Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy eased into the Last 16 of the China Open with comfortable wins over Nigel Bond and Dechawat Poomjaeng, while defending champion Neil Robertson came through another deciding frame, this time against Mark Williams. Judd Trump was knocked out though by Beijing specialist Peter Ebdon and Marco Fu was beaten by Mark King.
There were good wins though for Graeme Dott 5-4 over Dave Harold and Ali Carter over Matt Selt, while Mike Dunn and Luca Brecel both got important wins for their end of season money list standings. Todays other winners included Ding Junhui who beat Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, John Higgins who thrashed Michael White, and Ali Carter who had a top break of 39 against Matt Selt.
Last 32 Results:
Neil Robertson 5-4 Mark Williams
Yu De Lu 5-1 James Wattana
Luca Brecel 5-1 Dominic Dale
Graeme Dott 5-4 Dave Harold
Shaun Murphy 5-0 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Ricky Walden 5-3 Xiao Guodong
Ali Carter 5-2 Matt Selt
Peter Ebdon 5-4 Judd Trump
Ding Junhui 5-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
John Higgins 5-1 Michael White
Mark King 5-3 Marco Fu
Jamie O'Neill 5-2 Fergal O'Brien
Craig Steadman 5-4 Martin O'Donnell
Mike Dunn 5-3 Tian Pengfei
Jimmy White 5-3 Alfie Burden
Mark Selby 5-1 Nigel Bond
Last 16 Preview: (Picks in Bold)
Neil Robertson Vs Yu De Lu - Neil Robertson has battled well through the week so far despite having a nasty virus to contend with, and he hasn't actually played that badly for someone as ill as he has been. If he is starting to recover nicely his form should soon start to return as well. As for De Lu, his form has been nice in the few weeks, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan to make the PC quarter-finals, but I don't know with so many matches in a short period, that this might be a step too far.
Graeme Dott Vs Luca Brecel - Luca had a walkover in the Last 64 after winning his wildcard match, and it seems like he played alright in beating Dominic Dale and he is a player that can certainly be very dangerous when he reaches top form as his run to the 2012 UK quarter-finals showed. Graeme Dott will certainly have his hands full, and he's already had to come through 2 more against Rory McLeod and Dave Harold, so tomorrow's contest may well be another close one. This one could well come down to experience, and with Graeme Dott being a much better tactical player here, that could make the difference.
Shaun Murphy Vs Ricky Walden - Shaun seems to have kept his brilliant form going this week only dropping one frame so far and playing some decent snooker to keep going since his World Open victory, and he'll be feeling confident against for this one. Ricky meanwhile has not showed anything near his best, playing some reasonable but hardly sparkling stuff so far. Walden will certainly to improve to have a chance of victory, but playing against one of his good friends - you'd always expect him to get a few chances, it'll just be about whether Ricky can be more clinical.
Ali Carter Vs Peter Ebdon - Ali has hardly been fantastic this week, beating Selt 5-2 today with a high break of 39, but he's done what he's had to so far, but playing Peter tomorrow will be another test for him, especially as Ebdon has a brilliant record at the China Open and he knows Carter's game well being in his corner for the 2012 World Championships previously. Peter always seems to play well in China, and he has become something of a China Open specialist over the years. Another couple of wins this week would give him a lot of confidence as well for the World Championship qualifiers. I fancy that Ebdon will just edge this one, with his great China form.
Ding Junhui Vs John Higgins - As I mentioned in my preview, Higgins has been fairly consistent in the last couple of events, getting to a few quarter-finals but failing to kick on. He's played some decent stuff so far this week, and if he could win this match it may push him along to much bigger things. Ding Junhui has been far from convincing so far this week, and in the few weeks leading up to this which could be a sign of him relaxing a bit ahead of the World's or just feeling a bit tired after a very long season for him. If Ding isn't at his best tomorrow, I like John's chances of being able to capitalise.
Mark King Vs Jamie O'Neill - Mark King had a very good win today against Marco Fu, and he's one of those players that consistently gets a good win every now and again, as a player he's often underrated and his playing style has come under some criticism, but he certainly has the capabilities and this week could well be his breakthrough week. As for O'Neill, he's had a brilliant couple of wins against O'Brien and Kyren Wilson so he will be full of confidence tomorrow and he has every chance of beating King, but he will have to continue to play well.
Mike Dunn Vs Craig Steadman - Both of these 2 guys have had 2 very important wins so far this week, and Mike Dunn seems to be reaping the rewards of staying in China after the World Open to practice ready for this event. He's now got up to 65th on the end of season money list, so will certainly be inspired to get another win tomorrow. As for Craig, it would be easy to underestimate how much better he seems to be playing lately and he has a very good chance of getting another victory here. It will certainly be another close match with a lot on the line in terms of tour survival, Dunn's acclimatization could be the key here.
Mark Selby Vs Jimmy White - Jimmy has had a couple of decent wins this week, but it also doesn't seem as though he's been tested much in his opening 2 matches so far. With tour survival basically secure for another year he will probably relax a bit more before this match, though it will also be a much sterner test, and his record against the top players is nowhere near what it used to be. As for Selby, it's hardly been vintage stuff, but you didn't feel it would need to be for him to get through this quarter, by which time he'd have played himself into the tournament more. Selby's been doing what he's had to to win again this week, and you feel he will do the same again.
It's a decent line-up then for the latter stages of the China Open, and there should be some good snooker to come in the next few days. It will certainly be interesting to see how things go in the Last 16 tomorrow with some important matches still to come.
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