UK Championship 2012 - Day 2

Sunday (aka. the second day of the UK Championship) proved to be one hell of a day, merely because the event turned out to be quite a surprising one. Why you ask? Well, because the brand new world number one and defending champion, Judd Trump was sent home by an outstanding Mark Joyce.

Ali Carter was also amongst those who took a great start, the 2012 World Championship runner-up beating legend Steve Davis 6-2, while Marco Fu performed a brilliant victory of 6-3 in front of Mark Allen.

Shaun Murphy v Robert Milkins

It's been a while since we've seen Murphy win something big and maybe this time he'll get lucky. His start against Robert Milkins was a good one, the "Magician” setting a 6-3 final scoreline and keeping his nose in front throughout the entire match.

An ill Milkins, although managing to break the ice with a break of 54, was soon found 3-1 down, after Murphy’s runs of 73 and 91, forced to entering into the 15-minute break with a lot on his mind.

However, after the interval he did his best to catch up with his opponent and actually managed to get at three apiece, before Murphy ended the business with breaks of 66 and 85 in order to get his cue ready for the Last 16 round.

Mark Davis v Cao Yupeng

Getting a place in the tournament due to Stephen Lee's undetermined suspension, Davis proved to everyone that not only he deserves to be there, but he also deserves a nice and steady place in the Top 16.

We all know Cao's strength and skills when he's rocking around the green baize, but for Davis this didn't seem to be a problem and he refused to be intimidated by his opponent's grandeur from the very first start.

The mid-session interval was founding Mark on top of the situation, at 4-0, the last session the Englishman being careful enough as not to let Cao get more than one frame in his bag. 

So with just a top break of 79 (to which Cao responded with a 49), Mark Davis set foot into the UK Championship fair and square.

Ali Carter v Steve Davis

He might have won two qualifying matches to get to the main event, but Sunday was surely not a lucky day for the six-time world champion, Steve Davis.

For much as he tried and tried, he only managed to win two frames, one of which with a good 85 break, the rest of them falling into Ali's arms as he hit in runs of 40, 47 and 38 for a 6-2 final result.

Judd Trump v Mark Joyce


Seen as favourite to win this match and more over, the tournament Judd Trump surprised us all by being out of form.

The "naughty” player from Bristol was kneeled down by a very ambitious Mark Joyce, who although found himself being lead 5-2, carried on until the last frame.

As the interval ca kicking off, the defending champion was on a very relaxing lead of 3-1 and as the match developed, he extending that lead up until 5-2.

Joyce, a qualifier that many tend to overlook, didn’t give in through and started his comeback. With breaks of 74, 57, 44 and 39 he managed to force the decider and also win it, leaving the entire arena stunned with amazement by what determination and talent can achieve.

Mark Allen v Marco Fu

Another surprise was yet to be cooked, as Allen and Fu got together in a veritable cue-crossing that ended on the Chinese's favour at 6-3.

With breaks of 91, 131, 121, 59 and 61 Fu furiously obtained what he came for at York: a place in the next round and his confidence back.

Allen, on the other hand, is sadly forced to wait for another year until turning his UK Championship dream into reality.

Stuart Bingham v Jack Lisowski

He's just won the Premier League and he's got no less than two APTC titles in his bag. Many say he's the man to beat and after a great performance against youngster Jack Lisowski, I tend to say the same thing.

Stuart Bingham got a comfortable 6-2 win after showing class against a much younger but tough opponent, using just two top breaks of 88 and 58 in the process, now following to face the taciturn Stephen Maguire, in the next round.