Robertson to Face Trump in UK Championship First Round

Neil Robertson, who has won the UK Championship on three previous occasions, is set to compete against world number one Judd Trump in the opening round of the UK Championship. This matchup follows Robertson’s 6-2 victory over Matthew Stevens in the final qualifying match held in Leicester. This upcoming contest will mark a rematch of their memorable 2020 final, which the Australian player won. Robertson also defeated the Englishman earlier this month at the Champion of Champions event. Robertson, a winner of all three of snooker’s Triple Crown tournaments, commenced his qualifier against 2003 champion Stevens with an impressive break of 136. Although Stevens managed to equalize the score at 1-1, Robertson subsequently secured the next three frames, including a crucial fourth frame that the Welshman appeared poised to win, ultimately clinching his advancement. The 42-year-old’s confrontation with Trump is widely considered the most anticipated fixture of round one, even with several other compelling matches scheduled to commence the televised stages. Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and Barry Hawkins are slated to renew their rivalry, echoing their encounters in the World Championship and Masters finals of 2013 and 2016. Zhao Xintong, the 2021 tournament winner, will play former world champion Shaun Murphy. This marks Zhao’s return following a ban related to his involvement in snooker’s most significant match-fixing scandal. Jack Lisowski, who concluded the qualifying journey of women’s world champion Bai Yulu, has been drawn against Mark Selby. Meanwhile, Champion of Champions victor Mark Williams will challenge Stuart Bingham, another former Crucible winner. Zhao’s return to the main competition on Saturday afternoon comes after a successful qualifying campaign where he won four matches, losing only nine frames. During this run, he also achieved a remarkable break of 146, currently the highest of the tournament. Furthermore, despite initially trailing Ricky Walden 2-0, the 27-year-old managed to win six consecutive frames, which included two half-centuries and a break of 126. In other qualifying results, David Gilbert decisively defeated Julien Leclercq 6-1, and Matthew Selt secured an impressive 6-3 win against Zhou Yuelong. Lei Peifan recorded breaks of 129 and 131 en route to a 6-2 victory over Ben Woollaston. Michael Holt and Robert Milkins also triumphed over Liu Hongyu and Xu Si, respectively, by the same 6-2 scoreline. He Guoqiang became the eighth Chinese player to reach round one, prevailing 6-5 in a final-frame decider against 18-year-old Stan Moody. The first-round pairings are as follows: Ronnie O’Sullivan v Barry Hawkins Xiao Guodong v David Gilbert Shaun Murphy v Zhao Xintong Ding Junhui v Robert Milkins Mark Selby v Jack Lisowski Ali Carter v Ryan Day Si Jiahui v Wu Yize Mark Allen v Jackson Page Judd Trump v Neil Robertson John Higgins v He Guoqiang Zhang Anda v Lei Peifan Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham Luca Brecel v Jak Jones Gary Wilson v Michael Holt Chris Wakelin v Matthew Selt Kyren Wilson v Stephen Maguire