Tomorrow sees the start of the televised stages of the Welsh Open from Newport, starting with the Last 64 with the 32 games being played across Monday on Tuesday, with 4 sessions per day across 4 tables. There's not really a great deal to report from the Last 128 round with the seeded players winning the majority of the matches, with Robert Milkins being the biggest casualty thus far.
Let's take a look at the Last 64 matches then:
Monday's matches: (picks in bold)
Stephen Maguire Vs Sam Baird - Stephen had a routine victory in round 1 over Elliot Slessor, while Sam Baird also had a good win against Robbie Williams. Maguire seems to be playing quite well at the moment, and even though Baird is well capable of an upset here, I don't really see it happening
Tom Ford Vs James Wattana - James had a good couple of wins last week against Rod Lawler in the first round here, and against Matthew Stevens in the China qualifiers. However, if Tom Ford is playing well he is a formidable threat, and with Wattana's best years well and truly behind him, Ford is a clear favourite for this.
Mark Davis Vs Joel Walker - Mark only just scraped through in round 1, and has been struggling quite a lot since a successful early season Asian swing. As for Walker, he had a very tight win against Advani in round 1 and will certainly make this a very close match as well. If Davis doesn't step it up, and Joel plays well, then there could certainly be an upset on the cards.
Dominic Dale Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng - Dominic struggled through in round 1, and with the Welshmen not having a great record in their home event he could well fall foul of some Poomjaeng antics. However, Dale has otherwise played pretty well recently, and if he can continues in that vein, then there is only one winner here.
David Gilbert Vs Scott Donaldson - David is one player that has always had great potential and is starting to climb the rankings, and really looks like he could have a big tournament run soon. He will have a tough match though against Scott, who beat Milkins in round 1, though Robert did give Scott a few chances, and if David can keep it tighter than he won't have the same problems.
Jimmy Robertson Vs Andrew Higginson - Both had good first round wins, and from what I saw of Higginson, he looked re-finding some of his old form. However, Higginson has been very inconsistent in the last year, and if Jimmy can keep him under pressure, he has a great chance. However, Jimmy isn't always the most consistent man himself, and if Andrew starts off well he should win this one.
Matthew Stevens Vs Ian Burns - Both came through deciders in round 1, and Stevens has really been struggling of late. Ian has also been slightly less consistent this year, as he was last year when he won "Rookie of the year" in the World Snooker awards. This close match could come down to how the home crowd affects Matthew, whether he feels the added pressure, or whether he thrives on it.
Mark Allen Vs Noppon Saengkham - Mark struggled through in round 1, coming from 1-3 down to overcome amateur Sydney Wilson, but the Northern Irishman seemed to step it up in the latter stages of that one and really play well, and a lucky escape in the Last 128 could really spur him on. As for Noppon, he overcame Steve Davis in round 1, in a match that became extreme scrappy at the back end, with both players being handed plenty of chances, something Saengkham won't get against Allen.
Gerard Greene Vs Andrew Pagett - Gerard Greene had a fairly good win in round 1, while Andrew had a very good win against an underperforming Marcus Campbell, and it has to be said that Andrew didn't have to play that well there, and hasn't played spectacularly this season so far.
Joe Perry Vs Liu Chuang - The last year seems to have been a real struggle for Liu Chuang, with the odd decent win here or there, which isn't really good enough to build up a decent career. Meanwhile, Joe has been much more consistent this year, and playing a lot better with some really good runs in tournaments this season. Only one winner here.
Mark Selby Vs Dave Harold - Depending on how this match starts off, this could be quite a lengthy contest. However, there were signs last week that Selby could be nearing his best again, and if he's close to that here, he'll blow Dave away.
Marco Fu Vs Kurt Maflin - It took Marco quite a while to get going in his opener on Saturday morning, and it showed some of Marco's inconsistency again. As for Kurt, he seemed to be playing well against Alex Davies, and if he can play a sensible game against Fu and not get bogged down he has a great chance of winning, but I could just see Marco scrapping this one out.
Michael Holt Vs Peter Lines - Michael is playing quite well this season, making the quarter-finals of the German Masters and making the final of AT2. As for Peter Lines, he's involved in a scrap for his tour place, picking up the odd good victory along the way, but not winning consistently enough. Could be a close one, but just see Michael edging it either way.
Judd Trump Vs Jamie Burnett - Judd had a very tough match in round 1 with Kyren Wilson, which he could have easily lost, but in the end he showed some of the form that got him to the German Masters final, with 2 centuries getting him into the Last 64. As for Jamie, he's struggled a bit for a run this season, and I can't really see him troubling Judd here if Trump is on his game.
John Higgins Vs Ken Doherty - John seemed a lot more confident after his win against Tony Drago, and he could really do with a good run in Newport to get him some confidence back. Ken Doherty meanwhile, has had a real struggle for large parts of this season, and with age no longer on his side, you have to worry about how long Ken has left, despite signs last week that this could only be a temporary loss of form. I can really only see one winner here though.
Xiao Guodong Vs Michael White - This could be an absolutely cracking contest between two brilliant young players, but also 2 players that had to come through deciders on Saturday evening. Xiao seemed to play the better snooker of the two though, with Michael really struggling against Chris Wakelin and he'll have to really up things if he's to win this one.
Tuesday's matches: (picks in bold)
Ding Junhui Vs Jamie Cope - Ding looked a very formidable prospect in his opening round win against Gary Wilson, as he has been all season, while Jamie Cope has really been struggling for his game in the last year or more, and would need a miracle to win this one.
Graeme Dott Vs Jamie Jones - Graeme played some very good stuff last week in both his Last 128 matches in Newport and for the China Open, and could be an outside threat this week if he keeps it up. Meanwhile, another home favourite here Jamie Jones has also been playing well and will have the crowd on his side, but I'm not quite sure it will be enough to see off Dott.
Fergal O'Brien Vs Liang Wenbo - Fergal has played well lately, reaching the final of the Gdynia Open, while Liang Wenbo has also been playing well lately, despite a struggle in his Last 128 match, where it seemed like he was getting bogged down a touch. The same could easily happen here, but I think Liang will still just win this very tight match to call.
Anthony Hamilton Vs Li Hang - It seems as though Li Hang has been playing some quite decent snooker of late, especially here in dispatching Peter Ebdon, but Anthony Hamilton is a different prospect, and a player in better form than Peter at the moment, and is often quite an underrated player. His experience should be the difference in this match for me.
Ben Woollaston Vs Alfie Burden - Another very even match is in prospect here between 2 evenly matched players, that both played some good stuff in round 1. Both score heavy when they get in, and are both very experienced, so what will be the difference? It could well be temperament, with Burden being much more aggressive than Ben, and I think this conservative attitude could serve him well in this one.
Ali Carter Vs Mike Dunn - Ali was yet another player that impressed in round 1 with another good win, while Mike seems to be on the up winning both his Last 128 ties in this and for the China Open, but Ali is just in a different class you have to say.
Mark Williams Vs Tian Pengfei - Round 1 on Saturday was a real struggle for Mark Williams, and he said on twitter afterwards that it would alright if he could pot the "sitters". With that kind of form in mind, Tian Pengfei has been playing well recently pulling off some good victories since the turn of the year, and another here would put him a massive step closer to securing his tour card for next year.
Ryan Day Vs Anthony McGill - Ryan as the home favourite here, will want another good run to go with his German Masters semi-final appearance, and he has to be the favourite in this one against McGill. However, McGill played well in the back half of his match with Jamie O'Neill from 2-0 down to win 4-2, and he could put a lot of pressure on Ryan who doesn't always perform to his potential in his home event. I still think that Day will manage to get through though.
Neil Robertson Vs Rory McLeod - Neil played a lot better on Friday than he did in the China Open Last 128, and he feels that he should've had 3 centuries against Lu Haotian, without making 1, which will really fire him up for this match. Rory will make this tough for Neil in his own unique (but painfully slow) style, but it won't be enough.
Shaun Murphy Vs Craig Steadman - Shaun has been a changed man in the last month, making big breaks for fun and full of confidence, he will be incredibly dangerous in this event. Shaun and Craig are good mates off the table, but that won't affect things on it, and as good a player as Craig is, I can't see him stopping the train that is currently Shaun Murphy.
Martin Gould Vs Jack Lisowski - Martin and Jack both struggled a little lately for consistency, whilst still playing some decent snooker. Martin's inconsistencies couldn't have been displayed any better in the China Open qualifier, losing to Barry Pinches having just won Championship League group 6. As for Jack, his game is still dominated by his attacking flare, which comes off on some days and doesn't on others. However, I'm just going to go for Jack here as he just seems to be in slightly better knick.
Barry Hawkins Vs Cao Yupeng - Barry played well in his round 1 match that lasted only 1 hour, while Cao Yupeng has not been in as good form as he was around a year and a half ago, which should make this a more comfortable (but still a fairly tough) match for Hawkins.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Barry Pinches - Even though Ronnie said he was rusty after his round 1 game, and Barry Pinches has been much improved in the last 2 or 3 months, I still can't see any way that Barry will win this.
Ricky Walden Vs Matthew Selt - Ricky looked very good and fresh in his first win against Paul Davison, while Matt Selt won his first round match against our Libyan friend Abumdas, with a highest break of 45, which hardly shows the same from he was in in Gdynia where he made the semi-finals beating Trump and Milkins along the way. Selt is certainly dangerous here, but with Walden being fresh and looking decent he will have the advantage.
Stuart Bingham Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - Stuart played a lot better in his opening round win, and will hopefully soon be back to the form he showed Pre-Christmas. As for Un-Nooh, he is a very very good player on his day, but he is also incredibly inconsistent at times, and almost unpredictable. One thing that has to be said for Thepchaiya is that he is attacking, which could play into the experienced hands of Bingham.
Mark King Vs Alan McManus - Mark King admitted after his first round match that he struggled quite a bit at times, while McManus didn't seem to be much more convincing in his Last 128 triumph. This is bound to be a very close match, and one that is very difficult to call. I think Mark still played pretty well in round 1 though, and I'm going to go for a very tight win for him.
I'm really looking forward to this week now, with so many players playing well it is sure to be a great tournament with some great matches, with any of great number of players capable of winning on the form they showed in round 1. Hope you all enjoy as well at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment