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.
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