Day four of the English Open in Brentwood takes place on Thursday with several games from the last-32 stage of the tournament.
Part of the Home Nations Series, the tournament is being played at the Brentwood Centre with Australian Neil Robertson the defending champion.
The usual suspects are all taking part in the final tournament before Christmas, with former UK Championship winner Zhao Xintong among those in action on Thursday afternoon.
The Cyclone won two ranking titles last year but the 2022 schedule has not been as kind to the young Chinese player.
He faces John Astley, who this year came through Q School to regain his place on the professional tour and is now seeking to solidify his place.
English Open Day 4 Betting Tips
Zhao Xingtong to win 4-2 @ 5/1
This season has been tricky for Zhao, who now sits at number nine in the rankings after rising as high as number six on the back of his UK success.
In terms of ranking events, his best performance came in the Championship League series at the beginning of the season where he advanced through to the third group stage before crucially losing to Luca Brecel.
He played some tremendous snooker in that tournament with a high break of 145 but things haven’t quite gone to plan since.
A quarter-final at the Champion of Champions lifted his season and now he is hoping for some success in Essex.
He defeated Estonian Andreas Petrov in the round of 64 but was visibly under the weather and that game may have taken its toll on the Chinese superstar.
Astley is also looking to make a name for himself this year and was impressive in his last-64 tie, beating Zhang Anda 4-1.
The Gateshead native reached round two of the Northern Ireland Open this year with his best previous showing being a quarter-final in the now-defunct Riga Masters.
Zhao should have the game to comfortably beat Astley but his illness could hamper him slightly.
However, his extra experience on TV means he will have the advantage on the day.
Over 5 Frames @ 20/21
The two players have never met before so Thursday’s match will be a new experience for both of them.
However, both won comfortably in their round of 64 matches, meaning there should be confidence emanating from the pair.
Astley’s last two matches against top-16 players saw him lose to Robertson and Mark Selby 4-1 and 4-0 respectively.
To achieve even more in the game, he needs to start beating the top players when the opportunities pop up and this game against Zhao may do just that.
Overall though, Zhao’s extra tournament nous should see him through, though it certainly has the potential to go to a last-frame decider.
*All prices correct at the time of writing.
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