Lyu Haotian primed for more progress in first Major

Fourth round
BBC2, BBCi & Eurosport 1, 1pm & 7pm Wednesday

They are down to the last 16 in the Betway UK Championship and while punters face some difficult fourth-round decisions, an interest on Lyu Haotian against Mark Joyce could be the order.

Joyce is playing pretty well this season and pipped Neil Robertson 6-5 on Monday, a result which means the Australian will not be competing in the Masters next month.

But Lyu, who has returned to snooker in fine style after a promising early stint as a young teenager, could have enough to thwart the Walsall cueman's hopes of nailing a quarter-final berth in York.

Lyu, 20, is not a serial high breakbuilder in the manner of some of his fellow Chinese players, but he has still made a century in each of his outings at the Barbican Centre.

Victories over experienced campaigners Anthony Hamilton and Peter Ebdon weren't huge surprises, but Lyu ousting Marco Fu 6-4 in the last 32 with the aid of a run of 121 suggests he should be taken seriously by anyone he meets.

Joyce is also not a regular centurion, but he compiled breaks of 130 against Thor Chuan Leong in round one and 101 against David Gilbert in round two.

Mark Allen against Joe Perry, Stephen Maguire v Graeme Dott and Li Hang against Ryan Day, who had previously always struggled to make his mark in the UK Championship, could be closely-fought affairs.

Recommendation
Lyu Haotian
1pt 7-8 188Bet

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