Just like that, the opening round of the 2024 World Snooker Championship is in the rear mirror.
And sprawled across the concrete is a strong handful of top seeds who were planning to make a big impact at this season’s tournament…
Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, Mark Williams and Gary Wilson are all in contention to pick up commentary jobs for the rest of the fortnight in Sheffield, having fallen at the first hurdle, but there are still plenty of big hitters looking to take the crown.
Let’s take a closer look at the Day 6 action as the second round starts with all matches best-of-25 frames.
Robert Milkins to beat David Gilbert
Robert Milkins vs David Gilbert – Over 22.5 frames
Robert Milkins had to dig deep to brush aside Pang Junxu 10-9 in the opening round, but then again, so did David Gilbert running out a winner against Luca Brecel by the same score.
How much emotional damage these two marathon matches had on the 31 (Gilbert) and 16 (Milkins) seeds will be known in the opening session on Thursday, and we’re banking on another long one between players hard to split.
Milkins hasn’t lost to Gilbert across their last four meetings dating back to 2020 and at 7/4 the 48-year-old Bristolian is a good price to deliver the goods once again.
Gilbert has had a pretty ropey season, and memories of his semi-final Crucible appearance in 2019 won’t be enough to get him over the line.
Judd Trump vs Tom Ford – Over 3.5 match centuries
Judd Trump - 4.5 handicap vs Tom Ford
After an early exit last season, Judd Trump will aim to do his business quietly and effectively in Sheffield this opening week.
The “Ace in the Pack” didn’t have any problems in knocking out a dangerous Hossein Vafaei, and, despite an impressive 10-6 win over Ricky Walden, there is an argument to say that Tom Ford may be a little tougher than the Iranian.
Ford didn’t have to come through qualifying, so he wasn’t given the opportunity to play himself into any real form, and with early exits blighting his last few tournament outings, Trump could well canter to a 14th career win over Ford in their 20th meeting.
A -4.5 frame handicap attached to Trump in a race to 13 looks a comfy pick at 8/11.
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