UK Championship day five predictions and snooker betting tips: Hawk can swoop

Where to watch

Live on BBC One, iPlayer, Eurosport & Discovery, from 1pm & 7pm Wednesday

Best bets

Barry Hawkins to beat Mark Selby
1pt 6-4 bet365, Betfair, Power 

Jamie Jones +3.5 frames v Judd Trump
1pt 4-6 Betfair, Power

UK Championship day five predictions

There are four cracking UK Championship second-round matches at the York Barbican on Wednesday and a couple of standout wagers. 

Mark Selby cruised past Mark Joyce 6-0 in round one, but the Jester may struggle to repeat that performance against Barry Hawkins. 

Selby clearly has the ability to go deep in this event, but he was beaten in the first round of the recent Wuhan Open and English Open and could only get to the last 16 of the International Championship this month. 

The Leicester potter was a 6-0 first-round winner over Cao Yupeng in the International Championship and he went on to beat the faded Marco Fu 6-3, but as soon as he met an in-form and capable cueman, it was far more difficult for the 40-year-old. 

Tom Ford got the better of Selby 6-3 in China, and the prices appear to overrate the Jester’s chances against Hawkins, on the back of that first-round whitewash. 

The Hawk has won the European Masters this season, made the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open and he also contested the last four of the Champion of Champions earlier this month. 

A 6-4 first-round UK Championship victory over Ben Woollaston is perfectly acceptable and at 6-4 the Hawk looks a good bet this evening. 

Jamie Jones shocked the well-fancied Jack Lisowski in round one, and while it may be asking a lot for the Welshman to pull off another upset against Judd Trump, the Port Talbot potter can stay competitive. 

Jones is a good operator, who has made three ranking event semi-finals, and might well have achieved more if not for his enforced absence from the sport. 

It’s been slow progress from the 35-year-old, but Jones did make two quarter-final appearances last season and doesn’t shy away from stepping up against the top performers. 

Trump has been in electric form, landing a hat-trick of titles this season, but at the prices, Jones can be backed getting a 3.5-frame start. 

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