England’s Jimmy Robertson will be hoping for a strong performance in Preston on Thursday as he prepares to take on China’s Zhao Xintong in the

Robertson, who is enjoying his second stint as a professional, produced some of his best snooker during the 2017-18 season and put together a run to the quarter-finals of the German Masters. The 32-year-old, who has 114 century breaks to his name, is hoping to take that momentum into the 2018-19 campaign although he has been handed a tricky draw against Xintong.

China’s rising star, who is only 20 years of age, won gold at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, while he also reached the fourth round of the Paul Hunter Classic last season. Having only turned professional in 2016, Xintong is making good progress during his time on tour and will be optimistic of causing an upset at the Guildhall in Preston. Robertson will have the slight mental edge heading into the contest, having won the only previous meeting between the pair 4-3 at the 2017 Northern Ireland Open. The Englishman had to work extremely hard during that match and he will need to be on top of his game to progress to the main draw of the Riga Masters.

Robertson, who is 151.00 to win the 2019 World Championship, is the 1.73 favourite to pick up the win, while Xintong, who has earned the nickname ‘Wildcard Menace’, is a 2.05 chance to triumph.