On April 18, 2022, Beijing time, the Snooker World Championship entered the third day of the main competition, and three world champions Mark Williams, Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham appeared. Mark Williams holds a 7-2 lead and promotion is in sight. Title-winning favourite Neil Robertson made his debut against Ashley Hegel and veteran Bingham against China's Lu Haotian.
At the end of the first two matchdays, the round of 16 has decided five places, belonging to Selby, Zhao Xintong, O'Sullivan, Jackson Page, Stephen Maguire. Zhao Xintong will face Stephen Maguire in the next round, and O'Sullivan's opponents in the next round will be produced on the third matchday.
The third matchday is still divided into three time periods:
April 18, 17 points:
Anthony McGill 6-3 Highfield (Phase II)
Mark Allen vs Scott Donaldson (Phase I)
April 18, 21 points 30 mins:
Mark Williams 7-2 Michael White (Phase II)
Neil Robertson vs Ashley Hegel (Phase I)
April 19 at 2 a.m.:
Stuart Bingham vs Lu Haotian (Phase 1)
Mark Allen vs Scott Donaldson (Phase II)
It can also be seen from the matchup that the third matchday will produce three places in the round of 16. Among them, Anthony McGill and Mark Williams have a huge lead, almost equivalent to one foot in the round of 16. Another place in the Round of 16 will be between Mark Allen and Scott Donaldson, and it's clear that Mark Allen is more bullish. However, Scott Donaldson is not a soft persimmon, he was Ding Junhui's nemesis, strong when strong, and he showed good form in the qualifiers, Mark Allen is difficult to pass easily.
This season's number one Neil Robertson made his debut against Crucible newcomer Ashley Hegel, with a large gap in strength between the two sides, and Neil Robertson should soon be able to establish a lead as long as he plays normally. Neil Robertson is the biggest favourite to win the tournament, and judging by his performance this season, it is difficult for low-ranking players to upset.
The match that Chinese fans are more concerned about is Lu Haotian against Bingham, the opponent is also the world champion, and Ding Junhui was eliminated in the first round of the last World Championships, which is indeed very powerful. However, Jackson Page's elimination of Barry Hawkins may also inspire Lu Haotian, after all, Bingham and Barry Hawkins are veterans of the decline in form, and if Lu Haotian can gain an advantage in the opening stages, there is also hope to create a cold end. Good luck to Lu Haotian!