STEPHEN MAGUIRE claims things couldn’t have been easier as he cruised through the Betway UK Championship first round on Thursday.
The Glasgow cueman wasted no time in dispatching Cao Yupeng 6-1 at the York Barbican, although breaks of 54 and 92 in the final two frames were a promise of things to come from the Chinese.
And the 2004 UK Champion was simply relieved to come up against an opponent 95 places below him at 114 in the world.
“It was comfortable – I didn’t play my best but he was not good, to be polite,” said Maguire, who faces Zhao Xintong in round two. "I gave him the third frame, that was basically just a gift, but it’s a nice game to have under your belt. It was a game that I just wanted to get done and get out of there quickly.
“I’ll take it because I’ve lost a few first-rounders at recent tournaments, so it was nice for someone to play badly against me.
“The tournament doesn’t really start until you’re lucky enough to get to the last 32 or the last 16 anyway.”
Elsewhere in York, 2006 World Champion Graeme Dott also raced through – the Larkhall man thrashing Wales’ Ian Preece 6-1 to set up a round-two meeting with Dominic Dale.
Dott’s best performance at the UK Championship came when he reached the semi-finals a decade ago and three half-centuries against Preece were enough to set him on his way this year.
And after a string of heroic performances against him recently, the 39-year-old was delighted to face a man not quite at his best.
“I don’t think Ian played as well as he can play, but I played solid enough – nothing great,” explained Dott.
“I have been a pro for 24 years and I have never, ever been through a spell where people don't seem to miss a ball when I am playing like I have recently.
“It is hard to really beat yourself up when you are losing like that. I have been saying it will turn and hopefully that win will break it up.”
Bearsden’s Alan McManus was also in action – fighting back from 5-0 down to trail 5-4 against Michael Wild when the pair were hauled off at the end of the afternoon session, set to resume late on Thursday evening.
Follow the UK Championship LIVE on Eurosport with Colin Murray, Jimmy White, Neal Foulds and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
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