I published an article on the talking points of the UK Championship a week or two ago and a few of those questions have been answered.
No, Judd Trump has not been able to hold all three Triple Crown events. Yes, there is a chance that Ronnie O’Sullivan could defend his UK Championship yet again. Also, WE HAD A 147 FROM BARRY HAWKINS.
Yes, there are plenty of shocks! We can talk about Eden Sharav beating Shaun Murphy. Hossein Vafaei losing to Louis Heathcote. Ian Burns whitewashing Matt Selt. Michael White, who is fighting to stay on tour, defeating an out-of-sorts Mark Williams. More recently, Nigel Bond seemed to forgot how to miss from 3-1 down to beat Judd Trump 6-3.
This is now the stage where the majority of fans will take a lot of interest in, so it’s worth another preview!
Section 1
Ronnie O’Sullivan (1) vs. Ding Junhui (16)
Li Hang (41) vs. Liang Wenbo (40)
Most of us are aware of how much admiration O’Sullivan and Ding have of each other. But we have to focus on this match. A lot of pressure will be off Ding, since he’s done the hard work of keeping his Masters place secure. This looks to be extremely likely after his 6-4 win over Ali Carter. Ronnie O’Sullivan is having an easy ride with two whitewashes and a decent 6-2 win over the constantly-improving Noppon Saengkham.
The attitude and resiliance of Liang Wenbo has to be commended. A lot of us would’ve expected him to withdraw after the tragic passing of his mother and having to fly back home. But the fact he returned back and managed to defeat David Grace and Eden Sharav after so much is remarkable. For Liang, the tournament must go on and he is up against Li Hang. Li is inconsistent and hasn’t reached the latter stages as much as people expect him to. Now is his golden chance.
Section 2
John Higgins (5) vs. Stuart Bingham (12)
Yan Bingtao (20) vs. Neil Robertson (4)
This is the section of death, by a clear mile. John Higgins made very neat work to get to this stage, losing just two frames in three matches. Bull-run had tougher opposition in Martin Gould and Zhao Xintong, but he made very light work of the Chinaman by defeating him 6-1.
Neil Robertson is likely to be one of the favourite of the tournament now. Not only because of his form in the Champion of Champions earlier this season, but because of his UK Championship pedigree. The two-time champion will certainly fancy his chances and was hardened by Robbie Williams and Mark King on the TV tables. He is against the hot prospect Yan Bingtao, who could qualify for the Masters if he wins the UK Championship! He came through an impressive 6-3 victory against Jack Lisowski.
Section 3
Michael White (62) vs. Stephen Maguire (14)
Matthew Stevens (43) vs. Mark Selby (3)
The UK Championship has the habit of turning careers around and introducing players to the limelight. This has happened with Anthony McGill, David Grace, Martin O’Donnell and Liang Wenbo. But this kind of magic may have been transferred to Michael White’s fingertips here.
It’s amazing how Michael White started from being automatically qualified for the Crucible in 2016 to fighting to keep his tour card this year. This is due to his performance and personal issues ‘on and off the table’ as they say. But he has put some belters here. Fergal O’Brien, Mark Williams and Mark Davis is a tough route for any player. But for him to come back from 5-2 down to win 6-5 on a respotted black against Davis was without a doubt his best win in a good while if not ever. He faces Stephen Maguire and his crocked foot. He has beaten Graeme Dott in the previous round and has a very good record in this event.
It feels like a while that Matthew Stevens got this far into the tournament. It even more of a far cry when he won the 2003 UK Championship. He got through two tests against experienced players in Ryan Day and Anthony Hamilton. Mark Selby, his opponent, had a rather sluggish win over Martin O’Donnell at 6-3. Selby should be playing with more freedom, especially with a long-awaited ranking win a couple of months ago under his belt. He played amazing in the English Open final but will need to replicate that form if he is going to win this tournament.
Section 4
Mark Allen (7) vs. Kurt Maflin (42)
Gary Wilson (18) vs. Nigel Bond (98)
Mark Allen has a patchy season but this is the tournament he really wants to win. He only (I say only) the 2018 Masters in his Triple Crown cabinet and a UK Championship trophy would be a lovely addition. From escaping from the clutches of Jak Jones to being very convincing against Ben Woolaston, he has a great chance. But against him is Norwegian Kurt Maflin. He is a very attacking player who hasn’t reached the latter stages as much as he should’ve, but it should be a very power-hungry game.
I stopped watching the match when Judd Trump was 2-0 up against Nigel Bond due to the end of my lunch break. So imagine my surprise to see Nigel Bond being the 6-3 winner! From what I heard, Nigel played Nigel tactically astutely, always finding baulk cushion or snooker when playing safe. Judd didn’t do much wrong, bar missing a few long pots. But this is no fluke. Bond defeated Luca Brecel 6-5 and came back from 5-2 down to beat Louis Heathcote 6-5. Not bad for a 54-year-old!
He will be against Gary Wilson, who has been rather patchy this season. But if he has a very good run in the UK Championship, he could unexpectedly leapfrog to the Masters elite! Bond shouldn’t be underestimated, after all!
Winner: Neil Robertson vs. Mark Allen
