Betfred World Championship snooker Tuesday match previews & free tips

Preview, tips and analysis for day five of the 2020 Betfred World Championship snooker at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield on Tuesday.

When to watch

BBC and Eurosport, from 10am Tuesday

Best bets

Jamie Clarke + 5.5 frames v Mark Allen
1pt 4-5 Betfred, Sky Bet

Martin Gould +3.5 frames v Stephen Maguire
2pts 8-13 general

Martin Gould to beat Stephen Maguire
1pt 12-5 bet365

Barry Hawkins -2.5 frames v Alexander Ursenbacher
1pt 8-13 BoyleSports

Preview

Mark Allen v Jamie Clarke
10am

It would be pushing it to call Jamie Clarke a heavy scorer, but he could trouble Mark Allen more than the betting suggests in their Betfred World Championship opener.

Clarke posted three superb wins in qualifying, ousting Mitchell Mann, Joe Perry and Sunny Akani. Allen is likely to be tougher again, but the Welsh­man has a decent temperament and may not be embarrassed by the Pistol.

Stephen Maguire v Martin Gould
2.30pm

Stephen Maguire was well touted to clinch a world title after enjoying an excellent campaign, but a Crucible opener against Martin Gould is not the draw the big Scot would have been hoping for.

Maguire can be one of the heaviest scorers in the game, but the same remark applies to Gould now he looks to be well on the way back to rediscovering his best form.

Gould looked to have tough clashes in store in qualifying against Chris Wakelin and Graeme Dott. But the Pinner potter had enough to see off Wakelin 6-4 and he went on to rattle in runs of 127, 97, 95, 87, 69 and 55 to deny 2006 world champion Dott.

Add to that the fact that Gould has won his last four meetings with Maguire, whom he leads 9-4 in their personal series, and the Glaswegian could be up against it.

Barry Hawkins v Alexander Ursenbacher
7pm

Alexander Ursenbacher, the first Swiss player to reach the Crucible, has been nibbled at to upset Barry Hawkins.

But while the Hawk has not enjoyed a great campaign, he should still have too much quality for the qualifier.

He has won all ten previous frames he has contested against Ursenbacher so the favourite can be taken to make light of a 2.5-frame deficit on the handicap.

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