Three-time winner Neil Robertson earned his place in the final stages of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship with a 6-2 defeat of Matthew Stevens, booking a massive last 32 tie against Judd Trump.
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The televised stages at the York Barbican start on Saturday and Robertson and Trump will go head-to-head on Tuesday; two players with 53 ranking titles and ten Triple Crown victories between them. It's a repeat of the epic 2020 UK final, which Robertson won 10-9, and last week's Champion of Champions quarter-final which the Australian took 6-4.
Robertson started the current season ranked 28th in the world, then broke back into the top 16 by winning the English Open in September. He has since slipped to 18th so had to face the qualifiers this week in Leicester, but having battled his way through two matches, he can look ahead to York and has also boosted his position in the Race to the Masters - though defeat to Trump could wreck his hopes of a spot at Alexandra Palace in January.
Breaks of 136 and 125 helped him to a comfortable victory over Stevens. "There was a big frame tonight when I was 2-1 up, Matthew was unlucky when he missed a chance for 2-2, instead it was 3-1. I played well and I'm happy to get through," said Robertson, who lifted the UK trophy in 2013, 2015 and 2020.
"I have felt for a while that I needed to improve my safety. The game has changed a lot in the last couple of years. It's less about thundering in long balls and scoring heavily, it's more about denying your opponent scoring opportunties. Judd Trump said before our game last week that the key to the match was his safety, when a few years ago he would have been talking about an all-out attacking kind of game. Judd and Mark Allen have improved their safety so much, the rest of the tour are looking at that and thinking that is the best approach.
"Beating Judd last week doesn't give me any edge because he is very good at putting losses behind him. We've had so many great games and I really enjoy competing against him. The important thing is that I am playing well and I have won a title this season."
China's He Guoqiang, last season's Rookie of the Year, edged out Yorkshire teenager Stan Moody 6-5 in an exciting battle to earn a tie with John Higgins. He led 4-1 with top breaks of 69, 73 and 70, then Moody fought back to 4-4 with a top run of 113. The next two were shared before He dominated the decider with breaks of 57 and 54 to secure his place as one of eight Chinese players in the field in York.
Robert Milkins top scored with 82 as he beat Xu Si 6-2. Milkins has had a patchy start to the season, reaching the last 32 of just one other ranking event, but now hopes to show the quality which has won him two ranking titles. "It has been a shocker of a season for me so far, I have lost a lot of close games," said Milkins. "I've got a lot to make up on the other players in the rankings but maybe it will come. It's hard work out there, it's not coming naturally. I am playing a lot of stabby shots rather than my normal game. I have been on losing streaks before and it's not easy to get out of. If I can get to a quarter or semi-final I'll be happy."
Michael Holt, who had two years away from the pro tour before regaining his card for this season, reached the last 32 of this event for the first time since 2015 by beating Liu Hongyu 6-2 with a top break of 85. World number 98 Holt, who has won four qualifying matches, said: "I have battled all week, been a bit lucky at times but got there in the end. It will be a big day for me to play in an event like this because it was tough when I dropped off the tour and I'm proud of myself to get back here. I just want to take the shackles off because I'm a good player! I still have moments when I drive myself mad because I want to play like I can."