Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Since winning the World Snooker Championship two seasons ago, Luca Brecel has had some very indifferent form, but the Belgian Bullet will be hoping that his 10-7 victory over Ryan Day in round one provides a platform for him to build on against Ding Junhui.

Brecel is becoming difficult to predict but there were encouraging signs in his win over Day, a contest in which he came from 6-4 down to reign supreme.

Junhui was runner-up to Mark Selby in the 2016 World Championship final, but he has failed to go past the second round in any of his last six visits.

The Chinese cueman did win his first ranking event title for six years when winning the International Championship in November, which should have restored some confidence.

The 38-year-old put his experience to good use when beating Crucible debutant Zak Surety 10-7 in his Sheffield curtain-raiser and that was a high-quality encounter featuring five centuries.

This will be their first rivalry over an extended format - it is first to 13 for the winner - and it could be quite the battle for a quarter-final spot.

Brecel won the previous meeting between the pair at the Scottish Open in December, edging to a 4-3 victory, but prior to that Ding had been dominant with victory in their opening eight rivalries and is 8/13 to have his measure again.

Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui betting tips and predictions

Over 22.5 frames - Evs

Five of the last six meetings between this pair have gone to a deciding frame and, although those matches were played over a much shorter distance, it could still be a scrap to the winning line.

Ding has been far more reliable than Brecel has this season but the signs are that the Belgian is slowly finding some peak form, having been a semi-finalist at the Welsh Open in his final tournament before the World Championship in February.

Brecel is a showman and thrives on the big stage, which is why it would be no surprise to see him produce one of his best performances of the season.

However, Ding also thrives in this environment and these are two attacking players, so it promises to be an enthralling encounter.

But, over three sessions, both are likely to have their peaks and troughs and going over 22.5 frames could be the approach to take.

Brecel and Ding were both given a workout in round one, recording 10-7 wins over Day and Surety respectively, and it is hard to see either of them running away with this last-16 encounter on current form.

Ding Junhui to have the highest break - 4/7

In all nine previous meetings between this pair, Ding has recorded the highest break and that trend can continue in this World Championship last-16 encounter.

Brecel had a high break of 104 in his 10-7 win over Day but that was one of only three knocks over 50 for him, whereas Ding had scores of 116, 86, 75, 73, 68 and 60 in his success over Surety.

The Chinese cueman remains one of the best breakbuilders in the business and when in and around the black he rarely lets an opportunity to win the frame pass him by.

Brecel, a crowd-pleaser, can often get complacent once a frame is won and is also occasionally prone to performing a trick shot, which is why Ding must make plenty of appeal to record the highest break.

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Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui odds

Luca Brecel - 13/10
Ding Junhui - 8/13

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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.