Kyren Wilson will hope to make it a winning start when he takes on Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown in the first round of the Gibraltar Open on Saturday afternoon.

The Englishman is seeded second in the tournament and is a strong 1.08 favourite to progress to round two, with Brown on offer at 7.00.

With so may of the top-name stars opting to sidestep the event, the £25,000 winner’s cheque is up for grabs and Wilson will fancy his chances.

The 27-year-old has enjoyed a decent season, with three tournaments victories en route to seventh in the world rankings.

He won the Paul Hunter Classic, the German Masters and the Six-red World Championship while reaching the final of the Champion of Champions and the last four at the Shanghai Masters.

In truth, this is a low-key event in the British Overseas Territory but still carries rankings points and Wilson will see it as a way of climbing the ladder.

Brown, from Country Antrim, has only twice made it past the first round of a tournament this season, with a run to round three of the Paul Hunter Classic and the English Open and he has it all to do to progress past ‘The Warrior’ at Tercentenary Sports Hall.

Waiting in round two will be either Jimmy White or Robbie Williams, with the 56-year-old six time World Championship finalist priced at 2.63 to emerge victorious and Williams on offer at 1.44.

Merseyside player Williams, ranked 64 in the world, has made the fourth round at both the Welsh Open and Northern Ireland Open this term and would see the scalp of the ‘Whirlwind’ as a real feather in his cap.