How Oliver Lines has been helped by a former world champion

The 25-year-old had only progressed past the first round of a tournament once this season prior to his arrival at the first Triple Crown event in the calendar, and looked up against it when Wilson stormed into a 1-0 lead with a break of 132.

But Lines hit back with two successive half-centuries to take the advantage, before knocking two further breaks over 50 en route to a 6-4 victory that he thinks offered a true reflection of his ability.

“I’m very pleased with that,” he said. “Gary’s a top player in and around the top 16 and I’ve seen how good he is having practiced with him in Leeds a few times.

“I haven’t been getting the results I’ve wanted lately but I’ve been practicing hard and I just approached it as I would any other game. I knew if I kept doing the right things it would pay off and I’m really happy with how I performed.

“I’ve been working with [former world champion] Ken Doherty since the start of the season and that’s helping me massively. Having his knowledge in my corner is great and I absolutely love working with him.”

Next up for Lines at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes is a Round 2 tie with Chinese youngster Xu Si, who was granted a bye in his opener after opponent Anthony Hamilton tested positive for Covid-19.

But there was no first-round win for Oliver’s father, Peter Lines, who suffered a 6-3 defeat to Noppon Saengkham on Wednesday.

Peter was looking in good shape against the Thai potter, racing into a 3-0 lead as breaks of 59 and 63 marked an impressive start.

But he couldn’t capitalise against his higher-ranked opponent, losing six frames on the spin to go down 6-3 and exit in the first round for the third consecutive year.

Breaks of 65, 56, 75 and 66 did the damage for Saengkham, with world No 92 Lines now getting prepared for the Scottish Open which takes place next month.

*Watch the UK Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport app. Follow all the latest tournament news on Eurosport.co.uk

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