UK Championship Day 3

Luca Brecel caused an upset by beating Ricky Walden 6-5

Luca Brecel caused a huge upset in the third day of the UK Championship after he beat world number 12 Ricky Walden in a deciding frame. Walden started off the match on the front foot winning the first two frames but his 17-year-old opponent won the next two to go into the interval at 2-2. Walden re-affirmed his two frame advantage but the Wuxi Classic champion continued to miss chances to see out the match which allowed Brecel two win the next two to draw level again. Brecel was on a good break in frame 9 but sportingly called a foul on himself which allowed Walden to take the frame and go 5-4 up. But the Belgian took frame ten and won the decider at the third attempt after a missed pink from Walden.

The other evening session match saw another surprise victor, as Mark King defeated Mark Williams 6-3. King led 3-1 at the interval and won the next two frames to extend his advantage to 5-1. Williams closed the gap by winning a scrappy frame seven before making a break of 105 to make it 5-3. However King got the upper hand of a safety-battle in frame nine and took the victory.

Neil Robertson cruised to a 6-1 victory over Leicester’s Tom Ford, earlier in the day. The Aussie opened the match with a break of 129 and won the next three to go into the interval 4-0 up. A 100 break in frame five saw Robertson go 5-0 up but Ford avoided the whitewash by winning frame six. It was only prolonging the inevitable as Robertson knocked home his fourth century of the match, a 127, in the seventh frame to wrap up the match and set up a tie with Barry Hawkins in the last 16.

Matthew Stevens also ran home as comfortable winner as he defeated fellow Welshman Dominic Dale by the same scoreline. An ill-looking Dale took the opening frame but Stevens won the next three to go in 3-1 up at the interval. He took another three in a row to wrap up victory and will now play Marco Fu in the next round.