shaun Murphy in the opening stage of the event.
Group D
Fixtures
Jack Lisowski vs Artemijs Zizins
Xu Si vs David Lilley
Xu Si vs Artemijs Zizins
Jack Lisowski vs David Lilley
David Lilley vs Artemijs Zizins
Jack Lisowski vs Xu Si
Preview
It is Group D which will have the attention of the main table coverage and that is because Jack Lisowski is the standout operator on show on the day. He is looking for a fast start to the season to push for a return to the top 16 and he probably can’t believe his luck in terms of the second round group he has landed himself in. Xu Si is the second seed in the group but he hasn’t really achieved much in the game. David Lilley is the third seed in this section and he will be confident having claimed seven points from his three first round matches. The Latvian star Artemijs Zizins is the other player in the group and given that he only dropped one frame in the first round, he could be the closest challenger to Lisowski.
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Betting
There isn’t a huge amount that I like in the match betting on Saturday. I do think Jack Lisowski will dominate the action on the main table but he is odds on to win the group and we’ve seen countless examples in this tournament already that taking odds on shots is a quick route to the poor house so I’m not going to do that. Instead, I will focus my attention on the other group where the favourite looks a little more vulnerable in the section.
The favourite is Pang Junxu and you can certainly see why that is the case but Lei Peifan is a rising star and might have overtaken Pang in the one to back stakes. Peifan won in Scotland last year and qualified for the World Championship where he gave a good account of himself and so far this season he has played five, won four and drawn one and scored well along the way. Peifan only needed a draw from the game he drew too. He is playing well and I think he is the one to be on. If he can overcome Robbie Williams in the opener he’ll take some stopping with his early season momentum.
Tips
Back L.Peifan to win Group C for a 2/10 stake at 3.10 with William Hill
Back him here:
