The UK Championship continues on Monday with the third round of the tournament beginning. The event is now all played out in the main venue at the Barbican Centre in York with four tables still in operation and with two sessions of play on Monday it means we have eight matches to get stuck into.
Afternoon Session
The headline act in this first session is undoubtedly Ronnie O’Sullivan. He has been making noises which the media have lapped up but the truth of the matter is he is yet to lose a frame in this tournament. Michael Georgiou has the task of denying the Rocket a third clean sweep.
On the other match table world champion Mark Selby continues his quest for the big double when he takes on Robert Milkins. The other two matches see Peter Lines taking on Liam Highfield and Allister Carter facing Dave Gilbert.
Evening Session
John Higgins is the main draw in the evening. The man in form takes on Ben Woollaston on one of the main tables with the Asian battle between Mei Xiwen and Marco Fu getting the go ahead to be on the other TV table.
On the other two tables there is another battle of Asia as the Chinese young pair of Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao, World Cup winners as a pair last year, meet each other with the other game seeing Luca Brecel taking on another Chinese player in Yu Delu.
Betting
There are two bets I like over the course of the day with one coming in each session as luck would have it. In the afternoon session I’m keen to take on Peter Lines. Lines has had two excellent wins and is getting plenty of media attention now after Oliver’s win over Judd Trump on Sunday evening and that can all be a distraction from the job in hand.
You could argue that Liam Highfield is nothing special but he made the last 16 of a European Tour event early in 2016 and has followed up that improvement this season. He matched that result in the Paul Hunter Classic and made the last 32 in the English Open last month where he took care of Mark Selby. Now he has made the last 32 here and I’m not convinced he’s finished yet. His scoring proficiency should be too much for Peter Lines.
In the evening I’m keen to get stuck into the Chinese battle where I believe Zhou Yuelong is the better prospect to Yan Bingtao overall although the bookies make the latter a favourite. This is Bingtao’s first real season at this level whereas Yuelong has been playing the tour for a while. He is more used to the venues and I think his scoring power is more significant. At odds against he is the play in that one.
Tips
WON – Back L.Highfield (-1 frame AH) to beat P.Lines for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back him here:
WON – Back Z.Yuelong to beat Y.Bingtao for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfred
Back him here:
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