Kyren marches on in UK Championship

Try telling Kyren Wilson the UK Championship doesn’t feel as special behind closed doors after the Kettering cueman booked his place in the tournament’s last 16.

Wilson, the world No.4, breezed past Kurt Maflin 6-3 in his third round match in Milton Keynes to keep his hopes of a maiden Triple Crown title alive.

The prestigious tournament – one of snooker’s majors alongside the World Championship and Masters – is usually held in York but has been moved almost 150 miles south to Milton Keynes as the sport adapts to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wilson hailed snooker bosses for the glamorous setup and reckons it would taste just as sweet to lift his fifth ranking event trophy in front of no fans.

“I played my first game on the TV table and you’ve got the UK Championship trophy sat right behind your head,” the 28-year-old said.

“So when that’s within your eyesight, you realise that you obviously are playing in the UK Championship. Peering over at that and having a little look at that every time makes you realise how big a tournament this is. Fair play to everyone who’s done the setup for this event.

“It feels a little bit different compared to the other (events in Milton Keynes]) and it will always have that quality about it. You want your name on a Triple Crown event and it doesn’t matter where it’s played.”

Wilson lit up the second day of the tournament with a thrilling maximum 147 break and followed up wins against Ashley Hugill and Mark Joyce with a polished performance against Maflin.

The Northamptonshire player knocked in visits of 132 – twice – 99, 62 and 54 to floor the Norwegian and book a last 16 date with 2006 world champion Graeme Dott.

Wilson memorably lowered Dott’s colours in the final round of World Championship qualifying back in 2014 as he booked his spot at the Crucible for the first time in his career.

This year’s Sheffield finalist has fond memories of that clash but knows he faces a stern test under the Marshall Arena lights with a quarter-final spot looming.

“He’s just an awesome match player,” he added.

“He’s very gritty, very, very tough to beat and to scrape off the table. We played to qualify for my Crucible debut, and that’s more or less one of our only big matches that we’ve played.

“I’ve got really fond memories of that match for obvious reasons.”

Watch the UK Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport app. Follow all the latest tournament news on Eurosport.co.uk