2014 UK Championship - Selby and White exit competition

Selby's out

Saturday marked the first day of the televised stages of the 2014 Coral UK Championship and we had some pretty interesting surprises along the way. 

First of all, Mark Selby, the reigning world champion lost to David Morris by 6-4, Ryan Day experienced the same treatment from a very determined Scotsman, Fraser Patrick, while Barry "The Hawk" Hawking, was brought down by the 007 Agent Nigel Bond who managed to recover from a 5-0 deficit and win by 6-5.

The newly dad of the lovely baby girl Sofia, Mark Selby was put in all sorts of trouble by the Irishman David Morris, who by the mid-session interval was taking control of the match, at 3-1. 

However, the current world champion hit in breaks of 60 and 68 to draw level, but it was a one-street way from this point on for his opponent, who fired a beautiful 126 break, followed by 72 and 79 to reach the finish line.

Ding in action

After the match Mark Selby posted on his Twitter account: "Disappointed to lose today. All credit to David he deserved to win. Feet up now with little one and come back fresh for Masters."

The comeback of the championship must definitely be represented by Jimmy White who took on a pretty difficult task in trying to over come "The Chinese Machine" Ding Junhui. And although Ding was far from his best, it was him who in the end prevailed by 6-2.

"The Whirlwind" opened with a full-of-hope 66 break, but by the mid-session interval he was being led by 3-1, after Ding won a tricky frame on the black.

After the break Jimmy would bring hope into his fans' hearts, as he hit a 47 to pull back a frame, but unfortunately for him Ding push him with runs of 77, 77 and 33 to ensure a place into the next round.

Is the Whirlwind back for good?

Fair to say through that White seemed more composed and more focused than ever, with a very great attitude and with the killer look, which had been missing from some time now. Hopefully we will see more of his great cue action in the next tournaments.

John Higgins managed to cope with Jamie Cope and scrapped his way to a 6-4 victory, while his fellow countryman, Fraser Patrick recorded an outstanding victory against Ryan Day (6-4) and hit, what is at the moment, the highest break of the tournament (139).

Judd Trump proved to be merciless in from of India's star, Aditya Mehta whom he beat by a crystal clear 6-1 scoreline.

Judd and his very interesting star-printed collar

Three consecutive frames were entering Judd's pocket as the Bristol-man was firing in breaks of 41, 72 and 46, before Mehta won his first (and last) frame of the match with a top break of 44.

Trump continued cruising with runs of 110, 39 and 62 to book his place into the next round.
After the match the Indian player tweeted: "With hard work and patience I'm sure I will be where i want to be.. just keep the faith.. Thanks for all the support guys.. Won't let u down".

Aditya Mehta

Nigel Bond cashed a very important, but more importantly, hard-fought victory in front of Barry Hawkins after being led 5-0, while Robert Milkins and Mark Williams (both suffering from something: Robert from an eye infection and Mark from a bad shoulder)  whitewashed their opponents 6-0, Marcus Campbell and Jimmy Robertson respectively. 

Bellow you can check Saturday's full results:

Ding Junhui 6-2 Jimmy White
Mark Selby 4-6 David Morris
John Higgins 6-4 Jamie Cope
Michael Holt 3-6 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Matthew Stevens 6-3 Gerard Greene
Fraser Patrick 6-4 Ryan Day
Marco Fu 6-1 Lio Haotian
David Gilbert 6-2 Mark Joyce

Graeme Dott 6-4 Anthony Hamilton
Aditya Mehta 1-6 Judd Trump
Barry Hawkins 5-6 Nigel Bond
Robert Milkins 6-0 Marcus Campbell
James Cahill 6-4 Andrew Higginson
Robbie Williams 5-6 Ricky Walden
Igor Figueiredo 4-6 Anthony McGill
Jimmy Robertson 0-6 Mark Williams