Wales’ Matthew Stevens will be hoping to kickstart his season on Friday when he takes on Shaun Murphy in the first round of the Gibraltar Open.

The 41-year-old has only featured in six matches since the turn of the year and consistency continues to be a real issue for the world No.44. He lost in the first round of the German Masters to Yan Bingtao, before exiting the World Grand Prix at the same stage.

Jak Jones beat him on home soil in the Welsh Open, while he failed to qualify for the China Open and lost in round one at the Snooker Shoot-Out.

With his form patchy at best, Stevens is 2.50 to win on Friday, while Murphy remains the 1.50 favourite. Murphy has shown signs of promise in recent weeks but his regular playing time should stand him in good stead.

Jimmy Robertson is also in action on Friday and he will take part in the second morning session. He is 1.75 to win, while opponent Sam Baird is 2.05 to pull off a shock win.

Jamie Clarke will have his work cut out as he takes on Luo Honghao, with the latter 1.36 favourite with Dafabet.

Former world champion Peter Ebdon is also in action, as is fellow Englishman Peter Lines.

China’s Yan Bingtao takes on Wales’ Lee Walker, with the former 1.40 to win his first match in Gibraltar.

Anthony McGill faces Zhang Yong, while Scott Donaldson meets Duane Jones in a match that could go down to the wire.