The quarter final line up in the UK Championship in York will be finalised on Thursday when the last of the four last 16 matches will be played out across two more sessions of play inside the Barbican Centre in York.
The surprises kept on coming on Wednesday as Neil Robertson bit the dust which will keep the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby and Stephen Maguire honest as they look to book their spots in the quarter finals.
Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Ding Junhui
The pick of the matches on Thursday will be on the main TV table in the afternoon session, when the defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan faces his toughest test of the tournament so far, as he faces the Chinese superstar Ding Junhui.
Despite largely cruising to this stage of the competition, both still have gears that they can find, and it might be that the one who engages the higher gear goes on to win this match. O’Sullivan could easily have lost to Noppon Saengkham in the previous round with the amount of chances he gave up, while Ding literally fell over the line against Ali Carter in the end.
O’Sullivan might well win this but I like the way Ding has suddenly started to score. He probably needs one more win just to make absolutely sure of his Masters spot and while it might not come here, it should give him the incentive to perform. I’m not convinced Ronnie’s long game is going well enough to deny Ding chances so I like the Chinese ace with the 2.5 frame start in this one.
Gary Wilson vs Nigel Bond
The other last 16 clash in the afternoon was meant to include the world champion Judd Trump but Nigel Bond didn’t read that script and instead it is he who will take on Gary Wilson for the right to meet Mark Allen in the quarter final.
Wilson has been absolutely on fire since falling 4-0 down to Chris Wakelin in the second round earlier in the week. He won six frames on the trot to win that 6-4 finishing off with four centuries along the way and then thrashed Joe Perry 6-1 after that so he has won 12 of his last 13 frames. To be fair to Bond he was excellent against Trump but that clearly is not his normal display else he wouldn’t be ranked where he currently is in the game but I respect him enough not to back any handicaps here.
I do think there is value in Wilson nailing a break of more than 110 though. He has made seven centuries in his three matches thus far and while not all of them have been more than 110, he does tend to go big quite often with four of them being higher than that requirement. The further clear he pulls the more comfortable he’ll be and a decent contribution from him at some point.
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Evening Session
Matthew Stevens vs Mark Selby
The pick of the matches in the evening session is actually a repeat of a match in the Northern Ireland Open recently, as Matthew Stevens takes on Mark Selby in an intriguing match between two men who have won this title in the past.
I’ve seen Selby’s last two matches and you would have to say he has been pretty ordinary in both of them and if he coughs up the chances that he did to Liam Highfield and Martin O’Donnell, he’ll be in trouble here because Stevens looks back to form. He often comes good in the big events and looks to be doing that again here. Selby hasn’t really played well for a while. Even when he won the English Open earlier in the season, it was only really the final he performed well in. I’ve seen nothing this week to suggest he is in any sort of nick and fancy Stevens could be overpriced for the upset here.
Michael White vs Stephen Maguire
The other match in the round sees Michael White taking on Stephen Maguire in a battle of two fiery contenders who will be battling it out to face the winner of the other match in the evening session in the quarter finals on Friday.
White has done very well this week. He has seen off tricky challenges in the form of Fergal O’Brien and Mark Williams and then came from 5-2 down to Mark Davis in the last round to win 6-5 on a respotted black in the decider so he should be feeling pretty good about himself. Maguire will also be feeling that way after cleaning up his good friend Graeme Dott last time out. Both these men are in good touch here. I would expect Maguire to win but I noted White’s momentum before he faced Williams and don’t fancy taking him on.
Tips
WON – Back D.Junhui (+2.5 frames) to beat R.O’Sullivan for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
Back him here:
Back G.Wilson’s Highest Break – Over 110 for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betway
Back him here:
WON – Back M.Stevens to beat M.Selby for a 3/10 stake at 4.33 with Bet365
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