The quarter finals of the UK Championship will be confirmed inside the Barbican Centre in York on Thursday when the last four matches in the last 16 of the competition are played out in another two sessions of action.
We moved down to the two table setup on Wednesday where the four favourites all came through with a bit in hand and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues on Thursday or whether we go back to the upsets of earlier in the week.
Afternoon Session
Jack Lisowski vs Hossein Vafaei
The televised action in the afternoon session sees two men who have a huge opportunity ahead of them battling it out when Jack Lisowski takes on Hossein Vafaei for the right to take on Zhao Xintong in the quarter final of the tournament.
These two men are both looking for their first major title and there is every chance the winner of this will make at least the semi-final. Vafaei made a huge name for himself when he took care of Mark Selby earlier in the week and that was the first time really that he has played well on a main table against a big gun. The interesting thing will be whether he can back that up here or not. Lisowski came into this tournament in quiet form but he has played well this week and importantly has his scoring boots with him. It was around this time last year he caught fire and there are signs that is happening again. Vafaei sometimes gets a nosebleed under the bright lights and at this stage of a tournament so I think this match is on the cue of Lisowski. I think he could win this with a bit to spare.
Anthony Hamilton vs Luca Brecel
Over on the other table two men who will be doing their ranking a lot of good this week meet when Anthony Hamilton takes on Luca Brecel with the pair meeting for the right to take on Anthony McGill in the last eight of the competition.
Both these men have seen off top 16 players en route to this match and will fancy their chances here. I think Brecel has played the better of the two men but when Hamilton turns it on he can be very dangerous so he probably shouldn’t be written off too soon, although I do think we’ll need to see more of the Hamilton who beat Williams in the second round than the one which struggled past Ricky Walden in the third round if he is to win this. Brecel isn’t used to being a heavy favourite though and that is a concern of mine. I’m happy to leave this one alone.
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Evening Session
Matthew Selt vs Barry Hawkins
The main match in the evening session sees the man who conquered Judd Trump in the previous round back in action when Matthew Selt meets a man who probably should have a better record in this tournament than he does in Barry Hawkins.
This is a good chance for both to make the last eight of this competition. Selt wasn’t flawless in beating Trump in the last round but he held himself together down the stretch very nicely indeed which suggests he has plenty of confidence in himself right now. Hawkins had a good win over Cao Yupeng in the previous round but he fed on missed opportunities from the Chinese player rather than outplayed him even in a 6-2 win. If I was to bet on this match I’d probably choose Selt but I’m wary of the comedown after a big victory so I’m happy to leave this one alone as well.
Dave Gilbert vs Andy Hicks
The other match in the last 16 on Thursday evening sees the Championship League winner Dave Gilbert continuing his quest for a second title on the season when he takes on the veteran Andy Hicks who is looking to reach a rare quarter final in a major event.
Hicks deserves a lot of credit for making it this far. In Liang Wenbo, Michael Holt and Dominc Dale he has beaten three seasoned players although not one with an elite game, or indeed the level that Gilbert is currently operating at. I don’t know whether Gilbert will think he’s on a free roll now or not after coming back from 2-5 down to Mark Allen in the previous round but he will surely appreciate the huge chance he has to go deep in this event from here on in. It might be that Allen had the best chance to take Gilbert out of this tournament and the Championship League winner will go from strength to strength now. I hope that is the case because I’m on him at a tidy price for this quarter and I’ll let that ride in this match.
Tips
Back J.Lisowski (-1.5 frames) to beat H.Vafaei for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
Back him here:
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