World Champion Kyren Wilson eased to a 6-0 win over Stephen Maguire to book his place in the last 16 of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship in York.
The Warrior is hunting a second Triple Crown title, after achieving a lifetime's ambition back in May with victory at the Crucible. Wilson overcame Jak Jones 18-14 in a fiercely contested title match at the Theatre of Dreams, to win a maiden World Championship title. He's backed that up this season with victories at the inaugural Xi'an Grand Prix and the Northern Ireland Open, beating world number one Judd Trump in each final.
Wilson has enjoyed strong showings here in York, without quite managing to lift the famous trophy. His best run came back in 2021, when he defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan en route to the semi-finals. The Englishman then lost an epic contest against Luca Brecel. Next up for Wilson this week is a second round meeting with Chris Wakelin.
Having negotiated the qualifying gauntlet, beating Elliot Slessor in a 6-5 thriller on Judgement Day, Scotland's Maguire bows out at the first hurdle in York. Today's disappointing defeat comes in the 20th anniversary year of the finest moment of his career, when he won the 2004 UK Championship.
Both players struggled in what proved to be a fragmented afternoon of snooker. However, it was Wilson who fared the better in converting chances to frames. After controlling the opener, the Englishman battled hard to take the second in 37-minutes and lead 2-0. A run of 45 moved Wilson three ahead, before he added the fourth to lead 4-0 at the mid-session.
When play resumed, Wilson moved up a gear and fired in runs of 71 and 86 to seal his comprehensive victory.
"It was surprsing. I went into the match expecting a tough battle. He is a real battler and for whatever reason it wasn't happening," said 32-year-old Wilson. "He is such a good player, it really shocked me and I'm sure he will be back as he's too good not to.
"Myself and Judd want to do what guys like Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins have done over their long and illustrious careers. Hopefully we can try to compete with them and be the next names that everybody wants to tune in and watch.
"I've dreamed of being a World Champion since I was six years old and I've made a very conscious effort to not only enjoy it but use it as a catapult to kickstart my career even more. It has given me that extra bit of confidence."
On the other table, world number 15 Wakelin earned his place in the next round with a hard fought 6-4 win over former Indian Open champion Matthew Selt.
Wakelin has enjoyed a landmark season so far, having broken into the elite top 16 in the world for the first time. He's gunning to earn a Johnstone's Paint Masters debut if he can remain there at the end of this week.
The Rugby cueman top scored with 75 in a match he was relieved to emerge victorious from a testing match.
Wakelin said: "It was a tough one. I was never in front and stole the ninth frame to go 5-4 in front. I feel for Matt, I don't think he had much left towards the end. I knew if I could just hold myself together I could get over the line. He is very strong in the matchplay department so I really just wanted to shake his hand and get out of there.
"When the game is over, I'm proud of what I've achieved getting in the top 16. I don't think that defines me on the table though. It is all about what you do. The defending champion lost this week and a lot of the other top 16 players have. You can sit on that ranking all you like, but you still have to go out there and do the business."