We are down to the semi-finals in the UK Championship with both matches taking place across two sessions of action inside the behind closed doors setup at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on a day where two big names take on two Chinese outsiders.
We have two heavy favourites in the semi-finals on Saturday and all things are leading to a Neil Robertson vs Judd Trump final on Sunday but Zhou Yuelong and Lu Ning will be out to stop that from happening when they compete in their first Triple Crown semi-finals.
Afternoon Session
Zhou Yuelong vs Neil Robertson
The first semi-final is a repeat of the European Masters final from a lot earlier in the year as the Chinese ace Zhou Yuelong goes up against Neil Robertson in a repeat of a clash that the Australian won 9-0 when they last met. The Asian will be looking for a much better time of it here.
Yuelong has played some nice snooker this week and has already knocked off a couple of top 16 players in John Higgins and Jack Lisowski but he might be facing his toughest test of the lot here. I say that because the statistics that Neil Robertson produced in his win over Mark Selby on Friday were dazzling and if he has that form with him here then the Australian wins this match it is as simple as that. We know that it is very hard to back up a performance like that with another the next day though. That makes me think Yuelong could be a good thing on the handicap here but when he has won just one of the 16 frames these two have played in their two meetings to date I can’t exactly justify backing that. I do fear the Robertson comedown though and that is enough to sway from getting involved here.
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Evening Session
Judd Trump vs Lu Ning
The second semi-final looks something of a mismatch on paper when the world number one and former champion Judd Trump takes on the Chinese player Lu Ning who is in the semi-final of a major tournament for the first time in his career.
Trump is an emphatic favourite as you would expect but when these two met in their only previous meeting Ning gave the Englishman a few problems before Trump won 6-4. There were six centuries in that match and although that was out in more familiar surroundings of China as far as Ning is concerned, he should be more than comfortable in this venue with the tour having been here for the last four months.
Ning has scored brilliantly well this week and hopefully he approaches this match with nothing to lose and lets his scoring boots come out here. If he does I see no reason why over 1.5 centuries won’t land in this semi-final but you’ve got to think that Trump is more than capable of notching two tons even if he is involved in a match as one-sided as it is expected to be. That is my bet in this semi-final Saturday.
Tips
WON – Back J.Trump vs L.Ning – Over 1.5 centuries for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfair
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