Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Welsh Open snooker match.
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens finds himself in a precarious position in the rankings—he is currently 59th, and at the end of the season, only the top 64 players will retain their place on tour. In the first half of the season, Stevens struggled to find his best form and now sits 62nd in the seasonal rankings. He had a solid start, defeating lower-ranked players while losing to those ranked above him. However, in our view, Stevens failed to secure enough points against players of a similar ranking and ability to himself. Losses to Graeme Dott, Martin O’Donnell, and Stan Moody were costly. Over the past two months, Stevens has managed to pick up victories against David Grace and Martin O’Donnell, though he also suffered a loss to Hammad Miah, his opponent today in the Welsh Open qualifier.
Hammad Miah
Hammad Miah made his tour debut over a decade ago in 2013, yet he has never reached the quarter-finals of a ranking tournament. He has made it to the last 16 on three occasions, but these were at relatively minor events. Every two seasons, Miah has had to re-enter Q School to regain his place on tour, and it now looks increasingly likely that he will drop off the circuit once again. He currently sits 81st in the provisional end-of-season rankings, and only a miracle would keep him on tour beyond this campaign. We see no reason to believe he will pull off such a feat.
Matthew Stevens vs Hammad Miah Prediction
So, what can we expect from this match? Neither player is in top form, and while Stevens has been the better performer this season, Miah defeated him convincingly (5:2) just six weeks ago. We anticipate a similarly tight contest today. This match could go either way, but we do not see a clear favourite. We expect at least six frames, and most likely, it will go the full seven-frame distance.
