UK Championship third-round predictions and winner odds: Maguire in the mood

Free snooker tips, best bets and analysis for Tuesday's third-round matches at the UK Championship.

Where to watch

BBC2 & Eurosport, 1pm & 7pm Tuesday

Best bet

Stephen Maguire to beat Luca Brecel 7pm
1pt 10-11general

Third round preview

Stephen Maguire enjoys the UK Championship and the Scot, champion in 2004, should have too much for Belgium's Luca Brecel after posting breaks of 127, 104, 90, 75 and 73 in his 6-1 second-round victory over Tian Pengfei.

Brecel made a century in the course of pipping Tom Ford 6-5 in round two and could prove a threat to his Glaswegian opponent in the last 32.

However, Maguire, who also made two tons in his opening triumph over Sanderson Lam, remains a top-drawer performer when he's on his game, although those occasions are fewer and farther between these days.

Chinese players Zhou Yuelong and Xiao Guodong can be considered for their third-round clashes against Anthony McGill and Hossein Vafaei.

But while McGill tends to shine more in the World Championship than in the UK, his scoring was pretty good against David Grace in round two, while Zhou has yet to post a ton in York this year.

Vafaei may find Xiao tougher to stop than Mark Selby, whom he upended 6-2 on Sunday, but the talented Iranian also ousted Pang Junxu in his Barbican Centre opener so may not have to find much more to thwart Xiao.

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