Sijun Yuan vs Xing Zihao Prediction: Yuan will get the job done with ease

China Optics Valley Convention & Exhibition Center will be the venue for round 1/32 of the Wuhan Open encounter between Sijun Yuan and Xing Zihao. The two Chinese players will have high hopes of moving to the next round of this tournament. How will this game end?

Sijun Yuan is coming off consecutive victories and will look to keep that going. In his last matches, Sijun Yuan secured victories against Liam Graham, Ian Burns, and Cai Wei in games that ended 4-0, 6-1, and 5-0, respectively. However, prior matches to that run saw Sijun Yuan lose three of four consecutive games, his only win coming against Robbie Williams. As the favorite in this game, the Chinese professional will be confident of securing another win, and in the rankings of the snooker world, he is number 40. 

Xing Zihao's last matches ended in consecutive defeats; in recent matches, he has not played at the top level. In his previous six games, Xing Zihao secured wins in two, coming against Ken Doherty and Paul Deaville. However, he suffered defeats in other encounters against Ricky Walden, Jamie Rhys Clarke, Mark Davis, and Stuart Bingham. As the underdog in this game, the Chinese professional will hope he can live up to expectations, as he has a poor run into this game. 

Xing Zihao has little or no chance in this game, and it is difficult to back him. Looking at Sijun Yuan, I expect a lot from the 24-year-old, having shown a lot of promisin performances in the last few years. This game should still be competitive, but I trust Sijun Yuan in this game, an encounter that should end with a few frames.