It is the round of 16 day at the English Open in Brentwood on Thursday and from here on in only the two main tables are in use so the tournament becomes a lot easier to follow and notches up in profile as a result.
As ever in a Home Nations event we have seen a fair few shocks but there are still plenty of household names on show on what has to be said is a pretty good schedule, especially on the main table on Thursday.
Afternoon Session
We have two sets of matches on the two main tables in the afternoon session and in the first of them it will be the former winner Mark Selby who will be the main attraction on the TV table. He faces Si Jiahui in what was so nearly the 2023 World Championship final. The schedule on the other table will be opened up by another Chinese player against a Leicester potter as Wu Yize looks to make it into the last eight at the expense of Ben Woollaston.
The defending champion Judd Trump will be the star attraction in the second part of the afternoon. The world number one will be looking to make it back into the quarter finals in Brentwood when he faces our one remaining outright bet in Fan Zhengyi. There is a Chinese player on the other table as well as He Guoqiang looks to make full use of his win over Ronnie O’Sullivan earlier in the competition when he takes on the surprise package from India in Ishpreet Singh Chadha.
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Evening Session
We have a really good evening session to enjoy on Thursday and it will be started on the main table with the tie of the last 16 when the former world number one Mark Allen goes up against the legend John Higgins in a repeat of that incredible World Championship clash when Higgins dished up in the decider against all the odds. Over on the other table Neil Robertson will be looking to make it back into the last eight of a ranking event for the second event in succession when he meets Ross Muir.
The world champion Kyren Wilson will be the star draw on the TV table in the second part of the evening. The former finalist will go up against Barry Hawkins in what should be a cracking contest to round out the play on the main stage. Over on the other table the former Shootout champion Chris Wakelin will be looking to reach the last eight. He goes up against Pang Junxu, who surprisingly is the fifth Chinese player on show throughout the day.
Betting
I remain unconvinced that Pang Junxu is playing all that well despite him continually moving through the draws. He has won both matches here in a deciding frame. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh should have beaten him in the first one but missed a raft of easy balls while Luca Brecel was disadvantaged by playing late at night on Tuesday then in the afternoon on Wednesday. I still think he is vulnerable to a player who is scoring well and with that in mind I think the even money on Chris Wakelin to beat him makes sense.
Wakelin took care of Zhang Anda in the last round and he did so with a ton and a couple of other decent breaks and looked every bit as confident on the table as he did when he did an interview for Eurosport ahead of his game where he cut a really confident figure. You can understand why too. He has only lost two full format ranking matches this season, one to Mark Williams and the other to Un-Nooh who produced a great break in the decider. Wakelin has previous in these Home Nations events having made the final in Northern Ireland last season and I think he is a shade of value at even money here.
Tips
Back C.Wakelin to beat P.Junxu for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
