It is quarter final day at the UK Championship on Friday with all four matches being played out across two sessions of action on the last day where there will be two tables inside the Barbican Centre in York.
At the end of the day we will know the line-up for the semi-finals of the opening Triple Crown tournament of the season and with some star names still in the event we should be set for a great day of snooker.
Afternoon Session
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Ding Junhui
The pick of the quarter finals is first up on the main table on Friday when Ronnie O’Sullivan continues his bid to add the UK Championship title to his world crown of earlier in the year. The Chinese star Ding Junhui is the man opposing him.
All eyes will be on O’Sullivan here. He hasn’t really been tested in the tournament but at the same time he hasn’t played overly well either and you sense he could be there for the taking. As with in the previous round, a lot of this match will depend on whether Ding Junhui believes he can beat the great one. Zhou Yuelong clearly never did and got swamped in no time. The problem for Ding is O’Sullivan respects him and generally that ensures Ronnie plays well as he often does against those he respects in the game. You would imagine a focused and on it O’Sullivan wins this but Ding is perfectly capable of doing the business so I’m happy to leave this one alone.
Joe Perry vs Tom Ford
The afternoon quarter final on table two sees two men outside the top 16 who have a great chance to go to within two wins of the biggest title of their career battling it out when Joe Perry takes on Tom Ford for a semi-final spot.
Perry has seen off two members of the top 16 in Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham while Ford has done likewise having taken care of John Higgins and Luca Brecel. There has been a real composure about the way Perry has gone about his work this week and you sense the Welsh Open win from last season is really helping him relax and perform at the minute. That took care of his ranking and he is almost free rolling now. On the other hand, you can sense that there is a determination for Ford to get to a major final and get his hand on silverware and sometimes it looks like he is trying too hard and is too desperate to succeed. I think the composure of Perry will win the day here but there is no ignoring how well Ford is playing and so I’m happy to leave this alone given that it is a match which could go either way and be decided on fine margins.
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Evening Session
Sam Craigie vs Mark Allen
The evening session will see two men looking for their first UK title battling it out on the main table when the surprise package of the tournament, Sam Craigie, takes on the player of the season so far in Mark Allen.
Craigie has played some fantastic snooker in this tournament. He made four centuries in his two qualifying wins and he has made four more in his two victories in the main draw and if he has that scoring form with him then he is entitled to be a real handful for Allen. Allen has seen off a couple of competent opponents in Jordan Brown and Kyren Wilson but although he has won relatively comfortably, visibly he doesn’t look as confident as we would usually expect. Against Wilson he largely mopped up mistakes from his opponent. The one issue Craigie could have is his past record against Allen. He has lost all three matches and trails 14-2 on the frame score so you would imagine the lower ranked player will need a good start just for his own peace of mind. If he gets that then he has shown more than enough to suggest he can run Allen close if not beat him. I think Craigie with the 2.5 frame start appeals here.
Jack Lisowski vs Shaun Murphy
The other evening quarter final sees the former champion Shaun Murphy looking to make it back to the last four of the UK Championship when he takes on a Jack Lisowski who is undoubtedly good enough to win this tournament but who hasn’t won a title yet and carries some doubts until he does.
Lisowski has had an awkward draw this week in terms of Xu Si and Hossein Vafaei but Murphy has had it even tougher having had to come through deciding frames against Dave Gilbert and Judd Trump, winning both matches from 5-4 behind. That shows Murphy has belief in himself and is handling pressure well which is always a huge question mark over Lisowski but the question for Murphy is whether he can keep close to Lisowski to get him under pressure. Murphy leads the past meetings 5-1 and most of his wins have been pretty emphatic but this feels like it is going to be a close contest. This is one of those matches to just enjoy rather than bet on and that’s the approach I’m taking.
Tips
Back S.Craigie (+2.5 frames) to beat M.Allen for a 3/10 stake at 1.87 with BetVictor
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