The full draw for this year’s UK Championship at Telford is now available, click below for more information…
To view the draw in full, please click here, whilst you can find my initial preview regarding how the seeds have been paired here.
Observations
The ever-popular Jimmy White opens his UK Championship campaign with a match against tour newcomer David Grace on December 1st. Should White, the 1992 UK Champion, come through this encounter, he would then have to beat Ian Preece, Rory McLeod and the in-form Dave Harold to reach that last 32 stage, no easy task. Grace will be no pushover though and having won his first two matches on the main tour in the Grand Prix qualifiers before losing to Liang Wenbo, will come into this event knowing that he can compete at this level.
How the man who caused a sensation at the Grand Prix, winning his four qualifying matches to reach the last 32? Well Simon Bedford first meets Asia’s Jin Long in round one here, while if he makes it to round three he would earn a tie with the other star of the Grand Prix, 19 year old Judd Trump. The winner will then play Michael Judge for the chance to meet Mark King in Telford.
Young guns
What was particularly notable about the Grand Prix qualifiers were the performances of teenage trio Li Hang, Vinnie Muldoon and Stephen Craigie, all of whom won matches against players with much more experience than them. It will be interesting to see if they can build on these performances and win a few more matches to boost their chances of staying on the main tour for next season. Hang comes up against another talented youngster, 20 year old Daniel Wells in what should be a great match, whilst Muldoon and Craigie meet more experienced opposition in the form of Scott MacKenzie and Patrick Wallace respectively.
Last 32 potential
Stephen Hendry won’t be thanking the people who make the draws as he could well meet Stephen Lee in the last 32 for the second time this season. Having lost to Lee 5-1 in Northern Ireland, there are certainly easier draws that Hendry could have had.
The standout though is the potential clash between Mark Williams and Mark Selby, a match that could go either way if Williams plays as well as we all know he can. Another mouthwatering tie at the bottom of the draw is a possible rematch between Stephen Maguire and Jamie Cope. Remember that Jamie beat Maguire 5-1 in the Grand Prix recently so Stephen will be well up for trying to gain some revenge over the ‘Shotgun’ from Stoke.
If you would like to buy tickets for the event, click here to find out how you can do so.