Ronnie O’Sullivan v Stuart Bingham: O’Sullivan (-2.5) frames – 5/6
This is actually quite an interesting contest and Stuart Bingham is playing some brilliant stuff at the moment.
He was absolutely fantastic in the UK Championship. I was commentating on some of the matches he played, he was scoring very heavily there (including a whopping 145 break) and was very unlucky to get knocked out in the semi-final by Mark Allen.
He really is in good form, but at the same time he’s walking into Ronnie O’Sullivan’s backyard in the first round here. I’m taking the Rocket (-2.5) frames at 5/6.
Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski: Ding Junhui (-1.5) frames – 5/4
Ding Junhui and Jack Lisowski have only ever played each other on one occasion previously, and it was an easy 5-1 victory for the Chinese star in Shanghai.
For me, Ding has certainly got to improve on what he has been showing this year. Lisowski has got better since then, but his poor performance at the UK Championship – where he didn’t turn up against Ronnie O’Sullivan – still lingers in the memory.
If Ding plays anything like he can, the 5/4 shot on him (-1.5) frames looks to be the bet for me in this contest.
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