There were good wins on Tuesday at the Welsh Open for Ronnie O'Sullivan over Barry Pinches, Ding Junhui over Jamie Cope, Neil Robertson over Rory McLeod, while Shaun Murphy came through what turned into a tough match against Craig Steadman. Also, Graeme Dott came through a decider against a home favourite Jamie Jones, while Ryan Day was also sent packing 4-1 by Anthony McGill.
One home favourite that did make it through today was Mark Williams, who beat Tian Pengfei, while Ali Carter beat Mike Dunn in a tense contest, Barry Hawkins won another of Tuesday's deciders against Cao Yupeng.
Tuesday's Last 64 results in full:
Ding Junhui 4-1 Jamie Cope
Anthony Hamilton 4-1 Li Hang
Graeme Dott 4-3 Jamie Jones
Liang Wenbo 4-0 Fergal O'Brien
Mark Williams 4-0 Tian Pengfei
Anthony McGill 4-1 Ryan Day
Ben Woollaston 4-1 Alfie Burden
Ali Carter 4-3 Mike Dunn
Neil Robertson 4-0 Rory McLeod
Shaun Murphy 4-2 Craig Steadman
Barry Hawkins 4-3 Cao Yupeng
Jack Lisowski 4-1 Martin Gould
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Barry Pinches
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ricky Walden 4-2 Matthew Selt
Right then, it's time to have a look at what we can expect in today's Last 32 games: (picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs Dominic Dale - This one will be a very close match, with 2 players that are playing some decent stuff at the moment. Selby looked very good in the Last 128, and played reasonably snooker in a tricky match against Harold on Monday. As for Dominic, he played pretty well against Dechawat Poomjaeng and with the home crowd on his side, I think he will thrive on the big match atmosphere. I still think Selby has been playing slightly better this week and will just get on with the job tomorrow.
Shaun Murphy Vs Liang Wenbo - This is going to be another very close match, and one that is very tough to call. Murphy played very well in the first round, but struggled through a tough match yesterday against Steadman, that he would have just been pleased to win. The same really would apply to Liang Wenbo's first round game, while he played much better yesterday making 2 centuries to beat O'Brien. There really is nothing to choose here, but if you go on recent form, Murphy has been playing so well leading up to this and will be very confident.
James Wattana Vs Joel Walker - Both players have had some very good results to get to this stage, and they've both clearly been playing well. Wattana will be slightly more desperate for this win here as he is in a worse off position to stay on tour than Walker - who will survive either way via the Euro Order of Merit. It's bound to be another close one, but I think James Wattana has really been fired up for the fight in the last couple of weeks.
Andrew Higginson Vs Scott Donaldson - Again this is going to be another very close contest, between 2 guys that have both played some decent results this week, with Scott having a couple of very nice wins against Milkins and Gilbert. However, Higginson has gone under the radar this week, but could really use a run here for his confidence and with good memories from Newport, this may be one bridge too far for Donaldson this week.
Neil Robertson Vs Mark Williams - Both players in this one had 4-0 wins yesterday, but Neil Robertson's win was the complete performance really with great break building and match play, and if he plays like that again for the rest of the week, there will be nothing anybody can do. Mark Williams will need to bring his very best to win this one, and his current form will simply not be enough.
Mark Allen Vs Ali Carter - Ali Carter had quite a struggle to get through yesterday against Mike Dunn, whereas Allen made strides after his close call in the first round with 2 centuries to beat Noppon Saengkham on Monday and I think his form has picked up at the right time for this one. A close match, but I think Allen might just have the edge, especially with the extra day off against Carter who had such a tough battle yesterday.
Joe Perry Vs Matthew Stevens - This match has got another close contest written all over, with Stevens not necessarily playing well up until this point, but the last 3 frames from yesterday sort of showed a mini turnaround, and the way his form was going he really needed that. Perry has been playing well this week, but I just have a sneaky feeling about Matthew here.
Ricky Walden Vs Anthony Hamilton - I think this will be quite a scrappy affair, that could easily go either way, but I think that with Walden being fresh he has to go in as the clear favourite, especially as he seems to be in better form than Hamilton as well.
Judd Trump Vs Anthony McGill - Anthony has had 2 very good performances from what I can see, but playing against Judd Trump this afternoon will be a different prospect. Judd has played very well in my opinion in his first 2 matches, and all the pressure will be on McGill to keep it very tight from the off, but with Trump carrying on from the German Masters it will be incredibly difficult for the Scot.
Marco Fu Vs Graeme Dott - This has yet another close match written all over it, with both players in decent form. Fu has showed some of his inconsistency lately again, but he did seem to play exceptionally well against Kurt Maflin on Monday. As for Dott, he had more of a scrap against Jamie Jones yesterday and he wasn't quite at his best, as he will need to be today against Marco, so I think Fu will just nick it.
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Xiao Guodong - This is a very tasty match in prospect, between 2 very attacking players. Xiao played very well in his match with Michael White in a cracking match on Monday, and if he can repeat that form again today he will cause problems for Ronnie. I still thought Ronnie was quite rusty in a 4-1 win over a very poor Barry Pinches who had plenty of chances. O'Sullivan needs to sharpen up here or he will be punished, but all the pressure will be on the Chinaman.
Stuart Bingham Vs Michael Holt - Stuart hasn't been at his sparkling best yet in this tournament, and he himself has recognised that he will need to step it up to go any further in this event, which is what he had to do for the last part of his match yesterday against Un-Nooh. As for Holt, he hasn't been producing his best snooker in this event either, but an extra day off for him to practice and be ready for this match will possibly help him out. It could turn into a very tense match, but I think after a couple of scrappy wins, Holt won't be able to do the same here.
Stephen Maguire Vs Andrew Pagett - Pagett has had 2 very good, but also surprise wins in his home event, and with Stephen suffering with his back he could pull off another surprise win here. However, Andrew has had to really scrap for these 2 wins, and hasn't really played great snooker to get here, and with Maguire playing well despite an injury that he is taking painkillers for and insists doesn't affect him when he is actually down on the shots, there is only one winner.
Ding Junhui Vs Ben Woollaston - Ding Junhui has been playing well again this week, and has to be one of the favourites to win his 5th ranking event of the season this week. Ben will need to be at the top of his game to win this one, but looking at some of this weeks frame scores, he may not be far away from that. I just think that Ding is so good at the moment in every aspect of the game that is hard to see many players beating him.
John Higgins Vs Mark King - The Welsh Open for King so far has been a real struggle for form, being involved in 2 incredibly scrappy matches, where he just about managed to get through on both occasions. As for John, he seems to be more confident this week and is playing some better snooker now than he was before Christmas, perhaps this could be a week where he has a decent run.
Barry Hawkins Vs Jack Lisowski - Jack played some very good snooker yesterday against Martin Gould, and could well cause an upset here, but I said the same thing before he played Hawkins in the World Championship and I was totally wrong. Hawkins has also been in decent form this week, which makes it slightly harder to see Lisowski producing an upset in this one.
Whatever happens today, it will be a cracking day of snooker, with some very very close matches everywhere you look. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will, and i'll be back tomorrow for a Last 16 preview.
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