The televised stages of the UK Championship begin on Saturday as the first half of the second round of the tournament is played out across the two sessions of action inside the Barbican Centre in York.
The first round came and went before the TV cameras were installed at the venue and by and large the big names all made it through unscathed. The exception to that was Ding Junhui who departed with a foul mouthed rant to leave those left in to fight for the title over the next nine days.
Some big names are in action from the off on Saturday. The afternoon session sees the world champion Stuart Bingham on the baize while the recent International Championship winner John Higgins is also in action. Mark Williams and Marco Fu are also playing in the afternoon.
In the evening Ding’s successor Adam Duffy plays Joe Swail but the session is all about the fascinating Zhou Yuelong vs Shaun Murphy battle. The other live match sees Joe Perry playing Robbie Williams. Shanghai Masters winner Kyren Wilson also graces the table in this session.
Bingham takes on the Sheriff, Anthony Hamilton on Saturday afternoon and the world champion will be expected to come through but he hasn’t really delivered on the big stage yet this season and it might be that he feels a few nerves with the pressure of the occasion here so I think Hamilton has a chance.
Hamilton picked up a much needed win in the first round to keep those chasing his tour spot at bay and anything he gets from here on in can be considered a handy bonus. When you look at the head to head record between these two Hamilton dominates it so he’ll fancy his chances here with nothing to lose.
I’m not surprised that Hamilton has a good record against Bingham because Bingham isn’t one of those players who spoils the table. You generally get open matches against him and if this is one of those Hamilton can definitely win three frames if not a few more.
I was tempted to take Mark Davis and Martin Gould in their matches but the handicaps are -2.5 frames rather than 1.5 and that’s probably about right so I’ll stick with Hamilton in the afternoon.
There are a couple of bets I like the look of in the evening and the first of them comes in the main match as Murphy faces Yuelong. Murphy has already lost to Yuelong’s World Cup winning partner Yan Bingtao in the Champion of Champions this month so the Chinese star knows it is possible to beat the Masters champion.
This is one of those horrible early round matches for Murphy where he has little to gain and everything to lose. He might still have a bit of rust about him and he faces a player who many are already tipping to be a future world champion and someone who has nothing to lose.
I think over the longer distance Murphy will probably come through but not before Yuelong has pushed him close. Bet365s Asian handicap line is set at 2.75 frames which means we only lose half our stake if Yuelong gets three frames and we win in full if he gets four frames. I like that line.
Mike Dunn did me a good turn in the previous round but I’m going to take him on in this round. That’s nothing against Dunn it is just that I’m a big fan of his opponent Kyren Wilson.
Wilson won the Shanghai Masters earlier in the season and then took care of Judd Trump in the Champion of Champions. He has a good all round game. He can mix it tactically and then when his opponent makes a mistake and lets him in he is a heavy enough scorer to make them pay.
Dunn remains capable but I don’t see him matching Wilson for quality and that extra confidence Wilson has on the table right now can ensure he comes through this and does so with something to spare.
You can probably make a case for Adam Duffy to beat Joe Swail on one of the outside tables but he didn’t play out of this world against Ding and there is often a comedown after such a huge win so I’ll leave that alone and stick with the three bets for Saturday.
Back A.Hamilton (+3.5 frames) to beat S.Bingham for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfred
Back Z.Yuelong (+2.75 frames) to beat S.Murphy for a 4/10 stake at 1.90 with Bet365
Back K.Wilson (-1.5 frames) to beat M.Dunn for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Blog snooker YTD: +105.94pts
