Friday is quarter final day at the UK Championship with all four matches taking place over the course of a couple of sessions inside the Barbican Centre in York. The incentive for all eight players on show is a spot in the semi-finals and the one table situation.
We keep on seeing shocks in this tournament and we almost saw the biggest of them all on Thursday evening when Ronnie O’Sullivan faced defeat but he turned his match around to take his place in the quarter finals.
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Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Martin Gould
O’Sullivan is straight back on the bike having finished relatively late on Thursday evening and then he’ll be involved in the main match in the afternoon. He takes on a Martin Gould who is now one win away from a likely place in The Masters.
Normally going into this sort of match Gould would not have a lot to lose but this time he does. That said he comes in playing well and you probably couldn’t say the same about O’Sullivan. He has really struggled for the most part in this tournament and it will be interested to see if he is a little jaded.
If he isn’t 100% then Gould has a chance of winning this match but even if he is you’ve got to think the Londoner can make it to three frames so I’ll take Gould on the handicap.
Stephen Maguire vs Joe Perry
The other match in the afternoon session sees two more men clinging to outside hopes of making it to Alexandra Palace going at it when Stephen Maguire takes on Joe Perry for a place in the semi-final.
Maguire has a wonderful record against Perry. He has won their last 11 meetings and the way he dispatched of Graeme Dott in the previous round was very convincing. To be fair to Perry he played brilliantly in his win against Mark Allen but he did rely on a fair bit of luck towards the end of the contest.
I’m not much of a head to head man but it is hard to ignore the record between these two and given that Maguire is playing well on top I think he’s the bet here.
Evening Session
Shaun Murphy vs Mark King
The main match in the evening session sees the former winner and Champion of Champions title holder Shaun Murphy taking on a Mark King who he beat in the first round on his way to that success.
King arrives into this match off the back of two very eye catching wins against Luca Brecel and John Higgins but despite that I suspect he will need to go up a gear if he is to dump Murphy out. We know Murphy is going to score in this match and if King can’t match that scoring he will lose. In saying that it is hard to take on someone who has beaten the calibre of player he has beaten this week so I’ll sit this one out.
Ryan Day vs Mark Joyce
The last of the quarter finals is possibly the most intriguing given the opportunity that is available for both men in this match. Both men will be looking for their first semi-final in a Triple Crown event which could lead to nerves and tension around the table.
Ryan Day had to come through a deciding frame in the previous round but prior to that he played very well in the tournament. He is scoring well and looking good. He looks like a man with the confidence of having won a tournament. In fairness Mark Joyce has looked good at times too and he beat Neil Robertson fair and square which is a decent achievement.
I suspect Joyce might be up against it here though. Day has the experience edge at this level which could be important. I sense Joyce got tight in getting through his previous match so he might be nervous and could struggle a tough. If he does that then Day should have a bit in hand.
Tips
WON – Back M.Gould (+3.5 frames) to beat R.O’Sullivan for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with BetVictor
Back him here:
WON – Back S.Maguire to beat J.Perry for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfred
Back him here:
Back R.Day (-1.5 frames) to beat M.Joyce for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back him here:
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