Lei Peifan V Ben Woollaston 13:00
It's been a quiet season for both so far with little to report in terms of either making latter stages of ranking events. The pair have only met once with Woollaston coming out on top 4-1 in the Scottish Open in 2021.
Peifan is one of 3 players (Holt & Xintong) left in the draw who has had three victories to get to this stage.
Both players came through nervy deciding frames to reach today's judgement day with Woollaston advancing after a re-spotted black with Joe Perry.
Following his victory over Tom Ford in round 3, Peifan's confidence will be boosted ahead of today's clash as he made a match-winning 107 break in the decider.
The momentum Peifan brings into this match is what tips the scales in his favour in my opinion.
Prediction: 6-4 Peifan
Zhou Yuelong V Matthew Selt 13:00
It's been a very disappointing year for both Yuelong & Selt with deep tournament runs proving hard to come by.
Selt's run to the quarter-final of the Xi'an Grand Prix looks to be the best form the pair have produced in a very low-key season for the pair.
He will intend on extending his impressive run of being at the UK Championship every year since 2012 but Yuelong will have something to say about that.
He comes into today's match with a superior head-to-head record over the Englishman (4-1). That will give him confidence along with his impressive round 3 result against Marco Fu (6-3).
For these reasons, I feel he will build on his quarter-final appearance at last year's UK Championship and come through this tricky tie.
Prediction: 6-3 Yuelong
Ricky Walden V Zhao Xintong 13:00
The progression of Zhao Xintong seems to be on all snooker fans' lips as he enters his first professional event since returning from his ban.
It seems as though he was never away as he has seamlessly progressed to the final round of qualifying for the tournament he won in 2021 with convincing wins over Sunny Akani, Jiang Jun & Noppon Saenghkam.
Today he comes up against a 2-time UK Championship semi-finalist in Walden and he will be keen to return to the Barbican after missing out on the last 2 years having been beaten in qualifying.
Walden has struggled with consistency at times this season and against an in-form, confident Xintong, he faces an uphill task in overturning the Chinese player.
Prediction: 6-4 Xintong
Julien Leclercq V David Gilbert 13:00
Probably one of the toughest draws Leclercq could've gotten at this stage. Gilbert has played in the UK Championship 10 times compared to the Belgian who is yet to appear at the Barbican having only turned professional in 2022.
The pair played in round 3 of qualifying 12 months ago with Gilbert convincingly coming out on top (6-1), Leclercq will be determined to reverse that result this year.
It will take a big effort to overturn that result but the Belgian Beast has improved significantly since last season, has he improved enough is the question?
He has found it tough to get wins on tour so far this season but the experience will add to his ever-growing stature in the game.
It's been an impressive season so far for Gilbert, making quarter-finals in both the Xi'an Grand Prix & British Open only to be edged out by Mark Selby in deciders in both. He is guaranteed to want to avoid the Jester from Leicester if he makes it into tomorrow's main draw.
I have been hugely impressed with the development of Leclercq since he arrived on tour in 2022 but I think Gilbert will have too much quality for the Belgian today.
Prediction: 6-2 Gilbert
Robert Milkins V Xu Si 19:00
Si comes into tonight's match with by far the better form on paper. His run to the semi-final in Nanjing a few weeks ago was particularly impressive considering Milkins has picked up minimal positive results this season.
Si is looking to reach the Barbican for the 7th time in his career compared to former quarter-finalist Milkins hoping to make his 21st appearance in this season's first triple crown event.
To get to this stage, Milkins came through against Ross Muir 6-3 making three 50+ breaks while Xu Si defeated in-form Chris Totten in a decider.
This match has the feeling it could go the distance with both players hard to separate.
The winner will play Ding Junhui.
Prediction: 6-5 Xu Si
Stan Moody V He Guoqiang 19:00
From 3-0 down, He Guoqiang produced some excellent snooker on Tuesday night to claim a deciding frame victory over former UK Championship quarter-finalist Anthony McGill.
The progression of 18-year-old Stan Moody over the last 18 months has been phenomenal, he has picked up a number of impressive victories this season including against Jak Jones, Tom Ford & Zhang Anda among others.
To get to this evening, he defeated world number 26 and rising star Pang Junxu making an impressive break of 138 in frame 2.
The pair are well matched and a late finish is a major possibility.
The winner will play John Higgins.
Prediction: 6-4 Moody
Liu Hongyu V Michael Holt 19:00
You would do well to find a snooker fan that isn't rooting for Michael Holt tonight. However, the 46-year-old has found it difficult to string a number of wins together on tour this season but seems to have saved his best form for this week.
He has won 3 consecutive matches against Steven Hallworth, Ishpreet Chadha and world number 31 Joe O'Connor to reach this stage and faces another tough challenge tonight against Liu Hongyu.
Hongyu had a brilliant victory against Lyu Haotian to get here, making 3 50+ breaks against his fellow Chinese player.
But the momentum Holt brings into tonight along with the form he has shown over the last 4 days mean I am siding with him to reach the Barbican and make his first UK Championship appearance since 2021.
The winner will play Gary Wilson.
Prediction: 6-3 Holt
Matthew Stevens V Neil Robertson 19:00
World number 18 Robertson was close to being knocked out as he came through a deciding frame with Oliver Lines in round 4 with Lines on a break of 44 in the decider only to miss a straight-forward pot that let the Aussie in.
Stevens battled to a 6-3 victory over a determined Martin O'Donnell and will hope to reach the main draw for the 25th time in his career having lifted the UK Championship in 2003.
Despite being on the tour for 20+ years the pair have managed to avoid each other since the Riga Masters in 2016, which Robertson won 4-1.
If Robertson plays the way he has been in the last 6 months, I think he will have too much for Stevens tonight.
Two legends of the game battling it out for a place in the main draw, let's hope both perform and we get a match to savour.
The winner will play Judd Trump.
Prediction: 6-3 Robertson
No comments:
Post a Comment