Ding Junhui came from 4-2 down to beat Pankaj Advani 5-4 in the Last 32 of the Haikou World Open, while Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy all had easy victories and Judd Trump came from 4-3 down to beat Matthew Stevens 5-4. Barry Hawkins lost 5-4 to Mark Joyce from 4-2, and Stuart Bingham lost to Dominic Dale 5-4.
Meanwhile, John Higgins had a good win against Michael White, while defending champion Mark Allen had a nice win against Mark Williams and Liang Wenbo enjoyed a good victory against Mark Davis.
Today's Last 32 results:
Mark Allen 5-3 Mark Williams
John Higgins 5-0 Michael White
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-1 Andrew Higginson
Graeme Dott 5-2 Ryan Day
Alan McManus 5-3 Robert Milkins
Dominic Dale 5-4 Stuart Bingham
Ding Junhui 5-4 Pankaj Advani
Mark Selby 5-2 Noppon Saengkham
Liang Wenbo 5-3 Mark Davis
Mark Joyce 5-4 Barry Hawkins
Kurt Maflin 5-2 Ali Carter
Judd Trump 5-4 Matthew Stevens
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Mark King
Ricky Walden 5-1 Ken Doherty
Marco Fu 5-3 Michael Holt
Neil Robertson 5-1 Rory McLeod
Last 16 Preview:
Mark Selby Vs Liang Wenbo - This will be a good match with Mark Selby having done what he's had to do so far, without being pretty impressive and Liang Wenbo has been playing relatively well also. The thing with Mark Selby is that what he always seems to find a way to do, is find a way to win, and I just feel that that is what he will do a lot this week, whilst not showing his best that much. Certain to be a close contest.
Alan McManus Vs Dominic Dale - Dominic has not played particularly well this week, but has found a way to come through 2 deciders having been in a bit of trouble. Alan McManus has played the better of the 2 and had 2 very good wins against Martin Gould and Robert Milkins, so the Scot will be very confident coming into this match and I fancy his chances of winning it.
Mark Joyce Vs Kurt Maflin - Kurt Maflin has been brilliant this week, scoring 2 superb wins against Joe Perry and Ali Carter, playing some truly brilliant snooker given the fact he picked up neck and shoulder injuries in a car crash on Saturday, so fair play to him- he deserves everything he gets this week. Mark Joyce scored an equally good win today against Barry Hawkins, from 4-2 down, but I honestly don't think he will have enough to deal with Kurt Maflin's scoring with the mood he's in this week.
Neil Robertson Vs Marco Fu - Neil Robertson seems to be nearing his brilliant best again this week, after a slightly dull patch from him. He made 2 more centuries into todays Last 32, taking him up to 3 for the week and 91 for the season. Marco is always hard to beat though and he won't give Neil an easy game, as Neil has found out this season already. However, I think if Neil Robertson is back to his best again after a mini blip, he will edge this close game.
Mark Allen Vs Ricky Walden - I don't think either one of these players has been sparkling this week, and tomorrows contest could be quite scrappy. Walden is always a little inconsistent, and matches involving him always seem to go a little scrappy for one reason or another. Allen I think has the slight edge on this weeks form though and that could well see him through, though it will be very close, particularly if Walden can grind Mark down.
Ding Junhui Vs Shaun Murphy - I really think you could flip a coin on this match and still not find a winner. Both players are playing superbly and scoring brilliantly. If anything Ding Junhui has been slightly off at times, which is why he ended up 4-2 down to Advani today, but under pressure he's performing superbly. The head to head this season is even with 1 win apiece for the 2 players, with Ding's coming on Chinese soil which means that he has the slight (and only slight) upper hand.
Graeme Dott Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh- Both players have been playing fairly well this week, but I think Graeme will be able to grind Un-Nooh out with a lot of safety play tomorrow, and if he can make frames go scrappy then he will be a big favourite. I think this match could well come down to Un-Nooh's temperament and how he deals with the match if it gets a bit dis-jointed, and he'll need to take his chances.
John Higgins Vs Judd Trump - John and Judd have played alright this week, Trump played a lot better in the Last 64 than he did against Stevens, though he did say it was a bit muggy and conditions were a little tougher. Higgins I don't think has scored as well as the score lines he's winning by would suggest, and he could be vulnerable to Judd, if Judd is scoring like he did in round 1 and the Championship League finals, and if John can't take his own chances.
Whatever happens here, I think that we have some brilliant matches here, including a big one for the "father of the blog" Shaun Murphy. Looking forward to it.
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