Sunday 6 December 2015

2015 UK Championship Final

Neil Robertson 10-5 Liang Wenbo

Neil Robertson became the first player to make a maximum 147 break in a UK Championship final on his way to beating Liang Wenbo 10-5.

The Australian made the perfect break in the sixth frame of the match in York - the third 147 of his career.

The pair traded century breaks in the first session leaving Robertson with a 5-3 advantage at the interval.

The next four frames were shared to make it 7-5, but Robertson won three in a row to take the title.

'It was about digging in'

"As a kid, you always want to make a 147 on the BBC so it was a dream come true," Robertson, who claimed the 11th ranking title of his career and second UK triumph, told BBC Sport.

"In the end, it was about digging in and nicking frames."

The final featured two left-handers with contrasting personalities; the measured world number three Robertson and his eccentric Chinese opponent, who frequently played to the crowd and often slapped himself in the face.

Surprise finalist Liang, who moved into the top 16 by reaching the final, added: "There was pressure and I don't know why, I didn't concentrate. The pressure shots I didn't play very well."

The magnificent maximum

Having seen Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh miss the final black on a maximum effort earlier in the tournament, Robertson went one better.

He needed to disturb a cluster of three reds to keep the break going and then kept his cool to pot the pink with the rest, before punching the air as he sunk the final black.

Four-time UK champion Steve Davis described the break as "absolutely fantastic".

"It was a clinical break early on, he picked the balls off nicely," added Davis. "Doing it in a big final is a marvellous achievement."

How the match unfolded

World number three Robertson took the first two frames but Liang soon settled in the match with a 110. The pair traded frames as the Aussie led 3-2, before compiling his brilliant 147 break.

The 2013 UK champion also took the next frame, but Liang hit back with a composed 86 to trail 5-3 after the first session.

The man from China reduced the deficit further with an 82 but Robertson responded with a break of 78 and also took the next to lead 7-4.


Liang showed his battling qualities to take the 12th frame, but it was all Robertson from then on.


Saturday 5 December 2015

2015 UK Championship Semi Finals Day 11

Liang Wenbo 6-4 David Grace

China's Liang Wenbo reached Sunday's UK Championship final with a scrappy 6-4 victory over world number 81 David Grace.

The 28-year-old started nervously and Yorkshireman Grace took advantage to open up a 3-1 lead at the break.

Liang, world ranked 29, recovered from 4-2 down to take the next four frames and reach only a second ranking final.

Despite winning the opening frame, Romford-based Liang looked a different player from the one who racked up three successive centuries against Hong Kong's Marco Fu in the quarter-finals.

He appeared edgy as being favourite, occasionally slapping his own face as his frustrations boiled over.

Grace, who cleans snooker tables to supplement his earnings, won three frames in a row with a highest break of just 52 as the contest took a while to warm up a capacity crowd in York.

Liang, whose only other ranking final was the Shanghai Masters in 2009, banged in a match-best 110 break in the first frame after the interval to reduce the arrears, but Grace opened up a two-frame lead again to lead 4-2.

The Chinese won two further scrappy frames to level the match in the eighth before a crucial 50 break gave him the lead for the first time since the opening frame.


He let a comfortable lead slip in the 11th, but Grace missed a simple pink when he had to clear the colours.



Neil Robertson 6-0 Mark Selby

Australia's Neil Robertson whitewashed world number one Mark Selby to set up a UK Championship final against Liang Wenbo at York's Barbican on Sunday.

Robertson stormed into a 4-0 interval lead and continued to pounce on errors to claim a 6-0 victory.

The world number three said: "I nicked a few frames and played well at the business end of frames."

World number 29 Liang, who has never won a ranking event, beat David Grace 6-4 in the other semi-final.


In reaching the final, the Chinese has jumped into the top 16 in the world which qualifies him a place at next month's Masters.

2015 UK Championships Quarter-Finals Day 10

Liang Wenbo 6-5 Marco Fu
Neil Robertson 6-5 John Higgins

David Grace 6-5 Martin Gould
Matthew Selt 1-6 Mark Selby

Thursday 3 December 2015

2015 UK Championships Last 16 Day 9

Liang Wenbo 6-5 Tom Ford
Neil Robertson 6-1 Stephen Maguire

Martin Gould 6-3 Joe Swail
Jamie Burnett 4-6 John Higgins

Wednesday 2 December 2015

2015 UK Championships Last 16 Day 8

Peter Ebdon 2-6 David Grace
Dechawat Poomjaeng 1-6 Mark Selby


Marco Fu 6-4 Shaun Murphy
Luca Brecel 4-6 Matthew Selt

Tuesday 1 December 2015

2015 UK Championships Round 3 Day 7

Martin Gould 6-4 Mark Allen
Tom Ford 6-1 Kyren Wilson
Ben Woollaston 2-6 Shaun Murphy
Stephen Maguire 6-4 Mark Davis


Judd Trump 4-6 Liang Wenbo
David Gilbert 3-6 Marco Fu
Neil Robertson 6-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Dechawat Poomjaeng 6-5 Mark Joyce

2015 UK Championships Round 3 Day 6

Stuart Bingham 3-6 Peter Ebdon
Jamie Burnett 6-3 Li Hang
Allister Carter 2-6 John Higgins
Robbie Williams 3-6 Matthew Selt

David Grace 6-4 Jack Lisowski
Michael Holt 1-6 Joe Swail
Robin Hull 2-6 Luca Brecel
Jamie Jones 5-6 Mark Selby