UK Championship review: Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan make fast starts with whitewashes on day three at the Barbican
A review of the action on day three of the UK Championship, as Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump both got off to impressive starts in York.
Simple start for Trump
Judd Trump gave Amini Amiri a harsh lesson in what it takes to compete in a Triple Crown event, as the reigning world champion won 7-0 to kickstart his UK Championship bid.
Amiri is playing in his first season on the World Snooker circuit, and arrived to face the tournament favourite having been whitewashed in the first round of the English Open.
🎱 As easy as it gets for World No.1 @judd147t as he wins 6-0 in his #UKChampionship opener...#baiseofglory pic.twitter.com/3jE2UUILhj
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 28, 2019
Here, against an opponent who has made the last three ranking finals, he was always fighting an uphill battle and a 125 break from Trump quickly handed him a 2-0 lead.
A tight third frame could have gone either way, but Trump took it as he waltzed to a straightforward victory which told us little about his prospects of lifting the trophy a week on Sunday.
"It's good to be playing well," Trump said. "I am on a good spell. You never know when it can end so you just have to enjoy it. It's good to get through and be in the tournament properly."
Trump set up a meeting with Mei Xiwen, who beat Ken Doherty in a match that was carried over to the evening session before the Chinese player won 6-4.
Ronnie tries to top Trump
It was a case of 'anything you can do' as O'Sullivan, having watched Trump's whitewash, responded with a 6-0 of his own to ruthlessly dispatch Irish amateur Ross Bulman.
Four half centuries and one ton, which could well have been a 147 had O'Sullivan not played for a pink after his 15th red, did the damage for the 43-year-old.
The defending champion acknowledged that Trump is the man to beat in York but insisted it was too soon to be looking any further than his next round tie with Tian Pengfei on Saturday.
“At the moment Judd seems to be ahead of the pack," said O'Sullivan. "He’s the world champion; he’s world number one and the man in form, so he’s going to take some stopping.
“But there are still so many games to go and sport’s a funny thing. It can take one small mistake and you’re on your way home, and there are a lot of good players left that want to get their hands on the trophy.
“Tian’s a very good player, so it’s going to be a tough test and it should be a good game. China have a lot of good players but they need to start producing some winners because that’s what snooker’s all about.”
No magic for Murphy
Former world champion Shaun Murphy suffered a first round upset as he was beaten 6-4 by world number 121 Eden Sharav, despite being 3-1 in the early stages.
Current world number eight Murphy, won of snooker's 11 triple crown winners having also captured this event and the Masters, looked in control when he took the fourth frame with his second 80-plus break of the match.
Sharav, however, turned things around with three straight frames helping him put his nose in front only for Murphy to arrest the slide by taking the eighth frame for 4-4.
A run of 62 gave Sharav the lead once again in the ninth frame, and he just about got over the line in a scrappy tenth frame to seal a famous victory.
Sharav added: "I have beaten some good players, like Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter, but that's definitely the best.
"It's the first time I have won here. To beat a player like Shaun is amazing."
Centuries hat-trick for Bingtao
Yan Bingtao helped set the stage with a dazzling display in the morning session, as he produced a superb performance as he thrashed Igor Figueiredo 6-1.
The Chinese youngster kicked off with a 111 break, and from 3-1 up went on to win the match with runs of 121, 89 and 127, in one of the most impressive showings so far.
Bingtao's compatriot Xiao Guodong was also a convincing winner, beating Rod Lawler 6-1, but the promising Luo Honghao was beaten 6-3 by Robbie Williams in a match where eight of the nine frames produced a half-century, none of which were converted to three-figures.
For all that it was a member of snooker's next generation who really shone in the first of three sessions, veteran Alan McManus bagged two centuries of his own to see off Elliot Slessor 6-1, and Anthony Hamilton fired in a 131 break in a 6-2 defeat of Sam Baird.
Jack Lisowski meanwhile avoided an upset in a 6-2 victory over David Lilley, while Joe Perry came from 5-3 down to beat Simon Lichtenberg 6-5, Mark Allen beat Jimmy White 6-3 and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Ben Woollaston, Michael White, Robbie Williams, Mark King and David Grace were among the other winners.
- Watch the World Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds
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