The second round of the Northern Ireland Open will conclude inside the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Wednesday and by the end of the day we will know the last 16 line-up in the latest Home Nations event of the season.
A number of the best players in the world have made it through to the Wednesday action which should ensure that we get an excellent day of snooker, one where only two tables are in use for all but one part of proceedings.
Morning Session
We have two matches in the morning session with an all-Chinese battle taking place on the main table as the former English Open finalist Wu Yize looks to make it into the last 16 of another Home Nations event when he takes on his countryman He Guoqiang. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh will also look to make it through to the last 16 in the morning play. The exciting Thai player will face off against the veteran Mark Davis who had a good win over Zhang Anda in the previous round.
Afternoon Session
We have two sets of matches in the afternoon to enjoy with once again just the two tables in action. The main table will be occupied by the man looking to complete the set of Home Nations titles this week in Mark Selby. He will face the dangerous Jack Lisowski who continues to push for a first major success. The other table sees the Championship League winner from earlier in the season, Stephen Maguire, going up against the Chinese sensation Si Jiahui in another tasty looking battle.
The British Open champion Shaun Murphy will be the main attraction on the TV table in the second part of the afternoon. He will go up against the Saudi Masters semi-finalist Elliot Slessor in a really tasty looking clash. The match on the other table doesn’t look too shabby either as Gary Wilson, who faced a scrape with exiting the tournament when trailing Chang Bingyu in a deciding frame in the last round, takes on Martin O’Donnell for a last 16 spot.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Evening Session
The second round of the tournament will conclude in the evening session. All three tables will be in use for the last time in the competition in the first part of the evening as the home star Mark Allen takes on Ben Woollaston on the main table. The other home player Jordan Brown will be on one of the other tables in this session when he meets the amateur Ashley Hugill in what is a huge chance for both men to make the last 16 and potentially beyond. The other match sees Zhou Yuelong taking on David Grace.
The second half of the evening will see Kyren Wilson continuing his title defence on the main table. The Shanghai Masters winner will meet a resurgent Ryan Day for a place in the last 16. There is one more match in the second part of the evening where Ali Carter will look to make it through to the next round. He came through a cracking match against Stan Moody in the previous round and will face off against Jimmy Robertson for a last 16 spot.
Betting
Jordan Brown might be the home man in this tournament but I don’t expect him to give the crowd what they want because I think he is ripe to be beaten by the amateur Ashley Hugill when the two meet in the evening session on Wednesday. Brown did well to qualify for this, motivated I’m sure by it being his home tournament but he hadn’t won a match since then until he faced Zhao Xintong in the first round here. On the face of it a win over the world champion is a good one but Xintong was absolutely terrible in that contest and I can’t believe Brown wins this unless there is a significant improvement.
Brown goes into every match knowing that he needs wins to stay on the tour at the end of the season and that makes him even more vulnerable to a Hugill who is in a solid run of form right now. In the last few weeks he has made the semi-final of a Q-Tour event, qualified for the Scottish Open and overcome the challenge of Noppon Saengkham in the first round here. He might be an amateur but that only means that he is playing in a lot of matches and winning his fair share of them. His confidence should be much higher than Brown and at odds against I have to be on Hugill here.
Tips
Back A.Hugill to beat J.Brown for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Bet365
