We’re three days down in Sheffield, and the seeds continue to tumble.
Mark Selby, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter and Zhang Anda have all fallen to underdogs so far since Saturday’s start with more threatened in a stacked field.
Let’s take a closer look at the Day 4 action.
Ding Junhui to beat Jack Lisowski
Ding Junhui’s return to form gives us hope that 4/6 is a good enough price to see the Chinese player through to the second round.
Jack Lisowski has been the nearly man of the WST over the last few years struggling to land an elusive title, and the 17th seed has been handed a nightmare tie after being forced to come through qualifying.
Lisowski has been on a run of first and second-round exits this season, and Ding’s pedigree inside the Crucible is enough to back the seventh seed.
Mark Allen -5.5 handicap vs Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams is the lowest-ranked player at this year’s World Championship (45th) and will have to display a career-best performance if we are to “let him entertain us”.
Mark Allen will be licking his lips in the top half of the draw now that Selby and Carter have tumbled, and the Northern Irishman hasn’t made a habit of early exits this season.
Allen has won two ranking titles and the Champion of Champions title across the 2023/24 season and is a strong candidate for the World Championship.
10-4 or better for Allen might be a stretch, but it’s the best shout of a walkover in the remaining first-rounders.
Barry Hawkins 10-6 or 10-7 vs Ryan Day
Only three places separate Barry Hawkins (15) and Ryan Day (18) in the world rankings – the fewest of any pairing in this season’s first round.
Saying that Hawkins has had a more impressive season, celebrating his fourth career ranking title at the start of the season, winning the European Masters.
He has reached big semi-finals at the Northern Ireland Open and the Champion of Champions, dwarfing anything his Welsh opponent has done over a similar period.
Day hasn’t gotten past a quarter-final since winning the British Open in 2022, and a 10th exit in the opening round of the World Championship is expected against the experienced Hawkins.
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