We are down to the one table set up inside the Barbican Centre on Saturday as the two semi-finals of the UK Championship are played out over the two sessions of action at the York venue on Saturday.
The first Triple Crown event of the season is heading towards and conclusion and by the end of the day we will know the two men who will be battling it out for the title and the bumper first prize on Sunday.
Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Tom Ford
The first semi-final of the tournament sees Ronnie O’Sullivan continuing his title defence against a Tom Ford who is playing in his firstmatch at this stage of any of the Triple Crown tournaments so he is likely tobe a little nervous.
O’Sullivan is yet to really be tested since he saw off Ken Doherty in the second round of the tournament. He has made it through dropping just two frames since then and is oozing quality, especially in the long game. Ford has had to battle his way through the draw but he had a stroke of luck in the quarter final as Joe Perry put in one of his worst performances in recent times.
Ford has far too many shockers against the elite players for my liking. One of those came last month when these two met and O’Sullivan won 4-0 with Ford scoring just 55 points in the entire match. Their meeting before that was 4-1 to O’Sullivan in the Welsh Open last year and I’m expecting another one-sided contest here. O’Sullivan is cruising at the minute. I find it hard to believe he’ll lose more than two frames in what should be a match that is played on his terms.
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Stuart Bingham vs Mark Allen
Two men who had surprisingly one-sided wins in the quarterfinals meet in the second semi-final when Stuart Bingham goes up against Mark Allen for a place in the final on Sunday. Both men are tournament winners this season and are eyeing up another major final.
Bingham thrashed Kyren Wilson who really wasn’t at the races on Friday night while Allen saw off a disappointing Stephen Maguire. Both men won 6-1 so they should both be fresh as daisies heading into this semi-final. These two generally produce tight matches and I fancy this one will be another. Allen hasn’t been at his lights out best this week but he has done more than enough. Bingham is in good form so this should be a close one.
Given what is at stake here I don’t expect this one to be won easily. Class acts don’t get to this stage and then not perform and I don’t think either of them will disappoint us here. Over 9.5 frames is heavily odds against again and that looks like the way to play this. It is hard to see a semi-final of this stature with this quality on show being won any easier than 6-4.
Tips
WON – Back R.O’Sullivan (-3.5 frames) to beat T.Ford for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
Back him here:
WON – Back S.Bingham vs M.Allen – Over 9.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
Back him here:
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