Tony Knowles vs Stuart Watson Prediction: Exciting opening-day encounter expected

Following the World Championship, the World Senior Championship will take place at the Crucible Theatre. In day one action, Tony Knowles will take on Stuart Watson. How will this one end?

Tony Knowles is off a defeat against Wayne Townsend in the Qualifying School, a game that ended 1-4. In recent times, Tony Knowles heads into this game, losing four consecutive games. In that run, Tony Knowles lost to Daniel Wells, Mark Davis, and Gary Britton in games that ended 1-4, 3-0, and 2-4, respectively. However, a look at his last win did come against Andrew Turner in 2022. Coming into this game, Tony Knowles will be the underdog, and he hopes he can deliver top-level performance here in order to make it to the next round.

Stuart Watson is off consecutive losses, and in this game, he will look to redeem himself. Last time out, the Englishman played against Shaun Liu and lost 2-3 in the Q Tour seventh stage. However, other encounters in that run saw Stuart Watson play Liam James Davies, Sean Maddocks, Manuel Ederer, and George Pragnell. Off to this one, Stuart Watson will come into this game as a favorite, and he will now look to secure a win here.

We can expect strong play from both players as they have struggled so much in recent times. In the meantime, Stuart Watson comes into this game as a favorite, and looking at how both players have played recently, we can expect a handicap win for him, given that Knowles has lost by a huge margin recently.