Mensur Suljovic can wear down world champion Cross in Grand Slam showdown

Sky Sports Action, 7pm Wednesday

Mensur Suljovic has limped into the Grand Slam knockout stage with just one win from his three group games but he can shrug off an indifferent start to his week in Wolverhampton by seeing off Rob Cross in round two.

Cross goes into their last-16 showdown with a 100 per cent record and has shown a few glimpses of the form which took him to glory in the World Championship last winter.

But the longer format of the best of 19 legs gives the Austrian a chance to settle into his groove and wear down Voltage.

The players have met five times in 2018 and Suljovic has won four of those clashes, including both of their previous best-of-19 meetings.

Gerwyn Price has played Josh Payne five times and never beaten the youngster, which makes the Welshman unappealing at short odds.

The formbook says Gezzy will take it, though. This autumn he has warmed up for the Grand Slam with victory at the International Open followed by a run to the last eight of the European Championship and the semis of the World Series. Payne, in contrast, has had an average campaign.

Stephen Bunting and Dimitri van den Bergh kick off round two and the young Belgian is the slight favourite.

Bunting, like Cross, has won three out of three, but he has wasteful finishing from Scott Mitchell to thank for that. The Bullet just isn’t consistent enough and Van den Bergh deserves to be the jolly.

The final match pits Peter Wright against Simon Whitlock. The Australian escaped an early exit on Monday night but he can only ride his luck for so long. Snakebite should have the measure of The Beard.

The best bet is probably Snakebite to hit at least five maximums. He has hit four twice in the best-of-nine group games.

Recommendations
M Suljovic
2pts 6-5 general
P Wright over 4.5 180s
1pt 6-5 Sky Bet

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