The second week of the World Championship begins on Saturday as more stars of the game look to enhance their positions and chances of progressing in the tournament and the cast list for the three sessions of play could barely be stronger.
Friday recap
Marco Fu was the first man into the quarter final of the tournament as he saw off the challenge of Anthony McGill 13-9. Sadly for us there were only two centuries in the match rather than the three we needed so that was a blow to begin the round with.
There was better news in a couple of the other matches on Friday which will conclude on Saturday which we have bets on as Ali Carter leads Alan McManus 9-7. We’re hopeful he can land the -2.5 frames punt from that position on Saturday morning.
Mark Selby and Sam Baird shared the first session of their match which is perfect news for us as we already have half of the eight frames we need from Baird to bring in our +5.5 handicap. Over the course of Saturday we’re even more confident we’ll get the other four frames we need.
The other match carried over from Friday sees Mark Williams in control against Michael Holt. He leads 10-6 having trailed 4-1 at one stage but all the headlines will be about the table which was playing horrendously. Williams is too experienced to let that lead go so we won’t get involved in that match.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Barry Hawkins
The first match to begin on Saturday is a repeat of the Masters final from earlier this year as Ronnie O’Sullivan and Barry Hawkins set off on their three session journey in the afternoon session.
O’Sullivan didn’t look fantastic in the first round but he gobbled up the majority of the chances he was given and I would expect him to go from strength to strength in this round. Hawkins is an opponent who sets up well for O’Sullivan. He is attacking with his safety but isn’t always tight enough with his cue ball control.
By his own admission Hawkins was awful in the first round although he did finish with the highest break in the tournament so far which gives him something to build on but having watched his interview after the match you have to think he is beaten long before he’s even started here.
I can understand why in fairness. These two have met twice in this tournament and O’Sullivan has won 18-12 and 17-7 and it was 10-1 when they met at Alexandra Palace at the beginning of the year. In truth Hawkins has rarely looked like getting close and the way he spoke in that interview after beating Zhang he isn’t getting close here either.
Ricky Walden vs John Higgins
I fancy this could be the match of the round. Certainly if it is like their China Open semi-final from earlier in the month it will be that good anyway because that match was excellent.
Higgins looked in excellent form in the first round. He banged in four centuries in an emphatic win over Ryan Day and if he continues that standard for the rest of the tournament he is going to be very hard to peg back but it remains to be seen if he can keep that level up.
On the flip side Ricky Walden was ordinary in the first round. I think you could quite clearly see he was feeling the pressure of being such a warm favourite against Robbie Williams and in the end it was just about getting over the line rather than looking good. Walden has been in good form for the last month or so and I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.
If Walden plays like he has been this one is going to go deep into Monday evening. I wouldn’t rule Walden out of this match but we’ll only truly know if he believes he can win after the first session. Until then though I’m happy to take over 21.5 frames here as a bigger scoreline than 13-9 either way would really surprise me.
Tips
Back R.O’Sullivan (-5.5 frames) to beat B.Hawkins for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with NetBet
Back him here:
Back R.Walden vs J.Higgins – Over 21.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Coral
Back him here:
