We have eight matches on the third day of the tournament. First, Ding Junhui will face Peter Ebdon, and he is the favourite here. They played a lot against each other in the Academy of Sheffield, and now Ebdon always admires Ding’s abilities.
Junhui also has an advantage in their face to face games – 8:3. But now he’s playing with fits and starts, while Ebdon is on fire after his win against Neil Robertson. So I wouldn’t back Ding to win easily.
I think that Mark Allen can defeat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. The only thing making me have doubt is that the Thai defeated Allen 6:5 six months ago in the International Championship tournament.
John Higgins is skillful and experienced player who defeated Ryan Day nine times (with three Day wins). Ryan is the last hope of all the Welsh supporters. We’ll see if he can make it to the quarterfinals.
Judd Trump is a favourite in the game against Stuart Bingham. The world champion said that he left behind all his troubles. Now it’s important for him to defeat a strong opponent, as it’s along his way to the title of champion.
Ford and Carter have equal chances, but the bookmakers see Ali Carter as a winner. I suggest to back Ford to win with a small handicap if you find nice odds on that.
Perry and Wilson are also considered as equal opponents. Joe Perry defeated Barry Hawkins with no frames lost, while Kyren Wilson was better than Jamie Jones (4:2). Next season Kyren will be in the top ten ranking for sure. But now I back Joe Perry to win.
Shaun Murphy was extremely good against Michael White, so Gould has a little chance against him. But Gould improved himself a lot this season.
Liang Wenbo will defeat Michael Holt, in my view.