The second round of the UK Championship gets underway inside the Barbican Centre in York on Wednesday when eight players look to book a spot in the quarter final of the first Triple Crown event of the season.
The day is headlined by the world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan but there are a number of stars on show over the course of the two sessions of play on what should be a very good day of snooker in York.
Afternoon Session
Zhou Yuelong vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
The opening match of the second round on the main table sees the former champion and reigning world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan on show. He meets the Chinese player Zhou Yuelong for a place in the quarter finals of the competition.
O’Sullivan looked in pretty decent order in the first round when he took care of a Matthew Stevens who offered up too many chances in the end. Yuelong came from 5-3 down to beat his friend Yan Bingtao and when he was at the table he looked very good. I don’t think the form of the Chinese player is in question here but whether he believes he can beat someone of O’Sullivan’s class on a stage like this one is a different thing entirely. If he does he is more than entitled to make a game of this but we’ve seen bigger and better players than Zhou freeze under this spotlight. O’Sullivan isn’t completely firing on all cylinders but I sense this new layout is getting his juices flowing so it is hard to oppose him. This is an easy match to sit out.
Luca Brecel vs Tom Ford
Over on the other table the beaten finalist of last year will continue his quest to go one step further this time around when Luca Brecel takes on a Tom Ford who looked in decent touch when he took care of John Higgins in the opening round.
Brecel had a good win over a game Lyu Haotian in the opening round and I sense there is something about this tournament which makes him thrive but at the same time he doesn’t need to come off his game too much to be inconsistent. Ford looks to have arrived in York in decent form and if he scores like he did late on in his win over Higgins in the first round then he is entitled to be a real danger to the Championship League winner. These two met here last year and Brecel won 6-5 and I wouldn’t be completely surprised if this one is as close as that. Brecel is just a little too inconsistent though for me to get involved in this one.
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Evening Session
Mark Allen vs Kyren Wilson
The main table match in the evening session sees two real class acts going at it when the Northern Ireland Open champion Mark Allen takes on the winner of the European Masters in Kyren Wilson with the winner expected to reach the semi-final.
Allen has been the player of the season and already looks like he is in decent form in this tournament. He will know he has his work cut out here though against a Wilson who is extremely tough to beat. These two are no strangers to facing each other. They met in a Masters final in 2018 and in four other big semi-finals in their career. This might not be as big as those matches but with a lower ranked player waiting in the quarter final for the winner, this match presents an opportunity for both players to go very deep here. This has the potential to be a very close match but I just think the ceiling of the form of Allen is slightly higher than that of Wilson and while bookmakers can’t split the two I fancy Allen will come out on top here.
Sam Craigie vs Ryan Day
The other match over on table two will determine who faces the winner on the main table in the quarter final when Sam Craigie goes up against Ryan Day in a clash which presents an opportunity for both men.
Craigie took care of the defending champion Zhao Xintong in the opening round on Saturday but the Chinese player hasn’t looked the same since he had to withdraw from the Hong Kong Masters with Covid so how much we can read into that remains to be seen. Day eased past Jimmy White in the opening round but the Whirlwind had his chances to make that a much tougher match than the 6-1 score suggested it was. Craigie came through the qualifying competition in good form so he merits respect in this match but you’ve got to think that with the confidence he is carrying from the British Open win last month that Day is a worthy favourite. Sometimes he can be a little too aggressive for his own good though and that is a concern here. I’ll leave this one alone but a small play on Craigie could be a value call.
Tips
Back M.Allen to beat K.Wilson for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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