Ding Junhui has won four titles during his career in his native China and the one-time world number one will be hoping for a deep run in front of his home faithful in Shenzhen.
Ding is not the force of old, but the 39-year-old has won 15 ranking titles on the World Snooker Tour and the last of those came in the 2024 International Championship, which shows he is still capable of operating to a high level.
A run to the English Open semi-finals was a welcome return to form for Ding last time out and he will be looking to build on that against Ricky Walden, who has been woefully out-of-sorts.
The Englishman is a three-time ranking event winner and a former world number six, but his recent efforts have left plenty to be desired.
Ding Junhui v Ricky Walden Tips Summary
Best Bet - Ding Junhui -1.5 frames @ 8/13
Alternative Bet - Match centuries - 0 @ 9/4
Ding Junhui v Ricky Walden Prediction
Best Bet: Ding Junhui -1.5 frames @ 8/13
Ding has won each of his last six meetings with Walden and he should be able to ease through this best-of-nine frame encounter on home soil.
The Chinese cueman is less consistent than he once was, but he arrives in Shenzhen with confidence restored following a semi-final run at the English Open.
A 4-1 win over the solid and reliable Joe O'Connor was followed by a 6-2 victory over Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals and those performances read well in the context of this match-up.
Walden suffered a shock 4-1 defeat to world number 84 Mateusz Baranowski in Scottish Open qualifying most recently and there was little encouragement to take as he failed to make a single break of 50.
The Stamina Man edged to a 4-3 win over Ian Burns in qualifying for the Northern Ireland Open prior to that and more will be required to live with Ding, who has won their last four rivalries 5-2, 4-1, 3-2 and 4-3.
Alternative Bet: Match centuries - 0 @ 9/4
Ding has long been considered one of the greatest break-builders in the game, but centuries have been harder to come by the older he has got.
He has been in winning form but he has not made a ton in any of his last seven matches and victory will be more important than just showcasing his scoring talents.
Walden has played 14 matches and contested 88 frames this season but has mustered only seven centuries and his recent defeat to Baranowski suggested that he may not be in peak form.
Ding Junhui v Ricky Walden H2H Record & Stats
Ding Junhui wins | 8 |
Ricky Walden wins | 4 |
Key Match Stats
Ding Junhui has won each of his last six meetings with Ricky Walden
Walden has lost three of his last five matches
Four of their last six meetings have gone to a deciding frame
Ding has won six of his last eight matches
Ding has contested 77 frames this season, making just eight centuries
Walden has played 88 frames this season, registering seven centuries
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
