The second round of the Championship League Snooker competition comes to a close inside the Mattioli Arena in Leicester on Tuesday as the last two spots in finals day 24 hours later get filled on a competitive looking day.
It is a day where the action lacks a standout star name but with the prize that is on the line we can be sure there will be plenty of decent snooker and if the last few days are anything to go by, a fair amount of tension and drama too.
Group G
Fixtures
Ben Mertens vs Yao Pengcheng
Sam Craigie vs Amir Sarkhosh
Sam Craigie vs Yao Pengcheng
Ben Mertens vs Amir Sarkhosh
Amir Sarkhosh vs Yao Pengcheng
Ben Mertens vs Sam Craigie
Preview
The action over on table two sees four lower ranked players taking to the baize with a huge opportunity for all of them to make it through to the final day and jump start those around them in the rankings this season. Ben Mertens is the top seed on show and it will be interesting to see how he handles that tag. He picked up seven points from nine in the first round. Sam Craigie is the second seed in this group after coming out with a win and two draws in his opening group. Amir Sarkhosh had the same record in this first group as he stunned Gary Wilson to qualify. Yao Pengcheng is the other player in this group with him also claiming five points from the nine available in the opening phase.
Group H
Fixtures
Tom Ford vs Liu Wenwei
Wu Yize vs Matthew Stevens
Wu Wize vs Liu Wenwei
Tom Ford vs Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens vs Liu Wenwei
Tom Ford vs Wu Yize
Preview
The action on table one has more recognisable names to it and that should make for a decent day of snooker. Tom Ford is the top seed on home soil and he is the man who will be expected to make it through to the final day. Ford laboured in his opening group though which could make Wu Yize the favourite to come out of this group as the second seed. It is 19 days since the two-time ranking event finalist from last season played his first group but he won two and drew the other of his three games. Matthew Stevens has the chance to jump up the rankings over the next couple of days if he can win the group as a third seed. He also took seven points in the first stage. The other player in this group is Liu Wenwei, the tour newcomer who is another who won two of his three matches in the first group.
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Betting
This is another day where you could genuinely make a case for all eight players to come through and full the remaining two spots at finals day. If I had to pick a couple of favourites to progress I would go with Ben Mertens and maybe a shock in the other group with Matthew Stevens coming through but I’m not convinced enough to put money on them because once again I can see a number of draws over the course of the day.
One match I don’t see being a draw though is the opening game on table two when Mertens faces the newcomer to the tour in Yao Pengcheng. Pengcheng did well to come through his opening group when you consider it contained Lyu Haotian and Jamie Jones but he had a highest break of 58 on the day and that isn’t going to cut the mustard here. Mertens had three tons in his three matches in the first ground and is yet to lose a match this season. Pengcheng has only won one of his five games so I’m going to go with the form here and side with the Belgian.
Tips
Back B.Mertens to beat Y.Pengcheng for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Sky Bet
