It is the final day of qualifying for the European Masters on Saturday and with eight matches held over to the venue, we are left with just two sessions of action as the last eight remaining main draw spots get filled inside the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
The leading eight entries into the tournament have had their match saved for Germany but despite this being the final day of qualifying for those who do have to play in Leicester, we still have a couple of seasoned names on show.
Morning Session
Joe O’Connor is the local lad who will be looking to back up a decent campaign last term when he is the highest ranked player on show. He faces the female star Rebecca Kenna while the pick of the matches in the session could well be the one between the Chinese player Xu Si and Alexander Ursenbacher. Dylan Emery is looking to make a bit of a name for himself on the main tour this season and he will meet Barry Pinches who has come into the event at short notice to replace Liam Highfield. The other match sees two Chinese players meeting when Xing Zihao takes on Peng Yisong.
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Afternoon Session
The final session of qualifying is headlined by the former world champion Stuart Bingham. He will look to put what was a surprisingly disappointing Championship League campaign behind him when he faces the competent Jamie Clarke. Hossein Vafaei surprisingly ducked out at the first stage of the Championship League to open up the season so he will be looking to fare much better on Saturday afternoon. He will go up against Rod Lawler in what is something of a clash in styles. Marco Fu has the chance to remind everyone that he can still be a force in the game. He faces Adam Duffy for a spot in the main draw while Fan Zhengyi takes on Lyu Haotian in what could end up being the match of the day.
Betting
Alexander Ursenbacher is the man who interests me from a betting standpoint on Saturday. He has been scoring very well under pressure in recent times and I always like scorers in these qualifying events. The Swiss ace went to Q-School and got his card back at the first time of asking. What I liked about that effort was the closer he got to the tour card the better his scoring got. In the last 32 he made a 136 and an 80 break, the last 16 yielded runs of 77, 69 and 50 in a win over Alfie Burden and he put together knocks of 69, 66, 62, 54 and 51 in winning his card against Barry Pinches.
He then followed that up at the Championship League where in all six frames that he won in a tough first stage group, he made a 60 break or better and was unlucky to go out. Xu Si was also unlucky not to come through his group in that competition as he didn’t lose a match but a 2-2 draw with Reanne Evans hurt him and while Xu Si is competent, he isn’t one of those Chinese players who threatens to blast you away with bursts of scoring. Ursenbacher seems to have had the penny drop after nearly falling off the tour and I think that bit between his teeth and the scoring form he has been in can see him come out on top here.
Tips
Back A.Ursenbacher to beat X.Si for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
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