World number one Mark Selby heads the list of players to suffer a shock first round exit at the 2018 UK Championships in York after losing 6-3 to amateur James Cahill.
Also among those to bow out early was former champion Shaun Murphy who lost 6-3 to Chen Feilong from 3-1 up, while Ryan Day fell 6-2 to Joe O'Connor.
Liang Wenbo and Anthony McGill were two former top 16 players to suffer bad defeats as well in the last 128. Former runner-up Liang was 5-1 ahead of Sam Baird and flying having already made two centuries, but Baird won all of the last five frames to defeat the former Chinese number two 6-5.
McGill meanwhile was also cruising into the last 64 seemingly as he led Lu Ning 5-2, but Lu won the last four frames there with McGill scoring just a handful of points as the Scot was taken out 6-5.
John Higgins just managed to avoid suffering the same fate as he held off a valiant fightback from Thailand's ex-pro Dechawat Poomjaeng to win the deciding frame and advance to the last 64.
Another former champion Stephen Maguire came from 3-1 down against Simon Lichtenberg to rattle off five straight frames and defeat the German 6-3 while Luca Brecel overturned a 3-0 deficit against Fan Zhengyi to win 6-4.
There were simple victories though for the other top players as Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins, Stuart Bingham and Judd Trump and Marco Fu all won their opening round ties 6-0 to progress to the TV stages that start on Saturday afternoon. Jack Lisowski, Ding Junhui and defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan were all 6-1 winners while there were 6-2 victories for Neil Robertson, Mark Allen and World champion Mark Williams.
Joe Perry holds the high break so far at 143 which he made in a 6-0 win over John Astley while Zhao Xintong lost a dramatic tie 6-5 to Daniel Wells in which he chipped the clue off the table when Wells needed snookers at 5-4 down. European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson won his match against Jordan Brown 6-4 after being taken off at 5-4 up and having to wait several hours to close out victory. English Open runner-up Mark Davis won 6-4 against Sam Craigie, while 1997 world champion Ken Doherty won five successive frames to defeat Yuan Sijun 6-2. Jimmy White was not as fortunate though losing 6-3 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Northern Ireland Open semi-finalist Eden Sharav fought back from 5-1 down to force a decider only to end up losing it to Akani Songsermsawad, while there were also first round exits for former top 16 players Ricky Walden and Michael White.
Last 128 results:
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-1 Luke Simmonds
Ken Doherty 6-2 Yuan Sijun
Zhou Yuelong 6-1 Soheil Vahedi
Mark Davis 6-4 Sam Craigie
Marco Fu 6-0 Hammad Miah
Luo Honghao 6-0 Michael Georgiou
Jack Lisowski 6-1 Zhang Jiankang
Mei Xiwen 6-5 Fergal O'Brien
Tian Pengfei 6-4 Lu Haotian
Jimmy Robertson 6-4 Jordan Brown
Martin O'Donnell 6-4 Xu Si
Chen Feilong 6-3 Shaun Murphy
Ben Woollaston 6-3 Alfie Burden
Xiao Guodong 6-4 Sean O'Sullivan
Matthew Selt 6-2 Zhang Yong
Ding Junhui 6-1 Adam Stefanow
Judd Trump 6-0 David Lilley
Dominic Dale 6-4 Gerard Greene
Mark King 6-5 Elliot Slessor
Li Hang 6-3 Lee Walker
Joe O'Connor 6-2 Ryan Day
Andrew Higginson 6-2 Nigel Bond
Joe Perry 6-0 John Astley
Michael Holt 6-1 Chen Zifan
Mark Joyce 6-3 Niu Zhuang
Lu Ning 6-5 Anthony McGill
Liam Highfield 6-4 Robin Hull
Luca Brecel 6-4 Fan Zhengyi
Tom Ford 6-5 Craig Steadman
Robert Milkins 6-1 Sanderson Lam
Alan McManus 6-1 Alexander Ursenbacher
John Higgins 6-5 Dechawat Poomjaeng
James Cahill 6-3 Mark Selby
Akani Songsermsawad 6-5 Eden Sharav
Jak Jones 6-5 Ricky Walden
Joe Swail 6-5 Michael White
Stuart Bingham 6-0 James Wattana
Kurt Maflin 6-3 Zhang Anda
David Gilbert 6-3 Ashley Carty
Peter Ebdon 6-2 Chris Totten
Paul Davison 6-1 Stuart Carrington
Yan Bingtao 6-1 Lukas Kleckers
Mike Dunn 6-4 Allan Taylor
Kyren Wilson 6-0 Andy Lee
Gary Wilson 6-4 Billy Castle
Sam Baird 6-5 Liang Wenbo
Ian Burns 6-5 Robbie Williams
Barry Hawkins 6-0 Jamie Clarke
Mark Allen 6-2 Basem Eltahhan
Rory McLeod 6-3 Peter Lines
Martin Gould 6-1 Harvey Chandler
Hossein Vafei 6-5 Ashley Hugill
Neil Robertson 6-2 Kishan Hirani
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-3 Jimmy White
Graeme Dott 6-2 Oliver Lines
Matthew Stevens 6-4 Ross Muir
Chris Wakelin 6-1 Duane Jones
Ali Carter 6-3 Thor Chuan Leong
Scott Donaldson 6-3 Li Yuan
Stephen Maguire 6-3 Simon Lichtenberg
Noppon Saengkham 6-1 Hamza Akbar
Rod Lawler 6-1 Anthony Hamilton
Daniel Wells 6-5 Zhao Xintong
Mark Williams 6-2 Adam Duffy
That's just the first round at the Barbican so there is plenty more drama to come over the next nine days. The BBC's coverage will begin on Saturday afternoon with the first set of last 64 which again are over the best-of-11 frames, while the event is also broadcast on Eurosport who showed the last 128 round on their online Player service.
Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ken Doherty
Zhou Yuelong Vs Mark Davis
Marco Fu Vs Luo Honghao
Jack Lisowski Vs Mei Xiwen
Jimmy Robertson Vs Tian Pengfei
Martin O'Donnell Vs Chen Feilong
Xiao Guodong Vs Ben Woollaston
Ding Junhui Vs Matthew Selt
Judd Trump Vs Dominic Dale
Mark King Vs Li Hang
Andrew Higginson Vs Joe O'Connor
Joe Perry Vs Michael Holt
Mark Joyce Vs Lu Ning
Luca Brecel Vs Liam Highfield
Robert Milkins Vs Tom Ford
John Higgins Vs Alan McManus
Akani Songsermsawad Vs James Cahill
Joe Swail Vs Jak Jones
Stuart Bingham Vs Kurt Maflin
David Gilbert Vs Peter Ebdon
Yan Bingtao Vs Paul Davison
Kyren Wilson Vs Mike Dunn
Gary Wilson Vs Sam Baird
Barry Hawkins Vs Ian Burns
Mark Allen Vs Rory McLeod
Martin Gould Vs Hossein Vafei
Neil Robertson Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Graeme Dott Vs Matthew Stevens
Ali Carter Vs Thor Chuan Leong
Stephen Maguire Vs Scott Donaldson
Noppon Saengkham Vs Rod Lawler
Mark Williams Vs Daniel Wells
There are plenty of entertaining last 64 matches to follow here starting with Ronnie O'Sullivan against 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty. The Irishman was superb in defeating Yuan Sijun who started really brightly in their match on Tuesday afternoon. Repeating that on the TV table will be a completely different story for Doherty who will be up against it from ball one against O'Sullivan, given the form he continues to show in every event he enters at the moment. If he can get into the sort of groove he did at times against Yuan though, then Doherty has a chance of at least giving O'Sullivan a bit more of a test.
Marco Fu has a huge exam to pass as he takes on exciting Chinese player Luo Honghao. Both players won by a 6-0 scoreline in the last 128 and Luo has impressed me so far. He was of course a quarter-finalist at the English Open and could cause trouble for a player in Fu who has not had many confidence boosting results in the last few months. He should be able to take something from his win over Miah but he certainly has a tough task ahead of him here against someone who like Fu is a quality scorer and will make the most of chances Fu leaves him, as well as having little fear against the top players from the evidence we have so far.
Judd Trump could put a nail in the coffin of Dominic Dale who needs victories to get into the top 64 on the end-of-season ranking list. Trump is making things look easy at the moment and has an excellent record against Dale, who played quite a lot in the period around 2012 and 2013 just after Trump really broke through into the big time. Dale is already threatening to retire, presumably in the event that he does drop off tour and that may take the pressure off of him for the rest of the season and make him less anxious about results. Nonetheless it would be a pretty big upset if he defeated former UK champion and recent Northern Ireland Open champion Trump who I still believe will make the semi-finals of this tournament at the very least, especially now Ryan Day has been knocked out of his section too.
Joe Perry and Michael Holt's match will be one of the picks of the matches that will be played on an outside table over the weekend at the Barbican. Holt had some good results in Northern Ireland to beat Mark King and Stephen Maguire and was an easy 6-1 winner in round one against Chen Zifan. Perry meanwhile was sublime against John Astley, almost strolling round the table like it was a practice session and making a high break of 143 in that whitewash win. Perry was a quarter-finalist here 12 months ago and was in the sort of form on Wednesday that could take him far again this week in York but this is a really tough draw for both players.
Another of the top 16 players who will be vulnerable in round two is Luca Brecel who takes on Liam Highfield. Brecel was really under it in round one as he fell 3-0 behind and against a better player he would have lost that match to continue his poor 2018. Highfield is certainly a player that is good enough to take him out if he gets the opportunity. He was just a red down the cushion from beating Shaun Murphy at this stage last year, and Murphy went on to reach the final. I was impressed with Highfield late on in his victory against Robin Hull which I live blogged on Wednesday morning. His scoring will see him take advantage of Brecel's misses much more than what Fan did on Thursday morning. Brecel will need to be at or very close to his best to get through this one I feel.
John Higgins faces Alan McManus in an all-Scottish battle after just scraping into the last 64. Higgins was well clear of Dechawat Poomjaeng before somehow ending up in a decider and it was just another sign that Higgins is not enjoying his snooker too much since the world final defeat of May. McManus has had success against Higgins before, notably in 2016 when he came from behind to beat Higgins in their Crucible quarter-final which was a stunning result at the time. McManus himself needs wins to ensure his place on tour for next season and his 6-1 win over Alexander Ursenbacher on Wednesday afternoon was a big one given that added pressure. McManus is more than capable of pulling off the upset if Higgins is not on top of his game again here.
Hero of the hour James Cahill will continue his UK Championship against Akani Songsermsawad. Cahill will be flying after beating Selby but may struggle to get up for this one which is likely to be out in the Sports Hall. The style of play that Akani brings does not suit many players either and you would certainly put Cahill in that category, particularly if he starts slowing his own pace of play down and get sucked into a battle. Akani made the last 16 here last year before narrowly losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan and he could become a UK Championship specialist if he takes the opportunity in front of him. The exits of Michael White and Ricky Walden mean the winner of this match will face the winner out of Jak Jones and Joe Swail, making Akani the favourite to reach the last 16 out of the four. If Cahill can bring his best though then he does have every chance of pulling off another big win.
David Gilbert against Peter Ebdon should be another really good match up. Both were quarter-finalists recently at the Northern Ireland Open and have both reached ranking event finals this season, Ebdon in Furth at the Paul Hunter Classic and Gilbert at the World Open. Gilbert finished well against Ashley Carty to win the last three and secure a 6-3 win while Ebdon won comfortably in the back room on Thursday afternoon against Chris Totten and looked in good form in patches there, though the match did go a bit scrappy at times. On overall form you would give Gilbert the edge and if he scores well then Ebdon may struggle to keep up with him as he is very hit and miss in the break building department now, in the twilight of his career.
Barry Hawkins will hope that he can keep his poor UK Championship form at bay when he faces Ian Burns. Hawkins lost in the last 64 in each of 2014, 2015 and 2016 before then being whitewashed in the last 32 last year so he hardly seems to be comfortable in this tournament at the Barbican which is unusual for a player of his high quality. Burns can do damage as well, just ask Neil Robertson about their match in the Welsh Open earlier on in the year and he will tell you what a threat Burns can be on his day. Hawkins was a 6-0 winner in round one though and had a good start to the season, before some recent early exits which could have just damaged his confidence slightly coming to an event that he has lacked success in and he will be fully aware of that.
Neil Robertson is in for a cracking game against Thailand's Thepchiaya Un-Nooh. Robertson is in good form of late beating Mark Selby twice in the last three events and getting to the final of the International Championship and he is certainly a contender for this title, which he has already won twice in his career. Thepchaiya is in good form too at the moment, he reached the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open and had a maximum at the English Open, as well as looking in really strong scoring form against Jimmy White on Wednesday evening. If he scores as heavily as he has been then Robertson won't be able to afford to leave him too many easy chances, making his safety play and long potting really important, especially considering the quality of Un-Nooh's long potting against White on Wednesday. Robertson could be another player under threat of an early exit if he is even slightly off his best in this one.
Graeme Dott and Matthew Stevens should be a really good battle between two quality players. Dott has had a pretty quiet season but was a 6-2 winner in round one against Oliver Lines while Matthew Stevens has been in decent form of late and came through a tough match against Ross Muir 6-4. If this match is in the back room it will not necessarily favour Dott who famously made a point in his autobiography about the disgust that he has not been on the TV table as much as he feels he should have been after winning the World Championship. Stevens looked like his old self in the recent run he had to the semi-finals of the International Championship and he reached the last 16 here a couple of years ago which was one of the highlights as he fell down the rankings. This shapes up to be a really close tie but on recent form you would probably give Stevens the slightest of edges.
Finally, Mark Williams will need to be on the ball against Daniel Wells in their second round tie. Wells will be delighted just to be here after the fortune he had against Zhao Xintong but he is not to be underestimated. In the first half of that match he scored excellently to take a 4-1 lead and was the better player on the night in my view, despite the narrow victory margin. Williams has not been in the best of form in the last few tournaments despite starting the season with another title at the World Open to add to his World title win in May. If he is just off here and Wells is able to handle the occasion, which he should be able to having beaten top players in the past on the TV table, then the outsider of the two in this all-Welsh clash could cause another big UK Championship upset.
The last 64 matches will be played over afternoon and evening sessions on both Saturday and Sunday as the field is narrowed down to the final 32 and the money doubles up from the guarantee of £5,000 for reaching round two, to £10,000 for making round three.
Friday, 30 November 2018
Thursday, 29 November 2018
LIVE BLOG: Zhao Xintong Vs Daniel Wells
Daniel Wells 6-5 Zhao Xintong - After building a strong early lead with a break of 49 Wells had to sit and suffer as Zhao got back into the frame and snookered him on the last red. He escaped from that one well and then fluked the red the next time he was snookered. Zhao potted the yellow though after some safety and followed it with green, brown and blue but tried to force the pink and missed it. A few shots later he left a cut on for Wells who knocks it in and gives a big shout of "COME ON" before punching the bed of the table. There were also a few more come ons as he walked out and rightly so. From 4-1 up it all went wrong and but for some really poor game management from Zhao on the blue he would have lost 6-4. Have to say that's a real eye opener in terms of the fact that Zhao still has plenty to learn before he wins what a lot of people think he may and rises further up the rankings. An insane match but it's Daniel Wells that comes out on top in the decider and will play Mark Williams in the last 64.
Frame 11 - Zhao pots a great first red in the decider into the middle but then misses the blue to leave Wells in with a nice early opening. You feel there will be more twists yet though here.
Frame Wells - So many chances for both players there but in the end Wells takes it on a re-spotted black so we're going to a decider. Zhao won't be able to believe it having missed match ball red, while Wells then snookered himself on the green looking to clear. Zhao potted the brown to leave Wells needing a snooker only to smash an attempt on the blue and knock it off the table. Wells then pots a great blue and clears to force the re-spot. After some good safety there Zhao leaves it near the corner and despite nearly following it in, Wells pots the black to make it 5-5.
Frame 10 - Wells again has had an early half chance but missed on just 3 and now Zhao is at the table with a chance to close this one out. Reds open but black on the side cushion makes it slightly more difficult but still expected him to make more than 19 before missing himself.
Frame Zhao - From start to finish that frame lasted less than 8 minutes. Zhao has found the extra gear and senses that his opponent is under it now big time. Zhao makes scoring look so easy and that break of 83 took no time at all. Meanwhile, as Zhao potted the final balls of the 83 Wells sat in his chair was putting in some eye drops. Not sure what they're for but they need to boost him as he's now a frame from defeat. 5-4 Zhao.
Frame 9 - Still presumably reeling from the previous frame, Wells after potting the first red misses the blue going into them and now Zhao is right in and looking good to lead the match for the first time as he's flying in this break.
Frame Zhao - How Zhao Xintong had won that frame is beyond me. First Wells nearly goes in off after potting frame ball. Then he concedes the snooker Zhao needed to be able to tie, but then after making a great pot on the last red he attempts to snooker Zhao on the yellow and end the frame but comes up short. After that he accidentally pots the brown in a shot he couldn't pull off once in another thousand goes at it. Zhao gets the final snooker on the green to be able to win the frame, before getting the chance to clear the final five colours which he calmly does to level at 4-4. Unbelievable stuff.
After initially breaking down on 32 and playing safe, Wells gets a big slice of luck to cover reds over either corner after an aggressive safety and when Zhao cannot it's another chance for the Welshman to move within a frame of victory.
Frame 8 - Wells is in first again this time and it will be interesting to see how he responds to losing the last two frames. He's into the reds very early on in the break and will be looking to at least build a good lead here. He will need to get into the bunch again though to win the frame at this visit.
Frame Zhao - I said it was a chance he had to take and Zhao has fully made the most of it and looks to have found his groove. The reds were all open for him but he still made it look effortless and the reward is a clearance of 107 to close the gap to just one now. Wells still leads 4-3.
Wells initially loses position on 32 and plays safe early. Now though Zhao has thundered a long red in and has a brilliant chance with the reds open to make this match a little bit closer once again.
Frame 7 - A mis-judged escape from Zhao into the bunch has left Wells in first again in frame seven as he looks to regain the three frame advantage. He's opened the reds early from a red, leaving a tricky black, but with that in and position on the next red secure this is now a brilliant chance.
Frame Zhao - That could be a huge let off for Zhao. Wells misses the black on 13 with two reds left. Who knows if he would have cleared up but the miss gifts Zhao this frame as Wells immediately needed a couple of snookers. Zhao still in there but Wells leads 4-2.
Inexplicably Zhao loses position just enough to leave frame ball with the rest on 61 and he isn't up to the task. Wells is in now with a half chance of a counter clearance but he should at least get back into the frame here.
Frame 6 - A poor safety from Wells to hit the middle bump has left Zhao in amongst them straight away in frame six. The reds are nicely spread now too so this is a chance he has to take full advantage of to give his comeback hopes some fuel.
Frame Wells - More excellent and clinical play of the highest order from Wells. That's been the difference so far tonight, top quality positional play from Wells allowing him to take his chances better than Zhao. This time it is a simply sublime break of 141 that was world class from start to finish. Properly impressive from Wells and he's well ahead now at 4-1.
Frame 5 - Wells in first again straight after the interval as Zhao misses a long red. Reds already nicely opened up so this is a great chance for him to punish the Chinese youngster even further. He's really looking good tonight Wells.
Frame Wells - A real pendulum swinging end to that frame but it's Wells that comes out on top. His break of 59 built a 33 point lead with one red left but he failed to cannon the pink and free the red. Two good snookers from Zhao then yielded 12 points in fouls before he potted the red in the middle. He got down to the blue on the baulk cushion but had to try and force the angle, missing and double kissing the blue to leave it easily for a relieved Wells. The Welshman leads 3-1 at the break but it could easily have been 3-1 the other way.
After a decent long pot to get in, Wells is now at the table with the chance to punish Zhao for not being more clinical again in this match. The reds aren't badly placed and he's one good positional shot to get on pink or black away from making this a frame winning chance.
Frame 4 - A couple of early chances have gone begging for Zhao as he just keeps losing cue ball control slightly. Feels a big frame for him mentally after the last as well. 3-1 down at the interval and that would be a big blow.
Frame Wells - Thanks to some good positional play from Wells there wasn't a tough ball on the table in that break of 69 to win him the frame. He's pounced on the big error from Zhao to make him feel ten times worse about it. That could be a massive early moment in this match, particularly given how recently Wells beat Zhao. 2-1 Wells.
A really unexpected miss on an easy black from Zhao means this frame is far from over yet. There's plenty on for Wells as he gets in and looks to put together a counter clearance.
Frame 3 - His first chance did not amount to much after landing on nothing when he split the reds but Zhao has been afforded another opening and this is one he will make the most of and I soon expect him to lead 2-1.
Frame Zhao - A great player to watch in full flow but tough to keep up when live blogging his matches. Zhao makes a nice 54 with some good pressure pots, particularly one on the black with the cue ball close to the cushion as he approached frame ball. Could keep tighter cue ball control to not put the extra stress on though. 1-1.
Frame 2 - It's taken a while for the first proper chance of the frame but after dominating the early passages, Zhao is in now and already well ahead as he looks to level.
Frame Wells - Wells adds a further break of 49 to his earlier 41 which is more than enough to clinch the opening frame. The highlight would be a red he rolled in for the black from middle distance on just 3 in his second break. He's clearly cueing well. 1-0 Wells
Wells initially runs out of position on 41 but plays a snooker behind the black and is quickly back in after good cut back into the middle. Another opportunity to close out this opener.
Frame 1 - Zhao Xintong earned the first chance of the match after nonchalantly knocking a tricky red into the middle but then after splitting the reds from a red takes on an ambitious yellow to leave Wells right in with a great opportunity now.
My final live blog of the week is a close looking match up between Daniel Wells and Zhao Xintong.
The pair met just recently at the Northern Ireland Open with Wells getting a 4-1 victory against the odds that day. The Welsh man also scored victories over Joe Perry and Barry Hawkins to reach the last 16 of the English Open so he is in pretty good form of late.
As for Zhao Xintong he has shone since winning back his tour card with the clear highlight a career best semi-final at the China Championship, with wins over Mark Williams, Anthony McGill and Barry Hawkins in the process.
Two heavy scorers and good players to watch so it should be a cracker.
LIVE BLOG: Mark Davis Vs Sam Craigie
Mark Davis 6-4 Sam Craigie - Davis made an additional 21 after Craigie's miss and that is more than enough to win the match. On the day he simply took his chances better than Craigie did in the balls and Craigie missed a couple of long pots as well that allowed Davis chances. All in all he was the deserved winner but Craigie certainly played his part in what was a cracking contest and probably the best I've watched this week so far. Perhaps Davis can get on another big run now.
Craigie wins the safety battle but misses on 6. Davis still ahead by 32 then with five reds left, one of which is hanging over the corner to get him back in. A match winning chance now.
Davis initially missed the black on 30 but wasn't punished as Craigie missed a blue to the yellow pocket on 1. Davis then tries to get into the bunch and misses them though so has to play safe.
Frame 10 - Big moments now in this match as it gets close. Davis is in first and will be desperate to close the match out without the need for a decider. It's a decent early chance but he'll need to promote more reds from the bunch soon.
Frame Craigie - Craigie clinches the frame quickly after getting in. He knew it was a massive chance to close the gap and put his foot down once again. A run of 53 is more than enough to keep Davis seated and claw a frame back. 5-4 now to Davis.
Frame 9 - A must win frame for Craigie and after a couple of early half chances he's looking good here after a pot in the middle to get in with reds spread far and wide. He should take this frame at this visit.
Frame Davis - That's a big moment and could be a killer blow to Sam Craigie. He misses on 29 and leaves the red for Davis who then clears the remaining reds well with good pots along cushions in there and goes on to win the frame at that visit and move two clear again and one away from the last 64 at 5-3.
Davis runs out of position on 50 and misses a double attempt but leaves Craigie a red to the middle and he's now in. Three reds on cushions to deal with though if he's to win this frame from behind.
Frame 8 - Craigie had the first half chance of this frame but missed a tough red to the middle, leaving Davis right in now as a result. A big frame here given the difference between 5-3 Davis and 4-4 so a crucial break in progress.
Frame Craigie - Initially Craigie missed a red down the cushion on 56 and left a possibility of the Davis counter clearance which would have badly hurt. However, Davis potted the red but went too far for the black and took on a tough mid range blue, missing and leaving Craigie in to make an additional run of 41 and clinch the frame. 4-3 now to Davis.
Frame 7 - Behind by two for the first time, Craigie needs a response here and knocks a great red in to get in and has picked up the pace a little in this break as he looks to get it done in one visit. So far so good on that front too.
Frame Davis - In the end he's needed another three scoring visits to pot the reds needed to leave Craigie needing snookers, missing frame ball red initially when he must have been rattled by the amount of people that started coming into the Sports Hall. Another long frame but an important one too as Davis leads by two frames for the first time in this match and he looks more in control now. 4-2.
With pink and black still out of play, Davis takes all seven reds with blues to get to 42 but then with only one of the last four reds open he tries to cannon the red and black but finishes on nothing and plays safe with a 23 point lead.
Frame 6 - A long miss from Davis has let Craigie straight in in the sixth and he opts to break the bunch from the first blue and gets all the reds open. A bit of work to do to get pink and black properly in play though and he misses a pink to the middle and has let Davis off the hook.
Frame Davis - An initial break of 60 left Davis in a strong position but his missed cannon to what would have been frame ball meant the frame was still very much alive when the break ended. A period of safety followed before Davis potted a red from distance and was able to close out the frame comfortably thereafter. He's back out in front. 3-2
Craigie misses a red to the corner on 25 to really let Davis off the hook. Initially he left nothing but then took an all or nothing red on to the middle, missing that too and leaving Davis right in now to try and retake the lead for a third time.
Frame 5 - It was 10 minutes into this frame before a ball was potted, with safety pushing reds open and towards the baulk end. A miss from Davis has left Craigie right in now with the balls at his mercy.
Frame Craigie - That was an excellently crafted break of 60 there from Craigie he had a lot of tricky little shots in there but took them all well and I have to say it didn't necessarily look on that he could make enough to leave Davis needing a snooker. That 60 was enough though and a good long pot shortly after clinched the frame and means this match goes to the interval all square at 2-2.
Frame 4 - Been a bit of a scrappy start to this frame with all the reds being opened early yet neither player was able to get in. Craigie is in now though after a good long pot and has just gotten the pink back on it's spot in order to make this a proper scoring chance. During the safety though a lot of the reds have ended up nearer cushions than he would like so there's work to do.
Frame Davis - Once again Davis looks in superb form here. He was flying around the table and looked really confident in that break. This time he just about gets the century as well, making a flawless break of 101 to retake the advantage. 2-1 Davis.
Frame 3 - Davis in first in the third after a long miss from Craigie left him a choice of reds from distance. He picked one out of the bunch and executed perfectly and is now nicely in with reds open and the colours on their spots to move back out in front.
Frame Craigie - Davis initially breaks down on 27 coming just too straight on a red on the cushion and trying to force it but missing. He left it safe and after Craigie's safety Davis attempts a cross double but ends up getting nowhere near and leaves the red over the middle for Craigie to clinch the frame. 1-1
It was all looking good for Craigie but he just didn't get nicely on the red he played on, on 61, potting it and careering into other reds, knocking one over the corner and moving the black safe. He had no choice really but to go for the blue, but misses and has left Davis a counter chance.
Frame 2 - Craigie is in first this time after Davis left a red into the middle, after four reds were down he got into the bunch to open the rest up and this is now a good looking chance to level the match up.
Frame Davis - A really quick contribution and less than 10 minutes needed for that opening frame. Davis made that look pretty simple and showed the form that took him to that final in Crawley with an excellent opening statement of 85. The century only prevented by a missed red down the bottom cushion. 1-0.
Frame 1 - A missed long red from Craigie has left Davis in and at the same time opened quite a few reds up to for the English Open Runner-up to go at. Good chance this early on in proceedings.
This was one of the matches that jumped out when the draw was made so I'm looking forward to watching and live blogging Mark Davis Vs Sam Craigie this afternoon.
Davis of course reached his first ever ranking final recently at the English Open beating John Higgins in the last 16 and then thrashing Ryan Day in the quarters and Ronnie O'Sullivan no less in the semi-final before losing narrowly to Stuart Bingham. Davis is also a former semi-finalist in York, making the last four back in 2012.
As for Sam Craigie he will want to improve on the thrashing he received at this stage last year against Andrew Higginson. He always looks like he is never too far away from potentially having a big run because of how well he scored and he has had a lot of guys play well against him recently. In Northern Ireland Li Hang was superb against him from 2-0 in the last 64 and in the two tournaments prior to that he lost by the odd frame to Barry Hawkins and David Gilbert.
It should be a great tie so I can't wait to get going.
LIVE BLOG: Yan Bingtao Vs Lukas Kleckers
Yan Bingtao 6-1 Lukas Kleckers - As expected it was an easy kill in the end as a run of 57 to the yellow for Yan leaves Kleckers playing on again for far too many snookers without threatening to get them. You can't deny that it is a struggle for him out there and you have to feel a bit sorry for him because snooker is a tough game when things aren't going your way. Yan meanwhile has looked really solid today. Yes he has missed the odd pot here and there but when his good scoring chances have come he has taken all of them and made break building look pretty easy today. He's certainly a threat of he keeps that level of scoring up.
Just as the lights in the arena start flickering Yan gets himself in after a scrappy period in this frame. With all the reds wide open in the middle of the table this looks like the frame and match in waiting for Yan now.
Frame 7 - Once again an example of where Kleckers struggles. In first but he can only make 23 before an unforced error missing to the middle. It's been another pretty demoralising day for the youngster but on this occasion the miss hasn't cost him.
Frame Yan - Once that second good chance of the frame came it was all plain sailing for Yan. He has made the game look easy this morning amongst the reds and this time produces another 70+ contribution. A 77 clearance puts him four up with five to play at 5-1.
A good long red followed by the snooker behind the brown have produced the next chance for Yan who is not far away at all now from moving four frames clear.
Kleckers has just had a half chance but can only make 13. If you were picking faults with his game you would say he doesn't seem to score heavy enough, though you could say the same for a lot of lower ranked players like him.
Frame 6 - Once again Yan is in first in a frame as he looks to put himself on the edge of the winning line as quickly as possible. Playing a red on 23, he's opened a few more reds out of the bunch but needed to go into them again, does just that off the black but lands on nothing. Kleckers is hanging on at the moment and Yan plays safe on 31.
Frame Yan - The Chinese youngster had really found his stride now in this match which will make a Kleckers comeback really tough from here. Again Yan looked untroubled in that visit to the table and even though the cue ball had to do a little more mileage this time he didn't ever look like missing. A break of 70 left the German needing four snookers once again, which is too big of an ask really. 4-1 Yan now.
Frame 5 - This is really starting to get away from Kleckers now. He just can't keep it tight enough and Yan is taking full advantage. He's in again with reds nicely placed now to increase his lead further.
Frame Yan - After needing three or four chances in the last, Yan never looked like needing more than one this time. He's punishing Kleckers who hasn't really been at the races since that opening frame. Once again he made that break of 75 look easy and Kleckers attempts to play on for four snookers didn't really get off the start line. Been all Yan in the last three frames and he's strolled into a 3-1 interval lead.
Frame 4 - Yan in first once again here and looking pretty good. The black is up on the brown spot for now but he's just opened the pink up by getting that on the black spot for now and there are plenty of reds open and waiting to be picked off to make this a frame winning break.
Frame Yan - He ended up needing another chance to leave Kleckers needing a snooker but without doing anything special in frame three, he's put the frame on the board. Not a frame I'll remember for very long it has to be said. 2-1 Yan.
After a half chance for Kleckers, Yan is back in again but given how the reds are sitting near the bottom cushion, the German mat still have a lifeline in this frame but it looks pretty bleak now.
Frame 3 - A bad miss in the middle for Kleckers has allowed Yan straight back in again but instead of picking up where he left off in the previous frame he can only make 24 from it and now the pair will battle for the next opening.
Frame Yan - It certainly looks like Yan has warned up quickly. Maybe he's been reading my blog between frames. Never looked in trouble really in that break and he ends up with a superb break of 106. Kleckers will be under it if he keeps playing as he did in that contribution. 1-1
Frame 2 - Kleckers leaves a red to the middle for Yan early in frame two and it could prove costly. The youngster is nicely in and has just gone into the reds nicely. A great opportunity now to level the scores.
Frame Kleckers - Yan had a half chance at a clearance but he missed after the first red and allowed Kleckers to get the red and colour he needed to win this opening frame. Not the best start from Yan with a couple of poor shots, so he needs to warm up quickly. 1-0 to the German.
Kleckers initially played safe on 43 but gets back in after a well struck long pot but has just missed the black off it's spot. The lead is 59 but there's still plenty on for Yan to get back in the frame.
Frame 1 - It may have been a fluke that got Kleckers in but that's the sort of luck you need in these matches. After apologising to Yan he's set about his business but needs to get the pack open soon.
One for my German followers this morning as Lukas Kleckers faces a tough tie with Yan Bingtao.
Yan Bingtao hasn't quite kicked on this season just yet as some people might have expected, but he's still always dangerous. This time last year he came to the UK Championship having just made his first ranking final in Northern Ireland, losing 9-8 to Mark Williams. In many ways he's actually in a better place this year because that would have taken some getting over mentally.
Kleckers hasn't exactly had a great 18 months on the tour results wise, but it will have been tough playing on the main tour for the first time. The Riga Masters has been his best result both this season and last season as well, but unfortunately for him we can't play there every week. A win today would probably be the biggest of his pro career, but if Yan isn't on his A game this could certainly be a close contest.
Wednesday, 28 November 2018
LIVE BLOG: Jimmy White vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-3 Jimmy White - Un-Nooh didn't end up winning at that visit after missing a red to the middle, but the Whirlwind just couldn't get his own red to fall in the middle either, allowing Un-Nooh back in to pick up the pieces and clinch victory. He really is in excellent scoring form at the moment and is a danger in this draw if he keeps playing like that. If he ever did cut out the odd sloppy error that gets punished against the higher ranked players then he could still make that breakthrough and win a ranking event. For White it's still great to see the passion he has for the game. With the frustration he showed tonight, it's clear he still wants to win every game and it's equally as a good to see he draws such a crowd. People were turned away at the start of the match because the sports hall was full. That sums up Jimmy White and his army of fans.
Frame 9 - A couple of misses from White has allowed Thepchaiya a couple of early chances and after laying a snooker behind the black he has the chance that he needs to close this match out. I don't think there's much life left in this match now.
Frame Thepchaiya - Another rapid contribution from the Thai and another clearance. He's making more clearances than a football defender tonight. This time he gets there with the aid of a fluke on the black once the frame was in the bag and he's fully punished White with a break of 110. He's one away from round two. 5-3.
Frame 8 - White has had a decent opening in this frame after a long range miss from Thepchaiya but the Thai is in now after White missed into the right corner and he's looking good to go one away from the winning line.
Frame White - Just under 11 minutes from start to finish for that frame. The speed snooker continues and this time it's Jimmy White winning the frame at one visit. Thepchaiya's form seems to have inspired White and it's exhibition stuff. Tough to do it justice in words really. A brilliant break of 93 with a failed cannon spoiling the possible century that time. 4-3 still to Un-Nooh.
Frame 7 - White misses a long cut attempt and leaves it in the jaws but has it covered. Thepchaiya tries to come off the cushion to pot it but immediately knows he's missed it. White is taking advantage of that error so far.
Frame Thepchaiya - A decent chance quickly turned into another frame winning break. Absolutely relentless from Thepchaiya there and he'd reached snookers required after just 6 minutes in the frame. Hard to know how you stop him unless he misses an ambitious shot. Another great break and he's doubled his advantage. 4-2 Thepchaiya.
Frame 6 - Another excellent long pot from Thepchaiya gets him in first in the sixth and he's aggressively into the reds straight away to make this a decent early chance.
Frame Thepchaiya - Disappointing for White. An unforced error as he misses one into the middle but at his age now he's going to make the odd error like that. Un-Nooh picked up the pieces once again and with a clearance of 84 in no time at all he's back out in front and this match is flying by. 3-2 Thepchaiya.
Frame 5 - A great long pot from Thepchaiya screwing back for the blue gets him the first good chance of the frame but he soon misses a cut back red into the corner and leaves White in.
Frame White - It was always looking likely after the pack split but White has taken the fourth to level the match up at 2-2. He'll be disappointed to miss the black on 72 and miss out on a possible century break because all the reds were there for one. The fans aren't disappointed about the fightback though after losing the second the way he did.
Frame 4 - White's in first this time after Thepchaiya left a cut on a red to the middle and so far it's been solid from the Whirlwind. He's into the reds as he gets into the fifties and now this should be a level game.
Frame White - White missed a red early on initially to let Thepchaiya off but the Thai couldn't take advantage missing another ball in the middle. That allowed White back with a glorious chance and a break of 55, including some good pots on yellow and green to get the crowd going, puts him on the board. 2-1 now to Thepchaiya.
Frame 3 - There's not a lot that Un-Nooh doesn't take on, I thought he'd broken down a couple of times but a great mid-ranged red kept things going before he misses on 25 with an ambitious red to middle that didn't find the jaws. Thepchaiya has now missed again from range and White is in.
Frame Thepchaiya - Big frame that one. White initially breaks down on 54 after missing a red to middle. Thepchaiya then gets in with a good double and clears to the last red which he misses along the baulk cushion. White then wins the battle on the final red but misses the yellow off it's spot and Un-Nooh clears the colours to double his lead. 2-0.
Frame 2 - Thepchaiya was in first again but after splitting the bunch missed a red at pace into the middle leaving White in. He's up into the thirties and looking good to level.
Frame Thepchaiya - What a start for Un-Nooh. Hard to think of many players that make snooker look as effortless in full flow. As if no thought is required whatsoever. His second chance comes quickly and he has no problem clearing the table with a break of 81 to take the opener. 1-0 Thepchaiya.
Frame 1 - To absolutely no encouragement Thepchaiya is in first and it's tough to type fast enough to keep up with him. The break ends on 43 though as he loses position on a colour but it's a decent lead to have.
Still somewhat reeling from the shock exit of Shaun Murphy this afternoon tonight's match should put a smile back on my face. It won't be slow as Thepchaiya Un-Nooh takes on Jimmy White.
Thepchaiya was flying recently in Belfast making the quarter-finals and getting an incredibly emphatic 37 minute win in his last 16 match with Robbie Williams. At the English Open he made a 147 break and ended up losing to eventual champion Stuart Bingham by just the odd frame in the last 32.
As for Jimmy White it's magical for snooker that he's still playing. It's yet another UK Championship appearance and even if hasn't had as many wins as he would like I'm sure he still loves being out there. Really looking forward to this one.
LIVE BLOG: Hull Vs Highfield continued
Liam Highfield 6-4 Robin Hull - You cannot fault the way Highfield finished that match off. A break of 78 in the ninth and an excellent 96 just now to clinch it. A tough draw for both players and they really showed why that was. Hull had chances early but Highfield deserved the win for closing it out how he has in the end. Having gotten into the fifties in frame ten he had to go into the bunch and didn't land on anything easy but still made an excellent pot to keep the break going. He'll be dangerous again in York this year having previously made the last 16. A shame for Hull though as that may well be his last UK Championship.
Frame 10 - What a red to the green pocket Highfield has potted to get in first in the tenth. He's into the reds on just 12 and is now hoping to make this a match winning break and it's looking good for him so far.
Frame Highfield - Highfield really upped his tempo in that break sensing the opportunity to give himself two bites of the cherry to win the match now. The frame from start to finish lasted less than 10 minutes and a break of 78 is more than enough to put Highfield 5-4 ahead.
Frame 9 - Highfield in first here and buzzing round the table as he looks to get back out in front. He's opened the reds from a pot on a red superbly and looks really well placed to move 5-4 up.
Frame Hull - Highfield built a lead of 34 with two reds left but left himself the wrong side of the black to get on frame ball red. After some safety Hull was then left the chance to clear and did so superbly. The highlight of the clearance was his cannon to pot the brown from near the cushion to over the middle pocket and the remaining colours were on their spots. We have a level game now at 4-4. All to play for.
Hull is not a happy bunny now. Handed a chance by a poor Highfield safety but he squander it by missing the red on the stretch and throws his extension away in disgust. Highfield in now with a great chance to go one away from a place in round two.
Having some technical issues so here's a new post. Frame 8 - A big one now for Hull and he's in first after a good long pot and a brown in the middle straight after. This frame is the difference between a level game and Highfield being two up with three to play so he could have done with making more of this first chance but it looks like end of break on 29.
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
LIVE BLOG: Robin Hull Vs Liam Highfield
Hull's break was looking smooth until he just came up short on the blue on 59 and didn't land on frame ball red. He led by 59 with 67 left but Highfield has knocked a long one in and has a chance to erode that advantage.
Frame 7 - If Robin Hull has any hopes of winning this match this is a must win frame. He's been handed a lifeline after Highfield has got in and missed a red early on to leave the Finn a chance with the black available and a load of open reds.
Frame Highfield - That's a big chance gone for Hull. He initially gets to 41 before missing the green but leaves it safe. He then wins the battle on the green with a good snooker but misses the brown, leaving it for Highfield who only needs that and the blue to clinch the sixth frame and move two up. 4-2 Highfield now.
One slightly heavy positional shot has cost Highfield here. He's missed a red to the middle on 52 with 75 still on as Hull gets on the counter. This is a definite chance to steal one from behind and Highfield knew it as he kicked his cue in frustration.
Frame 6 - Hull had a half chance just now on a red in the middle but jawed it, leaving it for Highfield to delicately roll into the same pocket. Having done so he now has a great chance to start taking real control of this match at this visit.
Frame Highfield - It was still not an easy chance with reds near the bottom cushion and Highfield needed an excellent positional shot with four reds left from the pink after finishing too low, from there he sailed to the winning line in the frame and now leads for the first time at 3-2. A solid contribution there from Highfield.
Both players made little from their early half chances but Highfield is back in now with another but with black and blue off their spots the cue ball has done some mileage but he's nicely on the pink now so this is a pretty good opening.
Frame 5 - After a good safety battle to start the frame the first chance after the break has fallen to Highfield after Hull left a red on from distance. He misses a tester of a blue on just 8 though and has left Hull in.
Frame Highfield - All square it is at the interval but Hull will rue the missed chances. He just over hit position from the last red and missed the green otherwise he would almost certainly have cleared for 3-1. As it was there was still a good battle on the yellow but Highfield always had a slight edge and a good snooker getting the yellow behind the pink ended up forcing the opening to level the match. 2-2
Hull initially loses his counter chance after a bad kick on the pink causes him to miss. Highfield misses one in the middle though and Hull has a second opening to get back in the frame with nothing safe.
Highfield loses black ball position on 49 and after a great safety from Hull, the Finn has earned the chance to get back into this frame.
Frame 4 - Highfield misses a half chance at a red early on to give Hull the first chance of the frame but he then hands it back by missing a black off the spot on 5. Highfield then gets to 32 before potting a good red up into the yellow pocket to keep things going and now looks good to level this match up.
Frame Highfield - After Hull missed on 16, Highfield failed at an attempt in the middle before Hull went for a tricky one into the yellow pocket. That left Highfield a red at mid-range and this time he gets it and at the third time of asking he's able to put the frame on the board. That could be an early turning point in this one. 2-1 to Hull now.
Have to say it was hard to see that miss coming from Highfield but he does miss an easy enough red on 19. 48 was the lead with 83 left but Hull is eating into that now, before missing on 16 unexpectedly. He points at the red like it was a bad contact but it was hard to tell. Frame still in the balance.
Highfield ended up going for a plant, got it but didn't get on the black so played safe on 29. He's back in now after another long pot and has a good chance of closing the gap after opening the reds up in his previous visit.
Frame 3 - Highfield is in first properly for the first time in the match and he needs to hit back fast. A good long range red got him in but he's gone into the pack on 23 and is in two minds over his next red with nothing easy on.
Frame Hull - This is a really good start here for Hull. Once again he created an excellent chance for himself and took advantage of it excellently. There was a half chance for back to back centuries to start the match but he didn't quite get on the pink nicely from the last red and had to settle for a break of 67. 2-0 Hull.
Not long after that first chance Hull is back in amongst them after a good pot in the middle. Already ahead and with reds spread far and wide this is a golden opportunity to double his early lead.
Frame 2 - Another early miss for Highfield has left Hull in with a good opportunity to pounce again. He goes into the reds on 17 and gets everything nicely open but lands on nothing so the break ends at 24.
Frame Hull - After Highfield let him off the hook he was never going to give him a second chance. He made the rest look easy with all the reds already open and the result was an excellent 106 clearance to give Hull the opening frame. A great start for the Finn.
Frame 1 - Hull has earned the first chance after an excellent long red rolled in for the black. He pots a good blue with the rest and a good mid range red thereafter but misses on 22 and leaves the reds open for Highfield. He can't take advantage though and that could be a big let off for Hull.
Wednesday's play gets underway with two players I always enjoy watching and doing live blogs of. Finland's Robin Hull takes on Liam Highfield.
My twitter followers will know that I'm a huge fan of Robin and his announcement on Twitter that he may retire at the end of the season is part of the reason I'm even in York. Recently in Belfast he reached the last 32 and was one good positional shot away from beating Ryan Day in the decider and going even further into the competition.
As for Highfield, he has had last 64 exits in the last two tournaments. At the International he led Mark Allen 4-0 before Allen made the comeback and ended up winning the tournament, while in Belfast he lost 4-3 to Jack Lisowski, so there's no shame in either of those defeats. Other than a last 32 at the Paul Hunter Classic though, Highfield has not gone beyond the last 64 all season so this will be a really interesting game. Last season in York, Highfield was just one pot short of beating eventual runner-up Shaun Murphy at the last 64 stage so he's certainly capable of big wins.
Really looking forward to this one getting underway at 9.30am.
LIVE BLOG: Ben Woollaston Vs Alfie Burden
Ben Woollaston 6-3 Alfie Burden - Woollaston ended up breaking down on 52 but the next safety from Burden leaves Woollaston back in again and he did not need much more to close the match out. On the whole he scored better than Burden but also had a lot more chances as his safety was just that bit stronger too, but to beat some of the higher ranked players in this event he will need to score heavier and win frames in one visit like he did more with the 130 break, as he will not get that amount of chances against higher ranked guys. Still a good win for Woollaston though after the fightback from Burden.
Frame 9 - Another frame and another easy opener for Woollaston after Burden misses and leaves a red in the Jaws that somehow didn't drop (even after Alfie shouted "drop then" at it). Woollaston was looking good as the break entered the forties with reds open but he's giving himself a scare or two positionally.
Frame Woollaston - Woollaston ended up losing position on 56 and would play safe before a long red shortly after gave him another half chance. He missed a thin black though but left nothing for Burden and at the third time of asking Woollaston left Burden needing three snookers. 5-3 Woollaston.
Frame 8 - Burden is left with his hands behind his head as he realises he's left Woollaston an easy opener right at the start of the eighth. So far Woollaston is taking advantage and taking control of the match again as this looks like another potential one visit frame.
Frame Woollaston - That was certainly more like the Woollaston of the first three frames. A fluent and very speedily compiled break of 69 was enough to leave Burden needing snookers and unlike a little earlier in the match, the battle was a short one this time. 4-3 to Woollaston.
Frame 7 - Right when he needs to, Woollaston is putting something together early on in a frame. In first he needs to start taking his chances like he did in the opening three frames and regain that confidence. He doesn't make life easy for himself, even though this should be a frame winning break.
Frame Burden - Woollaston has to play safe on the green and then a few shots later takes on a very aggressive but risky pot, misses and leaves it for Burden who is easily able to clinch the frame. 3-3 now.
Burden built a nice 64 but didn't land on frame ball red and had to play safe. A few shots later a poor safety has left Woollaston a magnificent chance to steal the frame and regain control.
Frame 6 - Burden ends up snookered behind the green early in the frame, hits the black from the escape and leaves a red underneath it to allow Woollaston the first opening of the frame as he looks to halt the Burden charge. He misses on 23 though and looks to be feeling it a little now.
Frame Burden - He did not end up clinching the frame at that visit and after Woollaston threatened to make a comeback in the frame, he missed an ambitious red into the green pocket, leaving it over the middle for Burden to pull another frame back. 3-2 now to Woollaston.
An in-off from Woollaston gave Burden another chance and with plenty of open reds he looks like pegging Woollaston back further.
Frame 5 - Burden earned the first opening after a long bout of safety with a brilliant long straight red. The resulting break only amounted to 20 though, but his miss left nothing for Woollaston and they're back to safety.
Frame Burden - That's much more like it from Burden. He looked in really good touch amongst the reds and showed Woollaston that he's still got something to think about in this match. Burden wobbled the last red which is the only thing denying him a century, but a break of 97 keeps him in it. 3-1 Woollaston.
Frame 4 - This is the first really good chance Burden has had so far and he could do with winning the frame in one visit to tell Woollaston he is not done yet. Break up into the forties and looking in good shape
Frame Woollaston - The long battle for snookers ends when Burden leaves the red close to the middle and after jokingly pointing at the spot on the cushion Woollaston would need to come off to pot it, Ben does exactly that. 3-0 Woollaston
After a long battle that took the frame beyond the 30 minute mark Woollaston knocks a great red into the middle and already with a healthy lead he leaves Burden requiring snookers with two reds left.
Woollaston ends up losing position and now leads by 37. Briefly the referee on the next table was his wife Tatianna after the referee assigned to that game had a coughing fit and left the arena.
Frame 3 - A tough miss on a red along the cushion from Burden leaves Woollaston in again with the first good chance in the frame and he's looking in really good shape again with a few reds open.
Frame Woollaston - Excellent from Woollaston. The cue ball was hardly on a string in the middle of the break as he really did some mileage but a cracking shot on the pink in the middle to split the reds opened the rest of the frame up, taking him into the fifties and resulting in a 136 total clearance. He looks very good for the 2-0 lead.
Frame 2 - With a red behind the black just dropping for Woollaston he's first in again and has got the reds spread early on to make this a great chance to double that early lead in no time.
Frame Woollaston - An additional 53 does the job for Woollaston to take the opening frame. Was pretty comfortable with reds spread but he looks to be cueing well nonetheless. 1-0 Woollaston
A great long red from Woollaston to come down for the black leaves him in an excellent position now with plenty of open reds as he looks to take the opener.
Frame 1 - After a nice leak from roof caused me to change seats a miss from Burden in the middle allowed Woollaston in first. His pack split on 25 saw him finish on nothing though and he was forced to play safe.
After Ken Doherty overcame Yuan Sijun in my live blog match earlier I'm looking forward to tonight between Alfie Burden and Ben Woollaston.
Woollaston has had a hit and miss season, being whitewashed in a couple of early season qualifiers but he also boasts a win over Mark Selby in the English Open - making a sensational clearance in the decider. He also had a great chance to beat Neil Robertson in Belfast before losing 4-3.
As for Burden, he recently made the last 16 of the International Championship beating Sam Baird and David Lilley before losing to eventual champion Mark Allen and he's had some tough draws this year too. This shapes up to be a tight tussle.
LIVE BLOG: Yuan Sijun Vs Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty 6-2 Yuan Sijun - From 2-1 down there Doherty was excellent. He scored well and always looked the stronger with his safety which is just an area that Yuan is probably still lacking but he has plenty of time to develop his game. A lot of positive signs for Doherty fans though. When his chance came at the end he was clinical to leave Yuan needing a snooker on the final red, before clinching the match after Yuan's first safety shot thereafter. He now awaits the winner of the match between a certain Ronnie O'Sullivan and Luke Simmonds.
Doherty broke down early but wins the resulting safety battle and now this is his big chance to close the match out.
That miss from Yuan has left Doherty in with a potential match winning opening here with plenty of the remaining reds open and the Irishman cueing brilliantly.
Frame 8 - Doherty needs to be careful not to open the door up here for a Yuan comeback. A risky attempt on the green left the teenager at the table but his break ends after a missed red in the middle on 18.
Frame Doherty - Exactly 8 minutes from start to finish was all that Doherty required to clinch the seventh frame. Once in he just resumed from the previous three frames having well and truly found a rhythm and the crowd in here are loving it. A break of 82 this time puts him one away from the last 64. 5-2.
Frame 7 - A cracking long red this time from Doherty gets him in first in the seventh with his foot firmly on the accelerator here. If he can kill this frame off in one visit then Yuan will well and truly be on the ropes.
Frame Doherty - From the chance Yuan left there Doherty adds a nice break of 50 and looks to really be on top form here today while Yuan has lost his way in the last two frames. This is the first time that either player has led by two as well. 4-2 Doherty.
Yuan ends up unfortunate to pot a red and when cannoning others, land on no easy colour with no safety on offer because of an easy red in baulk. In the end he tries a really tough cut on the pink and goes in off in the middle to leave Doherty in with an opportunity to double his lead.
Frame 6 - First chance for Doherty in the next frame after a well judged pot on a red near the baulk line into the bottom pocket but he only manages 19 before losing position and running for safety.
Frame Doherty - Doherty builds a lead of 14 before laying snookers on the last two reds, the second of which saw Yuan leave a red and now Doherty will take this frame to move ahead for the first time. 3-2 Doherty.
Doherty can't take advantage of his chance as he loses position on 21, but a good safety that left Yuan in trouble has yielded a second opportunity in this frame. A couple of reds are near cushions now though so not straight forward.
Yuan loses position after what looked like a bad contact and his break ends on 36 after missing a very dangerous blue into the green pocket. Doherty now at the table and in amongst them.
Frame 5 - We're back from the interval and once again it does not take long at all for the first chance to come. Yuan is in first this time and again he has the reds open early on to make this another frame that could be won in one visit.
Frame Doherty - I said Doherty had to take advantage and he really has there. The two reds as he approached frame ball were crucial, firstly one up into the green pocket that just wobbled in and then a double into the middle that allowed him to get over the frame winning line. From there he picked the rest of the reds off nicely and finished up with a magnificent 130 break to level the scores at the interval. 2-2
Frame 4 - They've flown through the first three frames and it has not taken long for Doherty to earn the first chance in frame four. Having seen the scoring power of Yuan he needs to take advantage here.
Frame Yuan - He looks genuinely gutted at the end of this frame to miss out on a potential maximum. A great positional shot all round the table from the eighth red kept it going but he lost position again on 88 and missed a very tricky cut into the middle pocket. He will need to come back down quickly though because you could see his excitement during that break. 2-1 Yuan.
Frame 3 - Yuan gets in first here with a sensational long red which he rolls in with a perfect weight for the black. Then from the third red he opens all the other reds up and has made this into both an excellent frame winning chance and a 147 alert.
Frame Doherty - Doherty has to play safe on 51 but by then Yuan can only tie the frame. He ends up potting a red but fails to get on the black and then misses the pink before conceding. 1-1
Frame 2 - A good cut into the middle for Doherty has given him the first good chance in frame two. Plenty of reds open and colours on their spots so another excellent opportunity here as he looks to level this up.
Frame Yuan - There's no messing when Yuan gets in. He's quick and a really fluent break builder and made that break look easy. A run of 87 it is to give the Chinese youngster the opening frame.
Frame 1 - Been a cagey opening so far with both players missing half chances but an incredibly ambitious plant from Doherty, with little else on, has left Yuan nicely in now.
The people have spoken and my first live blog of the UK Championship last 128 will be Yuan Sijun against 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty.
Yuan is the man in form of the two at the moment, reaching the quarter-finals of the China Championship and picking up some good wins against top players like Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson and Ding Junhui. He's certainly the favourite.
That said Doherty has the experience in these big events and despite a quiet season so far he will be up for the Challenge and raring to get his York campaign underway.
Monday, 26 November 2018
Ashley Carty Interview
Ashley Carty is one of the rookies on tour this season after earning his tour card in the final event of Q School this summer and was someone I picked straight out as a player to watch.
Now, after a steady start to the season, he steps up to the big time in his first major as a professional and his second appearance at the UK Championship overall hoping for a run that could kick his season up a gear.
With a first UK Championship as a pro comes a lot of new experiences and the great buzz of playing in the main arena at the York Barbican and Carty cannot wait to get underway on Wednesday night.
"I’m really excited as it is such a prestigious event and the first major BBC event of this season, I don’t have many UK Championship memories overall, apart from my appearance there a few years ago as an amateur", Carty exclaimed.
His first round opponent at the Barbican is David Gilbert, the world number 19 who has climbed back up to that mark after a start to the season that has him sixth on this season's money list and he comes to York after a quarter-final in Belfast.
"Gilbert is a great player, his rankings don't lie and he narrowly lost in the final in China (at the start of the season) which must have given him huge confidence. I know I’ll have to be at the top of my game to beat him, but I know if I play to the best of my ability I’m capable of the win".
As he's already mentioned, Carty does have one experience of playing in the main arena at the York Barbican, when he took on Barry Hawkins in the last 128 of this event as an amateur top-up player back in 2014.
"I lost 6-1 but it was a much closer game than the score line suggests, it was a great experience playing in the main room in the Barbican and it will hold me in good stead for Wednesday night".
Being a Yorkshire based player, Carty is one of many players who will not be far from home this week and he maybe able to use the recent success of other locals like David Grace (semi-finalist in 2015), Oliver Lines (last 16 in 2016) or Peter Lines (knocked out defending champion Neil Robertson in 2016) to inspire a big run.
"Yes definitely it’s only about a hour away for me so that will have it’s benefits of the reduced amount of travelling, which sometimes can take a lot out of you".
The other benefit of having so many players from the same area is that Carty is also never short of a practice partner.
"I have been up to the Northern Snooker Centre quite a few times to practice with Peter and Oliver Lines and also Sanderson Lam".
This season so far, Carty has had some tough defeats, most recently in deciders to Graeme Dott and Mark King in the last 128 of the International Championships and the English Open, each providing a lesson about life on tour.
"I have learnt that on the tour you have to be really critical when you get a chance otherwise with the quality of the tour you will get punished. I probably just need to be a bit more consistent and score heavily more often when I'm in which I am working on".
His best finish to date was a run to the last 32 of the Riga Masters, with an impressive victory against Anthony McGill which has given Carty plenty of belief.
"Against McGill I played a really good match and didn’t hardly put a foot wrong, that’s what you have to do to beat the top players. It just proves that I can beat the top players, and that is definitely the highlight of my season so far".
Earning a tour card via Q School is a unique experience, given the pressure that is on every single player in the latter stages of the events, so it takes a lot of bottle to come through and that is something Carty displayed in May.
"The whole experience of Q School is very stressful and very nerve wracking as there is a huge amount in your career at stake and especially in a shorter format over two weeks of the year it is really tough to come through it all".
The experience is may be a stressful one but the rewards are so great for getting over the line and for many players it takes a while to sink in and provides lifelong memories.
"To be honest it was all a bit of a blur. I was that focused in my matches that I don’t remember a lot apart from the last two matches where I beat a Chinese pro from last season (Wang Yuchen), and an Indian player who was at Q School for the first time , where I knew I had an advantage because I’ve lost twice previously in the last round of Q School and I didn’t want to go through that defeat again as it is heartbreaking. It took a few weeks to sink in but the season started only about a month after so I didn’t have too much time to enjoy it".
Having had the near misses, it must be tough for a player to block that out when they get close again, with the record of Jamie Clarke providing a prime example of that, but for Carty it made him more determined to succeed.
"As I previously said to lose in the last game to turn pro it is heartbreaking especially more as you get a little older. The previous defeats made me more motivated and focused to get the job done this time around".
Thanks to a near miss in the 2014 Q School, Carty was able to play in the 2014/2015 season as an amateur top-up, gaining valuable experience and having some success, reaching the last 32 in both the German Masters and the Welsh Open.
"I played in near enough every event that season which was a great experience, I beat Robert Milkins in the German qualifiers which was my best win to date at the time, then to beat Michael Holt and Alfie Burden in the Welsh, it definitely gave me some great confidence in myself and gave me valuable experience which I can use now that I’m on the tour".
Previously, the opportunities for amateurs to play had been criticised, but this season's introduction of the Challenge Tour is the first step to changing that.
"The Challenge Tour is definitely a great idea. Giving amateur players 10 events over the season against the other top amateurs will only improve the amateur game".
One thing that is mentioned quite often is the rate at which young Chinese players are coming through compared to young English players, and Carty has had his say on why that is.
"The Chinese younger players get a lot of government funding and top coaching - that’s the difference. The English lads don’t get any government funding or much national support and there are a lot of snooker clubs shutting down in England over the last few years".
At age 23 though, Carty is a young English player who has plenty of time on his side to potentially develop into a great player in the future, but for now he is keeping his goals fairly small and simple as he aims to climb up the ranking list.
"I just want to try and win as many games as I can and take every game as it comes, especially in the first round matches as you get no ranking points for losing first round games, I have had three last 32 appearances in my career so far including one this season so to go one better to get to a last 16 this season would be a great achievement. If I can go further than that, that would be amazing", Carty concluded.
As he says, the only way to creep up the ranking list is to start by winning first round matches, to ensure getting points on the board. A win over David Gilbert in the first round of the UK Championship on Wednesday 28 November at 7.30pm would be a huge boost to that goal and I would like to wish him all the best for his campaign in York.
Now, after a steady start to the season, he steps up to the big time in his first major as a professional and his second appearance at the UK Championship overall hoping for a run that could kick his season up a gear.
With a first UK Championship as a pro comes a lot of new experiences and the great buzz of playing in the main arena at the York Barbican and Carty cannot wait to get underway on Wednesday night.
"I’m really excited as it is such a prestigious event and the first major BBC event of this season, I don’t have many UK Championship memories overall, apart from my appearance there a few years ago as an amateur", Carty exclaimed.
His first round opponent at the Barbican is David Gilbert, the world number 19 who has climbed back up to that mark after a start to the season that has him sixth on this season's money list and he comes to York after a quarter-final in Belfast.
"Gilbert is a great player, his rankings don't lie and he narrowly lost in the final in China (at the start of the season) which must have given him huge confidence. I know I’ll have to be at the top of my game to beat him, but I know if I play to the best of my ability I’m capable of the win".
As he's already mentioned, Carty does have one experience of playing in the main arena at the York Barbican, when he took on Barry Hawkins in the last 128 of this event as an amateur top-up player back in 2014.
"I lost 6-1 but it was a much closer game than the score line suggests, it was a great experience playing in the main room in the Barbican and it will hold me in good stead for Wednesday night".
Being a Yorkshire based player, Carty is one of many players who will not be far from home this week and he maybe able to use the recent success of other locals like David Grace (semi-finalist in 2015), Oliver Lines (last 16 in 2016) or Peter Lines (knocked out defending champion Neil Robertson in 2016) to inspire a big run.
"Yes definitely it’s only about a hour away for me so that will have it’s benefits of the reduced amount of travelling, which sometimes can take a lot out of you".
The other benefit of having so many players from the same area is that Carty is also never short of a practice partner.
"I have been up to the Northern Snooker Centre quite a few times to practice with Peter and Oliver Lines and also Sanderson Lam".
This season so far, Carty has had some tough defeats, most recently in deciders to Graeme Dott and Mark King in the last 128 of the International Championships and the English Open, each providing a lesson about life on tour.
"I have learnt that on the tour you have to be really critical when you get a chance otherwise with the quality of the tour you will get punished. I probably just need to be a bit more consistent and score heavily more often when I'm in which I am working on".
His best finish to date was a run to the last 32 of the Riga Masters, with an impressive victory against Anthony McGill which has given Carty plenty of belief.
"Against McGill I played a really good match and didn’t hardly put a foot wrong, that’s what you have to do to beat the top players. It just proves that I can beat the top players, and that is definitely the highlight of my season so far".
Earning a tour card via Q School is a unique experience, given the pressure that is on every single player in the latter stages of the events, so it takes a lot of bottle to come through and that is something Carty displayed in May.
"The whole experience of Q School is very stressful and very nerve wracking as there is a huge amount in your career at stake and especially in a shorter format over two weeks of the year it is really tough to come through it all".
The experience is may be a stressful one but the rewards are so great for getting over the line and for many players it takes a while to sink in and provides lifelong memories.
"To be honest it was all a bit of a blur. I was that focused in my matches that I don’t remember a lot apart from the last two matches where I beat a Chinese pro from last season (Wang Yuchen), and an Indian player who was at Q School for the first time , where I knew I had an advantage because I’ve lost twice previously in the last round of Q School and I didn’t want to go through that defeat again as it is heartbreaking. It took a few weeks to sink in but the season started only about a month after so I didn’t have too much time to enjoy it".
Having had the near misses, it must be tough for a player to block that out when they get close again, with the record of Jamie Clarke providing a prime example of that, but for Carty it made him more determined to succeed.
"As I previously said to lose in the last game to turn pro it is heartbreaking especially more as you get a little older. The previous defeats made me more motivated and focused to get the job done this time around".
Thanks to a near miss in the 2014 Q School, Carty was able to play in the 2014/2015 season as an amateur top-up, gaining valuable experience and having some success, reaching the last 32 in both the German Masters and the Welsh Open.
"I played in near enough every event that season which was a great experience, I beat Robert Milkins in the German qualifiers which was my best win to date at the time, then to beat Michael Holt and Alfie Burden in the Welsh, it definitely gave me some great confidence in myself and gave me valuable experience which I can use now that I’m on the tour".
Previously, the opportunities for amateurs to play had been criticised, but this season's introduction of the Challenge Tour is the first step to changing that.
"The Challenge Tour is definitely a great idea. Giving amateur players 10 events over the season against the other top amateurs will only improve the amateur game".
One thing that is mentioned quite often is the rate at which young Chinese players are coming through compared to young English players, and Carty has had his say on why that is.
"The Chinese younger players get a lot of government funding and top coaching - that’s the difference. The English lads don’t get any government funding or much national support and there are a lot of snooker clubs shutting down in England over the last few years".
At age 23 though, Carty is a young English player who has plenty of time on his side to potentially develop into a great player in the future, but for now he is keeping his goals fairly small and simple as he aims to climb up the ranking list.
"I just want to try and win as many games as I can and take every game as it comes, especially in the first round matches as you get no ranking points for losing first round games, I have had three last 32 appearances in my career so far including one this season so to go one better to get to a last 16 this season would be a great achievement. If I can go further than that, that would be amazing", Carty concluded.
As he says, the only way to creep up the ranking list is to start by winning first round matches, to ensure getting points on the board. A win over David Gilbert in the first round of the UK Championship on Wednesday 28 November at 7.30pm would be a huge boost to that goal and I would like to wish him all the best for his campaign in York.
Sunday, 25 November 2018
The Big UK Championship Preview
The first triple crown event of the season has finally arrived as 128 players are all set to descend on the York Barbican with the dream of winning one of the most prestigious titles in snooker and becoming UK Champion.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is the man to beat not just as the defending champion after his success against Shaun Murphy in last year's final, but also having made at least the semi-finals in all of the four events he has played in this season, winning two of them.
2011 champion Judd Trump is the most recent winner on tour though having defeated O'Sullivan to lift the Alex Higgins trophy last week in Belfast, while the ranking event prior to that was won by 2011 UK runner-up Mark Allen.
Mark Selby looked to be in form on the way to the semi-finals in Northern Ireland where he lost a classic to O'Sullivan and the two-time champion is also among the favourites to lift the UK title.
Struggling of late though are World champion Mark Williams and last year's losing Crucible finalist John Higgins while last year's UK runner-up Murphy is yet to really get out of the traps this season. The list of possible first time Triple Crown event winners is headed by Kyren Wilson who made the final of the recent Champion of Champions and Jack Lisowski who has motored up the rankings in the last 18 months.
It all makes for a potentially exciting tournament and it all starts on Tuesday with three days of last 128 action before the BBC cameras turn up for the start of the last 64 on Saturday.
Mark Williams has not been on the best run of form since winning the World Open in the summer. Since his run to the last 16 of the China Championship, that was ended abruptly by potential last 64 opponent Zhao Xintong, Williams has suffered a last 32 exit at the English Open and two last 64 exits and looked altogether out of sorts. At this event he has only achieved one quarter-final since finishing runner-up to Higgins in 2010 and in that period, five of his seven exits have been before the last 16 stage in York. With a potentially tough early round draw with guys like Zhao, Noppon Saengkham and Anthony Hamilton all well capable of taking him out before the last 16 stage for this sixth year in the last eight, Williams' form will need to improve slightly.
Mark Allen is a man who has been on top form in recent times. The 2011 UK runner-up was absolutely sublime in winning the International Championship, with centuries galore coming in the process. He only missed out on back-to-back finals by losing a decider to Kyren Wilson in the Champion of Champions and his first round exit in Belfast came as he seemed to run out of steam. Allen is the man to beat in this quarter in my view and the fact that he has just won a tournament that is formatted very similarly to this puts him in a good place. In the last two years Allen has been knocked out at the last 16 stage, with last 32 exits in 2014 and 2015 since he last made the quarters back in 2013. For me, he will make at least a third UK last 16 in a row and a potential third meeting inside four events against Neil Robertson jumps off the page when looking at this quarter.
Speaking of Robertson, his form has still been a little up and down this season but there are many more ups than there were this time last year. He won the season opening Riga Masters and was runner-up to Allen at the International Championship, though he has only gone beyond the last 32 in one of his five other ranking events so far this season. The Australian's record at the UK Championship between 2010 and 2015 was sublime, winning the title twice (2012 and 2015) making a further semi-final, two quarter-finals and only a last 16 decider defeat to Graeme Dott in 2014 being a slight blemish. The last two years have not been the best though, painfully losing in the last 128 as defending champion in 2016 and then losing his top 16 place and a spot in the Masters after falling in the last 32 a year ago to Mark Joyce. The Australian though is still a big contender in York this week.
Stephen Maguire has one of the best UK Championship records over a long period out of every single player in the field this week. The Scotsman won the title all the way back in 2004 and the last time he failed to make the last 16 at the very least was a year earlier in 2003. In the 13 years since winning the title in '04, he has made the last 16 five times, three quarter-finals, four semi-finals and one further final. This season he has had a couple of semi-finals at the Riga Masters and the English Open though he comes into this after a last 128 exit in Belfast to Michael Holt and a last 32 exit in Daqing to his potential last 32 opponent this week - Ali Carter. Given his record though in this event it is hard to rule Maguire out as a serious contender.
My fourth and final quarter choice is more of an outside selection, but someone who is showing signs of good form in recent times and that is Ali Carter. At the Northern Ireland Open a loss from 3-1 up against Eden Sharav denied him a third quarter-final in a row, having lost to the eventual winner of both the International Championship and the English Open at the last eight stage. This has come after a poor run of form in the few months leading up to that but with some confidence boosting wins, including a fightback victory against Mark Williams in Belfast, he looks in good shape for the next two weeks. His UK Championship record is decent, having had three quarter-finals and a semi-final in the six events between 2004 and 2009, as well as a gut-wrenching semi-final loss from 8-4 against Murphy in 2012. A potential last 32 tie with Stephen Maguire would be interesting as Carter has a great record against Maguire, while the Scot has a great record in this event and you would fancy either of them to kick on should they make the last 16. Carter does not look like he is far away from a really big run and if he can keep his emotions in check then he has every chance.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is the man to beat not just as the defending champion after his success against Shaun Murphy in last year's final, but also having made at least the semi-finals in all of the four events he has played in this season, winning two of them.
2011 champion Judd Trump is the most recent winner on tour though having defeated O'Sullivan to lift the Alex Higgins trophy last week in Belfast, while the ranking event prior to that was won by 2011 UK runner-up Mark Allen.
Mark Selby looked to be in form on the way to the semi-finals in Northern Ireland where he lost a classic to O'Sullivan and the two-time champion is also among the favourites to lift the UK title.
Struggling of late though are World champion Mark Williams and last year's losing Crucible finalist John Higgins while last year's UK runner-up Murphy is yet to really get out of the traps this season. The list of possible first time Triple Crown event winners is headed by Kyren Wilson who made the final of the recent Champion of Champions and Jack Lisowski who has motored up the rankings in the last 18 months.
It all makes for a potentially exciting tournament and it all starts on Tuesday with three days of last 128 action before the BBC cameras turn up for the start of the last 64 on Saturday.
Quarter 1
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Luke Simmonds
Yuan Sijun Vs Ken Doherty
Zhou Yuelong Vs Soheil Vahedi
Mark Davis Vs Sam Craigie
Marco Fu Vs Hammad Miah
Michael Georgiou Vs Luo Honghao
Jack Lisowski Vs Zhang Jiankang
Fergal O'Brien Vs Mei Xiwen
Lu Haotian Vs Tian Pengfei
Jimmy Robertson Vs Jordan Brown
Martin O'Donnell Vs Xu Si
Shaun Murphy Vs Chen Feilong
Ben Woollaston Vs Alfie Burden
Xiao Guodong Vs Sean O'Sullivan
Matthew Selt Vs Zhang Yong
Ding Junhui Vs Adam Stefanow
Ding Junhui is a two-time UK champion but has struggled for success in this event in recent years. His two triumphs came in 2005 and 2009 but he has failed to get to a UK quarter-final since 2011, with two last 128 exits in his last three visits to York. He does not have much form this year either, having played almost exclusively in China and entering only three ranking events. His one visit to the UK since the World Championships was for the Champion of Champions where he defeated Michael Georgiou before losing out to Shaun Murphy. The class act that Ding is, he could come good at any time, but he certainly looks vulnerable to an early exit at the moment.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is this year's defending champion and his record at the UK Championship overall is exceptional. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his first ever UK title win and since then he has picked up the trophy another five times, with one runner-up finish, three further semi-finals and six quarter-finals in that period - meaning he has reached the quarter-finals in 16 of the last 22 UK Championships that he has played in. In the ranking events he has played this season he reached the semi-finals of the English Open, the final of the Northern Ireland and has won both invitationals he entered at the Shanghai Masters and Champion of Champions which is an ominous sign for the rest of the field. The sort of form that O'Sullivan, who will celebrate his 43rd birthday during the tournament, is still able to achieve even after extended periods away from the game is frightening and at his best there are very few people that can match him so it will be interesting to see whether he brings his very best to the Barbican.
Marco Fu, Jimmy Robertson and Mark Davis are all players that could do well in this section. Fu though has had a really poor first half to the season, which was added to recently in Belfast by a last 128 exit that handed Chen Feilong his first win on tour. Jimmy Robertson of course has been riding high with his recent European Masters victory, though he has actually failed to get beyond the last 64 in three ranking events since then, while at the UK Championship he has only gone beyond the last 64 at the venue twice. Davis has had a nice season by reaching his first ever ranking final at the English Open, though in the two events since he has suffered last 64 and last 32 exits. He does have some form at the UK Championship though making the semi-finals in 2012 and the quarter-finals in 2014, but equally he lost in the last 128 last year and the last 64 in 2016 in York.
Jack Lisowski is one of the form men coming to the UK Championship this year. After starting the season with a run to the final in Riga, he has gone on to reach a further semi-final and three quarter-finals in ranking events, while his two recent last 32 exits in the Home Nations series were both at the hands of Judd Trump. His record in York is not good though, failing to get beyond the last 32 in any of his previous attempts and that is something he has every chance of putting right this year, given the way that he has been performing. For me he is probably the biggest threat to O'Sullivan in the first four rounds and is certainly more likely to make the last 16 than Fu who is in Lisowski's mini section.
My first quarter choice though is last year's losing finalist Shaun Murphy. The 2008 UK champion may have had a really poor start to the season but his record at this event and the fact that this is the year's first major could help him turn that slump around. Overall, he has suffered five last 128 exits out of eight ranking events, made one last 16 appearance as his best of the season and currently sits 54th on this year's money list, poor by the standards of the current world number nine. In the UK Championship though he has reached at least the semi-finals in six of his last 11 outings, including his title win in '08 and his appearances in the final both in 2012 and last year and at no point in that period has he failed to reach the last 16. His draw this week is not easy with a potential last 64 meeting with an in-form Martin O'Donnell as well as potential last 32 outings against either European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson or indeed Lu Haotian, who knocked him out in the last 16 at the China Championship. Being back at an event where he has had so much success though should help him focus on the positives in his game and get his mind in the right place and there have been positives of late, making the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions where he defeated Jimmy Robertson and Ding Junhui (both of whom are in this quarter) before losing to O'Sullivan in a match where Murphy made two centuries. Given the class that Murphy has it would be a big surprise if he does not come good at some point soon this season and coming to an event where his record is very solid provides the opportunity to really kick his 2018/2019 campaign into gear.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is this year's defending champion and his record at the UK Championship overall is exceptional. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his first ever UK title win and since then he has picked up the trophy another five times, with one runner-up finish, three further semi-finals and six quarter-finals in that period - meaning he has reached the quarter-finals in 16 of the last 22 UK Championships that he has played in. In the ranking events he has played this season he reached the semi-finals of the English Open, the final of the Northern Ireland and has won both invitationals he entered at the Shanghai Masters and Champion of Champions which is an ominous sign for the rest of the field. The sort of form that O'Sullivan, who will celebrate his 43rd birthday during the tournament, is still able to achieve even after extended periods away from the game is frightening and at his best there are very few people that can match him so it will be interesting to see whether he brings his very best to the Barbican.
Marco Fu, Jimmy Robertson and Mark Davis are all players that could do well in this section. Fu though has had a really poor first half to the season, which was added to recently in Belfast by a last 128 exit that handed Chen Feilong his first win on tour. Jimmy Robertson of course has been riding high with his recent European Masters victory, though he has actually failed to get beyond the last 64 in three ranking events since then, while at the UK Championship he has only gone beyond the last 64 at the venue twice. Davis has had a nice season by reaching his first ever ranking final at the English Open, though in the two events since he has suffered last 64 and last 32 exits. He does have some form at the UK Championship though making the semi-finals in 2012 and the quarter-finals in 2014, but equally he lost in the last 128 last year and the last 64 in 2016 in York.
Jack Lisowski is one of the form men coming to the UK Championship this year. After starting the season with a run to the final in Riga, he has gone on to reach a further semi-final and three quarter-finals in ranking events, while his two recent last 32 exits in the Home Nations series were both at the hands of Judd Trump. His record in York is not good though, failing to get beyond the last 32 in any of his previous attempts and that is something he has every chance of putting right this year, given the way that he has been performing. For me he is probably the biggest threat to O'Sullivan in the first four rounds and is certainly more likely to make the last 16 than Fu who is in Lisowski's mini section.
My first quarter choice though is last year's losing finalist Shaun Murphy. The 2008 UK champion may have had a really poor start to the season but his record at this event and the fact that this is the year's first major could help him turn that slump around. Overall, he has suffered five last 128 exits out of eight ranking events, made one last 16 appearance as his best of the season and currently sits 54th on this year's money list, poor by the standards of the current world number nine. In the UK Championship though he has reached at least the semi-finals in six of his last 11 outings, including his title win in '08 and his appearances in the final both in 2012 and last year and at no point in that period has he failed to reach the last 16. His draw this week is not easy with a potential last 64 meeting with an in-form Martin O'Donnell as well as potential last 32 outings against either European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson or indeed Lu Haotian, who knocked him out in the last 16 at the China Championship. Being back at an event where he has had so much success though should help him focus on the positives in his game and get his mind in the right place and there have been positives of late, making the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions where he defeated Jimmy Robertson and Ding Junhui (both of whom are in this quarter) before losing to O'Sullivan in a match where Murphy made two centuries. Given the class that Murphy has it would be a big surprise if he does not come good at some point soon this season and coming to an event where his record is very solid provides the opportunity to really kick his 2018/2019 campaign into gear.
Best of the rest: Jack Lisowski
Quarter choice: Shaun Murphy
Couge's Choices: For those that are not aware, Couge is a former participant of the Fantasy Snooker League. In the 2015/2016 season he was the league winner, as well as finishing second in last season's league and third in the 2014/2015 half-season version. In this preview I am debuting a new segment where Couge will make his tournament choices and his first is from the top quarter. Given his recent form, making three finals already this season, Couge has "can't see any other final" that does not involve Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Quarter 2
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Judd Trump Vs David Lilley
Dominic Dale Vs Gerard Greene
Mark King Vs Elliot Slessor
Li Hang Vs Lee Walker
Ryan Day Vs Joe O'Connor
Andrew Higginson Vs Nigel Bond
Joe Perry Vs John Astley
Michael Holt Vs Chen Zifan
Mark Joyce Vs Niu Zhuang
Anthony McGill Vs Lu Ning
Liam Highfield Vs Robin Hull
Luca Brecel Vs Fan Zhengyi
Tom Ford Vs Craig Steadman
Robert Milkins Vs Sanderson Lam
Alan McManus Vs Alexander Ursenbacher
John Higgins Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
John Higgins has had a fairly odd start to the season so far. Missing the early events on the calendar, he then made the final at the China Championship but without playing anywhere near as well as you would expect him to play in making a ranking event final. Since then he has suffered two last 128 exits in the three events he has played in to Peter Lines and most recently Rory McLeod last week in Belfast. At the UK Championships itself, after winning the title in 2010 he then suffered four last 16 exits in a row before making the quarter-finals in 2015 and 2016, but then suffered another last 16 exit last year to Mark King. While there are a lot of players that could potentially beat Higgins in this quarter if he is not at his best, the one main threat to him would be the potential quarter-final with Trump.
Ryan Day put a very average UK Championship record to one side last year as he sailed through to the semi-finals for the first time in the event. Prior to that had been a number of early exits, particularly since the event switched to the flat draw and in 13 previous attempts he had never reached a quarter-final. One thing he has got in his favour this year is that he comes to York off the back of making three quarter-finals in his last four events, with a narrow last 32 loss at the International Championship his only slight blemish, though he will also be disappointed not to have kicked on. His main threat in this quarter, like Higgins, will also be Trump who put him out in the quarters last week in Belfast, but the likes of Andrew Higginson and Joe Perry could definitely challenge him in the early rounds.
Luca Brecel and Anthony McGill are two potential dark horses, though they have struggled this season so far. In seven ranking events so far this season, McGill has only got to one last 16 and one further last 32 which is simply not good enough for someone ranked just outside of the top 16. He has made one quarter-final in UK Championship history but has followed it with three successive last 64 defeats and he is certainly vulnerable again this year. As for Brecel, his last 16 at the Northern Ireland Open to Trump means he is still to achieve a ranking event quarter-final in the calendar year 2018, though there were signs of promise in Belfast. The UK Championship does bring back good memories for him though, making his maiden quarter-final at the event back in 2012 before making another in 2016, both of which he lost to Murphy. Throw in the fact that he made the last 16 back in 2015 and he has made it to the last 16 in half of his six Barbican visits.
My second quarter choice though is one of the form men and a former UK champion in Judd Trump. The left-hander won the Northern Ireland Open last week, almost as a direct response to criticism of him following his 6-1 loss to Kyren Wilson in the Champion of Champions and the rivalry that seems to have been sparked between the two. He was in sublime form in Belfast but now he needs to transform that into the big events. Since winning the UK Championship in 2011 he has not quite won as many of the big events as people have expected, missing out narrowly on winning this title again in 2014 where he lost the final 10-9 to O'Sullivan. Other than that his five other Barbican appearances since his title run in 2011 have only produced one last 16 showing and he has not been beyond the last 32 in York since that 2014 final. One thing he does not lack for is ability and the confidence his recent victory has given him will surely put him in a good place for a title bid this year. Day is probably the one big threat standing between him and the quarter-finals this year where Higgins is probably the only man that could stop him should Trump reach that stage and with Higgins' form you have to favour Trump for this section overall.
Ryan Day put a very average UK Championship record to one side last year as he sailed through to the semi-finals for the first time in the event. Prior to that had been a number of early exits, particularly since the event switched to the flat draw and in 13 previous attempts he had never reached a quarter-final. One thing he has got in his favour this year is that he comes to York off the back of making three quarter-finals in his last four events, with a narrow last 32 loss at the International Championship his only slight blemish, though he will also be disappointed not to have kicked on. His main threat in this quarter, like Higgins, will also be Trump who put him out in the quarters last week in Belfast, but the likes of Andrew Higginson and Joe Perry could definitely challenge him in the early rounds.
Luca Brecel and Anthony McGill are two potential dark horses, though they have struggled this season so far. In seven ranking events so far this season, McGill has only got to one last 16 and one further last 32 which is simply not good enough for someone ranked just outside of the top 16. He has made one quarter-final in UK Championship history but has followed it with three successive last 64 defeats and he is certainly vulnerable again this year. As for Brecel, his last 16 at the Northern Ireland Open to Trump means he is still to achieve a ranking event quarter-final in the calendar year 2018, though there were signs of promise in Belfast. The UK Championship does bring back good memories for him though, making his maiden quarter-final at the event back in 2012 before making another in 2016, both of which he lost to Murphy. Throw in the fact that he made the last 16 back in 2015 and he has made it to the last 16 in half of his six Barbican visits.
My second quarter choice though is one of the form men and a former UK champion in Judd Trump. The left-hander won the Northern Ireland Open last week, almost as a direct response to criticism of him following his 6-1 loss to Kyren Wilson in the Champion of Champions and the rivalry that seems to have been sparked between the two. He was in sublime form in Belfast but now he needs to transform that into the big events. Since winning the UK Championship in 2011 he has not quite won as many of the big events as people have expected, missing out narrowly on winning this title again in 2014 where he lost the final 10-9 to O'Sullivan. Other than that his five other Barbican appearances since his title run in 2011 have only produced one last 16 showing and he has not been beyond the last 32 in York since that 2014 final. One thing he does not lack for is ability and the confidence his recent victory has given him will surely put him in a good place for a title bid this year. Day is probably the one big threat standing between him and the quarter-finals this year where Higgins is probably the only man that could stop him should Trump reach that stage and with Higgins' form you have to favour Trump for this section overall.
Best of the rest: Luca Brecel
Quarter choice: Judd Trump
Quarter 3
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Selby Vs James Cahill
Akani Songsermsawad Vs Eden Sharav
Ricky Walden Vs Jak Jones
Michael White Vs Joe Swail
Stuart Bingham Vs James Wattana
Kurt Maflin Vs Zhang Anda
David Gilbert Vs Ashley Carty
Peter Ebdon Vs Chris Totten
Stuart Carrington Vs Paul Davison
Yan Bingtao Vs Lukas Kleckers
Mike Dunn Vs Allan Taylor
Kyren Wilson Vs Andy Lee
Gary Wilson Vs Billy Castle
Liang Wenbo Vs Sam Baird
Robbie Williams Vs Ian Burns
Barry Hawkins Vs Jamie Clarke
Mark Selby is the headliner of quarter number three and he comes into this in good form having narrowly missed out on victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open. Prior to that he fell to Neil Robertson in both the first round of the Champion of Champions (despite a 147 maximum break) and the quarter-finals of the International Championship. His record both in this event and the International Championship shows that he thrives over the longer best-of-11 matches compared to the best-of-7 frame games. In the last six UK Championships he has won the event twice, making a further final in 2013 and a semi-final in 2015 (both of which he also lost to Robertson), though both last year and in 2014 he struggled to last 64 exits. Having also won earlier in the year in China, Selby could well be primed for another big UK Championship run.
Barry Hawkins however is someone who has an unusually poor UK Championship record, at least in recent times. He has only ever reached one UK quarter-final and never gone beyond that stage. In 2014 he famously lost in the last 64 from 5-0 up against Nigel Bond and then fell at the same stage again in the next two years to Robin Hull and Fergal O'Brien, the latter of whom had five centuries in that match. Last year he broke that spell but could go no further than the last 32 where he was whitewashed by Akani Songsermsawad. His season started well with some good runs out in China but has gone a bit quiet in recent weeks, first with a last 64 loss at the European Masters, followed by two last 32 defeats at the English Open and then the International Championship before a first round exit in Northern Ireland.
Stuart Bingham has a bit of previous form in the UK Championships, having a spell between 2010 and 2014 where he reached two quarter-finals and two semi-finals out of the five events, but aside from that he has not had such a consistent record in the event as other top players and has lost out prior to the last 16 stage in both of the last two years. This season has seen him pick up the English Open title recently with a superb run of form, but since then he has not won a match, losing in the last 64 of the International Championship and the first round of both the Champion of Champions and Northern Ireland Open. He also has some dangerous players in his section of the draw that he would have to get through just to make his first last 16 in York since 2015.
One of those players is his potential last 32 opponent in David Gilbert. Last time out in Northern Ireland, Gilbert made the quarter-finals before losing out to Ronnie O'Sullivan, having made the last 16 of the International Championship as well as reaching the final of the World Open at the start of the season to leave him well positioned on this season's money list. At the UK Championship he has not done a great deal of note, with a best finish of the last 16 in 2016 but the way he is playing he could easily match that this year and maybe even go one or two rounds better.
My third quarter choice is someone who is starting to thrive in the big events and that is Kyren Wilson. In the UK Championship his best finish may only be the last 32 but he has a smaller sample size than many players, especially considering that this is only his fourth UK Championship since winning his first ranking title. However, he was a finalist at the Masters in January and in his last three appearances at the Crucible he has had two quarter-finals, prior to the semi-final he achieved in May. He was also a finalist recently at the Champion of Champions, beating Mark Williams, Judd Trump and an in-form Mark Allen before suffering a tough 10-9 loss to O'Sullivan and given his determination, he will use the pain of that loss to inspire him on in future big events and I believe that will start right here in York. There have also been other bright sparks this season such as his semi-final at the Shanghai Masters before losing to O'Sullivan there too, as well as winning the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany. Given his results in the World Championship and the Masters he made at the start of the year, it does not feel like it will be long until Wilson is able to bag one of the Triple Crown events because the mental strength required to do so is something he has in abundance.
Barry Hawkins however is someone who has an unusually poor UK Championship record, at least in recent times. He has only ever reached one UK quarter-final and never gone beyond that stage. In 2014 he famously lost in the last 64 from 5-0 up against Nigel Bond and then fell at the same stage again in the next two years to Robin Hull and Fergal O'Brien, the latter of whom had five centuries in that match. Last year he broke that spell but could go no further than the last 32 where he was whitewashed by Akani Songsermsawad. His season started well with some good runs out in China but has gone a bit quiet in recent weeks, first with a last 64 loss at the European Masters, followed by two last 32 defeats at the English Open and then the International Championship before a first round exit in Northern Ireland.
Stuart Bingham has a bit of previous form in the UK Championships, having a spell between 2010 and 2014 where he reached two quarter-finals and two semi-finals out of the five events, but aside from that he has not had such a consistent record in the event as other top players and has lost out prior to the last 16 stage in both of the last two years. This season has seen him pick up the English Open title recently with a superb run of form, but since then he has not won a match, losing in the last 64 of the International Championship and the first round of both the Champion of Champions and Northern Ireland Open. He also has some dangerous players in his section of the draw that he would have to get through just to make his first last 16 in York since 2015.
One of those players is his potential last 32 opponent in David Gilbert. Last time out in Northern Ireland, Gilbert made the quarter-finals before losing out to Ronnie O'Sullivan, having made the last 16 of the International Championship as well as reaching the final of the World Open at the start of the season to leave him well positioned on this season's money list. At the UK Championship he has not done a great deal of note, with a best finish of the last 16 in 2016 but the way he is playing he could easily match that this year and maybe even go one or two rounds better.
My third quarter choice is someone who is starting to thrive in the big events and that is Kyren Wilson. In the UK Championship his best finish may only be the last 32 but he has a smaller sample size than many players, especially considering that this is only his fourth UK Championship since winning his first ranking title. However, he was a finalist at the Masters in January and in his last three appearances at the Crucible he has had two quarter-finals, prior to the semi-final he achieved in May. He was also a finalist recently at the Champion of Champions, beating Mark Williams, Judd Trump and an in-form Mark Allen before suffering a tough 10-9 loss to O'Sullivan and given his determination, he will use the pain of that loss to inspire him on in future big events and I believe that will start right here in York. There have also been other bright sparks this season such as his semi-final at the Shanghai Masters before losing to O'Sullivan there too, as well as winning the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany. Given his results in the World Championship and the Masters he made at the start of the year, it does not feel like it will be long until Wilson is able to bag one of the Triple Crown events because the mental strength required to do so is something he has in abundance.
Best of the rest: David Gilbert
Quarter choice: Kyren Wilson
Couge's Choices: Couge's second and third selections both come from the third quarter of the draw. The first is a dark horse choice as he looks at Sam Baird. He believes that "Sam Baird may win a few matches" as a darkhorse starting out in the last 128 against Liang Wenbo. Baird has had two successes in recent times defeating Shaun Murphy 6-0 and 4-2 in the last 128 of the International Championship and Northern Ireland Open respectively.
Next, he lines up world number one Mark Selby as the other half of his chosen final to take on O'Sullivan, believing that he "cannot see any other final" than Selby Vs O'Sullivan. Mark Allen in quarter four is the one player he thinks could "upset" an O'Sullivan/Selby showdown.
Quarter 4
Last 128 draw: (Picks in bold)
Mark Allen Vs Basem Eltahhan
Rory McLeod Vs Peter Lines
Martin Gould Vs Harvey Chandler
Hossein Vafei Vs Ashley Hugill
Neil Robertson Vs Kishan Hirani
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Jimmy White
Graeme Dott Vs Oliver Lines
Matthew Stevens Vs Ross Muir
Chris Wakelin Vs Duane Jones
Ali Carter Vs Thor Chuan Leong
Scott Donaldson Vs Li Yuan
Stephen Maguire Vs Simon Lichtenberg
Noppon Saengkham Vs Hamza Akbar
Anthony Hamilton Vs Rod Lawler
Daniel Wells Vs Zhao Xintong
Mark Williams Vs Adam Duffy
Mark Williams has not been on the best run of form since winning the World Open in the summer. Since his run to the last 16 of the China Championship, that was ended abruptly by potential last 64 opponent Zhao Xintong, Williams has suffered a last 32 exit at the English Open and two last 64 exits and looked altogether out of sorts. At this event he has only achieved one quarter-final since finishing runner-up to Higgins in 2010 and in that period, five of his seven exits have been before the last 16 stage in York. With a potentially tough early round draw with guys like Zhao, Noppon Saengkham and Anthony Hamilton all well capable of taking him out before the last 16 stage for this sixth year in the last eight, Williams' form will need to improve slightly.
Mark Allen is a man who has been on top form in recent times. The 2011 UK runner-up was absolutely sublime in winning the International Championship, with centuries galore coming in the process. He only missed out on back-to-back finals by losing a decider to Kyren Wilson in the Champion of Champions and his first round exit in Belfast came as he seemed to run out of steam. Allen is the man to beat in this quarter in my view and the fact that he has just won a tournament that is formatted very similarly to this puts him in a good place. In the last two years Allen has been knocked out at the last 16 stage, with last 32 exits in 2014 and 2015 since he last made the quarters back in 2013. For me, he will make at least a third UK last 16 in a row and a potential third meeting inside four events against Neil Robertson jumps off the page when looking at this quarter.
Speaking of Robertson, his form has still been a little up and down this season but there are many more ups than there were this time last year. He won the season opening Riga Masters and was runner-up to Allen at the International Championship, though he has only gone beyond the last 32 in one of his five other ranking events so far this season. The Australian's record at the UK Championship between 2010 and 2015 was sublime, winning the title twice (2012 and 2015) making a further semi-final, two quarter-finals and only a last 16 decider defeat to Graeme Dott in 2014 being a slight blemish. The last two years have not been the best though, painfully losing in the last 128 as defending champion in 2016 and then losing his top 16 place and a spot in the Masters after falling in the last 32 a year ago to Mark Joyce. The Australian though is still a big contender in York this week.
Stephen Maguire has one of the best UK Championship records over a long period out of every single player in the field this week. The Scotsman won the title all the way back in 2004 and the last time he failed to make the last 16 at the very least was a year earlier in 2003. In the 13 years since winning the title in '04, he has made the last 16 five times, three quarter-finals, four semi-finals and one further final. This season he has had a couple of semi-finals at the Riga Masters and the English Open though he comes into this after a last 128 exit in Belfast to Michael Holt and a last 32 exit in Daqing to his potential last 32 opponent this week - Ali Carter. Given his record though in this event it is hard to rule Maguire out as a serious contender.
My fourth and final quarter choice is more of an outside selection, but someone who is showing signs of good form in recent times and that is Ali Carter. At the Northern Ireland Open a loss from 3-1 up against Eden Sharav denied him a third quarter-final in a row, having lost to the eventual winner of both the International Championship and the English Open at the last eight stage. This has come after a poor run of form in the few months leading up to that but with some confidence boosting wins, including a fightback victory against Mark Williams in Belfast, he looks in good shape for the next two weeks. His UK Championship record is decent, having had three quarter-finals and a semi-final in the six events between 2004 and 2009, as well as a gut-wrenching semi-final loss from 8-4 against Murphy in 2012. A potential last 32 tie with Stephen Maguire would be interesting as Carter has a great record against Maguire, while the Scot has a great record in this event and you would fancy either of them to kick on should they make the last 16. Carter does not look like he is far away from a really big run and if he can keep his emotions in check then he has every chance.
Best of the rest: Neil Robertson
Quarter choice: Ali Carter
Tournament winner selection: Kyren Wilson
Couge's Choices: The final selection from Couge for the UK Championship both come from quarter four. He has picked out Noppon Saengkham as a dark horse who could be one to win a few. The Thai may be the biggest threat in Mark Williams' mini section and has reached the quarter-finals of the English Open, as well as semi-finals at the World Open and Welsh Open so far in 2018.
Whatever the outcomes may be, this shapes up as a fascinating UK Championship. I will be in York this week for the last 128 round providing live blogs and twitter updates on the matches before the BBC TV cameras arrive on the scene. As has now become tradition those matches will be played over the best-of-11 frames, as will each round up until the best-of-19 frame final where the winner of the £175,000 first prize will be decided.
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