Roberston stunned by Astley’s amateur hour
DEFENDING champion Neil Robertson was stunned by amateur John Astley in the first round of the UK Championship in York.
Astley, 32, fell off the professional tour last year but fired a break of 119 in the seventh frame en route to a 6-2 win, and is the second amateur to beat a UK champion this week after Shaun Murphy was knocked out by China’s Si Jiahui on the opening day.
And the result is particularly embarrassing for Robertson after he concurred with Murphy’s controversial claim on Tuesday that amateurs did not deserve the right to play on the professional tour.
Astley, better known for his role in the snooker play ‘The Nap’ at the Crucible in 2016, was appearing as a ‘top-up’ player due to there not being enough professionals to complete the 128-player field.
He capitalised on a sluggish start by Robertson to edge into a 3-1 lead, then extended his advantage with nerveless 83 after Robertson jawed a red to the middle.
The Australian, who won the title in thrilling fashion over Judd Trump last year, responded with a break of 124 to narrow the deficit to 4-2. But Astley reeled off a 119 to go 5-2 up, before edging over the line to wrap up the best win of his career, and one of the tournament’s greatest upsets.
Four-time world champion Mark Selby sailed through the first round of the UK Championship with a 6-2 victory against Ross Muir before admitting he agrees with Murphy’s criticism of amateurs playing in professional events.
Murphy, a former world champion himself who has banked over £4million in career prize money, was bundled out of the tournament in York at the first hurdle by Jiahui, who is playing as an amateur after dropping off the tour at the end of last year. After his shock 6-5 loss, the 39-year-old launched an extraordinary tirade against World Snooker Tour for allowing players like Si to compete via the ‘top-up’ system.
Murphy was roundly criticised on social media for his opinions and World Snooker chiefs dismissed his claims. However, Selby has vowed to “stand by” Murphy and after his win against Muir he told BBC Sport: “I think a lot of players agree with him.”
Mark Williams made two century breaks as he defeated China’s Lei Peifan 6-3, while Gary Wilson recorded a 6-2 win against Ian Burns.
Ronnie O’Sullivan was made to work for his win over Welsh amateur Michael White, who levelled up the match at 3-3 before the six-time world champion reeled off three consecutive frames to win 6-3.
China’s Ding Junhui eased to a routine 6-2 win over his compatriot Anda Zhang, while Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh comprehensively outclassed seven-time former world champion Stephen Hendry 6-1. David Gilbert was convincing in his 6-1 victory against Alfie Burden, and Barry Hawkins was also a 6-1 winner against women’s world champion Reanne Evans.