ROCKET THROUGH, TRUMP OUT IN UK CHAMPIONSHIP

Oliver Lines scored the best result of his career so far with a 6-2 victory over Judd Trump to reach the last 32 of the UK Championship.
It has been a remarkable tournament so far for the Lines family as dad Peter knocked out Neil Robertson on his way to the third round and now rising star Oliver, age 21, has taken a huge scalp himself. They have already earned £20,000 between them and that figure could rise dramatically if they can keep their runs going, with a semi-final meeting in prospect if they can each score three more wins.
Lines Jnr was voted Rookie of the Year after his debut season in 2014/15 and has perhaps not made as much progress as he had hoped since then, but tonight’s performance showed the true extent of the world number 61’s potential.
The Leeds cueman built a 3-0 lead with a top break of 62, and then world number three Trump took the next two frames with runs of 72 and 60. Lines made an excellent 61 to go 4-2 up, then won frame seven on the colours before sealing victory in the next in three scoring visits.
“I had never really performed on TV before,” said Lines. “I have been practising very hard and I think my results will start coming in a roll. Me and dad will think about the semi-finals on the way home – it would be a dream if we could both get that far.”
Lines now meet Jimmy Robertson, who beat Mark Davis 6-2 in a Sussex derby.
Shaun Murphy fired breaks of 115 and 119 in a 6-3 win over Robin Hull while Marco Fu made a 125 in a 6-0 thrashing of Rory McLeod.
Ronnie O’Sullivan scored his second consecutive 6-0 victory at the UK Championship, beating Rhys Clark to reach the last 32.
The Rocket needed 56 minutes to win his opening round tie with Boonyarit Keattikun last week and this time he needed 17 minutes more to finish off his victim. Breaks of 112, 79, 82, 81 and 131 helped five-time UK champion O’Sullivan sail into round three, where he will face Michael Georgiou.
“Rhys is a good player and he looked nervous today, but it’s nerve racking for everybody,” said O’Sullivan, who hasn’t won a title since the Welsh Open last February. “If you think that I’m going out there totally relaxed then you’re mistaken. You need to have nerves out there; it’s who handles it best. That’s what you do as a professional, block everything out and concentrate on the job at hand.”
Magic Moment of the day came from Mark Allen as he made the first 147 of his career. The Pistol went on to beat Rod Lawler 6-4. “It’s good to get that monkey off my back, I was very nervous the whole way through the break,” said Allen. “I saw the 147 when I was on 16, the balls were sitting so nice. It puts you under it because you know they’re all sitting there and you’re expected to make it. If you miss you look like a bit of a tube.
“It’s big for me because I was one of the few top players who hadn’t made a 147. If you did a checklist when you turn pro it would be to win events, make your first century on TV, and make a 147 and obviously go on to win a world title or be world number one. I’m sort of halfway through that checklist already.”
Ding Junhui came from 2-1 down to beat Ross Muir 6-2. “I had the feeling I controlled the match and also I had very good luck,” said Ding.
China’s Mei Xiwen saw off Martin Gould 6-3 while up-and-coming Yan Bingtao won a Chinese derby against Liang Wenbo by a 6-4 scoreline
David Gilbert easily beats Mark Joyce by 6-2. Ben Woollaston overcame the stiff challenge of Paul S Davison by 6-4. In a classical thriller Robert Milkins beat Hammad Miah in the deciding 11th frame by 6-5.
Ricky Walden beat Scott Donaldson by 6-2. Joe Perry beat Xiao Guodong by 6-4 in a close encounter. Ryan Day beat Kurt Maflin by 6-2. Zhang Anda beat Anthony McGill by 6-3.
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