UK Championship Day 11

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Another day in York and one closer to the final. Most of the familiar faces of the UK Championship have now been eliminated. Today afternoon session was the first chance for a player to enter tomorrow’s final and it was the turn of Ding Junhui and Yan Bingtao to battle it out for a one of those places. Both players have vastly improved this season with Yan having already win the Riga Masters at the start of the season and Ding having bloomed in this tournament. Ding was first to deliver with a 68 break in the first frame, 1-0 Ding. Despite several attempts by Bingtao to get into the next, Yan couldn’t string a break together to win the frame, collapsing at 27 and it was Ding who came from behind to snatch the frame and inflicted a hurtful blow on his opponent, 2-0. With the cue ball on a piece of string. Ding navigated his way around the table with a break of 60 but wasn’t able to quite make it over the line. Bingtao had a glimmer of hope to clinch the frame with the remainder of the balks but got a horrendous kick on a red. Ding cleared up the remaining balls with a break of 41. Worrying Ding now had a 3-0 lead with Yan been dictated to by Ding, worrying times for Yan if he didn’t win the last frame before the interval. Eventually Yan gets his first frame on the board to cut the deficit to 3-1 going into the interval.

After the interval Ding ploughed ahead and before you could switch the kettle on, he increased his lead to 4-1. Bingtao then fought back after only having scored a high break of 27 at this point to string together a winning break of 95, not quite a century but enough to decrease Ding’s lead to two frames, 4-2. A missed opportunity by Yan, let Ding in again and he made the most of it, powering reds in from the cushion. Ding was showing his experience and his upper gear made him 5-1 up and one frame away from a place in the final, the first time in ten years. Ding then took the next to take frame and match as the master beats the professional, 6-2. The match in the evening was a 6-0 whitewash for Stephen Maguire over Mark Allen.

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