The last 16 of the UK Championship gets underway inside in the Barbican Centre in York as the first four matches take place on what looks like being a competitive two sessions of snooker on Wednesday.
We are down to just the two tables in the arena now so there is a feeling that the tournament steps up a notch from here on in despite the incredible number of top 16 players who have been dumped out of the event already.
Afternoon Session
Noppon Saengkham vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
The televised match in the afternoon session on Wednesday sees Ronnie O’Sullivan continuing his quest for another UK title when he takes on the dangerous Thai player Noppon Saengkham for a place in the quarter final.
Saengkham overcame the challenge of Stuart Bingham in a remarkable match in the last round and now he faces the highest remaining player left in the tournament. These two met in the third round two years ago and O’Sullivan won 6-2. I think Sanegkham is getting back to the form which saw him be a runner for tournaments but surely Ronnie looks at this now and thinks this is his to lose. There is no Trump, no Robertson, no Selby or Higgins so I expect the Rocket to take it up a notch but judging by the odds the bookmakers expect that too so I’ll leave this alone.
Zhao Xintong vs Peter Lines
Two surprise packages meet on the other table when the man who dumped John Higgins out of the tournament, Zhao Xintong, takes on the veteran player Peter Lines, for whom this will be a huge match in his bid to remain on the tour.
These two meet for the first time in their career and you have to think Xintong is the man most likely to come through to the next round. He won’t have played in the last 16 of a major as an emphatic favourite too many times before though and I guess you could argue that Lines is free rolling from here having already secured some decent money. Lines has come through against a couple of class acts in Ryan Day and Sam Craigie but has only made four 50 breaks all week. If that number doesn’t increase then I expect him to get well beaten here but given that Xintong is an inexperienced favourite and backing up a huge win over Higgins in a second successive deciding frame this is one I can ignore from a betting point of view.
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Evening Session
Kyren Wilson vs Ben Woollaston
The match on the main TV table in the evening session will see Kyren Wilson looking to book a place in another major quarter final when he takes on a Ben Woollaston for whom this run is something of a revival in a career that was going dangerously down the pan.
Wilson has come through the draw comfortably enough but I wouldn’t suggest he has been completely comfortable in doing it. Wu Yize had some bad luck at key moments else he might have pushed ‘The Warrior’ a lot closer in the previous round and Wilson has been coughing up a few chances this week. Woollaston saw off Yan Bingtao in the second round and played well against Liam Highfield in the previous round. These two met in the English Open earlier in the month and Wilson won on the final black. Based on that we could be in for a tight battle here, one which is much tighter than the odds suggest, but like O’Sullivan earlier in the day I sense Wilson will up his game now the big names are out so I’m happy to leave this alone.
Jordan Brown vs Anthony McGill
It might be that the pick of the matches on Wednesday is the one on Table Two in the evening when the Welsh Open champion Jordan Brown goes up against an Anthony McGill who is surely a winner in waiting of one of these Triple Crown events.
It is fair to say that neither of these men were in great form heading into the tournament but both have played above their level so far this term when they have been here. Brown has been solid enough and is beginning to find his scoring boots while McGill has played really well but is still guilty of making things hard for himself. If he could just dominate matches from the outset then he would be a serious player. I do think he wins this one with a bit in hand though. I think he’s a very similar player to Brown but he just does everything that bit better and over this distance that can lead to the Glaswegian coming through here with a bit to spare.
Tips
Back A.McGill (-1.5 frames) to beat J.Brown for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back him here:
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