2021 World Snooker Championship – Day 2 Betting Picks
Betting-previews.com brings you betting tips and predictions for the second day of the 2021 World Snooker Championship. Here are our betting picks for Anthony McGill vs Ricky Walden and John Higgins vs Tian Pengfei.
Anthony McGill v Ricky Walden
Sunday, April 18 – 10:00 BST
Anthony McGill returns to the Crucible after last year’s disappointing 16-17 loss against Kyren Wilson in the semi-finals, hoping fifth time is the charm. Due to his performances this season, however, it’s hard to be overly optimistic about the Smiling Assassin.
McGill has had a very underwhelming season and has failed to impress in all big tournaments he attended. That won’t do him any favors since his first opponent in Sheffield is an experienced player in Ricky Walden.
Walden enters his seventh World Snooker Championship, for the first time since 2018 when he got eliminated from the second round. That was also the farthest he has come since his semi-finals appearance in 2013.
Regardless of his lack of success at the Cubicle, Walden has looked good in the qualifiers and could prove to be a tough nut to crack if McGill doesn’t show up.
It’s also important to note that Walden has stated he is (finally) healthy and fit, after what seemed like years of back problems that undeniably affected his results.
How much of that is true is up to debate, but if his performances in the qualifiers are any indication, Walden should be set to make some noise.
These two met only once before with McGill winning at the 2016 World Open, however, there are no guarantees he can do it again. These two seem equally matched at worst, so you have to pick a player who has the momentum on his side.
Prediction: Ricky Walden to win, over 16.50 frames
John Higgins v Tian Pengfei
Sunday, April 18 – 10:00 BST
We backed John Higgins in our 2021 World Snooker Championship outright betting predictions, so it’s easy to figure out which of the two we prefer here.
Higgins has had a great season behind him and is undeniably one of the best snooker players heading to the Crucible. The only problem with Higgins is his questionable stamina, considering he has had great tournament runs, but fell short a couple of times.
Regardless, he can be happy with the draw, seeing how he has already beaten Tian Pengfei twice before (5-2 and 6-2). Even though those results came in 2009 and 2015, you can’t really make an argument against Higgins as the favorite for this match.
Although we expect Higgins to win, Pengfei has played well in the qualifiers. He has beaten Billy Joe Castle 6-3, Sunny Akani 6-4, and Graeme Dott 10-7 in the qualification finals.
Before that run, Pengfei has looked very up-and-down, but his recent resurgence is definitely not to be ignored. Can he defeat Higgins, however, is another question.
We expect the Chinese representative to put up a fight, but unless he shows a bit more than what he has of late, we don’t see him beating Higgins. The Englishman is in exceptional form and there is a reason why we have him as one of our outright predictions to go all the way.
Higgins always brings his best game to the Crucible and he has four titles to back those claims up. It will take a lot to stop the Wizard of Wishaw.
Prediction: Over 2.5 Centuries – 1.83 Bet365
