Wednesday's Betfred World Championship betting preview, tips & TV details

Day five
BBC & Eurosport, from 10am Wednesday

B Hawkins v Li Hang 10am
Barry Hawkins leads his personal series with Li Hang 2-1, but Li scored well in the last two of those encounters, the latest of which he won in Riga last July at the start of this season.

The pair, who clash in a Crucible first-round match, have never played a longer-distance match and even though Hawkins was edged out 11-9 by Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Shanghai Masters final in September, it’s well documented that Hawkins tends to find his best form as Sheffield looms.

But while the Hawk will probably triumph, it may be foolish to underestimate Li, who is not the most talented of the Chinese players but is starting to look a solid operator.

The 8-13 with Hills about the clash lasting for over 15.5 frames can be considered, but it would not be a surprise to see Hawkins win the first session, say, 6-3 and it’s possible the favourite could pull away in session two.

Hawkins is such a smooth, accomplished performer on this stage that the safer play could be to support him to successfully concede a start of 1.5 frames. There’s no way he will want to risk a final-frame decider if he can avoid it and there’s also a chance he could win by a decent margin.

Recommendation
B Hawkins -1.5 frames
1pt 1-2 BoyleSports

K Wilson v S Donaldson 2.30pm
It’s seven years since Kyren Wilson and Scott Donaldson contested their only previous meeting and the Warrior won 4-1 with the aid of a century break that day in Poland.

Donaldson is a tenacious competitor and that positive, almost happy-go-lucky attitude should continue to serve him well at the top level. The Scot posted tons in qualifying wins over Craig Steadman and Lu Ning and will try to keep tabs on Wilson, who is ranked eighth in the world after a raft of sterling performances.

However, the Kettering potter, winner of the Paul Hunter Classic, 6 Red World Championship and German Masters this season, can be difficult to live with on the baize and it’s likely that Donaldson will struggle to boss his big-league opponent.

Backing under 16.5 frames to be contested at 4-6 is an option, but the 4-7 BoyleSports are quoting about Wilson successfully conceding a handicap start of 2.5 frames is preferred.

Recommendation
K Wilson -2.5 frames
1pt 4-7 BoyleSports

J Lisowski v A Carter 7pm
It’s tough to pick a winner between Jack Lisowski and Ali Carter. The pair have met only once on the main tour when Lisowski pipped the Captain 6-5 in the International Championship in China in 2015.

Lisowski has made strides since then and some fancy the talented 27-year-old to draw away from Carter, but the qualifier is a two-time Crucible finalist and remains a tough competitor when his game and health are on song.

Carter outclassed Paul Davison – with the aid of breaks of 127, 120 and 102 – Jimmy White and John Astley to earn a trip to the Crucible and similarly solid form could help him to at least keep tabs on Lisowski.

Cheltenham native Lisowski has made the finals of the Riga Masters, Championship League and China Open this season but the bookmakers, who kept him on their side all season, haven’t yet had to pay out on any outright win singles for the left-hander.

If Carter can produce his normal game and keep tabs on Lisowski early on, temperament could become a factor in the second session and that could favour the Essex pro.

Both players have a reasonable chance to progress to the last 16 and Carter is unlikely to get tonked by his less-experienced opponent, so the best punt could be backing more than 15 frames to be contested.

Recommendation
Over 15.5 frames
1pt 1-2 Hills

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