Pukka Pies UK Snooker Championship
Venue: Telford International Centre Dates: Sat 5 Dec to Sun 13 Dec Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website.

Murphy hit a century break on his way to a 9-5 victory

Champion Shaun Murphy made a winning start in the defence of his UK Championship title with a 9-5 win over Northern Irishman Gerard Greene.

Murphy was not at his best but he made the only century and finished off in style with two frame-winning 88 breaks.

Stephen Maguire put personal grief to one side to beat Michael Holt 9-6 after his grandfather Paddy died this week.

Mark King thrashed Anthony Hamilton 9-2 and Mark Williams also progressed after Graeme Dott, trailing 6-2, pulled out.

The Scot withdrew before the evening session complaining of feeling dizzy and struggling to focus.

Williams made made six breaks above 50 in the battle between the two former world champions to lead 6-2, and was awarded a 9-2 win after Dott's withdrawal.

"I played really well, some of the best stuff for a long time, winning frames in one visit," the Welshman said.

"I had no idea at all that he wasn't feeling well, I don't really know what's wrong with him.

"It's been a while since I was expected to do well at tournaments but it's good to be getting the attention for all the right reasons."

Williams will play either Marco Fu or Peter Lines in the second round on Tuesday, while Murphy could face Ding Junhui if the Chinese star overcomes Mike Dunn on Monday.

606: DEBATE Have your say on the UK Championships

Maguire came to Telford eager to make a big impact at the event he won when it was staged in York five years ago, and also reached the 2007 final, the year it moved south to Shropshire.

The Scot let a 3-1 lead slip as Holt levelled at 4-4 after the first session, but Maguire improved in the evening to pull away and set up a meeting with Joe Perry or Stuart Bingham, Bingham leading 6-2 after their first session.

King beat Nottingham's Hamilton in no time, taking a 6-2 first-session lead and rattling off the first three frames of the evening to advance.

He will face either China's Liang Wenbo or Welshman Ryan Day, with Liang leading 6-2 going into Sunday's final session.

Australian Neil Robertson, the World Championship semi-finalist and reigning Grand Prix champion, made two century breaks on his way to a 5-3 advantage over Tom Ford.

The 27-year-old from Melbourne fired in a 100 and a 137 to be an early contender for the top-break prize but Ford took the last two frames of the session to give himself a chance.

The all-English affair between Jamie Cope and Mark Selby was level at 4-4, with pre-match favourite Selby taking a tense final frame.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version