The final round of qualifying for the World Championship gets underway on Tuesday as the first of the two Judgement Days take place inside the English Institute of Sport where the first eight men to book their place at the Crucible will be confirmed.
There is plenty on the line for the 16 players involved. The winners will be in Thursday’s draw for the World Championship and in some cases they will secure their tour card for next season. The losers will be done for the campaign and could be heading to Q-School.
Streamed Matches
Jack Lisowski is the highest ranked player on show in the qualifying competition and he is one win away from securing a return to the Crucible where he is entitled to be dangerous if he makes it. One man with a good record in the main event will be out to deny him when Lisowski takes on Matthew Stevens. The Northern Ireland Open finalist Chris Wakelin has a pretty good qualification record and he’ll be looking to extend that when he takes on Robbie Williams while Stuart Bingham is another big name who will be looking to secure a return to the best venue in the sport. Louis Heathcote is the man standing in his way. Zhou Yuelong will also be on a streamed table when he faces the man who reached the quarter final last year in Jak Jones.
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Other Four Matches
Stephen Maguire is a player who hasn’t really fulfilled his potential through the years as far as this tournament is concerned but he is a win away from returning to the Crucible. Yuan Sijun is the man looking to afford him that luxury. Ricky Walden has been all the way to the one-table setup at the Crucible and he will be looking to beat Mark Davis and secure a return to the Sheffield venue. Dominic Dale is another veteran who will be aiming to make it back to the Crucible. He goes up against He Guoqiang, who will be looking to make his debut in the Sheffield showpiece on his maiden season on tour. Lyu Haotian meets the lowest ranked player on show on the day in the form of Jenson Kendrick, who has the jeopardy of either reaching the Crucible and securing his tour card or losing out and ending up going back to Q-School.
Betting
I think the better bets on the Judgement Days action comes on the second day on Wednesday but there is one bet which I can’t ignore on Tuesday and that comes in the match between Stuart Bingham and Louis Heathcote where the 3.5 frame start on the latter just looks one too big to me at the very least. Bingham has had problems all season and he literally fell over the line in the previous round and if he does win here I wouldn’t be surprised were he to do that again. Bingham has been trialling glasses and everything this season in a bid to regain some form.
That hasn’t really worked though because Bingham has only made one quarter final all season. He still had that class in the balls which might well mean that he wins this match but Heathcote has been touted as a talent for a while and three wins in this qualifying campaign has seen him start to fulfil that billing. He has scored really well this week and he is probably the one playing without pressure given where he is currently ranked and his expectations coming in. Bingham isn’t. His Crucible appearance window is beginning to close and the way his game has slumped this might be his last opportunity to get back to the scene of his biggest triumph. That alone can keep Heathcote interested but even if he doesn’t get the 10 frames he needs I think he’ll get to seven as a minimum.
Tips
Back L.Heathcote (+3.5 frames) to beat S.Bingham for a 3/10 stake at 1.75 with Betway
