Belgium’s Luca Brecel will head into the Paul Hunter Classic with plenty of confidence just days after he won the Evergrande Championship. Brecel secured himself a spot in November’s Champion of Champions in Coventry after beating Shaun Murphy 10-5. The 22-year-old became the first player from continental Europe to win a ranking event and he is eager to build on the experience. Speaking after his win on Wednesday he told World Snooker: “It’s amazing, a dream come true, especially to beat a player like Shaun in the final of such a big event.
Hopefully there will be many more to come. “This is what we need in Belgium because you can see what Kim Clijsters has done for tennis there – hopefully I can do the same for snooker. This is the first step.” On Saturday he gets the chance to build on his recent run of form when he takes on Ashley Carty in Germany. Saturday’s play will also see other big names in action, with Kyren Wilson taking on Kurt Dunham. World number one Mark Selby is also in action and he is priced 1/3 to beat Michael Holt.
Former world champion Peter Ebdon is also in the second round and he faces Martin Gould during Saturday’s afternoon session. He is available at odds of 15/8 to win, while Gould is 2/5 favourite to advance. Robbie Williams faces off against Matthew Selt, while Liam Highfield is set to do battle with Lee Walker. Mitchell Mann, Mark King, Hammad Miah are also in action and they will take on Daniel Wells, Elliot Slessor and Andrew Higginson respectively.
Paul Hunter Classic odds available at Dafabet.