Ryan Day is a warm favourite to beat Mark King in the quarter-finals of the European Masters on Friday evening but Richard Mann fancies the Romford potter to spring a surprise.
The European Masters continues at apace on Friday with the tournament now at the quarter-finals stage in Belgium.
With Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins absent, and Judd Trump and Mark Selby having been knocked out in the last couple of days, the last-eight line up does lack star quality and provides a few of the tour's lesser lights with the chance to pick up a very tidy prize.
Current Masters champion Mark Allen is the most high-profile name left in the draw and with his quarter-final match with Jimmy Roberston scheduled for Friday evening, it is no surprise that he is now Sky Bet's 5/2 favourite to go on and lift the title.
Following his defeat of recent China Championship winner Mark Selby in the last 16, Ryan Day is now 9/2 in the outright market but he faces a tough quarter-final against Mark King and the Romford left-hander looks worth a bet at 13/8 to come through that clash.
King has always been capable of mixing it with the very best and landed a long-overdue first ranking title when beating Barry Hawkins in the final of the Northern Ireland Open in 2016.
He wasn't quite able to scale those heights last season but has started the current campaign in fine form and his performances this week certainly make for impressive reading.
King has only dropped two frames in breezing past Zhao Xintong, Stuart Bingham and Ricky Walden and his 4-0 whitewash of Bingham - a former world champion - saw him amass breaks of 51, 59, 79 and 124. There is no doubt King is a player full of confidence at present.
On the other hand, the supremely gifted Day looked a little laboured when beating a jaded Selby 4-2 yesterday - compiling only one break over 50 - and he could only make it as far as the last 32 in the China Championship last week.
At 13/8, the in-form King looks hugely overpriced and in this best-of-seven frames encounter, he can catch recent slow-starter Day napping in the early stages on his way to booking a semi-finals berth.
King is now 16/1 to lift the trophy on Sunday and he looks worth a small play at odds that probably don't do his chances justice.
Posted at 1100 BST on 05/10/18.
