Uk Championship Day 4
With round one out of the way, it was now the time for the cameras to roll and players to experience the magic of York. First up in the televised table was last year’s winner, Ronnie O’Sullivan against a very dangerous, Chinese player, Tian Pengfei. Pengfei briefly fell off the tour but got back on through the Q School. He has beaten Ronnie several times and in this match got off to a good start with a 46 break but then fell away, letting O’Sullivan take the frame in several visits. This convincing tidal wave continued with Ronnie averaging fifteen seconds a shot and rather like a fast sprint, Tian remained firmly on the back foot at 2-0 down.
A blistering attempt at a red by Pengfei turned out to be all in vain as the white fell into the middle pocket on its return. Ronnie had the cue ball on a string as he put Tian back in and got him to split the pack in his favour but O’Sullivan took a tough red on and let Tian play but this man was without rhythm and confidence. Weaknesses that no player would want in playing any match in deficit, especially someone of Ronnie’s calibre. This was proven when he missed a black and subsequently lost the frame as a result. Tian had his chances but stalled when he should have used this frame as confidence booster and an avenue into the match.
Now 3-0 and halfway out of the exit door, Tian had to watch his back as potentially any mistake would be pounced on by his match hungry opponent. However poor safety play by the Chinese player ensued and let Ronnie weave around the table for a little while before it was stopped by a long, a long, ambitious red. However a similar shot to the opposing pocket quickly got him back in and with the balls spread fairly nicely and capitalised. Am interval was the only saving grace for Pengfei as he trailed his opponent, 4-0. This table could be seem as Ronnie’s office in this match and Tian was rapidly walking blindly towards the abyss of defeat.
With a bruised Tian returning after the interval, perhaps a spell on the practice table may have helped him but Ronnie wasn’t in any mood to give up any frames, returning only briefly to his seat to allow dispersed fans to return to their seats from the next table. Ronnie was rewarded with a 106 break, the first century of the match and with 88 match wins in the UK Championships, was on course for beating Steve Davis’s record of 89 matches. 5-0 up, Tian was at the last chance saloon stage and no matter what he tried, he couldn’t recapture his form to break O’Sullivan’s winning cycle. He polished off the match with a 6-0 score line. This will be a match that Pengfei would like to quickly forget and one that Ronnie took in his stride.
On the other side of the fence Marco Fu was up against the “Warrior”, Kyren Wilson. Both players have had a dip in form with Fu having to undergo corrective eye surgery. Wilson hasn’t performed well since his last victory in the German Masters last year and so today was a test for both players. Fu took the first frame but then was left sipping his water for most of the remainder of the match. Wilson took four frames in a row, leaving Marco firmly on the the ropes at 4-1 down. Perhaps this warning sign, woke Fu up with Marco attempting a way back into the match. However an ambitious red put an end to his 41 clearance. In spite of this, he got back in and reduced his deficit to 2-4. Perhaps this was a stall by Wilson as Fu was quick to get into the next frame with a 42 break and the tide turned as Marco continued to pot balls to further reduce Kyren’s lead to 4-3 with a 89 break. Game on Marco!
Marco continued to pounce back with a 56 break but came unstuck when he lost control of the cue ball and failed to keep on track for splitting the pack. After a tip tap battle, Wilson finally came out best and took the bull by the horns but floundered on the last black. A failed double let Fu back in but he potted the white and gifted Wilson the frame, 5-3. Into the next with Wilson in touching distance of a win but Fu pulled another back to make it 4-5. Fu then pushed on with 25 points but Wilson was unable to capitalise. An ambitious red by Fu failed but he was redeemed when Wilson couldn’t put the red away with a swerve shot. Fu then clinched the frame to take the match to a decider. Fu clinched the match and put a cruel end to Kyren Wilson’s run in this year’s UK Championship.
Other wins also came for Mark King with a 6-1 victory over Lyu Haotian, Stuart Bingham beat Martin Gould, 6-4, Noppon Saengkham took out Anthony McGill, 6-3, Li Hang beat Xiao Guodong, 6-4 and Matthew Stevens won a close match against Ryan Day, 6-5.
In the evening’s session, Liam Highfield was up against Mark Selby. This was a nervy start for both bolsters with Highfield having a great chance to lead 2-0 in the match but failed to pot a pink off the spot. This was a critical mistake that came back to haunt him with Selby gaining confidence from the error. A key moment that eventually led to a 6-3 victory for Selby. Elsewhere Neil Robertson continued his recent good form with a great win over Robbie Williams. Neil has now clocked up 26 centuries for the season. His opponent was decided in a match between Mark Allen and the Welshman, Jak Jones. This was a close affair that finally saw Allen triumph, 6-5. There were also wins for the veteran, Alan McManus who came from 4-1 down to beat Barry Hawkins, 6-4, Eden Sharav continued his great run after dispatching Shaun Murphy, now defeated Daniel Wells, 6-2. After a lengthy slog to fight out ten frames, one hour and fifty-one minutes time to be precise, Zhao Xintong eventually beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, 6-4 and the former German Masters champion, Anthony Hamilton ended James Cahill’s dreams for this year’s tournament by winning 6-3.
A blistering attempt at a red by Pengfei turned out to be all in vain as the white fell into the middle pocket on its return. Ronnie had the cue ball on a string as he put Tian back in and got him to split the pack in his favour but O’Sullivan took a tough red on and let Tian play but this man was without rhythm and confidence. Weaknesses that no player would want in playing any match in deficit, especially someone of Ronnie’s calibre. This was proven when he missed a black and subsequently lost the frame as a result. Tian had his chances but stalled when he should have used this frame as confidence booster and an avenue into the match.
Now 3-0 and halfway out of the exit door, Tian had to watch his back as potentially any mistake would be pounced on by his match hungry opponent. However poor safety play by the Chinese player ensued and let Ronnie weave around the table for a little while before it was stopped by a long, a long, ambitious red. However a similar shot to the opposing pocket quickly got him back in and with the balls spread fairly nicely and capitalised. Am interval was the only saving grace for Pengfei as he trailed his opponent, 4-0. This table could be seem as Ronnie’s office in this match and Tian was rapidly walking blindly towards the abyss of defeat.
With a bruised Tian returning after the interval, perhaps a spell on the practice table may have helped him but Ronnie wasn’t in any mood to give up any frames, returning only briefly to his seat to allow dispersed fans to return to their seats from the next table. Ronnie was rewarded with a 106 break, the first century of the match and with 88 match wins in the UK Championships, was on course for beating Steve Davis’s record of 89 matches. 5-0 up, Tian was at the last chance saloon stage and no matter what he tried, he couldn’t recapture his form to break O’Sullivan’s winning cycle. He polished off the match with a 6-0 score line. This will be a match that Pengfei would like to quickly forget and one that Ronnie took in his stride.
On the other side of the fence Marco Fu was up against the “Warrior”, Kyren Wilson. Both players have had a dip in form with Fu having to undergo corrective eye surgery. Wilson hasn’t performed well since his last victory in the German Masters last year and so today was a test for both players. Fu took the first frame but then was left sipping his water for most of the remainder of the match. Wilson took four frames in a row, leaving Marco firmly on the the ropes at 4-1 down. Perhaps this warning sign, woke Fu up with Marco attempting a way back into the match. However an ambitious red put an end to his 41 clearance. In spite of this, he got back in and reduced his deficit to 2-4. Perhaps this was a stall by Wilson as Fu was quick to get into the next frame with a 42 break and the tide turned as Marco continued to pot balls to further reduce Kyren’s lead to 4-3 with a 89 break. Game on Marco!
Marco continued to pounce back with a 56 break but came unstuck when he lost control of the cue ball and failed to keep on track for splitting the pack. After a tip tap battle, Wilson finally came out best and took the bull by the horns but floundered on the last black. A failed double let Fu back in but he potted the white and gifted Wilson the frame, 5-3. Into the next with Wilson in touching distance of a win but Fu pulled another back to make it 4-5. Fu then pushed on with 25 points but Wilson was unable to capitalise. An ambitious red by Fu failed but he was redeemed when Wilson couldn’t put the red away with a swerve shot. Fu then clinched the frame to take the match to a decider. Fu clinched the match and put a cruel end to Kyren Wilson’s run in this year’s UK Championship.
Other wins also came for Mark King with a 6-1 victory over Lyu Haotian, Stuart Bingham beat Martin Gould, 6-4, Noppon Saengkham took out Anthony McGill, 6-3, Li Hang beat Xiao Guodong, 6-4 and Matthew Stevens won a close match against Ryan Day, 6-5.
In the evening’s session, Liam Highfield was up against Mark Selby. This was a nervy start for both bolsters with Highfield having a great chance to lead 2-0 in the match but failed to pot a pink off the spot. This was a critical mistake that came back to haunt him with Selby gaining confidence from the error. A key moment that eventually led to a 6-3 victory for Selby. Elsewhere Neil Robertson continued his recent good form with a great win over Robbie Williams. Neil has now clocked up 26 centuries for the season. His opponent was decided in a match between Mark Allen and the Welshman, Jak Jones. This was a close affair that finally saw Allen triumph, 6-5. There were also wins for the veteran, Alan McManus who came from 4-1 down to beat Barry Hawkins, 6-4, Eden Sharav continued his great run after dispatching Shaun Murphy, now defeated Daniel Wells, 6-2. After a lengthy slog to fight out ten frames, one hour and fifty-one minutes time to be precise, Zhao Xintong eventually beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, 6-4 and the former German Masters champion, Anthony Hamilton ended James Cahill’s dreams for this year’s tournament by winning 6-3.
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