Jackson Page vs Mark Selby

Page cruised into the next round with a confident 5-2 win over Zhang Anda. Selby also advanced, though Andrew Higginson managed to take three frames off him — 5-3 the final score. Mark is currently in fine form and comes into this match as the clear favourite, so backing a straightforward Page victory would be a risky call.

However, their head-to-head record supports a handicap bet in Page’s favour. In previous meetings, Page lost to Selby by narrow margins — 4-5, 3-4, and 1-3 — and even claimed a 5-2 win on one occasion. In all four encounters, Jackson has covered the +2.5 frame handicap. His recent win over a top-20 player further strengthens the case that Page can put up a fight here and avoid a heavy defeat.