The last 16 line up at the UK Championship will be finalised on Tuesday when the other half of the third round matches take place across two more fascinating sessions of action inside the Barbican Centre in York.
We saw a seismic shock on Monday when Judd Trump lost to Nigel Bond to open the event right up and the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby and Jack Lisowski will be among those looking to put themselves into a position to capitalise.
Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan is now the favourite to defend his title and he will look to continue in that quest when he takes on the Thai number two Noppon Saengkham for a place in the last 16. That will be on the main TV table but there is an equally important match on the other live table when Ding Junhui meets Ali Carter, with the winner heavily boosting their chances of qualifying for The Masters and the loser seeing their hopes hanging by a thread.
There is an all-Scottish battle on one of the tables away from the TV lights when Stephen Maguire takes on Graeme Dott with both those men still in the race for a spot at The Masters so the outcome of that one will be significant. Liang Wenbo takes on Eden Sharav on the other table with Li Hang awaiting the winner in the last 16 which throws open a chance for whoever comes through to go pretty deep.
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Evening Session
The TV coverage in the evening session will be formed around the former champion Mark Selby. He takes on Martin O’Donnell, who is determined and will undoubtedly give it a good go but who at the same time could be outclassed. The best looking match in this session looks to be the one on the other TV table which sees the classy Chinese player, winner of the Riga Masters earlier in the season in Yan Bingtao, taking on the smooth cueing Jack Lisowski for a spot in the last 16.
There are a couple of intriguing matches on the other tables and yet another one which is going to have an impact on the race to The Masters. That one sees Joe Perry taking on the World Championship semi-finalist Gary Wilson who finished his previous match with four successive centuries. The other match sees Michael White looking to pretty much secure his tour card for next season when he takes on the veteran Mark Davis.
Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets in the evening session with the first of them on one of the TV tables where Yan Bingtao takes on Jack Lisowski. I’m going for the Chinese player here. He has been in really good form this week, making five centuries in his two matches and I see no reason why he isn’t going to score in the excellent conditions in the main arena. Lisowski is usually a heavy scorer but he has a highest break of just 86 in his two matches and he was under no pressure in either of them, which suggests to me he is just slightly off the very top of his form. In fact his results this term would suggest that too so I’m taking the Riga Masters winner here.
The other bet I like is for the match between Gary Wilson and Joe Perry to go beyond 9.5 frames. These two look evenly matched and given the way their draw has opened up with Judd Trump losing on Monday both men will be eager to win this and get deep into the tournament. That should make for quite a close affair here. They met in the English Open and that went to a deciding frame while their meeting in China last season ended 6-4 so there is a history of tight matches between the two in the past, which doesn’t surprise me. I’m expecting no different here so I’ll play over 9.5 frames in this one.
Tips
WON – Back Y.Bingtao to beat J.Lisowski for a 4/10 stake at 2.40 with Betway
Back him here:
Back G.Wilson vs J.Perry – Over 9.5 frames for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
Back it here:
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