Day 3 at The Crucible

So, after R.O'Sullivan survives a big scare, and A.Carter and G.Dott have their almost annual Crucible battle, we move onto Day 3. Ding starts his campaign against the very dangerous X.Guodong, who has played here a couple of times, and looked in fine scoring touch in the qualifiers. The big question though is whether he believes he can beat Ding, here, in such a high profile match. I'm hoping The Hawk can make a good start to his campaign and can make a few big breaks. We also have one of the worst Round 1 matches for years starting tonight - and here is something I never thought I'd ever say again: R.Walden is favourite to win a match here. His opponent L.Brecel has totally lost his form since losing his cue a few months ago, and in R.Walden we have some one who has had persistent back problems, and is slowly but surely dropping down the rankings. This match could literally see any result.