The snooker Players Championship has reached the second round stage where the money starts to increase and the opportunity to play on the one table set up is just one win away which means the anticipation is starting to build in the event.
Most of the big names came through the first round unscathed but we did lose a twice former world champion on Wednesday evening when Mark Williams bit the dust. He lost to Dominic Dale but that aside shocks have been few and far between in this tournament so far. That means we have a solid second round line up.
The second round kicks off on the main table with an intriguing battle in the race for automatic spots at the Crucible as Ding Junhui takes on Michael White. Both men are running out of time to secure a guaranteed spot in Sheffield and winning this match would have a dramatic effect to their opponent so the stakes are high here.
We saw the best and the worst of White in the first round. He looked like he was going out with barely a whimper when he was 2-0 down to Luca Brecel but to be fair to him he found his form and came through nicely but he needs a serious upgrade on that form to trouble a Ding Junhui who was very comfortable.
I can’t see White winning this one but I’m on Ding outright so I’ve no need to force a bet at short odds. Hopefully Ding comes through unopposed and our outright punt can have real legs.
Following them on the main table are Judd Trump and Ali Carter. Trump looked good against Martin Gould in the first round and I’d expect him to win this but the odds aren’t particularly appealing especially as Carter is a whole lot better than his ranking and recent form suggests. I’ll sit this out.
In the evening on the main table the action begins with Barry Hawkins facing Robert Milkins. I thought Hawkins looked alright against Michael Holt in the first round but I can’t ever back him on a handicap with his penchant for throwing leads away. At the same time I can’t really be backing Milkins because his interview after his first round win was full of self-doubt and that doesn’t rein me in.
The last game on the TV table sees Shaun Murphy facing Dominic Dale. On all known logic Murphy looks to be a good thing there. He is playing really well at the minute and you wouldn’t think Dale will have the answers to that but at the same time winning back to back events is never easy and Murphy will have one match he’ll struggle in this week.
Whether he comes through that remains to be seen and whether it is here or not also is yet to be seen but the odds feel about right so there isn’t anything that attracts me on the main table on Thursday.
On the other table Mark Allen and Mark King are up first. Allen battled past Mark Davis in the first round but could have gone out had Davis not bungled a big chance in the decider. I don’t think King is going to storm away with this so it could go all the way and I don’t really want to get involved in that.
Ryan Day probably looked as impressive as anyone in the tournament in the first round and he will hope to follow up an emphatic win over Kyren Wilson with another over Mike Dunn on Thursday.
Day’s been playing well for a while now and I see no reason why he won’t continue that this week. He knows if he can go all the way he can still gatecrash the top 16 for the Crucible slots and there is no bigger incentive to do well than that.
Mike Dunn is a competent player in fairness but he isn’t going to plough you away with a barrage of heavy scoring so this looks to be a good match up for Day and it is one I think he can come through with plenty in hand, especially if he can score like he did in the first round on Wednesday night.
Matt Selt and Ben Woollaston collide first up on the non TV table in the evening session. Both men can be taken at evens to win the match which shows how close it appears to be. I actually think it might be that close too. I’m on Woollaston outright and I’ll just let that ride I think.
Finally Marco Fu plays Ricky Walden in a match which could easily be on the TV table but isn’t. Both had good wins in the first round. I’d expect Fu to follow up with a win but if Walden scores like he did against Ford he’ll make a real game of that. The prices look about right.
Back R.Day (-1.5 frames) to beat M.Dunn for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Sportingbet
