Guodong Xiao vs Stephen Maguire Prediction: Maguire to qualify for the next round

Qujiang E-sports Centre will host the China Grand Prix encounter between Guodong Xiao and Stephen Maguire. The two players are coming off good performances and will have high hopes here. Who wins this one?

Guodong Xiao is off to a good run of qualification performances and will approach this game with his best strategy. In his last matches, Guodong Xiao defeated Iulian Boiko, Haydon Pinhey, and Huang Jiahao in games that ended 5-2, 5-1, and 4-2, respectively. In the meantime, prior games to that run saw him win once in seven matches. However, the Chinese head into this game as a slight underdog, but with his recent performances, he will look to do better here. 

Stephen Maguire's Grand Prix qualification was against Ken Doherty, which ended 5-1. However, Stephen Maguire has won two of his last three matches, one other coming against Jiang Jun, while losing to Kai Wai Cheung in the Wuhan Open qualification. Looking at his last matches, Stephen Maguire has just one defeat in five consecutive matches as he drew Michael White and defeated Dean Young in another encounter. 

I expect this game to be competitive looking at the performances we saw from both of them in recent encounters. However, Stephen Maguire is just way ahead, considering experience and level of performance. In the meantime, while Guodong Xiao could prove stubborn here, I think the Chinese can do well to make this one tight.