Terrific Thepchaiya Un-Nooh hammers Stephen Hendry at the UK Championship
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh fired in five century breaks en route to a 6-1 rout of Stephen Hendry in Round One of the 2021 UK Championship in York on Wednesday.
Former Shoot-Out champion Un-Nooh produced a blistering display of break-building to end the five-time UK Champion’s return to the York Barbican in less than two hours of play.
The world number 39 did the damage inside half an hour as he stormed into a 3-0 lead with consecutive breaks of 129, 100 and 107.
Un-Nooh looked set to make it four frames without reply as he made a 59 break, but only for Hendry to step in with a superb clearance to get off the mark before the interval.
Un-Nooh, however, resumed the rout after the restart with a break of 52 and followed in with successive breaks of 136 and 106 to complete a spectacular performance.
Elsewhere, seven-time UK Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan maintained his unbeaten record in the Last 128 of the UK Championship by overcoming Welsh ace Michael White 6-3.
A high quality contest produced three centuries in as many frames, with O’Sullivan establishing a 2-0 lead with clearances of 139 and 131, before White got off and running with a break of 102.
O’Sullivan restore a two-frame advantage courtesy of a break of 72, but White replied with a contribution of 71 before sealing frame six to level the match.
A 53 break proved decisive in frame seven as ‘The Rocket’ regained the upper-hand, before edging two low-scoring frames to secure his place in the Second Round.
Earlier in the day, Gary Wilson compiled the 19th maximum break in the history of the UK Championship on his way to a 6-2 victory over Ian Burns.
British Open finalist Wilson had begun the match with a break of 104 and went on to make the fourth competitive maximum of his career in frame six.
Mark Selby began his quest for a third UK Championship title with a 6-2 victory over Scottish amateur Ross Muir.
Reigning World Champion Selby reeled off four consecutive frames from two apiece with breaks of 67, 93 and 95 in the process.
Two-time UK Champion Mark Williams got his campaign under way with a 6-3 success over 18-year-old Lei Peifan.
Breaks of 83 and 97 helped the Chinese teenager on his way to a 2-1 lead, but Williams drew upon his vast experience to clinch five of the next six frames with the aid of breaks of 106, 112, 69 and 76.
Three-time UK Champion Ding Junhui eased past Chinese compatriot Zhang Anda 6-2 with breaks of 69, 63, 60 and 129 to his name.
Former world finalist Barry Hawkins stormed to a 6-1 victory over 12-time Women’s World Champion Reanne Evans, sealing the deal with a high break of 94.
Six-time ranking finalist Jack Lisowski whitewashed Sean Maddocks with top breaks of 76, 126 and 70, while Matthew Selt needed an unscheduled second session to seal a narrow 6-5 win over 19-year-old Chang Bingyu.
Championship League winner David Gilbert brushed aside Alfie Burden 6-1 with breaks of 74, 131 and 68 along the way, while Gerard Greene enjoyed an impressive 6-3 win over Kurt Maflin with a high break of 131.
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UK Championship Snooker 2021 Day Two Results
Wednesday November 24
Round One
Morning Session
Ricky Walden 6-4 Craig Steadman
Gary Wilson 6-2 Ian Burns – *Wilson makes a 147 break*
Liam Highfield 6-3 Jamie Wilson
Noppon Saengkham 6-2 Aaron Hill
Stuart Carrington 6-1 Zhao Jianbo
Nigel Bond 4-6 Robbie Williams
David Gilbert 6-1 Alfie Burden
Xiao Guodong 6-2 Zhang Jiankang
Afternoon Session
Anthony Hamilton 6-4 Allan Taylor
Mark Williams 6-3 Lei Peifan
Matthew Selt 6-5 Chang Bingyu
Barry Hawkins 6-1 Reanne Evans
Jamie Jones 1-6 Cao Yupeng
Alexander Ursenbacher 6-5 Ben Hancorn
Ding Junhui 6-2 Zhang Anda
Mark Selby 6-2 Ross Muir
Evening Session
Matthew Stevens 5-6 Hammad Miah
Mark King 6-2 Jackson Page
Kurt Maflin 3-6 Gerard Greene
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-3 Michael White
Sunny Akani 6-2 Steven Hallworth
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-1 Stephen Hendry
Elliot Slessor 5-6 Fan Zhengyi
Jack Lisowski 6-0 Sean Maddocks