Richard Mann previews the last-16 clash between Ricky Walden and Judd Trump and is predicting plenty of big breaks from this heavy-hitting pair.
It would be a brave call to take 3/10 about Judd Trump progressing to the quarter-finals stage in Sheffield having watched him scrape past Chris Wakelin in their epic first-round encounter.
Trump endured a real fright on Thursday night, surrendering an 8-4 lead before eventually holding his nerve to win a tense deciding frame.
It was typical Trump really, the left-hander producing wonderful potting and break-building but his frustrating habit of losing frames he really should win leaving him vulnerable against a fearless Wakelin.
Nevertheless, Trump produced eight 50+ breaks in that 10-9 victory and despite being pushed all the way, he will have been buoyed to come through a close match having lost a few tight ones through the course of this season.
A joy to watch when in the balls, Trump is sure to stick to his principles and his second round match-up with Walden could be a perfect fit as the latter is another who loves to play an aggressive style of snooker.
Walden is a fine talent but he probably hasn't made the most of that ability so far in this campaign, a quarter-finals finish in the Scottish Open the only real performance of note.
However, he hammered Kyren Wilson 6-2 in the UK Championship back in December, breaks of 116, 82, 69, 56 and 50 illustrating just what Walden is capable of and proving far too much for the Masters runner-up to handle.
Following a quiet spell since then, Walden appears to have got himself in good form ahead of the World Championship and he looked in fine fettle when winning his three qualifying matches.
Walden knocked in seven centuries in those three matches and then added two more tons when beating Luca Brecel 10-6 in the first round proper.
It's that impressive break-building record, coupled with Trump's renowned heavy scoring, that makes an overs bet on the centuries market very appealing.
With over 3.5 available at 5/4, that has to be backed in this best of 25-frames contest.
In addition to this, given Walden's strong recent form, I'm happy to advise small wagers on three and four Walden centuries at 12/1 and 40/1 respectively.
Posted at 1700 BST on 28/04/18.
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